What Rookie Mistakes Do Exited New Travelers Often Make?

Moreover, one fun trip can often inspire the desire for another one, and another, and another, and before you know it, you’re responsible for a website and multiple initiatives extrapolating on the wonder of travel.

However, it’s important to note that just like heading into any hobby, it’s important to be prepared and understand what rookie mistakes are easy to fall into. This way, you can avoid wasting time and money on the little mistakes you could have prevented. You just need a helpful guide willing to point you in the right direction.

Let’s consider some of the most common rookie mistakes travelers will make:

Failing To Secure Belongings

We all have a sense of freedom that kicks in once you’re through security, knowing our passport is stamped, and we’re sitting comfortably in the airport lounge. That’s usually when people start to mentally switch off, and that’s when it’s easy to forget to watch your items like a hawk.

After arriving at your destination, the same habits tend to follow. You may leave bags under hostel beds, cameras out on balconies, or belongings scattered across a hotel room because you’ll “only be gone a few minutes.” That’s all it takes to lose something or to have it swiped from you. That’s not to say hospitality can put you closer to thieves or people will break into your room, but it’s usually smarter to use hotel safes when you have them.

Little additions are also worthwhile, so having a small locked pouch inside your main bag, a backup of important documents, or always keeping certain items in the same place. It helps you settle in a bit easier, and you’ll spend less time worrying about where things are, and more time just enjoying where you are.

Overpacking

Most people overpack because they want to prepare for everything. You may question a scenario of you spilling food and drink on your trousers every single day while you’re there, even if that’s never happened for a week straight in your life.

Items start piling in, just in case, until you’re staring at a bulging bag filled with clothing and extras you won’t even touch, and paying more for it at check-in. I did this mistake too when packing for our 15-months long sabathical in South America

It’s pretty uncomfortable to get around with so many bags too. The irony is, you’ll probably wear the same few things on rotation the entire trip. When you become more secure in your travels, packing lightly becomes common, and generally keeps your mood lighter too.

It’s easier to move around, easier to keep track of what you’ve got, and you won’t spend the first hour in each room unpacking a jumbled wardrobe. And if you do end up needing something extra, odds are you can find it where you are anyway.

Trusting Themselves Less

Heading out into the world is both very exciting and also quite worrying, especially if you’re heading to a brand new place that you’ve never seen up close. The videos and photos can only tell us so much. As such, you may try and be overly cautious, become very stressed out about catching a flight even if you arrive hours earlier than necessary. This is something you get used to.

However, a lot of newer travelers start to lose trust in their own instincts when a couple of things don’t go smoothly. They begin relying too much on schedules, over-researching every move, or playing it overly safe out of fear of messing something up, and this can take the joy out of the whole thing. We’d recommend slowly building up the complexity of your trips so this doesn’t throw you off too much.

With this advice, we hope you can more easily travel without worrying about the rookie mistakes people often make.