Travel Etiquette: 7 Cardinal Sins Of Traveling

Traveling brings untold adventure and excitement. Packing luggage is an exciting experience. Everything may go as planned, but silly mistakes and lack of etiquette and foresight may spoil the trip.

A travel agent and an insurance company’s role is to make the travel satisfactory for their clients. But it is the traveler who must apply intelligence, precaution, and responsibility at every step of the journey. Immaturity and negligence on a tourist’s part can ruin the purpose and goal. Let us see the common blunders a tourist might do in planning a trip.

 

Fault 1: Lack of pre-trip research

Arranging for tickets, visas, hotel stay are foremost things on a traveler’s mind. Very few tourists think of the unexpected weather calamities at the destination. Do a hurricane check of the destination. Check out the purification standards of drinking water in the tourist place you plan to visit. Unsafe water can lead to water-borne diseases. Know the passport rules of a country. Check if there are enough roof rack stores at your destinations in case you want to have one installed on your car for comfortable travel. Moreover, you can check various sites like CDC for country-specific travelers Health Map & safety warnings. Ensure to consult your doctor on the vaccinations you need for yourself and your family.

Fault 2: Flaunting your riches

When traveling by road, flashy vacationers like to be showy in their buy. In a foreign place, flashing loose currency in your pocket can be a loss to you. Unless you are a frequent traveler to a place displaying your possessions and valuables in a new place can invite local theft.  

 

Adopt smart ways to carry money while traveling. Go for under-clothing storage accessories like bra stash and undershirts with built-in pockets. Explore anti-theft bags available online to keep opportunistic pickpockets at bay. Carry a dummy wallet in your trouser pocket or bag. It will stop pickpockets before they get to the real wallet. Keep currency notes and coins of smaller denominations handy and high-value ones in your under-pocket.        

 

Fault 3: Drinking in excess

No harm in quenching the thirst while traveling or stopping for a mid-way break. But overboard on hard drinks in the middle of a journey is not advisable. Drinking in excess can get the alcohol level in the blood to shoot up beyond the legal limit. It can also invalidate your travel medical insurance in an emergency.

Excess drinking poses a secondary risk to the traveler. Being unaware of the surroundings in a drunken state increases the chances of getting robbed or kidnapped. It puts the traveler protection at a huge risk. Drink in the company of others on reaching the legal age. Follow precautions in drinking when traveling.

 

Fault 4: No plan for medical emergencies

Fever, bruises, accidents, death, anything can happen in the middle of a trip. Prepare yourself for sudden alarms on the health front. There can be a situation when one runs out of money in the event of a health problem or severe complications such as migraine or a heart attack.

Taking a soft copy of one’s medical history for the trip is a must. It is beneficial in a situation where the traveler is suffering from a previous medical problem. In case one gets unconscious during the trip, a medical history should be available with the co-traveler to seek immediate help. A travel medical contact sheet is the best thing to happen in case of a sudden health problem. It contains a list of family members, hospitals, and doctors for contact in a health-risk situation. 

Fault 5: Disrespecting local culture

The world welcomes people with open arms and respects nationalities. While this seems wonderful to know, there is a cross-section of people who raise an eyebrow on noticing the attire of their dislike, which goes against the place’s fundamental rules. Dining etiquettes also have a set of limitations in a place you plan to visit. Going against the rulebook can attract violence and physical abuse. It can also provoke imprisonment in some countries.

 

Buy yourself a travel guide from Lonely Planet to know about elementary rules on foreign etiquette, customs and practices, and protocol of the country you plan to visit to avoid a problem. Stay safe in a country that is risky by bonding with the locals.

 

Fault 6: Failure to buy travel insurance

Buying a travel policy may seem odd to most tourists. Some draw a comparison of it with health policy. A travel medical insurance helps pay for the transportation and treatment expenses incurred on medical grounds during a trip. Travel experts recommend travel insurance before going on a trip. Absence of travel insurance cover can make medical service providers refuse treatment to the flyer who fell ill during the trip.  

A pre-existing medical coverage provides necessary funds for health treatment due to a medical problem that surfaced during the trip. Overlooking travel insurance is a senseless move that may make you pay up the consequences for the lifetime.

Fault 7: Ill-equipped for calamities

Natural and man-made tragedies can happen at any time during the journey. Flight crashes to ship disasters are not fictitious but real-time happenings. One must prepare oneself of contingencies to react appropriately to a disaster and come out of it.  

Study the internet to know the tips for better disaster preparation ahead of your trip. Look up how to navigate a flood, check out survival tips when traveling a sinking cruise and know how to overcome sudden shortness of breath when flying the first-time.

More errors you could avoid during travel

Here are some more points to follow for a tarnish-free trip:

• Eating habits: Eating is very much part of a trip. Follow etiquettes while consuming food. Avoid gulping the food down your throat. Maintain an eating decorum. Eat slowly and gently, without any noise, offer your food to co-passengers.
• Recline seat to co-travelers comfort: Reclining seats bring comfort, especially during long-duration travel. But reclining the seat to your comfort may pose a problem for a person sitting at the back. Recline your seat without intruding on the fellow traveler space.
• Washroom habits: Loo etiquette is as imperative for you as your fellow passenger. Avoid spending long hours in the washroom and stop making others wait for their turn. Flush the toilet after use for better hygiene for one and all. A clean toilet takes the travel experience to new heights.
• Stick to privacy: Do not intrude on others’ privacy during travel. Stop practicing bad habits like peeping into a co-passenger’s phone or straining your ears to hear the phone conversation. Such things are disturbing and irritating and cast a bad impression.
• Follow the queue policy: Avoid pushing into people while boarding and deboarding the plane. Use professional rules during entering and exit. Stay away from pushing yourself into the queue. The plane will deboard all the passengers, so why get into a tearing hurry. Be courteous to people and help others with their luggage when required.

Conclusion:

So, these are the cardinal sins of traveling to keep in mind while planning an outing. Remember to follow these etiquettes during your journey for you and your fellow travelers’ betterment.