Rolling With The Punches&#59; Share Your Travel Horror Story

I'll get the ball rolling.... In 2007 we took our children (then 11, 8 and 4) with us to England for their first international trip. Our cottage rental in the Cotswolds was a converted c.1600 mill situated over a little stream in a valley on the edge of the village of Painswick. The owners lived in the much larger home across the drive. The bottom level was the master BR and bath. The main floor was the living area and the upper level under the roof was two more bedrooms. We were immediately in love with it and wished we could live there. When we arrived in July the owners shared with us that the previous May the lower level had flooded for the first time in the 20+ years they had owned it. The spring was unusually wet (even for England) and had stayed wet all through June. We were fortunate, we were told, that we had new carpets and furniture in the lower level. All went well for the first five days we were there. It rained a bit every day, but not enough to stop our sight seeing in any way. On the 6th day, it rained hard all day. We had already decided to stay in that day. So we just snuggled in for the day. By noon, the creek was starting to rise and the owners - strictly as a precautionary measure - asked us to move the car to higher ground and nailed a board in front of the front door. By 3PM water was over the driveway and starting to creep in the front door despite the board. We then started to help the owner lift what furnishings and bedding we could to the main floor of the cottage. They were starting to have their own problems in their house. By 4PM water was 3' deep in the lower level. We felt badly for the owners. We were fine. We had food. By 7PM the water had receeded and we spent the last night in the owners' house. It became our favorite travel story - the great flood of 2007!

I'm sure everyone knows this story by now, but here goes...in 2007 a friend and I went to Europe for 2 weeks for a vacation. We flew into Manchester, England because it was cheaper than Paris, our destination. Our airline, US Airways, lost our luggage (it missed our flight from Philadelphia to Manchester) and because we had to fill out a claim form in the Manchester airport, we missed our train and our flight to Paris and had to pay for new tickets and transfers (an additional $200 each, including new clothes and toiletries). US Airways was incapable of getting our bags back to us until the night before we came home. We wore the exact same clothes for 3 days, hoping that our luggage would arrive anytime, until we caved and went shopping. Also on this trip, my friend got food poisoning on a daytrip to Chartres and after that we started having terrible arguments.

Another "adventure" lasted only a few hours but was scary because I thought I'd miss my flight. In August 2008 I was leaving Brussels to fly home after 5 weeks in Europe. I stayed in this terrible hotel called the Royal Hotel and told the check-in clerk that I had to check out at 7:00am because I was going to the airport. He said I'd get breakfast at 6:45, even though that was a little early. I asked if he would call me a taxi for next morning but he said the guy on duty in the morning would do it. But at 6:45 there was no breakfast so at 7:00 I went down to the desk to check out. No one was at the desk. I walked around and finally saw a man sleeping on a mattress on the floor of a room. I knocked on the open door and said, "Excusez-moi? Excusez-moi?" until he woke up. "Vous travaillez ici?" I asked, and he said yes. He asked if I wanted breakfast and I said no, I had to check out. I asked him to call me a taxi and he said I could catch them"right here," whatever that meant. He carried my bags down to the street for me (the hotel is 5 floors with no elevator) and said, "Thank you, bye," and shut the door, leaving me with my bags on the street at 7:00am. I went to the hotel next door and asked where I could catch a taxi and they told me across the street. I was crossing the street when a taxi came up to the stoplight. I asked if he was free and he said yes, so I got in and said, "Airport." He flirted with me the whole way to the airport - he asked if I was married and how old I was. He said the next time I was in Brussels I could stay with him in his apartment. At the airport, he gave me a "discount" on the fare (40 euros instead of 42). (continued below)

At the airport, at 8:00, I tried to check in at a computer but it wasn't working. I went to the counter and told this lady what was going on and she said I had to go to the customer service counter. There, they told me that my flight got to London at 10:25 and my flight to Chicago left at 11:40. Because there weren't at least 2 hours between flights, the computer automatically locked me out. She got me on an earlier flight at 9:00, which I made, and was so early to Heathrow that my flight to Chicago wasn't even on the board yet. The whole ordeal lasted 2 hours but I was really worried that I wouldn't get out of Brussels that day.

Our worst travel experience was this past summer in Salzburg. We made a reservation at the Gasthaus Stadtalm and were really excited about it - great view of the castle, the hotel was in the wall of another part of the medieval defenses, and it was a great price. After getting there, we were told we were early and our room would be ready later in the day, but we could leave our bags. Coming back at 5 pm for a nap, our room still hadn't been made up (ie put sheets in the room and/or on the bed), but the person who did that was at the store. So we took our nap without sheets and were told by 6:30 everything would be good to go. After going down the hill to town and having dinner, we came back to find we still had no sheets. After miming with the lady cleaning the room next door, she handed us sheets from a cupboard outside our door - why no one else could have handed them to us, we'll never know. Then we asked about towels and were told that they didn't supply them OR rent them (which was nowhere on the website). Most hostels at least rent towels if they don't have them. So we asked where we could buy some (which would be either a two euro elevator ride or 15 minute walk to town) and were told, "somebody in town" will sell them. Thankfully Salzburg is big enough to have a store open that late. It was a German version of Bed, Bath, & Beyond and we spend 37 euros for two towels....cont on next post

cont...The next two nights the gasthaus restaurant was closed for private parties, but neglected to say anything anywhere (including on their sign that advertised their opening times), so we had to go back down to the town for that too. Add the rain to the mix and our time in Salzburg was less than ideal. I was really close to calling Virgin Atlantic and changing our flight to miss the last 10 days of our trip. But we left after 3 days to go to Munich and everything was awesome after that. Now we will use that hotel to remind us that others aren't "that bad"! :)

I got curious and looked up the website of the hostel Stadtalm. They must have changed it since your experience because it took me just a few seconds to find the note that they do supply bed linens but no towels.

@Beatrix, they must have, b/c believe I looked after we got there. I spent some of my time at the tavern with free wifi looking while I enjoyed my hot chocolate - one of my fond memories of Salzburg!:) update: I went and looked myself and yes, that is a different website. Previously you could actually view the website in English (not just with google translate, which is what I had to do this time). It's good that they are actually advertising it now.

