Biggest Travel Mistakes - How To Avoid Them 

We are trying a few new things in this video to try and improve the visuals. Hope you enjoy them.

Not travel "mistakes" but Retirement Travel "learning Experience" !! You're in good company for some of those you mentioned but we've nearly always felt we do better booking ourselves...AirBandB in Venice...Paris ...all wonderful and done by Us rather than a company. Same with air travel , car rentals...several cruises ...be brave. My favorite story was booking a Toyota Yaris (smallest car made?) for two weeks in Norway before we took our Baltic Cruise. Decided this was the way to go since gas was very expensive. in all of Scandinavia. Arrive to pick up the car...it had not been returned by the day of our pickup...had to put up with a lovely Jaguar XKE in place of the Yaris...no extra cost to us. So, we took one for the team !! Keep smiling ...and travelling. Cheers !!

I love that most of your mistakes were that you could have had even more fun than you had! What a positive and uplifting video :)

I’m having earl grey tea. One of my biggest travel mistakes is not allowing a buffer day when part of my trip relies on a close or far flung connection ie- fly into your gateway the night before rather than getting a late day or evening start and having a cancellation☹️

Information + resources + flexibility = extended pleasure within reasonable parameters.

That was informative esp. re the insurance top up. Thx so much! Happy travels! 🙂🍁🇨🇦

Not mistakes, but good learning experiences for future trips! 👍

On our cruise to the Greek Islands, just before Covid, out of Venice, we extended our stay on either side to see more of Venice and Italy. Also on our day stop to the island of Santorini, there happened to be 4 other cruise ships docked at the port of Fira. The amount of tourists was crazy and it was 33C, first week of June. Waiting for the cable car to go up to the town was long and tiring with literally thousands of people at the port. Once there, I was not keen to go shopping elbowing my way through throngs of people, so husband decided to rent a car to explore the island. The rental car agency gave us a map and suggested the beach town of Perissa at the end of the island, a place the locals go. We spent the most glorious day swimming in the almost navy blue, crystal clear ocean (the water is dark as it is a black volcanic beach), sunbathing, enjoying a local beer, and having the most delicious authentic Greek meal in a little outdoor restaurant with a grape covered arbour to sit under for shade. The tomatoes in the salad were picked from the garden out back! The young waitress gave us a little bag of cherries for our drive back to the port. There were many special highlights of the cruise, but that day in Perissa stands out in our memory! Lesson, don't be afraid to rent a car! I came to your channel as we are planning a 3 week trip to Portugal later this Fall. Flying to Lisbon from Montreal staying 3 days, then driving to Lagos, Albufiera, Tavira, then back to Cascais, staying few days in each location. Our rental car will be GPS programmed for our locations. Looking forward to this trip as it will be first travel since 2019. Thanks so much for your videos with the helpful info!

I'm so glad, you name it, we travelled there well before retirement. Every year we saved and went somewhere. Then we got the bug and got deals so we travelled occasionally 3 times a year. Don't delay such things, especially travel. Now in a senior's condo and women were going to do all these things with their spouses but their husband's died just before they moved in, or just after they moved in. So sad. Travel when you can!!

We have to keep reminding ourselves that we saved all our working lives so we’d have money to SPEND in retirement. Now is our time to spend.

Dearest Tina and Norm, loved the new opening to your video and the opportunity to share a cup of coffee with two of my favorite internet friends! What a pleasure, each time you appear! Thank you! ☺

ST Petersbourg one of nicest cities in world. I prefer this city over Venise ! I went to ballet every night. It helped I speak some russian. At age 50 with my backpack I went on 12 weeks trip around world. Solo. My husband stayed behind / his choice/ Now I'm a widow. Hopefully we can travel once again. Planning another trip around world this time at my early 70 !You are right: having good health and keeping this way is VERY IMPORTANT. Thanks for your channel. Wishing you Happy New Year .

