Traveling is an amazing experience that will more likely than not leave you with stories to share in the future, but sometimes things don’t go quite as planned. Behind the photos of picturesque landscapes, white sandy beaches, exotic street scenes, or quaint European towns, every traveller has their share of travel mishaps. 

Perceptions can be very different than reality. I took the photo above at a well-known beach in Malaysia that supposedly is home to hundreds of monkeys. In reality, we discovered the beach to be trashy and the monkeys lived in tight dirty cages only to be let out when tourists showed up. It was definitely not what we expected. These things happen, and if they haven't to you yet, they are bound to sometime in your journeys. But have no fear! These unexpected moments happen to all of us, and they make the most hilarious stories… after you’ve recovered, of course. 

The stories from seven different travel bloggers are sure to make you laugh, and feel a little better if you have just experienced a not-so-pleasant travel moment yourself. 

Travel Bloggers Share Their Best Misadventures on the Road

Lain from the kiwihaslanded is a popular travel blogger blogger from New Zealand. At 22, he quit his job and began travelling the world. Since then Lain has travelled to 109 countries and has had his fair share of travel fails, such as one involving a squat toilet and a painful hike through Patagonia. Read about them here. 

Meet Tom and Katherine, an Australian couple who have been traveling the world on and off since 2007. So far they have visited 60 countries while impressively balancing building careers and wanderlust. Their personal travel fails photo essay is both funny and relatable, showing photos that don’t usually make it to social media. Read here. 

Tara Povey is a young traveler from New Zealand and Ireland. After quitting her job as a pharmacist, she began traveling all over five continents, sharing her stories and helpful tips on whereistara.com. Tara has a pretty impressive photo collection of beautiful travel photos, but her travel outtakes article shares some of the less glamorous moments that I’m sure many travelers could relate to. Read here. 
 
Catherine lives in Montreal but manages to find time to travel while still keeping a full time job, and hopes to show others they can do the same. Her blog, the go fever, has a whole page dedicated to travel fails. My favorite is a story she shares on getting lost in the extremely large and complex Fes Medina of Morocco. 

After meeting at a small hostel in the Canarian Islands, Manu and Kasia have been traveling together through South-East Asia and Europe for two years. Their blog features all kinds of exciting adventure travel stories that are sure to inspire you to explore, but of course they, too, have had some misadventures. Read them here. 

Rachael from Rachelenroute is an American traveler who has lived in New Zealand, Australia, London, and currently NYC. Her article, Seven Travel Fails and How to Recover From Them Like a Boss, is one of my personal favorites. She shares some very realistic and relatable unsuccessful moments from her travels, like losing your luggage, getting robbed, or falling sick abroad, but also writes how to recover from them. Her article is insightful and super helpful, a definite read if you are every feeling discouraged after a travel flop.

Nikki is a British travel blogger who is currently living in Tanzania. Her article features stories and lessons learned from misadventures in South-East Asia. My personal favorite is the one involving an angry elephant! Read the full article here. 

The moral of the story is you can survive any tough situation that travel throws at you. One time my family had giant spiders crawling out of the ceiling of our Airbnb in Mexico. Months later during a week long trip across France we instant booked a flat only to find out, after a dark five kilometer up-hill walk, they had declined our booking, leaving us with nowhere to stay. Finally, my favorite story to tell is the time that I unknowingly ordered (and ate) pork brain from a food stall in a Bangkok market. 

What has surprised you during your travels? What stories do you tell most?

Izabel Antle is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program. She's traveling the world with her family - follow her adventures at https://wheremycarryontakesme.wordpress.com/

Photo courtesy and copyright Izabel Antle