Common travel problems and how to deal with them | Zachary Rothe

If you travel long enough you’ll experience all these problems and more. You’ll also learn that every problem has a solution. Here are 10 of the most common travel problems and ways to avoid them.

When it comes to travel problems, I’ve experienced them all!

When you commit to a life of travel you have to accept that it won’t always be a smooth operation. Some trips go perfectly without a single problem, but many don’t. Some things you can prepare for, others you just have to react to.

The best solution to most travel problems is preparation. Sometimes you’ll need to be creative and resourceful with your solutions but this is also one of the joys of traveling.

1. Getting lost

Some people have fantastic spatial awareness, others not so much, but most people have got lost at least once in their life. It can be a horrible feeling — your heart beating faster as the panic starts to rise. You can get lost anywhere: a supermarket, airport, town center or in the wilderness.

With modern technology, this is one of the easier travel problems to avoid. In the past, you’d need a map for each country. Nowadays almost everyone has a smartphone. Before you leave, download Google Maps and then download the offline map for whichever cities you’ll be visiting. The offline maps are tiny — normally between 20 to 50mb.

2. Getting mugged

In nearly 20 years I’ve only been mugged four times. Two of them were in my hometown, minutes from my house.

Some countries are more dangerous than others. It’s important to check for any government warnings before you visit. It’s also advisable to check Facebook groups and other forums for the opinions of other travelers.

3. Losing your phone

This may seem like a silly one to add to a list of travel problems. Why not a camera? Laptop? Bag? Because most people do everything through their phones.

I had a phone stolen recently in Argentina. Without it I couldn’t:

• tell the time
• top up my prepaid debit card
• find the nearest police station
• alert my family that it had been stolen
• access my travel e-tickets
• cancel my contract
• tell anybody about it because my translator was on my phone

I had to use the public computer in the hostel, which then caused all kinds of security alerts with my online accounts. Logging in from a foreign computer usually requires answering additional security questions, and then they helpfully offer to text a code to your phone.

4. Getting sick

• Travel sickness

Travel sickness is caused when signals from your inner ear don’t match up with your visual signals. For some people, it happens every time they travel. Others only suffer from certain types of transport. I used to hate buses. The smell of the engine and the rocking motion would cause me to hold my breath. This was a problem for any trip longer than 30 seconds.

If you don’t have travel sickness medication then there are a few things you can try. First I would try and limit the stimulation. Looking out the window at the passing buildings made me worse, so I would focus on the chair in front and focus on my breathing.

5. Not speaking the language

This is a travel problem I’ve lived with for years.

Not being able to communicate with the people around you can lead to all kinds of emotions:

• Loneliness (see below)
• Anger
• Frustration
• Determination
• Encouragement
• Elation

Hopefully, you noticed how that list went from negative to positive.