Thanks for sharing, always great to hear your advice. I wouldn’t think of those as mistakes, but rather good learning opportunities for future travel! 👍

I would recommend that all big cities are attractive and often it is best to find a hotel in the centre close to rail and bus stations. No rental car required. Especially if you are a lone traveller. Capital cities are always expensive invest in a good hotel for the duration of your stay. DONT BE STINGY. think safety and convenience. When you are knackered you just need to pop back to your hotel for a siesta and a wee.

I'll retire in 494 days. I'll do my traveling then. 🤗

I have lived in Brisbane for 40 years so that is why I commented below.

Thanks guys for great information. Cheers!!!

Always enjoy your good advice, thank you 👍🏻🇨🇦

Love you two thanks for sharing 😉

"I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. Demille...!" Great closeups of both of you on this episode, real star quality AND very timely, sound tips as always!

This has to be one of your best advices. Thank you for doing this. LOVE IT.👍👍👍

Thank you so much for your video!!!

I love watching you both. Learning a lot from you.

Thank you for sharing your valuable information. Always be happy and healthy!

good stuff, thanks

I have done LOTS of solo travel, as well as traveling as a single parent... I had to decide if it was going to be a pleasant experience or not, and I must say taking my kids to Hawaii and Europe were the trips we all enjoyed the most! While I was a little concerned about renting a car, I just DID it! I drove the Autobahn !! It was great!! one time I took my sister and my daughter to Hawaii, and rented an SUV... Usually I do a walk around to make sure there were No big scratches... this particular time, my sister and daughter were already putting luggage in with the back hatch door UP when I did a very quick walk around.... Everyone was tired and hungry so we went straight for a restaurant to get food, it was THEN, I noticed a huge dent in the back hatch!! I thought my vacation was ruined!! However they assured me the dent was there when we picked up the SUV and we never had a problem. My credit card also has special insurance for rental cars that takes a lot of stress away from that once I knew about it... SO YES... Rent a car! see more enjoy more!

Thanks again. A great video and very useful information. Happy sailing when you get back to it!

Really appreciate all your retirement and travel tips, including what to do and what not to do.

I have been booking my own flights for a while. But last year on an emergency trip back to the UK for a funeral, I got a travel agent involved. During my stay in the UK, Australia decided to close its borders and my return flight was cancelled. Over a six weeks period, (while I chuffed off to walk the Pennine Way), that agent earned her commission with phone calls to the airlines, reserving stand by flights, and always keeping me up to date. Eventually she got me on one of the first flights back into Oz and I am eternally grateful.

I like this vid. Good insight..Nice to hear about the mistakes.

Thanks!

Thank you so much. So informative😍🌷🌴🌻

We rented a car because we had about 5 or 6 hours to kill in Oahu on our last day. It was the best thing, got to see a few things we had missed, up along the coast, a beautiful waterfall, drive through the center of the island. It's a great idea.

Love this!

Good tips especially the travel insurance 👍

This was a great video Norm and Tina! I agree with all of these tips especially in staying longer when you're going so far. We did a trip in Ireland for a month back in 2011, stayed a few days in Dublin and then drove off in a rental car and stayed in B&B's most of the time, had a two night stay in a castle(Lough Eske in Donegal) and also rented a house on Valentia island for a week - at the end we came back to Dublin for a few days so I feel we really got to see the island in different ways and it was a fabulous experience. It did take me two years to plan this trip though LOL and we are not retired but I figured if we went for a month I wanted to maximize as much of the experience as possible. The car rental experience was awesome too! I like your new close up shots!! and the lighting looks improved in your video as well. Thanks for all you do - I really enjoy our videos

As usual very good advice.

Not retired yet but still appreciate and enjoy your videos. Cheers!

Nice couple. Honest and sincere.

Love this....so true... take much more time in Australia.

