Travel woes

[RLD4ISU]

Has anything happened during your travels that have made you do things different or warn others about?

A friend of mine had a long layover in Paris so they did some sightseeing and, while out and about, were the victims of pick pockets. Another friend was in Italy, set his luggage on the ground behind the vehicle, started to load one item and turned to get the next and everything else was gone. It makes me think about ways to keep my stuff safe when I travel.

Usually when we travel I put a bag of various supplies (bandaids, other medical supplies, emergency supplies, etc) and 1-2 blankets in the back seat. I've had a few people make fun of me for doing this. I decided on a trip to SD that I would leave the bag at home and just take 1 blanket. We were driving between Devil's Tower and Belle Fourche and were first ones on the scene of a motorcycle accident. Since then...I take that bag with.

 

[pourcyne]

I was traveling with a group once in Italy, taking the bus from Ostia to Rome. One of the ladies in our party got off the bus and discovered that her wallet was missing out of her bag. She said, "But there was only a nun behind me!" to which the tour guide replied, "Most likely, it was a person dressed as a nun."

When traveling abroad, dress poor. Leave the bling at home. Never pack more than you can carry. Men should keep their wallets in a front pocket. Enjoy the sights but keep your eyes open, especially on subways or in a crowd. Lock your suitcase if you have to leave it in your room while out and about for the day, and always use the hotel safe if it's something really important that you can't afford to lose.

Also, don't tell anyone where you're staying. When I visited Seville, I gave my hotel and room number to the tourist office. They said it was for the flamenco show reservation. When I got ready to check out a few days later, someone had had drinks with a friend on the rooftop bar and charged it to my room. It wasn't me, and the tourist office was the only place that knew where I was. No, I didn't have to pay for it, but it took some talking with the manager. My proof was that I was traveling solo and knew no one in the whole city. Lesson learned.

 

[NodawayRiverClone]

While in Peace Corps-Afghanistan, got my pocket picked while on a crowded bus. I had put my wallet in an accessible pocket instead of the safe pocket. Maintain discipline of your best habits.

During a vacation period while in Peace Corps, traveled from Afghanistan to Crete. Buddy traveling with me was tired of bus and train travel after reaching Istanbul, so we investigated flying to Crete by getting student tickets. A friendly, helpful Turk stole some of my traveler's checks that I had signed. We bussed the rest of the way to Athens. I could see the scam coming all the way, but wanted to please my buddy - if it fits a classic scam, admit it as soon as possible and get out.

Wife and I took advantage of inexpensive lodging in Florida by agreeing to a couple timeshare pitches. To match our preferred airline schedule, we needed to arrive a day earlier. People sponsoring the trip said they would reserve another night for us. At arrival, we had no reservation. It was Daytona 500 weekend. We drove from Orlando to Sarasota looking for a room - only one was $300 for the shortened night. We slept a couple hours in the car then checked in to the hotel when the "holding" period was over. Always confirm your reservations, especially when someone else is making them.

Vacationing with a buddy on the way to Glacier National Park in Montana. Tried to find rooms in 3 or so major cities for a night while traveling, but it was apparently rodeo time in the whole state. Ended up sleeping in the car in an area beside some railroad tracks. When a train whistle blew in the middle of the night, the smartass buddy asked if I was sure I hadn't parked on the tracks. I always plan trips and get reservations for travel nights.

 

[3TrueFans]

Always keep your cash in your underwear, at least if you get pick pocketed you get a half a handie.

 

[NoCreativity]

I don't have any cool international stories been to Chicago numerous times and it's full of scammers.

One night we were out at the bars in Wrgleyville after a Cubs game. Everyone on my party is completely wasted, this is pre-cell phone and Google maps days so we have no idea how to get back to our hotel downtown. Guy appears out of an alley offering out of the generosity of his heart at 3am to drive us all back to the hotel downtown. I guess I was the only one halfway sober because I suddenly realized this was a very bad idea as my buddy is about to give him the keys to his Escalade. I ended up finally making our way back to the hotel.

