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My List of Travel Regrets

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We all have those moments during life when we look back and think – "Wow, I would have done that one differently if I had to do it again." And there is always the ever popular "Hindsight is 20/20 vision".

Those concepts can be most certainly be applied to travel.

Here is a list things I coulda, woulda or shoulda done differently. And therefore, I regret.

I regret having that extra glass of wine at Polidor in Paris, which led me to run through the Cluny Museum at record speed. Feeling a little dizzy I burst through the doors out onto the garden and parked it on a bench where I lay down to sleep it off.

Once I made the ever-popular mistake of taking way too many pieces of luggage on my first trip to Italy. Only once.

And on a related note- I regret not taking a water taxi from the airport to our hotel in Venice. Instead we took the Alilaguna, which dropped us at St. Mark's Square with the aforementioned heavy bags. By the time I hauled the luggage over the second footbridge, I was already cursing in Italian and was ready to kill someone.

I regret not booking aisle seats on an airplane sooner. You get another half seat if you spill into the aisle.

I regret driving in Rome without a map. Scratch that- I regret driving in Rome. Period.

I regret making a typo on the names when purchasing airline tickets which resulted in a $1500 duplicate charge to my credit card. I let my Credit Union duke it out with CheapTickets. And on a lighter note, I learned not to book with CheapTickets again. The whole transaction left me less than thrilled!

I regret not tightening the top on my bottled water as I climbed the steps of the bell tower in Florence. The water leaked in my backpack with my 300 page Italy guidebook. One waterlogged guidebook weighing in at ten lbs and expanding to five times its normal size later- I learned NOT to take guidebooks with me.

I regret fearing to travel to foreign countries, not being fluent in the language.

I regret not taking more than two years of French in high school.

I regret believing the copy on the website of a B&B in Newport that said they were just a short walk away from the harbor. If a short walk constitutes about a half-mile, uphill- than that's my bad.

I regret not traveling solo sooner.

I regret not double-checking my flight departure time on the airline tickets for a return flight from Paris, thereby missing my flight home, which lead to arguments, added fees, sleeping at a hotel close to the airport and just a general nightmare.

I regret signing up for the "Free Timeshare Presentation for a Free Dinner" sham in Florida. The dinner wasn't worth the 3 hours of my life and vacation that I'll never get back!

I regret ever thinking that trying to make the three hour drive from Positano to Rome in a rental car early in the morning, the same morning as our flight left at 10:00 am, was a good idea. It really wasn't.

After spending four plus boring hours on the flattest, least scenic part of Canada on the way to Old Quebec City and Montreal, I regret not flying. Next time- I'll take to the skies.

I regret not doing a drive by of Pisa. We were so close, but veered to Chiantishire instead. We should have just driven by for a view and a picture of the leaning tower.

But, what I regret most- is not going sooner.

What are some of your travel regrets? You know you have 'em! Share in the comments!

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Ren
August 17th, 2009
I regret not taking more pictures, especially of the people I met on the trip. I regret not taking enough chances when it comes to chatting up other travelers (damn my innate introversion!). I regret not having a more fluid schedule in certain places.

anne
August 17th, 2009
I regret not learning a language, I regret not travelling when I was younger….not much else though…
As for travelling solo, I don’t think I will ever be free of the fear of travelling by myself..especially on a plane…
When you say solo, do you mean going by yourself to a place where you no no-one??

Cherrye at My Bella Vita
August 17th, 2009
Nice post, Robin.
I guess a few of mine are …
- I regret not studying a language in college
- I regret not taking more pictures and/or notes on some of my trips
but other than that, I don’t guess I regret much. Guess I am lucky!

My Melange
August 17th, 2009
Thanks for sharing Ren! Those are all easy fixes for your next trip

My Melange
August 17th, 2009
Yep. Totally alone. Knowing not a single soul. Did it on my first trip to Paris- absolutely was one of the best trips of my lifetime. Would do it again in a heartbeat.
Now, I probably wouldn’t do it in say the Middle-East or other places where it may not be totally safe- But anywhere in Europe- I’d feel perfectly safe doing it!
Thanks for weighing in Anne!