Great video Tina and Norm! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us all. I’m not sure is you have covered this item off in previous videos but I would like to know you have learned about how to pack for a 2 month holiday

Great advice sledgehammered that like button stay safe awesome and blessed enjoyed and shared

Thanks for the tips! 🤩👏👏👏❤🧡💛💚💙💜

Hi , so good to see you. We have had so much rain i could just do with a holiday to boost me up for the winter. Its hot chocolate time and hot meals instead of a cold drink 🍸 with the AC on looking out to the sea ! Have a good weekend. See you next week. Keep cosy ☕💖🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

I love theses couple after watching a couple videos, with their wonderful information. Keep it up 👍. Thanks and God Blessed you both

Great information on insurance.

You are doing a wonderful job. Thank you very much. I'm 57 and almost retired. Greetings from Brazil!!

Very good job my friend, big like and happy weekend👍

I enjoy watching your videos every week. Please keep it going Please........

Thanks for all of the tips, we all make mistakes, the secret is to learn from them, keep up the good work, thank you.

Great information about handing ad hoc car rental via hotel desk operator.

Great info. Thank you. Playback speed at x1.5 👍🏻

Love you videos Norm and Tina! My wife and I are planning for retirement and wait in anticipation every Saturday :) An interesting video idea would be packing tips or what to avoid packing for your travels. Keep it up and see you next Saturday !

We get yearly Multi-Travel Insurance with our Health Insurance here in Ireland. It goes up a bit over 65 but we find it good. You also pay a bit more for adventure holidays!!

We so enjoyed this video so much. We just found your videos, and enjoy sitting and listening to your down to earth advice. I agree with staying a few extra days if you can. We have been doing a lot of research on Portugal after listening to your videos. We did do the Baltic’s on a cruise, before the pandemic. We did spend extra money that we couldn’t believe we were doing on a 2 day, 10 hour day extensive look at St. Petersburg. At the time, the trip included your visa into Russia, so we thought price was quite fair. So glad we had that trip, and I am sure, when the time is right you two will get it done!!!! You have encouraged us to do more walking. We are binging on Norm and Tina videos. Have a good day, from Goderich, Ontario.

My husband and I were super nervous about renting a car in France. We were also worried about any extra charges as well as finding parking. Other than a few harrowing minutes trying to get out of Orly airport, it was the best experience ever. We found so many small towns that are not accessible by train and the spontaneity made for a wonderful vacation. Next time I want to bike everywhere! Thanks for sharing your learning experiences!

Thank you for the video. Maybe you can make another video about your stay planning while travelling and how you manage to keep yourself busy and not get bored?

Thank you so much. Very informing and important, especially the insurance issue. I wish you a long life and best health. So there will definitely be an opportunity to visit the Ermitage in St. Petersburg and all the other fascinating places.

This start of this video is hilarious…..was this one of your first videos? Love you guys. Great advice.

Thanks for this interesting video as usual. Your videos are very inspiring. I just came back from Faro 2 weeks ago. Sunny and warm weather (25 C). I saw Canadians and Americans travelling there as well. I hope you will be able to travel as you wish in the future. Have a nice weekend.

Hi I and my partner enjoy your videos, never heard of top up insurance until today so thanks

coffee scene is terrific. Made me get up to get a cup and then I remembered I'd just ran out of cream.

Thanks again. Love your videos. If your credit card covers car rentals usually it's for 30 days as well. So if you rent a car for longer you can top the car insurance up to to save on exorbitant rental car charges. We go to California for 2-3 months and this has helped us save. Just need to make sure you dont rent a vehicle with a value that exceeds the maximum coverage on your credit card. Hope we are travelling again soon!

Wonderful tips. I would call them learning opportunities as well, not mistakes. Sensible advice as usual. Long flights wherever you go from here in NZ South Island so if we ever do get to go again, we will go for longer. Australia is an amazing country, we can’t even go there at the moment, a 3 hour flight and 2 weeks in quarantine on arrival home. Competing with 20,000 other Kiwis to get a place.