On my first trip to Budapest, mom wouldn't let me stand out in the steet and watch the nifty tanks driving around. I guess she was afraid I'd catch my death of cold . In fact, we left the next day. This is the abbreviated version of a trip in November 1956.

Well, I guess I have been lucky, no real horror stories. I have lost luggage and missed trains, and stayed in a few less then sparkling places,, but I consider myself pretty lucky over all, no major health crisises overseas (did suffer from horrible food poisoning in Rome once, but hey sh*t happens,, literally,, LOL ) , and no major crimes etc. Sometimes things seem horrible at the time you are going through them, but even then I tell myself what a great story it will make later..

Had just spent nearly 3 months backpacking around Australia staying in mostly hostels. Decided to take a last minute trip to Tasmania for a week and just didn't want to research much about getting around on my own or making lodging arrangments so had a travel agent book me on a bus tour. She asked me if I wanted to stay in hostels or hotels. I was kind of sick of hostel dorms by that point and wanted a short break from them so chose hotels. First night of tour there was a dinner with the group and I saw that everyone on the tour was a good 40 to 60 years older than me. I was kicking myself for not having chose the tour that stayed at hostels where there would have been people my age. Tour still turned out to be fun. Was like being on a tour with 30 grandparents all looking out for me. Senior citizens really love their cocktail hour before dinner and since just about every hotel we stayed in on the tour was attached to some sort of casino or gambling hall, I learned a lot about playing cards from all my new temporary grandparents.

I made a doozy of a stupid mistake in Catania two weeks ago, and it contributed to what turned out to be the worst day of our recent trip. We were taking the bus from the airport to the train station, and we didn't have any map to know exactly where we were or how far we had to go. The bus driver made a number of unscheduled stops, which didn't help us keep track, and to top it all off, it was pouring buckets of rain. My fatal error was in getting off the bus without confirming the stop with the driver, and long story short, we ended up walking approximately a kilometer in the downpour which resulted in ourselves and all our luggage being thoroughly soaked. To add insult to injury, when we finally made it to the train station, we discovered our cell phone wouldn't work and ended up relying on pay phones for the rest of the trip. Needless to say, I learned my lesson and we henceforth ALWAYS confirmed the stop or the destination with the driver before getting on or off of the bus.

"...the nifty tanks...." Were those JS II types back in '56?

Arrived all alone in the Gare du Nord in Paris. For some odd reason was not using my money belt that day and was carrying all my credit cards and most of my cash in wallet. Opened purse to get money to buy metro ticket. Wallet was lifted. From that moment on had no hotel reservation, no money, no credit cards; only had plans to stay at apartment of a couple I had never met and whose name I could barely remember. Their address and phone were in stolen wallet. Did I mention I was alone and knew nobody else in Paris on that day? Went to sit in cafe to fully contemplate situation and plan next move. Then went to an information kiosk in train station and explained predicament to a very nice man there (I was lucky enough to speak French well enough to do this). He suggested I try going to the post office to see if I could get an address for my hosts (whom I had never met). Post office was closing in 15 minutes. Just made it there in time before closing. Explained to another nice man the situation and asked for help. Legally he could not give me the address of my hosts but he gave me a phone number. I called and made contact with my hosts, who gave me instructions for how to find their apartment. Fifteen minutes later I was at their doorstep and was taken in by them. Don't even get me started on the age-old question of "are French people rude." I experienced nothing but the kindness of strangers at every turn that day.

Gwen, with the exception of that pickpocket.

I guess I can't complain, because my worst experience was staying in a small hotel in Antwerp that reeked of urine. I've been publicly critical of Mr. Steves' Germany and Belgium/Netherlands books for their lack of scope, but I will say this... I've never stayed at a Rick Steves recommended lodging that smelled like an unflushed toilet.

Over Christmas this year I traveled with two friends who were teaching English abroad like me. We were staying in Florence at a relative's flat, but chose to fly home out of Rome on Ryanair. We were leaving early on New Years Day, meaning we needed to find a room in Rome the previous night. Difficult to say the least, as the majority of places in the city required a minimum of three nights around that time. But we managed to find a cheap hostel with mixed reviews and put down a small deposit. Well, about a week before our trip, I went back to the booking site and started reading the reviews again. Sometime after we booked, the hostel seemed to have shut down without telling anyone who had made reservations. After numerous attempts trying to contact them, they finally gave me the name of another place they were "rerouting" bookings to. (This happened while we were already in Florence.) So we arrived in Rome on New Years Eve after a great week in Florence and trundled off towards the new hostel, hoping it was actually legit! It was, but I'm pretty sure the hostel owner didn't have any clue about this "rerouting" from the other hostel. After waiting about 20 minutes we followed someone outside to a van (which did have the name of the hotel on the side), and they drove us another 15 minutes to another building pretty much around the block. It turned out to be a decent place to stay, and we had two roommates from Kazakhstan-first time I'd met someone from there! Not too scary, as I was with two friends, but certainly a fun story, IMO.

Moving overseas to a country when I didn't speak the language has given me plenty of opportunity to hone my charades/pantomiming skills. Last month I really got to put them to use. We had disembarked from a cruise in Barcelona in the morning, put our luggage in the car and spent a wonderful day sightseeing. When we went to leave, I couldn't use the automated machine to pay for parking, so I went to the window. The guy totalled it up - 162.50€. I handed him my French bank card, he gave my the keypad to enter my PIN and - viola - out popped a receipt for 1625.00€!!! All over are signs in every language stating "NO REFUNDS" I speak no Catalan. The man at the desk didn't speak French or English. He digs out what appears to be a policies & procedures manual and makes a phone call. And we wait. Finally, he gets a call back. He explains to me (at least I think this is what he said) that they will credit my account on the 1st of the next month. I write out on a piece of paper the math problem showing that he owes me nearly 1500€, point to the 1st on the calendar and shake my head "No." Point to today and nod my head. (I also periodically flash my look of utter terror/panic.) He makes another phone call and we wait... I decide to call the phone number on the back of my card. Surprise - it's an automated number to purchase more services like insurance! Silly American me, had assumed it was to report my card lost or stolen. (Which now makes me realize I have no idea how to report my card stolen if it did happen - more panic creeps in.) I push the buttons to buy insurance and when I get to a real person, I tell her I have a problem and she gives me the telephone # for my bank. It's past 5pm on Friday, and I am surprised someone answers. My hope is quickly dashed as he practically laughs at my request to cancel the transaction. (cont'd)

See, banking in France is different - antiquated in some ways - and I have to go to my actual branch and talk to them when they open again on Tuesday. But he assures me there's no way they'll let me cancel a transaction. (Maybe he was just laughing at my bad American accent and not at what was, to him, a naive request.) Finally the phone rings again and the attendant gets permission and instructions to refund my money. An hour after we thought we'd be leaving, we roll out of the parking lot. Moral of the Story: Always have plenty of snacks on hand for your kids. Yep, that's the most nightmarish part. I had 3 very tired kids ages 7, 9 & 11 stuck with me and my husband during this whole ordeal!

