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Ep.145 We tackle one of every traveler’s worst nightmares: arriving at your destination only to find that it’s not what you expected. From unsafe neighborhoods and unexpected construction to the wrong season and cultural shocks, we share our personal experiences and practical tips on how to avoid and redeem frustrating travel situations. Learn how to choose the right location and accommodations, and discover strategies for turning a less-than-ideal trip into a meaningful adventure. Don’t let the wrong location ruin your travels; discover how to turn any setback into a memorable experience!
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Chapters:
00:00 – Start
00:44 – Unsafe vacation locations
01:45 – Right location… wrong time of year
03:37 – Unexpected construction noise
05:00 – Our accommodations were bad
05:57 – Culture shock can be overwhelming
08:31 – The location did work for us
09:24 – The destination was disappointing
10:36 – Natural disasters can’t be predicted
11:30 – Pick the right season
12:40 – Pick the right location
13:11 – Pick the right accommodations
14:22 – Research food & dining options
15:06 – Get to know yourself better
16:49 – How to redeem a bad situation
17:17 – Change locations
17:37 – Buy more clothing
18:13 – Upgrade your pillow
19:04 – Think outside the box for activities
20:45 – Schedule a day trip or two
21:02 – But most of all…
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46 Comments
Yes, please do a video about accommodation.
Great tips and nice editing. Thank you.
Hi Judy and Kevin
Just thinking about your comments on feeling safe. We are always so surprised that people from the US still have distorted ideas (probably from movies) about Albania. It’s such a safe country and you all know that. I try to correct other YouTube channels when I see negative comments.
Yes- please do a video on your criteria for accommodations!
Always look forward to Saturday mornings. Thank you.
Such great travel advice! Thank you for sharing your insights. And yes, we would love to hear more about accommodations from both of you! We’re sure you have great tips for others to think about, including us as we travel full-time as well! 😄👍🏼
-Noelle and Jonathan
Fantastic video with great content. We just had a big accommodation blunder and had to pivot and book alternate accommodation.. The price was a lot steeper but as you mentioned you need to move on to have a good trip. I have found your videos to be a great resource with accurate information, unfortunately not all vloggers produce quality content. I learned the hard way with the recent accommodation blunder. Keep up the great videos!
Yes do video on picking accommodations!
Trying again is sometimes worth it. This happened to us in Puerto Rico. Hated it the first time we were there. So we went back and loved loved loved it. Entirely different experience.
Wonderful advice! We research everything, as much as we can, but when something does go wrong, you just have to get over it and not allow it to ruin your whole trip. For example, despite how careful we are, my husband had his wallet stollen in Portugal. It was kind of a hassle and we were initially stressed out about it. It took a few hours to deal with all the fallout, but we got over it and didn't let it overshadow the rest of the trip.
Got a chuckle about your February trip to Italy. We just returned from Italy, having spent February in Florence. We actually asked our host to turn our heat completely off. I think she thought we were crazy. We liked the cooler weather, and didn't mind wearing a jacket or sweater. We even ate outside on some of the warmer, sunny days. For us, the best part was that in addition to Florence, we visited Milan, Bologna, Ravenna and Rome with virtually no crowds!
Hi y’all, my first solo trip to Europe was to Italy. I found a lovely AirBnB in Rome that turned out to be just above a motorbike repair shop. 😂
Thankfully, I was barely in the flat while I checked out all the sites. But napping in the daytime was a big NOPE. Haha
do you have a Costa Rica vlog?
Hi y’all, my first solo trip to Europe was to Italy. I found a lovely AirBnB in Rome that turned out to be just above a motorbike repair shop. 😂
Thankfully, I was barely in the flat while I checked out all the sites. But napping in the daytime was a big NOPE. Haha
I like to ask security guards and librarians where they eat lunch. It’s always something good and less expensive than the recommendations from the concierge or host. 😊
Sounds like hotels might be a better choice than AirBnB anymore
Yes a video on how to pick right accommodation would be great !