Loved this video so honest and genuine. We’ve made so many mistakes! Some were ridiculous! We stayed 4 nights in Singapore- we’d arrived still on hubby’s gold status (from his working days) … but as we left we’d dropped to silver status. The problem was the luggage allowance had dropped in between so we were charged for the extra weight £160!

Another useful video - there's usually some pithy remark that one of you makes that stays with me...this time at 9:04 it was " think long and hard about maximising your opportunity" which in this particular case referred to the somewhat increased risk of car rental in order to see more in an area, but which I guess could be extended to anything while travelling.

Great video. Glad you enjoyed Iceland !!!! Renting a car is a must here. Even for a day . . Take care

You are right about procrastination, we didn't travel in 2019. Then 3/2020 lockdown came around, and we haven't traveled since. 😣 such regrets.

Thank you so much for sharing always great to hear your advice I pray for you one day to come visit us in Africa Uganda God bless you

i had an awesome experience with NZ Air.... Uber/Grab is the best to come along for travel. No need to rent a car or get scammed by taxi drivers.

I stopped using travel agents in 2000 when I moved to BC and asked a travel agent to check a route to Roatan Honduras. The just out-of-high-school agent did not even know where that was and quoted me a 36-hour journey. I went to Seattle and was there in under 10 hours for much less money. I stopped using Expedia and the like for flights when I was unable to pick a Seattle to Bangkok from Seattle because I did not book directly. I always book flights with airlines that have agreements for baggage and if your flight is delayed they will get you booked on another. Back in 2018 some friends and I booked a Cuba resort trip. They all booked through an agent but I booked on the WEB. My price drop insurance saved me 300 dollars and their travel agency pocketed the savings.

Totally agree with your second one. Our first big trip ever (to South Africa from the US) we decided to use a travel agent to make things "easier" on ourselves. Well, apparently that travel agent is really mostly a cruise package guy. He messed up every single leg of our flights. We had to actually run thru one of the airports following an Air France agent who was clearing our path. On the way back, one of our tickets was so messed up still that it took them over two hours to fix it. Luckily that flight heading out was late. It was a terrible experience. The good news is that all of our trips since then have been much better. (And we do all our own flights now)

Got a new topic for you! Your best vegetarian dishes in a real time👍

Great video. You are both so lovely. I grabbed my coffee

Love you channel ! I'm 51 and my hubby is 57 and we are trying to make some travel plans and your channel is super helpful. Been on one cruise (Alaskan inside passage) but I got very motion sick and wondered if you've already spoken on tips for this. Hopefully someday we can do this again!

Do it while you can !

yes travel mistakes can easily make particularly if you are travelling somewhere for the first time *left a like👍Au👍full view always*

It is a fantastic world out there i enjoyed England and Belgium France nice people there i don't know myself i love the drive to Florida so I can see myself there alot

Regards from Iceland.❤️

Well, Jack Daniels and I enjoyed your video, less the coffee. Lol. The bus to Daytona sounds relaxing. How did you find that? Thanks for your video, very good advice. Cheers!

Really appreciate the advice you are giving..plus being Canadians it is easier to relate when you quote prices in CDN dollars. My wife retired this past summer and I retire at the end of summer 2022 and we just can't wait to get into longer stay vacations.

i love your coffee mugs like mine...

When a tourist visa is almost expired often you have the option of going 12 hrs to another country and renew and then come back. For example in Thailand at Chiang Mai or Chang Rai you cross to Burma a couple of hours and then re enter Thailand. There you get re-issued another visa. That was available a few years back.

My husband and I cruise at least once a year, I always look at each trip as a once in a lifetime trip, so I better make the most of it. I will research our destination starting point and ending point of each cruise and determine what we want to see and how much time it will it take so that we have the time allotted to visit those places as if this may be the only time I will get to see it. As you said about procrastinating about planning a trip, while we did not procrastinate, We talked about going to Antarctica in 1999 with our kids, one did not want to go but one did but couldn’t go until 2020, so we planned and booked a good deal but the Covid hit, cruise lines were cancelling and rebooking. Now the prices are up so that same trip will cost 30% more. We have learnt to travel insurance not just for the cost of our trip but for the health insurance. Our US health insurance will not cover us outside the country. We have utilized it when my husband fell ill during our New Zealand cruise, was hospitalized in Sydney, our final destination. It was nice having someone to help with arrangements, not only for him but for me as well.