Its been four years and my husband can only barely see the humour. We were staying in a rented villa on the Costa Blanca. It was up on the hillside, in the very old part of town with narrow streets, few street signs and lots of atmosphere (including the tiny barnyard of animals in the backyard of the house next door). Because we need an automatic car, we always end up with a bigger vehicle than we even drive at home. All week long we (well, he) struggled to manouvre that thing around the neighbourhood until the worst happened. I still do not know what on earth he was thinking, but he decided to do a three-point turn. And bam! Smashes into the house across the road! The locals come running out and screaming at him in Spanish. And he waves his arm and yells "I DON'T CARE, ITS A RENTAL!". I had to tell him they were more concerned about their house than his rental car. Amazingly there were no consequences. No Spanish police showed up and the car company never charged us for the damage. Maybe in four more years he'll laugh about it.

Greece, Crete, 1972. I went out in the evening to a Greek restaurant where there was ethnic dancing. I met a couple of German men there who told me they were going to hike the Samaria Gorge the next day and invited me to come along. Crete, Samaria Gorge. After a bus ride, I stayed at a dodgy hostel at the top of the gorge and hiked down thru the gorge the next day. The plan: hike down, catch boat at south coast town to next larger town and take a bus back to homebase. The reality: hike down, water too rough for boat, no hotel or room available, no food at single restaurant, and no idea when we could leave. We (a group of a dozen people) had the option of hiking back up the gorge to the awful hostel or staying and sleeping on the beach to await the boat. Some hiked back up. I felt too tired for that, but later wished I had taken that option. Meanwhile, the restaurant found some cans of Spam and served it to us. We all slept in our clothes on the beach. Fortunately, it was not cold and I trusted my co-hikers. I can't say as much about one of the Greek men, the restaurant owner. We women warned each other not to get within arm's-reach of the guy. The water calmed enough for a ferry the second day and we all gratefully boarded for the next town and escape. This is my favorite travel "horror story." Everything worked out ok, but I was more cautious about making impromptu travel plans after that. It's enough to deal with strikes and demonstrations which I have no control over. I don't need to go places where there is no lodging or food just on the word of a stranger!

I stubbed my toe in the Swiss Alps..... still haven't gotten around to writing the Swiss government to see if they can move the pebble that I stubbed it on so beware, its just a 3 minute walk from the train station at Kleine Scheidegg and probably still lurking on the trail, waiting for an unsuspecting big toe to wander by.... :)
Honestly though, my worst Euro travel "disaster" so far was stepping in doggy do within 15 minutes of arriving in London on my last trip...it was pretty ripe, and my shoe had a good sole with deep treads.......lol

Last June we were booked on a flight from Paris to Copenhagen on Norwegian Air. I believe the original departure time was around 9:00 pm. We arrived at Orly early, returned our rental car ans settled down to wait for our flight. Twenty minutes before our departue received notice that our plan had not even left Copenhagen. we were given no more information then that. After an hour of waiting we heard that the plane had landed, at Charles De Gaulle. after another half hour they told told us our plae was damaged and needed repair. Since Orly closes at 11:30 pm they were going to bus us over to Charles Degaulle. After waiting another half hour they rounded up all the passengers, took us to baggage area to pick up our luggage and then we walked outside to wait for the bus. After several buses came and left they had walk in the rain to the buses we were waiting for. For some reason they would not pull up to the building. We were driven across town to DeGaulle. It was about minight. we wandered around looking for someone to tell what was happening. We were told they hadn't even decided yet whether to repair the plane or just let us get hotel rooms! T o make along story short(not really) we flew out of there at 3:00am arrived in Copenhagen at 6:00am. We went to our hotel room at the Hilton, crashed for 4 hrs and then caught our flight home. We didn't sleep well on the flight and by the time we reached home we'd been awake for over 30 hrs!

We were in Dublin Ireland in 2000 and were returning to our hotel near St Stephen's Green. Along the sidewalk which ran along the green were two older women with their dogs on leashes. I follow the cardinal rule of not making eye contact with any strange dog-and I don't think I did and was wearing dark sunglasses. The woman with the medium/ large dog cut some slack on the leash and the dog rushed at me attempting to bite my knee. Instead his/her sharp teeth ripped off the front of my skirt. There was no apology at all and husband and I exchanged angry comments with the women. So then I had to walk back to our hotel with front of skirt dragging the ground. The thickness of the skirt fabric and a slip probably prevented a bite-was lucky to have only some teeth indentations.

My European glitches are mild compared to others. My wife entered Korea (from a Space A military flight) without getting her passport stamped. When we flew out, she had no entry stamp. We went to a back room with a classic third degree light. The penalty is a year in prison and a 1 million yuan fine. I didn't know whether I was supposed to offer a bribe or what. Ultimately they let us go because I was an Air Force officer. Years later in Mexico we took a bus from Guadalajara to Tijuana (about a 36 hour ride) with three kids in tow. The bus's air conditioning broke so we drove through the Sonora desert in August without a/c or windows that rolled down.