Another time I'm walking downtown with a friend, guy comes up offering to shine our shoes. I tell him no but my friend is naive and let's him do it. Next thing you know the guy is up in our face demanding 50 bucks for "all the hard work he put in".

Another pre-cell phone and maps story. Me and a buddy went to a RollingStones concert one year at Soldier Field and stayed out by O'Hare. That morning we taxi to our train station and it's 12 bucks, less than a mile away. Well that night on the return trip home we give the guy the exact address to get back to our hote. Next thing you know he's driving us around for 20 minutes pretending to get lost while the meter is continuing to rack up fees. He finally finds it and tries to charge us over $40 bucks. After a heated argument where I had to do everything to keep my friend from going nuclear on this guy we throw him a $20 dollar bill and tell him to get lost.

Another favorite in Chicago, every year at the same subway station there was alwasy the guy "trying to get to South Bend to see my dying mother" who needed 10 bucks.

 

[BikeSkiClone]

It only takes one time throwing up on an airplane to, from that day forward, check for the vomit bag in your seat back pocket before takeoff.

 

[madguy30]

One year I was going to take Frontier out to the PNW.

I get to the Madison airport and am checking in at the desk, and they don't have me on the flight. I never got any sort of notification or anything; at one point I was just removed from the flight for no reason.

The workers were pretty short and nasty about it, and just said 'ask Expedia' or whatever agency I had used without really checking into it.

While true, it may have been on the agency's end, how does the airline just not communicate about it?

After much back and forth, they were able to get me an over night connection, which worked out to see some family, but I had to pay baggage fees both days. Anyone who's flown Frontier knows those fees are astronomical.

Haven't flown Frontier since and I also learned to use the airline's direct site for flights if it's possible.

 

[BikeSkiClone]

I don't have any cool international stories been to Chicago numerous times and it's full of scammers.

One night we were out at the bars in Wrgleyville after a Cubs game. Everyone on my party is completely wasted, this is pre-cell phone and Google maps days so we have no idea how to get back to our hotel downtown. Guy appears out of an alley offering out of the generosity of his heart at 3am to drive us all back to the hotel downtown. I guess I was the only one halfway sober because I suddenly realized this was a very bad idea as my buddy is about to give him the keys to his Escalade. I ended up finally making our way back to the hotel.

The real lesson here is there’s no need to drive to Wrigleyville, particularly if you’re staying in the city and certainly if staying downtown.

 

[cysmiley]

Stay off the subways in Milan, Italy. I think they have an exchange where all pickpockets record their daily take and the top earner gets an extra 10% donated by the losers!

 

[KidSilverhair]

The workers were pretty short and nasty about it, and just said 'ask Expedia' or whatever agency I had used without really checking into it.

I have no personal anecdote to tell, but I have heard hotel operators and airlines aren’t going to do much to help you with a problem if you use a third-party site like Expedia or Orbitz or Hotwire. Those companies are basically acting as travel agents … any issue you have is with them, not the hotel/airline.

I’ve had some pretty good experiences with Hotwire in the past, getting good deals on some decent hotels, but I’ve always gone in with open eyes. I actually haven’t used them for about ten years now, I generally check for deals through Kayak and then book directly through a hotel website.

 

[JP4CY]

If my family is traveling with me I rent the vehicle we need.
If I'm solo, I'll wait closer to departure, and rent one of the smallest/cheapest. I've hit about 50/50 luck on those being off the lot by the time I get there, so I get upgraded to a better vehicle for free.

 

[madguy30]

I have no personal anecdote to tell, but I have heard hotel operators and airlines aren’t going to do much to help you with a problem if you use a third-party site like Expedia or Orbitz or Hotwire. Those companies are basically acting as travel agents … any issue you have is with them, not the hotel/airline.