My Melange
August 17th, 2009
Yes, I think you are lucky Not too many!
Honestly, I think the US is far being in second language skills/offerings. I think it should be mandatory to start learning another language in grade school. I feel our European counterparts are ahead in that respect. I have a French friend who speaks English better than some Americans. She and her kids speak it fluently- as well as Spanish! And they start learning in grade school.
Thanks for weighing in C!

dianabaur@gmail.com
August 17th, 2009
Happy Birthday a little late, Robin! Hope you had a nice one (you are a fellow leo, we roar, baby)

My Melange
August 17th, 2009
Grazie Diana!! Yep, Leo’s rule baby! It is amazing to me how many of my best Twitter peeps are Leo’s. When is your B-day? I hope I didn’t miss it

Angela Nickerson
August 17th, 2009
Great post! I regret traveling from Rome to Florence while sick. I was sooo sick and not thinking clearly. It made me a target — and I ended up in Florence without a suitcase because someone stole it off the train. Not fun at all. I’ve written about that disaster here:
http://www.gypsysguide.com/200.....t-one.html
Needless to say, I’ve learned my lesson!

NurseTerry
August 17th, 2009
Regrets…I’ve had a few, buy then again, too few to mention….couldn’t resist.
Regret not traveling much much more to Europe when I lived on the East Coast.
Regret my decision to go directly to work right after nursing school when I really wanted to join the Peace Corps (but I never would have met the Jeffy)
Not much else…
xoxo

My Melange
August 17th, 2009
Angela- that is awful!!! I’ll have to pop by for a read- out worst was the missing the plane in Paris. Out own dumb fault! I’ll have to write in more detail about it as well. *Still* not fully over it
Thanks for sharing xo

My Melange
August 17th, 2009
Ha! Yes…hard to resist the singing…..
That last one is not a regret tho- like you said wouldn’t have met Jeff. Can’t regret THAT!!
Thanks for your thoughts xox

HereBeDragons
August 17th, 2009
I regret that there wasn’t digital photography when I started travelling and I had to evaluate if each shot was worth the film. I still shot a lot, but I’m sure there are a few shots I missed in the meantime.
I regret not buying a Murano glass necklace in Italy.
I regret never seeing Versailles on either of my two trips to Paris.
I regret not hiking more on my trip to New Zealand.
I also regret not finding some pals and driving myself around New Zealand. The big green Kiwi Experience bus was one of the worst mistakes I made in NZ.

Guy and Girl Travels
August 17th, 2009
Hey! This is a great list! We can’t believe your bottle of water spilled in your backpack! Thank goodness your camera wasn’t ruined!
PS: Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday Dear Robin! Happy Birthday to you!

My Melange
August 17th, 2009
You guys are the greatest. What a lovely voice you have

kp
August 17th, 2009
A short list of regrets, actually #3 should be #1
1. Walking from Notre Dame to the Eifel Tower (it looked close)!
2. Not seeing the Matterhorn. I was just a few miles away but decided not make the trip.
3. Not getting back to Europe!

Nadine Bouler at BDG
August 17th, 2009
On my, I’ve made more than half of your mistakes– but as you note, make ‘em once–I enjoyed your entry thoroughly.

My Melange
August 17th, 2009
However short that #1 IS a doozy!!

My Melange
August 17th, 2009
Thanks Nadine. Yep- lessons learned the hard way Glad I am not the only one who has made such grave errors!

Travelingsuep
August 18th, 2009
In the next few days check out Lisa at traveldreamsandmoonbeams & mine’s post on Lebanon & Middle East. It covers some of the safety issues & preconceptions.

My Melange
August 18th, 2009
Great!! Thanks.

marina k. villatoro
August 18th, 2009
you really can’t regret, I mean, what’s the point. You can’t go back and do it then, however you can return and do it again.
i’ve wasted so many years regreting. and all it got me was wasted time:)
so as madonna always says, she never regrets anything she did and she is never sorry for what she did, another way of saying you regret doing something.

My Melange
August 18th, 2009
Thanks for your thoughts, Marina!! I don’t sit up nights regretting everything I have done, but I think it makes me a better person, better traveler and certainly a better Travel Consultant to learn from some mistakes I have made!