Minivan ran out of gas just outside of Orvieto. Driver thought he was watching the gas gauge, but not! Wrong gauge. Cost $150.00 for tow. Add'l for gas. Just like the movies, people in the nearest town and gas station stopped dead to watch us being towed in on a giant flatbed truck with us in the minivan. Looking for parking in Bordeaux in our minivan. Our driver sees a parking garage. I'm deciphering the symbols posted. Just as I started to say, "Wait a minute. I think..." our minivan crashed overhead. No choice but to keep driving as we could not back up. French attendant started yelling at us while he picked up bits and pieces of our roof. Yep, allowing for sunroof, van's too tall for entrance. Sunroof was stripped off. This minivan's sunroof was about 3" taller than the roof itself. Then weather got rainy and windy. One passenger was already sick and getting sicker. No way to secure roof. Didn't think to pack rope! Finally took the string off the hoody from my kid's sweatshirt. Traffic was finally moving so didn't want to stop to find a phone and call our hotel in Monterosso. This was before cell phones. So naturally we got lost and arrived after midnight, by which time they sold our room to a very pregnant woman.
Town was jammed full, so owner suggested we sleep in her lobby. She felt bad but gave us sandwiches and milk for dinner. We were filthy so we slept in our clothes. 4 hrs. later, earlybirds started coming downstairs for breakfast, so we had to get up and take down our damp laundry. Then travel partner decided he really wanted to hike to Vernazza. I simply could not move fast, so took us just about all day to get there, but had fabulous dinner at a Rick Steves recommended restaurant as a reward. Whew! What a bunch of dopes we were! Now we can laugh, but then...

In 2008 After visiting Paris, Hosegor, Madrid & Barcelona we were due to take a train to Avignon. We arrived at the Barcelona train station at 8:30am to be told "NO TRAINS TO FRANCE". We were told to go to the bus station. By the time we got to the window it was around 10am and we were told all the bus tickets were sold until until the 11pm bus which would then take 11 1/2 hours to get to Avignon. We went to the airport and got the last 2 seats on a flight to Orly (had to buy first class seats as that was all that was available) then caught a flight to Avignon. By the time we arrived the rental car agency at the train station was closed. We caught a taxi to our hotel in St. Remy, got a taxi the next morning back to the Avignon train station to get our car! Whew that was hectic! Had a great time for 5 days in St. Remy & Arles. Caught a train to Nice, picked up our rental car and drove to our hotel in Ville Frenche only to be told that a transportation strike was going to be starting on MOnday, no flights within France, no taxis, not trains (this is on a Saturday night). The hotel said just go have a nice dinner and we'll figure it out in the morning. I was having no part of that. CAlled Air France changed our tickets that were for the following Wednesday to Sunday and flew home.

In late October 1998, we went to Grand Cayman with our son, daughter and her fiance. We rented a small house and did not turn on TV or radio for the first 5 days. On day 6, we noticed people nailing plywood over windows of stores and restaurants. We asked why, and they pointed to a TV with a weather channel picture of the island with Class V Hurricane Mitch heading right toward us, about 48 hours away. Back to the house, we turned on the TV and called the airlines to get flights out. All flights were full. We picked up a list of shelters, and drove around to see which one looked sturdiest. Bought candles, water and flashlight. Next morning, we went snorkeling ... amazing, the calm before the storm and sea filled with fish. Then the clouds came and the rain started. It was Sunday, so we went to a sports bar to watch NFL football. Around 4 pm people came straggling into the bar with duffel bags and small children, saying the east end of the island had been evacuated. And also that all the tourists had been airlifted off the island! Whoops! While we were watching football, 36 planes made round trips from Miami and loaded up all the tourists from the hotels. Since we were renting a house, we weren't notified. Evidently there was a massive traffic jam, with cars abandoned and people running through mud puddles with suitcases. Then the airport was closed down. Just as we started to really panic, we looked at the TV screen and saw that the hurricane had made a definite turn to the west, no longer headed for the Cayman Islands. It devastated Honduras a few days later. We spent the next four days in the rain on an empty island with virtually no stores/restaurants open. Even with the storm about 150 miles away, there was some wind and water damage for the residents to attend to.
Once the airport re-opened, we got one of the first flights out and were happy to get home safely!

In the middle of planning a trip to Germany which included Quedlinburg and The Harz area, I had to move, and didn't have time to research hotels so I just picked one off the internet in a little town called Nachterstedt. When I got there, my heart just sank - it was the most charmless place I'd ever seen - big, barracks-like buildings fronted by Linden trees that had been pruned into tall stumps, no shops or cafes at all... and it was alot farther from Quedlinburg or anything scenic at all than I was led to believe. BUT the hotel itself was very friendly, the food was good, and I spent my time poking around east German ruins and it wasn't a total disaster. I slept alot, and the cool crisp air was scented with lilacs - there were lilac bushes everywhere.

I have to say it's really nice to start a thread and be able to just sit back and enjoy the interesting stories - not have to jump in to try to correct some nonsense or moderate some bickering. So far I think it's interesting that there are so few dramatically bad stories. If that's the worst people have to offer, then all those horror stories about what someone heard second or third hand must be somewhat overblown. Just think, here we have responses from 30 people, who have collectively probably been on 200-300 major trips, along with many other readers who have not relayed any terrible stories yet, and this is the worst it gets? Not bad. C'mon you couch sitters - get brave! Travel! Keep 'em coming..... (great story Charlene!)

Randy...its a really nice thread... So... a number of years ago taking a train from Germany to Prague...we started on a really nice train and as soon as we hit the border of Czech we transfered to a rickety old train with numerous unnerving passport checks that took forever. Literally no one in our car spoke any english...things go along okay for a while, then the train pulls into a station in the middle of nowhere. I knew it was not Prague or Praha, so we remain seated...until some official looking people come and shoo us off the train, all the while I am telling them Praha, Praha...they ignore me. I am with a friend who has never been to Europe before and she thinks I know what I am doing. I keep trying to reassure her. Again, no one here spoke any english...we finally find an american couple who were in the back of the train and they are as clueless as we are. Soon, a large bus appears and we are all corraled on to this bus...a 30 minute ride through the czech countryside I was sure that we would be lost to our families forever, or we had suddenly become part of a czech tour group. Trying to remain calm, we then pulled into a train station and everyone got on the train and it continued on to Praha. After that ordeal I found the first hotel that was big and looked like they would speak English we checked in to regroup. Asking the desk clerk if this was common practice for their trains, he had not ever heard of anything like it... after much discussion with everyone else at the desk someone finally came to the conclusion that there must have been a wreck on the tracks, so we had to go around to the other side.
We finally enjoyed Prague and now I am going again in a few weeks, but this time I will have a different experience as I enjoy the countryside.