Thanks for the interesting video. I have a travel disaster story…
I was travelling with my wife and 3 daughters aged 14-19, and my mother. Our 24hour plan was jam packed. The idea was to have a nice lunch in Salzburg, then drive to Munich. We would drop off Mum at the Munich train station so she could return to the Czech Republic. Then I’d drop off the family at our Munich accommodation. The 4 ladies would have a little rest, then go to Oktoberfest, and do all of the rides. Meanwhile, I’d return the car to the Munich airport, then make my own way to Oktoberfest and meet up with them inside the carnival. I was going to have a few beers with my wife in a beer hall, while the girls did more rides etc. Then the next morning, we had a train booked for the Black Forest. Sounds simple enough, right?
When we dropped off Mum at the train station, her bus was an hour late. I didn’t want to leave her alone, so we waited with her. I had made sure we had a couple of hours spare, just in case. So we lost an hour waiting with mum.
Then I dropped off the family at the accommodation, and headed to the airport. I had no problems, and I got to Oktoberfest at a reasonable time. However, after I dropped off the girls at the accommodation, my wife decided to have a stiff drink or two, to wash away the tensions left by my mum, who had been getting on our nerves. (She had bought a lot of disgusting creamy fish salad, and insisted on bringing the left overs with us, even though it meant we had no room left for the family to keep our drinks cool. She also kept trying to change our plans, she was being a bit selfish). So Lisa had a few drinks, and managed to lock herself in the backyard of the accommodation. She had left her phone inside, so it took an hour for the girls to realise something was wrong, and go and find Lisa. By this stage, they really had to get going to Oktoberfest to make our rendezvous. But probably because of being trapped in the backyard, hence drinking too much vodka, they accidentally caught the wrong tram to Oktoberfest!🤦♂️ In the end I got to Oktoberfest at the same time as them, they were angry after their recent public transport shenanigans, so we had an argument. I sulked off to the beer halls on my own, they send to check out the rest of the festival, and we stayed until closing time. Then we all left for our accommodation together, but all 4 ladies were mercilessly groped by thousands of drunk Germans! If you ever go to Oktoberfest, it closes at 10pm, so make sure you leave no later than 9:30pm, to avoid the crush of people leaving, and to protect your women from drunken German hands.
The next morning I was still sulking, so as we waited for the train, I insisted on waiting on the platform by myself. All 4 ladies were already boarded, but the train wasn’t due to leave for another 45 minutes, so I thought I was fine boarding the train with about 10 minutes remaining. However the train decided to leave 30 minutes early, with all 4 ladies, but without me! It turns out the ladies accidentally caught the earlier service, they were on the wrong train. I did a quick inventory of items, and I realised that they had all of the train tickets, phones, and all of the cash. However, I had all of the passports, and all of the bank cards, but not much else!
I decided to board the correct train, even though I didn’t have my ticket. Some nice German passengers let me use their phone, so I called my family and we agreed to meet in the Black Forest later that day. But on the train connection in Ulm, the ladies missed the connecting train, and I bumped into them in the Ulm train station.
Things were still a little frosty, but we managed to make it to Triberg in the Black Forest without further incident, albeit a couple of hours late. We decided to go for a walk through the forest. It was so beautiful, waterfalls, old growth forest, squirrels running around everywhere, it was just the tonic we needed. So we forgot about the dramas of the last 24 hours, thanks to the stunning beauty of the Black Forest. The whole calamity of events is just a funny story now, but at the time it was torturous!🤣
Great advice! So many people just don’t bother to do everything possible to improve their experience. Pillows really bother me. I have put the couch throw pillows in the bed pillowcase and had it work😂
An excellent video! So much great insight and advice. Really like this composed style – well done! ❤
Great pep talk! Thanks. There’s always something so having a strategy to address those disappointments is good.