I’ve had some pretty good experiences with Hotwire in the past, getting good deals on some decent hotels, but I’ve always gone in with open eyes. I actually haven’t used them for about ten years now, I generally check for deals through Kayak and then book directly through a hotel website.

Yeah and that was the lesson learned. My main question was...couldn't they look up perhaps when the third party company took me off the flight? Like wouldn't they have that information since they can fill that open seat? I didn't have an email or anything so it would have helped in the process.

Aside from that general thought though they were pretty awful in their behavior and it wasn't the first time I'd seen that out of Frontier.

 

[KidSilverhair]

Another tip I need to remind myself of is try not to book a connecting flight through DFW on American. Problem is, if you’re flying out of Cedar Rapids your choices are already limited, and sometimes your schedule/price seems like it works better to go through Dallas, but American has left me stuck there twice.

First time was several years ago. I was traveling from San Antonio back to Moline with a connection in DFW. Got there, went to the gate, everything was on time (I had a few hour layover, no rush). As I strolled around the terminal killing time, I noticed a gate near to me had a crowd of people who weren’t going anywhere, as it appeared their plane had mechanical issues. When I eventually got back to my gate, I checked the screen … and suddenly the Moline flight had been canceled and they were using that plane to take those people to Lubbock or Amarillo or wherever. No announcement, no heads-up from American that they were taking away our aircraft - surprise! There was one more late flight to Moline that day, but it was already full by the time I got to an agent - I ended up flying into Cedar Rapids late instead (closer to home, but farther from my car).

Then a couple of weeks ago I was flying from San Francisco to Cedar Rapids through DFW. When I landed in Dallas at about noon and turned on my phone I was greeted with texts from my family that my flight had been canceled, and American had helpfully rebooked me on a late-night flight instead … the next day. Even though they had that same late-night CID flight scheduled that evening, too. I was able to rebook to that and save myself an unplanned night in Dallas - until the aircraft for that flight was delayed getting to DFW until well after its scheduled landing in Iowa. When I determined that wasn’t going to get me home until 1:30 am, I punted, rebooked to the last available seat on a flight the next morning, and got to a hotel. At least that situation was because of thunderstorms (instead of American stealing an aircraft right out from under me), but still …

Thankfully I was making that trip without checked luggage and had adequate clothes & stuff in my carry-on. That’s a good bit of advice.

 

[NoCreativity]

The real lesson here is there’s no need to drive to Wrigleyville, particularly if you’re staying in the city and certainly if staying downtown.

Yeah, we always take the L to the game but our other group that we met up with after had driven to the game.

 

[nfrine]

Barta warned lots of B12 folks about the peril of traveling to Ames....

 

[RLD4ISU]

I don't have any cool international stories been to Chicago numerous times and it's full of scammers.

We've had people approach us in a few cities. We were at a convention in downtown Indianapolis & had a guy approach us on the street saying he need just $50 to fix his car. He even walked into our hotel and started approaching people.

 

[BCClone]

Always keep your cash in your underwear, at least if you get pick pocketed you get a half a handie.

Buy those catchers compression shorts. They have the pocket for the nut cup. Just slip your cash/money clip in there. It does two things, it makes it more secure and makes your package look bigger.

 

[Buster28]

San Francisco is notorious for smash-n-grab crime. It's become so common that the police won't even do anything beyond take a report for insurance purposes). I have told people for years that if you're visiting SF or any urban part of the Bay Area, do not leave so much as a nickel in the cup holder between the seats because someone will smash your car window, grab anything they can and be gone in ten seconds or less. Either take nothing with you when driving around or take it ALL with you when you leave your vehicle. I've seen video of dudes who stopped their car at a freeway offramp traffic signal, smashed out the back window of an suv that had video equipment visible in the window - WHILE THE DRIVER WAS IN THE SUV at the light - then sped off in another direction. They must have spotted the gear in the window while driving next to them on the Bay Bridge into the City and saw the opportunity when the victim got off the freeway.

