Dealing With Pain When You Travel
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The Downside of Travel

ByKathy

Is there a downside of travel? Some people tend to think so. These days we are living in a world of terrorism, international insecurity, low cost airlines and a lack of good old fashioned customer service. Although as a whole, we are all travelling more frequently as it has become considerably affordable for the broader population, but some of us wish that travel was a lot more comfortable and safe.

If you watch the news every other day there is a terrorism attack, sometimes in an airport or in a public place overseas. The scaremongers (media), are warning us more and more not to travel to certain countries and after Malaysian Airlines two fatal air crashes we are beginning to feel a little unsafe flying overseas.

 

The-Downside-To-Travel

So what things are the downside to travel? I have made a list:

  1. Rigid security at airports that is becoming increasingly strict.
  2. Lengthy queuing at airports through security, immigration and quarantine.
  3. Lack of customer service with low cost airlines.
  4. Misleading advertisement of low cost airfares that once you add on baggage, meals, entertainment and seat allocation wind up being more expensive.
  5. Lengthy check-in procedure at International Airports.
  6. Tight restrictions with carry-on baggage.
  7. Seating on flights too close together and a general lack of comfort on long haul flights.
  8. Airline food that tastes disgusting.
  9. Some airports lack decent facilities and make long layovers extremely tiresome.
  10. Flight delays and cancellations – such a big pain!
  11. Lack of English signage at airports and other places in foreign countries.
  12. Shady taxi drivers in foreign countries that try to rip you off with taxi fares.
  13. Hotels that don’t come up to scratch after looking amazing during the online booking process.
  14. Travel tours in foreign countries that are substandard.
  15. Unsanitary, smelly and dirty city streets in some overseas countries.
  16. Drinking water that is unsafe to drink.
  17. Feeling lost or insecure in a foreign city.
  18. Having an overly busy travel itinerary where you end up exhausted.
  19. Other travellers who constantly whine and whinge about everything!
  20. The organization that goes into travel can sometimes be overwhelming.

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Despite these travel drawbacks, thankfully a lot of us aren’t too discouraged from planning our next trip or flitting off on a weekend escape. Recent travel statistics are showing that domestic travel (travel within your own country), is becoming more popular with travellers. I have always been a strong advocate of seeing your own country first before venturing overseas, so this is a good thing.

There are many ways to save on travel within your own country. In Australia you can occasionally hire a campervan very cheaply if it needs to be relocated to another city; You can also consider trying camping as a cheap form of holidaying; Look for domestic airfare sales that are continually being offered; Subscribe to a website that emails out cheap accommodation deals; or look for affordable cruises out of Australian ports. There are plenty of options.

However, if like me, you still want to venture overseas and think “stuff it”, because life is too short to be worried about a few hours of flying in discomfort or queuing up in long airport lines, then I say go for it!

What do you think is the downside to travel? Can you add to the above list?

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14 Comments

  1. Your post just confirmed for me why I don’t travel OS, lol. Last time I traveled on a plane I had an infant child with a delayed change over. No thanks! I am most definitely in the camping category, preferably in a wild place far, far away with horizon to horizon views everywhere. The problem, as they say with mass travel is that the masses travel. And another friend comically put it, when you pay peanuts you get monkeys. I’ll probably eventually go OS one day but not for a holiday. Small group art retreat, maybe? With someone I trust who can sort out all that itinerary stuff. Enjoy your next holiday. Good luck with finding your next destination.

    1. I enjoy camping too Theresa and getting off the beaten track where there isn’t a tourist in sight. However I still travel overseas and enjoy the experience of seeing other cultures. It’s a shame it is such a mission getting overseas from Australia. We are too far away! :)

  2. There are some barriers, no doubt. The main one for us is that Australia is so far from Europe. We handle that by having a short stopover on the way over and back.
    The main downside for me is that as soon as I get home I want to go again! I must be weird because I really enjoy the organising, that is when the excitement starts.

    1. We are a long way from Europe, but like you we normally have a stopover somewhere. I must admit I also suffer from ‘travel envy’ when I see friends travelling overseas. I want to see everywhere and it is definitely on my list! :)

  3. I too have felt that my overseas travel plans have been severely hampered because of the terrorist threat, though I did say many times we shouldn’t let them stop us traveling, because, they, the terrorists, don’t want us to travel. I particularly hate time wasted in airports if I need to make a second connection. And flights often leave me feeling sick on my return home flight. I also hate landing! We have done a lot more domestic travel in the last few years. Australia is such a big continent we are no where near done yet. Happy travels Kathy.

    1. I agree totally with you Jill. Terrorism has made all of us feel less inclined to travel to certain overseas destinations. We are travelling to Italy next year but then will probably not do too much overseas travel after that. There is so much more of Australia that we want to see. We still haven’t explored the Dead Centre nor Darwin and surrounds. :)

  4. The biggest downside is travel time. I combat this with my 1 day per hour rule. For each hour in transit (including the return), I want to spend at least one day at location. As New Zealand is about a day away from Europe, I would want to spend at least 50 days in Europe if I travel there. It makes the whole trip

    1. Yes Australia and New Zealand are both a long way from everywhere. We are going to Italy next year and intend spending 5 weeks there to really reap the reward of flying so far away. :)

  5. The worst thing about travelling is when you have to return back to normality haha! Nice article, I very much have the ‘stuff it’ opinion and try to find the fun in living; even during the travel which can feel like wasted time.

    1. The best part about travel is the destination. I think that this is what we all need to keep in mind. Thanks for dropping by my blog Gemma. :)

  6. I hate the long haul flights – the airport security, the waiting times, the queues, the airline food, the lack of leg room, jet lag, headaches – my list goes on. Europe is SUCH a long way away and those 17hr flights are a killer. We’re off to Singapore next month – 5hr flight, same time zone and warm weather – ticks all my boxes for now :)

    1. There was a day that I loved flying when it felt luxurious to do so, but these days I despise it as well. However I do love to travel so I guess the pain of flying makes the destination worthwhile. Yes Singapore is a dream flight compared to Europe. Enjoy Singapore – it is a fabulous place to visit. :)

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