Gosh Judy, I’m not usually a penny pincher but $50 for a pillow that I’m going to leave behind. I did spend 7 euro once in a Carrefour for a pillow in Spain. Carrefour is like France and Spain version of Walmart in US. Good information though otherwise. Was awaiting the Brazilian or Chile videos but I guess that’s for next week.
Great video. We all have our experiences that don't quite go as we thought they would. When it happens to me, I do like you…just make the best of it, roll with the punches, find a way to enjoy it, learn from it, then move on. I'm glad that you gave Vietnam another try after your initial experience in Saigon. It is truly an amazing country, but it can be a culture shock at first. Agree about San Jose, CR. Definitely an unremarkable city. I gave it a chance and was completely underwhelmed. But the rest of the country is amazing. Thanks for sharing!
Well said. Be flexible and adaptable 😊
Another great video Judy and Kevin, thank you!
I always use Google Street view before I book accommodation. I also check the reviews to see if people say they felt safe. It’s especially important as a Solo female traveler. If I find myself needing something Uniqlo is my go-to💖
If there’s not one, then I’ll find a second hand/resale shop. I do the same as you if I’m not taking the item/s home with me and donate or leave them for the room cleaners. And your comments about good pillows is spot on! If you’re in a hotel, quite often they’ll have other selections. Otherwise IKEA has great reasonably priced pillows. IKEA seems to be every where these days! Just went to the one in Santiago Chile.
Happy Adventures✈️
Never stay near a hospital in a big city. In Rome we were constantly woken up by ambulance sirens.
💜
Yes definitely do a video re accommodations
Hi again guys! Yes, I TOTALLY agree! As one who prides myself on putting in the time to carefully research where I’m going to stay when I’m on my overseas trips, I can relate when you say that sometimes, despite all your well intentioned research and planning, your accommodations just are NOT suitable!
I had that very situation on my last 14 week international trip. I was in Malta, staying in Valletta for my first experience in this wonderful city. Despite my due diligence re the actual location of the apartment I’d booked, little did I know that I had chosen to stay in the ONE super super steep street in the whole downtown area. I knew from the ads that there was no lift and it was on the 3rd floor and had even asked the owner about the stairs up to it, only to be told ‘ there aren’t that many!’
When I got there, the street was so steep that even the footpaths and the road had graduated steps on them. It was easily 2000 steps up and down this street, and to make matters worse, the owner gave me misleading and inaccurate details of how to access the locked box to get the key.
After eventually sorting that out, I was confronted with more than 240 steps to get to the apartment!! After trying to ring the owner, who refused to answer except by text, I finally got in, only to find the aircon did not work!
That was the final straw for me! I could either stick with this nightmare of a place, or act quickly so as not to spoil my week in Malta!
I quickly booked a hotel which I knew was close by and wonderful, because it was my second choice of where to stay if I had not chosen to stay in an apartment. So that’s a good tip- to always have a plan B place you can fall back on if the need arises!
So I headed back out to climb down the 240 steps with my bag again, then hiked up to the top of the street again, to set off walking to my hotel, luckily only 5 minutes away. I got a last minute special discounted rate, with free breakfast and my stay there was fantastic! The hotel was luxurious, the food incredible and the staff extremely welcoming.
So what could have been a horridly uncomfortable time in that city turned out to be fabulous, simply because I was prepared to adapt quickly, not worry about the unexpected extra expense and appreciate how lucky I was to be able to stay somewhere so lovely in such an amazing city! And I certainly made sure I left a very honest review of that apartment so that others did not make the same mistake I did!
Cheers from Australia! P.S. I wholeheartedly agree with you re staying in the city centre- totally worth being in the heart of the action and central, and an added bonus if the city has an old town, as that means awesome ambience, cultural immersion and authenticity! Happy travels! From Marg
As the saying goes – it’s Location Location Location
When we went to the balkans area of europe in April it was supposed to be be mid 20 degrees C but the last week there it went down to 4 degrees and we ended up buying warm coats at a thrift shop.