Somewhere around 1999 I was a single soldier stationed in Wurzburg, Germany. I was on the train coming back from Zurich and a beautiful young girl noticed me, introduced herself and we started chatting. She was a college student spending a year somewhere in Bavaria and eventually she threw out the idea of going somewhere so I mentioned Nurnberg, she'd never been so we stayed on the train til Nurnberg. We ended up spending the entire night hitting different bars and having a great time, she was gorgeous and I was completely smitten. When the morning came we wearily headed for the train station still a bit drunk and she wrote down her phone number, said she had a blast and wanted to spend more time with me. I was pretty happy about this of course and agreed to call her that night. Took the train back to Wurzburg, slept the rest of the day, woke up that evening and got ready to call her. Imagine my horror when I realized that she had written her number down on my train ticket - which I'd thrown in the trash at the train station. Never saw her again.

Rik, great story!

This is our 2nd worst horror story (#1 is the first post here); Last summer, arriving in Budapest in the AM after a hot, poor night's sleep on the train. Family of 5 - children 13, 11 & 7 - all with backpacks; We knew our first task was to get the night train tickets purchesed for our trip to Prague four days later. Had to do it ASAP for a chance of getting a discount ticket and to avoid having to sleep sitting up. I had been advised not to use the intl window AT the station for tickets as they were not always English speakers. Our B&B owners said they would help us find the ticket office, but I had the address just 3/4 mile from the train station, toward the B&B, so we walked there first. Building closed - clearly vacant for years. Bad information. I had also heard something vague about a second ticket office nearer our destination, but no address. Now was the time to decide if trying to figure out the transit system would be faster than just walking the remaining 2 miles. We walked. Bad choice. About 88 degrees and sunny. After asking a couple of people we found who spoke English, we finally found the rather small ticket center. Meanwhile, it is nearing the time we had promised to check in to our B&B. But we found what we were looking for and we figured "How bad could it be to arrive 30 minutes late to the B&B?" But getting the tickets took an hour (inefficient system!). Then another 20 minutes walk across the chain bridge & up a long hill. We arrived 1:20 late prepared to apologize profusely for our lack of punctuality. The door was answered by a very sour-faced owner who - it turns out - DOES NOT live there and had been sitting there waiting for us the whole time (we had no way of knowing that - it's a "B&B"). She was also irritated that we had not followed her instructions re the tix. After 30min of talking we got her calmed down and all was well...

So I do not think this counts as a true horror story but anyways.....
In 2003 i was traveling in turkey for the first week with the flu. GRRRR! I did not realize I was sick it until I was in turkey. I thought it was just allergies combined with a very stressful work situation. I was sick for the better part of a week. The good thing was I was traveling with family so the could look after me in between their sight seeing. But once I was over being sick the rest of the trip was great. Or does being on Turkish roads count as a near death experience?

For me the true horror comes when you're travelling with sick kids. Nothing funny about that. Combine that with jet lag and no husband along on the trip. It's bad enough when you do that at home, but worse if somewhere strange (albeit not strange for me but for the kids) where you sleep with both of your sick kids in the same bed - in between them of course. Doesn't matter where you are in Europe because you won't get to see much of anything. Nor did I get to see many of the friends and family I came to visit. I was glad when the two weeks were over.

My last trip to Paris was during the Sri Lanka protests. For three days, it was a rather colorful tailgate party in the park at the center of the Place de la Republique, with barbecue picnics, singing, drumming, and some sign waving. At about 11 PM on the 4th evening, I emerged from the Metro, thinking to myself that the drumming was a bit louder than usual. I turned around, about to walk the two blocks to my hotel. Directly in front of me, filling the four lanes of the street I needed to cross, was a barricade! An honest to gosh Parisian barricade filled with chanting protesters! I was stunned. I snapped a few pictures (probably not the wisest idea.) I stood there a couple of minutes, wondering what to do. So, I summoned every ounce of calm confidence I could muster, and strode parallel to the barricade. Suddenly, I was at the end, and in the middle of a completely deserted six lane street. To my right, the barricade. To my left, six or eight men deep, was a thick line of police wearing full riot gear, including huge shields and body armor, and they were holding very large automatic weapons. The entire Place de la Republique traffic circle was closed. I walked (quickly) down the center of the completely deserted street between the police line and the protesters. I smiled politely at the police as I crossed their line, and was able to get to my hotel.

My first trip to Europe was in 2000 with my girlfriend. In our planning stage we asked a well seasoned European traveler if we would have any problem getting a hotel room in Paris around the first week in October. We also told him we did not want to make a hotel reservation but wanted to be spontaneous. He assured us it was off-season and Paris did have a plethora of hotels in all price ranges so no problem, or so we thought. We arrived in Paris from London on the EuroStar, hopped in a cab and headed for a hotel we chose out of ETBD. When we requested a room there was "no room at the inn." We tried several others only to be shut out, so we headed back to the train station where there is a service that will locate a room for travelers. The gentleman manning the 'rotary dial' phone told us the Paris Auto Show was on and rooms were very scarce. He did locate a room and told us it was not in the best location but it was all he could find. We took a taxi to the hotel and found the hotel to be sort of scary; it wasn't quite like staying in the outskirts of Morocco but it was close. The next morning when we woke up there was a dead, upside cockroach in the sink. Oh that girlfriend I mentioned she was such a good sport about it I married her. TA-DA!

In 1989, i travelled to Scandanavia for the first time. I especially wanted to do the "Norway in a Nutshell" loop that Rick wrote about. I got as far as Flam and found a campground that had single rooms also. After a late start the next day, i took the boat around the fjord to Gudvangen. There was a big shop next to the dock so i got something to eat and some souvenir shopping. While i was occupied i noticed the boat pulled away. Eventually i walked across the parking lot toward the bus stop where a bus was parked. As i approached, it also pulled away. Now i do not read/speak Norweigen. From what i could decipher from the posted bus stop schedule: that was the LAST bus of the day. Suddenly the cold seemed VERY cold ! I did not know where to turn? I did not have enough money for a taxi. I considered calling the Embassy in Oslo but felt they would be closed. I considered calling home in California, then realized it was probably 3am. From the bus stop i could not see any hotels. Finally, i went back to the souvenir shop and tried to speak to the clerk. She got her boss. Thankfully he spoke english. While i had visions of freezing to death in Gudvangen,Norway,, he told me he knew a nearby lady selling a house. He phoned her and drove me over. Since the house was empty, she let me rent it one night. As she lived next door, she even brought me some food to eat. I was so relieved and thankful. Caught the boat back to Flam the next morning. Ever since, i have held warm feelings for the Norwegian people.

