Well here we are with the final edition of our three piece article featuring some of the world’s top travel bloggers waxing lyrical about what they can’t stand about travel.
Who’d have thought that any of these wandering nomads got bothered about anything travel related other than having to stay put?! But there we have it; the world is indeed a fabulously strange and curious place.
So, if you can’t wait any longer to discover who thinks that mosquitoes suck and bed bugs bite, right here is where you get the low down. And if you’re thinking of sending in your own personal accounts of travel hell, get in touch with Tinggly as it would be a pleasure to hear from you.
All the best and happy travels y’all!
Phil – Philin The Blank
I tend to travel between the US and West Africa these days. There are things I love about both places. One thing I don’t love is transporting cargo in either direction. Having friends on both sides means that I almost always have an excessive amount of baggage. Considering I used to be an extremely light traveler, this is the one thing I appreciate the least about my current travels: schlepping through airports, train and bus stations with 2 rolling suitcases and 3 backpacks.
SJ Begonja – Chasing The Donkey
Packing, and unpacking. Urrghhh its the worst. I always over pack, and then take weeks (sometimes months) to fully unpack my suitcase. Find a good packing list and take their advice and not over pack.
Nienke – The Travel Tester
While I can get over most little annoyances during my travels, there is one thing that I just cannot handle and that is snoring people, I’m sorry! I remember that during our trek in Nepal, we could hear the guy in the room next to us in the guest house snoring so hard, I just couldn’t handle it. I ended up picking up my sleeping bag and moved to the dining area outside, where I spend the rest of the night sleeping on the wooded benches at freezing temp. Everything better than listening to that, haha!
Frank – BBQ Boy
Easy; the packing and repacking.
Talon – 1 Dad 1 Kid
I hate long-haul flights, but even worse are bus rides lasting more than 4 hours.
Marysia – My Travel Affairs
Airports and being in transit. I love being on the road, I do not mind 12h ride in the middle of Kazakhstan or taking a 8h bus in Iran, but the more I travel the more I dislike being in the airports and in the planes. All the boring, monotonic procedures which you face couple of times a week, it is just too much for me. That is why for past 2 years I try to travel slower and cross all borders by land, if possible of course.
Jonny – One Step 4ward
How bloody awful it is for my health – gym, healthy eating and a routine are out the window. Weird sleep patterns, dodgy street food and too much booze all work their way in.
Camille – This American Girl
Food poisoning. I’ve been ill in hostel dorms, shacks on islands with no electricity, long bus rides through the mountains, you name it. Nothing breaks my spirit like not being able to hold down food or water. It’s the only time on the road I think about going home. So, I discovered a way to keep myself from every getting food poisoning on the road. I wrote about it in this blog post: Travel world never get food poisoning
Jodi – Legal Nomads
Definitely, packing.
Zippy – Champagne Living
Flying, especially waiting in airports . It’s tiring, and unless you’re sitting next to someone fascinating, it’s merely a wind-down time.
Kaeli Conforti – Budget Travel
I think our society is becoming too reliant on technology to fix everything when we travel. Fancy phones allow us to not have to read maps or even learn languages any more–there’s an app for that. Personally, I love to unplug when I travel, and usually only use my phone to take photos and shoot an occasional message back home, but that’s it. I still carry paper maps (because, let’s face it, technology problems always find me!) and learn a few phrases in the local language before I go so I can at least strike up a conversation when I’m there. My favorite part of travel is getting totally lost in a new place on purpose and seeing what kind of things I come across. There’s something magical about wandering through a new city and stumbling upon the perfect view, restaurant, or a random street festival. But all this technology is getting in the way of that and I hate it.
Michael – Go, See, Write
Since I’m always working while traveling it’s sometimes hard to keep track of my stuff. If I had an office or a permanent space for all of my things I might be easier to stay organized.
Jonathan – Life Part 2
Hard question, I guess I would have to say going home. When I am on a trip, I am almost always in a “go with the flow” mood. When the trip is ending I find that attitude I was talking about harder to find and just want to get home. That is why I will often begin a trip on a boat or a bus, but return home on an airplane.
Shannon – 2 Travel Everywhere
The hardest thing is living out of a suitcase or backpack. Sure, it’s nice to get down to basics and get rid of unnecessary stuff in life, but it can also be exhausting! Sometimes you just want to be in one place for a bit, not living out of a suitcase.
Mike & Anne – Honey Trek
Packing and unpacking from place to place. This is one reason we are excited to buy a campervan this summer…you can go anywhere and your stuff is always with you and ready to go.
Kristin Winet – Bon Touriste
Waiting in line at the airport!
Travis Sherry – Extra Pack of Peanuts
I HATE going through security at airports. When you fly 50+ times a year, you are literally wasting days of your life showing your boarding pass, taking off your shoes, taking out your laptop, setting off the scanner for something that doesn’t exist and getting patted down by a random person with blue gloves on. And if you’re India, you get to go through that process three times before even getting on a plane!
Bianca – It’s All Bee
Airport security!!! I have had my hair ruffled before as my hair usually puffs up due to humidity. I guess they must have thought I had drugs stashed in there. Another time my metal hair clip sounded the alarm, which meant I had to have someone ruffle through my hair. Again! I have also had bras that had alarms going off too, which warranted someone coming too close to my lady lumps. All that business of taking shoes off and bits and pieces is not something that excites me, but I have now learned to make it easier on myself through dressing lightly, carrying less items that seem to draw unnecessary attention.
Deia – Nomad Wallet
Packing and unpacking! And dragging all that stuff I’ve packed all over the world. Ugh. If only teleportation was real…
Anton Diaz – Our Awesome Planet
Blogging while on the road because it is hard to get on a blogging grove while enjoying and maximizing your travel.
Jo – Indiana Jo
Bed bugs. The pink bites, the painful itch, the paranoia that they’re in your bed. From cheap digs to fancy hotels, it’s an unfortunate reality that statistically as a long-term traveller I meet more often than I’d like.
Nellie – Wild Junket
I love flying, but hate going through long security lines and delayed flights.
Greg Goodman – Adventures of a Good Man
While traveling, I do a good job of living the old adage, ‘home is where the heart is.’ That, or ‘home is the guesthouse where my backpack spills out onto the floor’. However, I really love having an actual home. A place that I don’t have to pack up and leave ever few days, weeks or months. A place where I can unload my storage unit and unpack all the awesome souvenirs I’ve accumulated while traveling. But you know the funniest thing about actually having that “home?” As soon as I get it, I start dreaming of the next trip!
Giulia Cimarosti – Travel Reportage
One thing I dislike about traveling is when you don’t get along well with your travel companions. This can lead to some real frustration, fights, and ruin your trip too. So well, I travel solo almost all the time and avoid the issue! This way nobody is disappointed (but one day I will find my soul-mate and we will travel together, of course!).
And there ends our third and final instalment as to what travel bloggers hate about their chosen field of excellence.
If you’ve got a few more whines and moans to add to any of our awesome article writers and blogging boffins then please feel free to get in touch with Tinggly.
You really do make our day with your suggestions and comments which is why we hope we’ve made yours with the help of our travel blogging buddies.
Until we meet again, have fun and keep travelling.
Tinggly
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Read the part 1: What do travel bloggers hate about traveling?
Read the part 2: What do more travel bloggers hate about traveling?