In the fall of 2021, I was in SF with three friends, about to do an Alcatraz tour. We'd stopped at the Palace of Fine Arts for some photos, returned to the vehicle and the back passenger window was smashed in and the bag of camera lenses under the seat was gone. While I'd said not to bring anything with (two of them were leaving the next morning, so we'd already dropped off their stuff at the hotel), but didn't see the one carrying the lens bag. Then it took a minute to get it to fit under the seat before we walked away. Little did I know we were being watched the whole time. Gone less than ten minutes, we returned to the vehicle, then had to deal with the consequences (calling the police, calling the car rental place, getting to the closest rental location for a new vehicle, etc). Needless to say, we missed our Alcatraz tour (and were out the $240-ish it cost for the four of us) and the group was shook that it had happened for the rest of the day.

It's especially important to remember this tip if you're driving your own vehicle in SF. Out of state plates, especially in tourist areas are the FIRST thing criminals will look for as a target. They know you're much more likely have some valuables with you when you're sightseeing. It really makes me not want to spend any time in SF anymore (which I rarely do when I travel to northern California anymore anyway), just so I don't have to worry about it and be paranoid every time I walk away from my vehicle. I had a friend who lived in Haight-Ashbury for over 40 years and he'd said how disappointing it was that San Francisco wasn't the city it used to be. It's definitely not the place I used to love visiting even 10 years ago. It's sad, because it truly used to be such an incredible place. I guess it still is, but it's lost the shine it once had (to me).

 

[cyIclSoneU]

I travel a lot for work - I guess I travel a medium amount now but I traveled more until March 2020. Domestic trips. Most are completely uneventful or you have the usual small annoyances that other passengers blow out of proportion.

In 2018 or so, I was flying home after a layover at ATL. I had checked my bag that time, and when I do that, I always try to be the last one on the plane (why would I want to get on any earlier?). I had a Comfort Plus aisle seat.

I get on the plane and there is a woman in my seat starting straight ahead. I say excuse me, I think that’s mine. She says, well my husband is here (in the middle seat next to her) so you can have mine, and gestures at an open seat across the aisle. I briefly think this would be fine before realizing there’s already a bag there. Turns out that wasn’t even her seat. So I no longer even care what seat she was offering me because I have no interest in helping her.

I say politely but firmly, no this is my seat, thanks. She says, and I remember this burned into my brain, “Well, I’m sitting with my husband so you’ll just figure it out.” Summoned a flight attendant and listened to them argue for at least 3 full minutes, which is a long time. I sense that the woman finally moved in a huff just before the FA would have called police onto the plane to make her move. The whole time I stood unflinching with absolutely zero intention of sitting in any seat but 11D.

Her husband didn’t say a word the whole time or during the entire flight sitting next to me. Her seat was probably 15 rows behind us and I think it was a middle seat too.

 

[BikeSkiClone]

Had someone try to do the airplane seat swap with me once. I had an Economy Plus (more leg room) window seat on the red eye direct flight from Honolulu to Denver. A lady was in my seat and asked if I’d swap with her so she could be with her husband, who was in the middle seat. Her actual seat was in the 2nd seat of a middle section 4-pack, back in regular economy. FA got involved, and made her move. I didn’t care that I was going to be next to her husband, because it was midnight and I was gonna sleep anyway. Well turns out her husband was *also* in someone else’s seat and the FA made him get up and go sit in his actual seat next to his wife.

More recently, I was returning on a work trip and had a first class seat. I was called to the podium and the gate agent asked if I was willing to swap with a father in first class so that he could sit next to his young (like 10) son (I believe both of their tickets had been automatic upgrades hence why they were in separate seats). It was also a first class seat, so I didn’t mind, and they at least had the decency to ask the gate agent so that they could ask me before we boarded instead of just doing it themselves once they got on the plane and assuming I’d just be fine with it.