Mine was booking a flight on Swiss Air. btw - nothing I did, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not for the faint of heart. Sat down in my seat and noticed a strange smell like puke. Pulled out the flight magazine from the seat back pocket and it was wet. I went to talk to a crew member who came and sprayed some perfume in the seat back pocket and said it was water. I pulled the magazine out and waived it in front of their nose and they quickly moved their head back. Very strange and fast movement for just water. But it gets better. After taking off I decide to open the blanket that was on the seat and wrapped in plastic. Guess what? The blanket was wet and had the same smell as the seat back pocket. Must have been wrapped after the episode. First and last time for Swiss Air. Peace out,
Edwin PS - Anyone ever been puked on during a flight?

PS - Anyone ever been puked on during a flight? If you fly with babies/toddlers/kids often enough it will eventually happen - at least once. Moms are used to catching vomit with their bare hands to avoid having to scrub the carpet ....

I've not seen anyone puke on a plane but we did find puke on the floor of our room in London. We had dropped our bags quickly and left for the Tower, and didn't notice. We came back very late and noticed the smell then. Then we found it. There was no desk staff late at night but there was a back up buzzer and we woke up some guy (not the family owners). He couldn't figure out what to do so he relocated us for one night to another room. We ended up getting a full refund for the night, which helped to make up for it (although all week we kept thinking we could still smell it).

My earliest travel memories go back to the three week family vacations in the station wagon with all the camping gear and my four brothers. I learned early on than things don't always go right and every vacation comes with a great "Guess what went wrong?" story. From leaving my older brother in a gas station, and not discovering one of the kids was MIA until the pack of gum (5-pack) had a leftover stick. Or the ER visits on most vacations. Or tent camping and waking up to 6" of snow in Yellowstone. When my husband and I first started traveling more than 25 year ago, he was just amazed at my "calmness" when we got a flat tire in the middle of Nebraska at 2AM, no lugwrench, and 60 miles either direction from the nearest town that might have an open gas station. Now he handles these challenges the same way I do. We love perfect vacations, but imperfect travels are part of the adventure and stories to tell for years. Can't wait for our September road trip from Germany to Italy.

"We love perfect vacations, but imperfect travels are part of the adventure and stories to tell for years." Reminds me of my favorite quote by Kurt Vonnegut: "Unexpected travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."

These are all good stories. Some people have had some really arduous experiences. However, I don't agree with Randy that there are no real horrors here. I mean, come on people, don't you think being a woman alone in Paris without money, credit cards or contacts of any kind qualifies as a horror (see my post back near the beginning of this thread). I was a woman on the skids!

My husband and I were on vacation in Negril, Jamaica with a group of friends. First day there, we all decided to rent mopeds so we can get from the cliffs to the beach easily. Being the smart tourists that we are, we were wearing our Teva's and drove down the narrow, windy road toward the beach on the Moped. After about three minutes, we bottom out on a pothole, and head toward a small brick barrier in what seemed like slow motion. Again being very smart, we both braced for the collision by dragging our feet. Not a pretty sight. So then we were off to find the local clinic. It was after 4:00 pm so the clinic was closed. Went to the police station and they told us where the local doctor (from the US lived). So we find his compound, and are asked to wait on the patio until he's finished his dinnner. Finally (we are in Jamacia, the land with no time), and the doctor checks out our feet. My husband lost all his toe nails on one foot, and scraped up the other foot pretty good. I only lost a lot of skin. So after thoroughly cleaning our wounds, bandaging our feet and giving us each a tetnus shot and penicillin, we were all set. So a week in Jamaica, and neither of us could swim in the ocean, and obviously we returned the moped. We have pictures of our bandaged feet while relaxing on the lounge chairs with the ocean in the background. The beauty is, the doctor visit only cost $80.00, including the three followup visits during the week.
But, it didn't ruin the vacation, we just had a much different vacation experience than originally planned.

My employer told me I needed to use up a week vacation really quickly, leaving the next day or lose it, so ran out to the airport and found a week trip to Bodrum in Turkey with the kids at an all-inclusive resort kind of place. Nice hotel, good food, lovely beach on the Turkish Riviera, not too many Germans or Brits fighting over lounge chair reservations, and they had a fun program every day for the kids. All is going well and we are enjoying ourselves and then I got ill in the middle of the night. I had been very careful with the water, but it must have been something in the food, as the next morning, the line for the hotel Dr. stretched down the hall. I have seldom been so sick and was extremely dehydrated (won't go into details here!!), so the Dr. and his nurse come to my hotel room and hooked me up to an IV, using ribbon to hang it from the picture hook above my bed. After 2 bottles of saline solution and some meds, I was finally able to go back outside the next day. I sure watched it on the food though. My guess was salmenella, as the buffet was not refrigerated and I ate stuff that my kids hadn't. Did get to watch a lot of Turkish M-TV which was pretty entertaining, and got a lot of reading done. This was the first time in my life I had ever been ill like this, so it was a total surprise. Here I thought I had a cast-iron stomach.

First off, about puking on a plane. I was going to meet up with my wife in Paris. On the Int'l flight, early in the flight, I got up to use the bathroom. On my return, flight attendants were all over my seat and the person next to me was standing up and looking a bit ill. It was the women sitting behind me, however, who looked up Chuck, but found Ralph. Found him all over the back of my seat and beyond. Oh, how the call of nature, I found thee timely. Anyway, the attendants were pretty efficient about the cleanup. They had clearly done this before. I did not recline my chair on that flight, come to think of it.