Australia is in our bucket list! Good things to consider 👍

I just thought about something, my wife and I have lock horn issues all the time. especially in the kitchen ---for example she thinks throwing a rag over some forks and spoons will prevent flies from frolicking all over the tines b'y! Maybe we should have a sort of alternate relationship to you guys ha ha. Really love watching your relationship and videos.Super, just splendid .

My biggest travel mistake was putting off my travel plans for another time. Now when I reflect back on my reasoning, I now see them as frivolous excuses. Also, like you guys, I have made the mistake of not extending a few of the trips I have taken to explore more places when I had the opportunity. In 2018 and 2019 I travelled to Prague and Vienna for balloon dance competitions and only spent one week in both places. My reasoning was that my dance costumes were too much of a burden. Now I can only fantasize about the experience I missed out on. I pray that things would improve and hopefully, I would get the opportunity to spend a winter in Portugal or take a number of trips across Western Europe via the Eurostar train or even a trip on the Orient Express🤩 😴 💭

Nooohm, I told you to never fly with Platypus Airlines in Australia. Oh, and that intro was something to remember. Next stop - The Stratford Festival 🎭 😁

With regards to booking your own flights, it’s worth being aware that with the pandemic many flights are being cancelled. We know several people who have been affected by this and I think it would be easier to get a travel agent to make all the bookings for you at this time. My husband and I usually do our own bookings too but at the moment I think it’s much easier to book through a travel agent.

Wow- what a horrible experience with a travel agent. Those would be the reasons why you DO book with an agent, to eliminate those situations. I never use a travel agent. You both have me seriously looking at spending a month or so in Portugal when I retire (10 years) You have created a lovely channel.

Yes so easy to make mistakes ...I have lots so much luggage over the years..

Avoid this mistake: don't wait until you retire to travel! Even if you only have a week or two...go! We just got back from a 10 day bus trip in Morocco- even with Covid restrictions, it was fantastic! Just be safe and careful!

I’m sure you’ll still get back to St Petersburg. X

Well, a new 'opening scene' and 'zoom in' moments. Very creative. Like everything in life, it's a learning curve. My dad used to say that life is one big school and one progresses from classroom to classroom. Retirement is such a room. New and time to gain new skills. Loved the 'up-skilling' moments. When all else fails, take another approach. I'm pretty sure others will pick up tips here and there and that's what makes these videos fun and valuable. We have an annual travel insurance - which covers internal and international travel. So even a weekend away is covered. Just for the record: The Netherlands is 41.543 sq km, when visiting you will need at least 3-4 weeks and a 🚗 occasionally would be useful 😂! Have a great weekend. 🍷 💖🇳🇱🙋‍♀️🇳🇿

👍

Hey guys be careful when driving alot of countries you drive on opposite side.

😂Well you will have to come back and stay in Down Under longer. Mistake Number 2. Don't do cruisers....Boring! But then thats only my opinion and some people love them. There can be ups and downs booking your own flights. Shame on the Travel agent for not taking in all of the accounts, of timing and international and domestic areas at the airports. Good tips about travel insurance, very important. I know we had over covered our insurance when we traveled to Ireland 😱😂Our Credit card insurance covered us on Car insurance and we paid the rentals insurance not realising we were already covered. Great tips Norman and Tina, loved this episode. ❤️🤗👍🏽🍻

Sorry about your experience

Brisbane airports are 1.8 km apart and not 4 km apart , you can't not walk but there are close.

I didn't drink coffee, but I finished off my PG Tips with a spot of milk while watching the video. I hope that wasn't a mistake. LOL