Avoid these 12 travel transportation mistakes to save time and money

12 Travel Transportation Mistakes to Avoid

After ten years of travelling, I have definitely made my fair share of mistakes relating to transportation. I have missed trains, planes, and buses, wasted time trying to reach my next destination and wasted money having to buy new tickets. I want to share all the lessons I’ve learned about transportation while travelling to help you avoid doing the same thing.  

Keep reading to find out how to avoid these 12 travel transportation mistakes so that you can save time and money on your next trip !

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Travel Mistake #1: Assuming the main train station is the only train station 

After I finished a tour of the Great Ocean Road in Australia, I had booked the Overland train from Adelaide back to Melbourne so I could catch a flight to Tasmania. On the morning of the train journey, I showed up at the Adelaide Railway Station looking for my train and couldn’t find it. I finally asked a taxi driver where the trains were, and it turns out that all interstate train services leave from a terminal on the outskirts of the city and the ‘Railway Station’ is only for regional service and trams. Thankfully, the taxi driver quickly drove me to the Adelaide Parklands Terminal and I boarded my train with 4 minutes to spare. 

Make sure to check your tickets for the exact station you need to depart from and don’t assume that the closest or biggest station or airport is the correct one. This also goes for airports in major cities, for example London, England has four airports. So double check where you actually need to be, because different stations can be on completely opposite ends of the city if you get it wrong. 

Travel Mistake #2: Looking for your destination rather than the final destination on train departure boards 

This sounds like an easy issue to avoid, but departure boards in busy stations can be confusing and I managed to make this mistake in Italy and miss a high speed train. We were leaving from Roma Termini for a weekend on the Amalfi Coast, and we had train tickets from Rome to Naples. I was looking for a train going to Naples and could only find one going to Salerno at the same departure time as our tickets, so we didn’t board the train thinking it was the wrong destination or an express train. 

We sat in an Italian McDonald’s drinking espresso until I realized at the last minute that the train to Naples actually continues on to Salerno as the final destination and we missed boarding the train by about a minute, and had to buy new tickets for the next departure. 

Avoid this issue by making sure to match the number of the train on your ticket to the number on the departure board, and look for the direction of the train rather than your particular destination, especially if it’s not the last stop.

Travel Mistake #3: Not having a way to actually get to the train station or airport

I encountered this issue in the small town of Durham in Northern England. I had come to visit a family member who had finished an exchange year at the University of Durham so we had a large amount of luggage and couldn’t reasonably walk to the train station from the university.

We thought we could simply call a taxi the morning we wanted to catch a train down to London. However, all the taxi companies were booked or busy on that particular morning when all the students move out of residence. We desperately tried calling all the taxis in town, but none could come get us before our train was scheduled to leave so we had missed it by the time we arrived in town at the station. 

This should never be an issue in big cities, but in smaller locations without public transport, make sure there is actually a possible way to get to the train station or airport especially at unusual hours like really early in the morning. Alternatively, book a transfer in advance if you have a flight or train ride that you can’t risk missing.

Travel Mistake #4: Avoiding taking a taxi when you really need to 

Back when I was a student, I would go back and forth between my university town and my parents’ house on the train quite frequently. Usually, it was very easy to catch a city bus for free from campus to the train station with my student card.

However, in the winter the public city buses would often be delayed by snow. One time in January, I just kept waiting for the bus on campus, even though it was getting close to the train departure time, I didn’t want to pay for a taxi when I was a student, and I ended up missing the train since I got to the station too late on the public bus. 

Even though I was eventually allowed on the next train for free since there was a lot of confusion and delays at the station that day, this is another example of when you don’t save money skipping a 15$ taxi ride just to miss a 50$ train ride. Even if you are trying to save money, be logical and pay for a taxi when you really need to.

 Travel Mistake #5: Booking a flight to a secondary airport without realizing it 

This is an easy mistake to make in Europe especially since budget airline will often list a smaller regional airport with the name of the closest major city. Some of these smaller airports may in fact be hours away from the city you actually want to visit and will require an additional bus or train journey to reach your final destination, at which point it is sometimes cheaper to just book a ticket directly into the city you actually wanted in the first place.

If you need to transfer to another flight, you also need to be aware how far away these secondary airports can sometimes be from the main city. I almost made this mistake of booking a cheap flight into Paris-Beauvais to reach a connecting flight to Barcelona from Paris Orly on the far side of the city during rush hour, so I paid a bit more to just fly directly into Paris. 

Some examples are Barcelona-Girona, Paris-Beauvais, and Dusseldorf-Weeze, if the airport name contains two cities, look it up and check where it is actually located.

Travel Mistake #6: Booking a flight too close to the start of a tour or activity 

I made this mistake in New Zealand. I had been on a tour of the North Island for a week, and I had a 7am flight from Wellington to Christchurch to meet a different group touring the South Island and I was supposed to meet them at 9am at Christchurch airport.  

My flight was rescheduled late the night before, so I missed the 9am tour departure from Christchurch and had to re-join the group in Queenstown two days later instead since the group couldn’t wait several hours for me at the airport. Someone else on the tour had the same issue after hitting traffic on the way to Melbourne airport and missing his flight. 