This episode was great, but I’m really looking forward to your visit to Mexico City. Can you please try to visit their historical Azteca stadium, where Maradona and Pele created World Cup football magic!? Some of the most significant sporting events in history! It’s also when the world got to see the greatest soccer player of all time, Maradona, aka the “goat”, as us Aussies would say😂
Great video, Judy and Kevin! And yes, sometimes you can laugh about your missteps afterward. Mistakes are not only learning tools, but can make for great stories and memories as I know all too well! ~Kat x
Just came across your channel by way of your Morocco videos. I think I've watched, and appreciated, them all! Thinking outside the box is the perfect mantra for travel. And life! I love taking cooking classes to connect with the culture better and also try to take a walking tour at the beginning of a trip, because the locals really can provide the best insight for the rest of your trip.
One of the most common issues with accommodation is noise from upstairs neighbors, especially in Southeast Asian buildings where ceiling noise insulation is weak. It drives me crazy when neighbors upstairs drag furniture, as the sound easily travels through the entire building. This is particularly common in luxury buildings, especially those with tiled or wooden floors.
Hey guys! Hope all is well! This was a really good video. Also a video how to pick a safe and good accommodations would be very helpful.
Our trip is coming up in under 4 weeks now, nervous and excited at the same time. Was going to ask we signed up with geoblue medical insurance which provides repatriation and a really great package. The cruise line is asking if we have travel insurance which I am researching wasn't sure what you guys would recommend but just travel coverage for our purchases only.
Also wanted to say you guys are full of a lot of information that we are very appreciative of.
Safe travels Bill and Jenn❤
Great tips.
Would love to hear your insights and tips on how to pick accommodations!
Great tips and some I have to use now with some new construction noise.Yes plz on your tips of finding a place.i had to go buy a memory pillow where I am now and it was worth it!
Thank you for the suggestions on how to save a bad situation and for the reminder that we all make mistakes when traveling. Have fun in your travels!
Constantly changing where your captions are located is an unpleasant experience for me. I hope this video was good for others, but I cannot continue to muddle through
You guys have such a great attitude and it shows in your videos!
Great video! I appreciate the reminder to stay flexible and what to keep in mind when planning in terms of what we prefer keeping in mind that we will have to do some trade offs. It made me chuckle the comments about the pillows 😂 cause i had bad experiences in some accommodations. Thank you guys for the work you do.
I’m sorry to hear about your experience in San Jose! 😢
Thanks for this video ! On our part, we just arrived in Istanbul, after 1 month in Antalya.
Antalya turned out to be very safe, relaxing and enjoyable, in spite of the lack of Chinese restaurants :). But in Istanbul, it is so stressful. My wife’s haversack got unzipped twice in our first few days here – once on the crowded metro train by a group of 3 females (2 young ones, 1 middle-aged) working together. Fortunately, her haversack only contains her hat, umbrella, and tissue packs 🙂 Another incident- another 3 young girls (!) were following us on our 1st night. After a few minutes, I noticed that my wife’s haversack was unzipped, and pointed out loudly to her. The 3 young girls then also stopped and pretended to be crossing the road. Have to really practise situational awareness here !
I so needed this video! Thank you! We haven’t launched full time travel yet, but are spending 3 weeks in Taipei right now. I know how small Taipei apartments are, so I figured to save money we would just book a hotel. Bad decision! Already tired of eating out 3 meals a day! The hotel is too many stops out, so not a great location & it is a little “worn around the edges “. So we don’t enjoy spending time here. Lesson learned! One good “save” for the super ultra hard bed was to find a mattress shop where they cut us a piece of foam for me to put on top of the mattress. Plus I asked for xtra comforters to add more softness. Plus they are needed as there is no heat in the hotel & it’s been chilly & rainy most of the time. Trying to find some bright spots!
I. Would love a video on how to pick accommodations.