As for travel horror stories, I need to write a book: Riffin, Wales - broke into our 400 year old hotel at 2 AM by entering a naked man (and his wife's) room with an access door leading to the roof on the third floor, off the rickety fire escape ledge (don't ask). Well...we guys weren't embarassed, but our wive's, for some reason, really freaked out. No luggage in Rome for three days - no big deal, but they do not sell "big boy" underwear in Rome, apparently, so I had to settle. Was singing soprano by the time the luggage finally arrived. Slept in the car, during a snow storm, across from the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. Town was completely booked for some festival. Turned out to be a lover's lane spot. (the view of the Alhambra, with snow floating down through the floodlights on the palace - oh, yeah!!!). While the kids in the cars next to us were keeping warm the traditional way, we "adults" in the compact were trying to figure out what the least embarassing position would be for us to be in when the local authorities found our frozen corpses in the morning. Charter flight got cancelled at the airport - organizer absconded with the money. So we booked a polar night flight on Pam Am. (Does that make me look older??). Because of this, all of our reservations were off by a day and it took us a week to finally catch up with our original itinerary. Later, we got about 80% of our charter flight funds back, but still, the Pam Am flight was on top of that. I have more, but space and time.....

OK, since others have included US trip stories I have to tell you about what my family refers to as "the trip from H..." we took when I was 16.....
Two Dodge RVs- 13 people (2 couples, their 5 kids, grandmother and few spare cousins, etc.) 6+ weeks from Atlanta to California and back. Lived through a F4 tornado in Oklahoma. Fuel pump in one RV clogged while going through Death Valley and engine kept catching on fire. 2 of us had to stand next to the engine cover (inside those old RVs) and hold it up, third person kept a fire extinguisher aimed at the engine and gave it a balst when flames shot out. Did that until we got to a gas station where my father (mechanic) replaced the fuel pump and line. In Yellowstone National Park on July4- no reservations, so no camping space. Had to be out of park by 8:00pm. Driving DOWN the moutain and the brakes fail. Dad "mends" them with a plastic milk carton while parked on the side of the very steep road. Just outside St. Louis the starter cracked. Got the RV started again and kept it running from that point on- never turned it off for 3 days and nights... Now you understand why I like to FLY to EUROPE and stay in nice hotels...

Last Fall my mother went to Europe with me. It was her first trip abroad. Our 2nd stop was Salzburg, and I had booked us in a hotel in the old part of the city that was not staffed 24 hours. I had given a time when I thought we would arrive, but at the train station we accidentally got on a bus going in the wrong direction. So by the time we arrived at the bus stop closest to the hotel, we were already late. I was so worried we wouldn't be able to get in the hotel and would have no place to stay, so I was trying to walk fast. My mother couldn't keep up, so she said to run ahead and she would follow behind. If we got separated, we would call or text each other to find each other. I ran ahead, but made a wrong turn and had to backtrack-a step my mother didn't see me take. I got to the hotel and saw an envelope with my name on the door and my key inside! So I grabbed the key and ran back to where I left my mother, but she was no where in sight. I tried to text her-no service! With ATT this was the 1st place I went in Europe with no service. For 2 hours I ran around the old town in a panic looking for my mother. I could see how beautiful the city was, but couldn't enjoy it! At one point I ran back to the hotel to drop my backpack so I could run faster. A woman was there who tried to get my information, and must have thought I was crazy when I ignored her and ran back out. Finally I realized I was going over and over again to the same places unsuccessfully, and had to try somewhere new. I went through some pillars that I originally thought would take me into the church, but instead ended up in another square where I found my mother standing by a fountain looking lost. She didn't remember the name of the hotel, so didn't know where to go if I didn't find her! I don't know why I didn't just tell her before I ran off to sit down and just wait for me to come back.

I am reminded of the scare I had on a train from Arles to Cinque Terre. My husband is a Planner by profession and therefor always the navigator, and a good one at that. After settling into a berth on our third connection that day my husband started wondering if we were on the correct train. As he became more doubtful he stood up, took his coat off and handed it to me as he left saying something about finding someone working on the train to help out. After about 15 minutes he had not returned and it looked like the train was going to leave the station. I had last seen him from the window walking up and down the platform. I suddenly realized that I had his coat and zipped up safely in the pockets were his wallet, passport and phone. I became quite upset as I did not know if my husband was on the train or not. I ran out into the aisle and looked through the car for him to no avail. I looked out the door onto the platform. No husband. I was frightened that we would be separated and he would have no money, no passport, and no means of communication. I didn't know whether to stay on the train or get off! I finally decided to chance it and stay on because I couldn't get both of our bags off the train quickly and we had a friend at our destination that I hoped he could figure out how to reach, without having her number or address, of course. The train left the station and I began to cry as I kept envisioning my husband stranded with no coat, no passport, no money! The elderly Italian couple opposite me, who spoke no English and did not understand my attempts at communication, kept looking at me like I was deranged. About five minutes later my husband walked in. He said he was in the next car! I was happy he was not stranded but then anger was setting in. We did not speak for hours. I sometimes wonder what the Italian couple told their friends about our little drama. Lesson: always have a backup plan and keep it on you!

My travel horror stories are actually both quite serious. I got attacked by a dog in some awful town in upstate New York. The owner just stood there watching holding a shotgun! What made it worse was that the police were completely useless. The dog attacked 5 more people before they would do anything. I also was the victim of attempted rape in San Francisco at 3pm on a busy street in the touristy part of the city. This is why I roll my eyes whenever Americans fret about crime in Europe! I haven't had many other horror stories. I get lost quite a lot as I am useless at reading maps. I also frequently regret what I order in restaurants. I really must learn to take my time and really try to translate the menu before I order.

"I also was the victim of attempted rape in San Francisco at 3pm on a busy street in the touristy part of the city. This is why I roll my eyes whenever Americans fret about crime in Europe!" Exactly right Laura, I do too. I'm so sorry that happened to you in NY and SF, hell of a welcome to the US.

Last year, I was invited to the White House, for the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities act, on July 26. (No, I'm not rich or famous!) The planning and getting there (Dulles) worked like clockwork. That was Saturday. On Sunday, I felt a teeny sore spot on my jaw. I ignored it. 12 hours later it really hurt. AND, in 24 hours I will be at the White House! By 4 am, it hurt too much. Went to the ER. 12 hours now to the White House! The doctor says its serious (suspected MRSA ...). Suggests staying a few days. (Over my dead body!). I get an IV and 2 prescriptions of killer meds. Well, the White House experience was awesome! I even shook President Obama's hand! (Hasn't been washed since!) One more trip to ER (4 am, Wednesday) - more IV. Still could admit me, but I am heading home Thursday. Friday, ER at home - another IV and a CT scan. And more pills. Saturday, another IV (doctor's orders) By the time this medical journey was done, I had made 5 trips to ER, 4 IV's and a CT scan, 3 bottles of killer pills, a nasal antibiotic (MRSA lives there). I got "this close" - to (1) missing a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and (2) to being seriously sick at the same time. Morals of this story - (1) don't play with symptoms and wait ... I probably would have been very VERY sick or worse if I didn't go to the ER. and (2) carry medical information - you never know when you may need it!

I have bad travel luck - mostly delayed flights or lost luggage, but the worst by far was my trip home from Greece last year. We arrived in Greece on May 1 - nat'l holiday and the start of all of the protests. Had an uneventful 10 day trip around Athens and cruise to 5 islands. We were supposed to fly from Santorini to Athens to JFK to home. We get up at 4:30 am Santorini time and get to the airport 1.5 hr b/4 flight. They have computer problems and it takes 40 minutes to check us in, print luggage tags, etc. Flight to Athens is uneventful. Have >2 hr layover - time to eat breakfast. Plane is 1.5 hr late - due to volcano ash, they had to fly very south then north to Greece. Finally get on the plane and pilot comes over speaker to say that we will be delayed another 1.5 hrs. Ash cloud has moved and we can no longer go south, we have to fly N, over Iceland and the polar ice cap, then S to JFK and there is only a narrow path that all flights are taking - we just have to wait. Luckily they turned on entertainment system & brought out the drink cart. Of course – don't sleep a wink on the now 14 hr flight (due to detours) Finally land in JFK over 4 hrs late. Takes 2.5 hrs to clear customs. We stand in the long line to rebook connection. Only 2 people working the desk - What was Delta thinking? Manage to look at the flight board and see that our original flight to CMH has been delayed and is not supposed to leave for 1.5 hrs. Go upstairs, fight through security and get to gate. There are over 500 passengers milling around and more than 8 flights going out of 3 gates. There is some weather somewhere and construction on JFK runways so massive delays but no one is really updating anyone on status. I go to 2 diff counters to make sure I don't have to recheck in for flight. Both times told, no - if you have boarding pass - not a problem. cont'd

Finally at 11:00 pm (6 am Greece time the next day) we start to board the plane. When I get to the gate, am told - you don't have tix for this flight, you have been rebooked on 9:30 am flight next morning out of LaGuardia. Of course, by this time I am annoyed and not having any of that. I plead my case and the gate agent says, yes – there is room on the plane but she has to reseat us, we'll be the last ones on board. I don't care – just want a seat. It takes 1.5 hr to taxi to front of line due to construction and only 1 runway working. Finally take off at 12:30 am. Land in Columbus 2:00 am. Somehow luggage made it onto flight but the zipper has been broken somewhere along the line. Delta won't let me file a claim because TSA causes broken zippers, whatever – I am beyond exhausted at this time. Then drop my friend off at her house and I have a 1.5 hr drive home. Finally make it to my house at 5am – have been up for over 31 hours. Just want to sleep. Cat thinks it is play time because she hasn't seen me for 10 days. Try to sleep and wake up after 4 hours. Head into work for a few hours because hey – I'm up. Finally crashed at 8 pm. Felt like a human the next day. All in all, not nearly as bad as some people's stories but it was absolutely exhausting. I am still amazed that my luggage made it home with me.

Our story takes place on the train from Ljubljana to Budapest in July. We had travelled to Europe many times but never taken a train. We thought we had asked the right questions before buying our ticket from the English speaking agent but apparently we hadn't!!! We boarded the Death Train at 7 am for the 7 hour ride together with our picnic lunch and a bottle of water each. Had a compartment to ourselves, enjoyed the scenery and an early lunch. Train started heating up whenever we stopped-and we stopped at every little station along the way. No AC but the window was open! Remember, this is July-record setting temperatures that year (41 Celsius where Budapest had to pour water on the tram tracks!) At each stop, we felt like we were in a metal incinerator. Arms and legs spread as far apart as possible and as much exposed skin as decent. No English spoken or posted and our Hungarian was pretty much limited to please and thank you. No food car, (I thought every train had a dining car!!) no idea of how long the train stop would be at each little place. Would we have enough time to get off the train to buy more water? By the 5th hour, no more water and starting to feel panicky. Water in bathroom was not for drinking but I did splash it on myself to cool down. That lasted only a few seconds. In desperation with 2 more hours to go, found the conductor and motioned about need for water. He led me down through the rolling train to his private car where he sold me a bottle of Coke! I think that $4 bottle kept me from serious dehydration! Did we learn valuable life lessons? You bet. Do we have a NOW funny story to tell about our lack of preparation (embarrassing for a usually detailed planner)? Yes. Will we take another train? Only after careful investigation.

We spent 2 weeks one September wading our way through Costa Rica (a very wet rainy season). We were pretty oblivious to anything going on in the rest of the world by the time we got back to San Jose to fly out the next day because there were no radios or televisions anywhere we stayed. One of the first things we did was turn on CNN and WHOA!!! There's a hurricane coming! Yes, Rita was on her way and she was heading right for us and our connection in Houston. Called the airline and sure enough, flight cancelled. Went to the front desk and sure enough, booked solid for the next day. Now, we loved Costa Rica but they have some really big nasty but colorful bugs down there and I wasn't about to go sleep out on the hotel lawn with them. The hotel told us not to worry, they'd help us the next day. I hurried up and got on the internet and notified our employers we wouldn't be into work and didn't know when we would be. Obviously with no one flying into CR, the hotel hadroom and we spent an entire day watching CNN. The next day I decided enough was enough and I called a driver to pick us up and take us on a trip to a volcano and an oxcart factory. When the driver got there, he asked if we'd been ziplining and was surprised when my husband confessed he wouldn't. After talking hubby into it and promising not to tell his boss, he took us to the volcano and then ziplining. We had an absolute blast that day--our best of the trip! We finally made it home and even though we ended up taking time off without pay, I refused to file a claim with our trip insurer. The horror story gone good was so worthwhile it just didn't seem right.