The lesson here is to always arrive a day early for a multi day tour or other high cost activity that you have already paid for and cannot be easily rescheduled or changed.

Travel Mistake #7: Avoiding a more expensive direct flight when it makes the most sense 

I was in Greece for about a month sailing around the islands with a tour group, and when we finished the tour on Rhodes, I had the choice to fly directly to Thessaloniki from Rhodes to meet my next tour or fly with the original group back to Athens and take a train from there.

It would have cost an extra 80E to fly direct vs. around 40E to go from Athens to Thessaloniki on the train. I ended up flying back to Athens, and it cost almost 40E just to get a taxi from the airport to the train station, the train was slow and delayed and took the entire day to reach the destination, and it didn’t help the environment either since I had still taken a flight. That choice not to take the direct flight ended up costing me more money and I didn’t get much time in Thessaloniki either. 

There are lots of very legitimate reasons to avoid flights, whether due to fear, personal preference or the environmental impact of flying, taking an alternative form of transportation can be a good choice, just be careful of avoiding a more expensive direct flight because it may not save you money in the end.

Travel Mistake #8: Trying to bring a full backpack on the plane as hand luggage 

You can definitely get away with just bringing a backpack as a carry on if it fits the dimensions allowed by the airline and often just by wearing a few items if you are overweight by a kilo or two. I have definitely boarded a Ryanair flight before wearing a pair of jeans as a scarf to avoid the extra baggage charges. 

However, if your bag really is going to be way overweight, its often cheaper to just accept it and pre pay the luggage charge online. I almost made this mistake on a flight to Cambodia, I had a 15kg main backpack and a really large purse and I was going to try and bring it all without paying, but the night before I decided to just pay the 30$ USD luggage charge to be safe. 

It turned out to be the right choice since the airline did weigh my luggage and I could not have passed it off as a carry on. Cambodia Angkor Air also charged 60$ USD cash only at the departure counter if you didn’t pre-purchase luggage allowance. There were three backpackers in line at the check in counter in front of me who all had their bags rejected and had to rush around trying to find USD cash in the airport right before the flight to Cambodia. 

The lesson here is that it’s often better to just pre pay for luggage allowance if your baggage is truly not going to fit the allowed dimensions. 

Travel Mistake #9: Dropping your Metro Pass onto the train tracks

This issue is very avoidable but it happened to me in Taipei. I had an integrated tourist pass/metro card to use on a four day visit to Taipei in Taiwan, and it contained all my attraction tickets, including an expensive visit to the Taipei 101 tower.  

As I got off the subway train, I was holding my card in my hand and I tripped on a grate on the floor and dropped the card into the grate. The subway maintenance people could not retrieve it and the Taiwan Fun Pass company who issued the card wouldn’t replace it since technically I ‘lost it’ even though I knew where it was. 

I couldn’t transfer the value to a new card either, so I lost 70 CAD worth of value by tripping in the metro. I also lost a 7 day metro card in New York City once, so I suggest you keep cards and passes secured safely in a wallet, pocket, or on a lanyard keychain case until you need them and don’t walk around the subway station for an extended amount of time with your card in your hand ! 

Travel Mistake #10: Not booking high speed train tickets in advance in Europe (if you can)

Many high speed trains services in Europe offer much lower prices if you book several weeks in advance online. This is particularly true on the Eurostar, in France, Spain and the UK. Booking in advance often doesn’t make a big difference for slower regional trains but it could make a significant difference on the high speed lines if you have a trip planned in advance.

For example, I booked an advance student Eurostar ticket from London to Lille for 38E when I was travelling alone and it would have been over 100E to book same day at the station. Another time I was with my family taking the train from Edinburgh to London, the advance family deal for four people was only 50 pounds, when same day tickets would have been over 800 pounds.

Many people don’t always know their plans in advance, so other alternatives to an expensive high speed train are taking multiple slower regional trains, taking the bus or planning the trip with a rail pass.

Travel Mistake #11: Assuming that a rail pass will allow you to take any train in a country

There are some countries in Europe where you can effectively take any train you like around the country at any time with a rail pass, especially in Central and Eastern Europe.

But there are also significant restrictions on many Western Europe rail passes around taking the high speed trains, especially in France, Spain and Italy. You often need to either make an official reservation or pay a supplement price to use the fastest trains. Some trains will also limit how many rail pass holders can travel on a particular service. 

I actually decided against using a rail pass on a 2 month backpacking trip to Europe, because I did the math it worked out cheaper to just book the high speed rail tickets online in advance. Make sure you read the fine print before you book a rail pass, they can still be a flexible way to see Europe, but there may be more restrictions and added costs than you think. 

Tip: Using an under 27 rail pass can be a great way to travel on a budget as a young person

Click here to read about more travel experiences to have in your twenties

Travel Mistake #12: Only bringing a carry on when you need to check a bag

 Packing light is usually a great idea, you often need much less than you think, and it is much easier to get around big cities and use public transportation if you can comfortably carry your luggage yourself.

However, if the travel activities you are going to do require special equipment or if you personally require specific or hard to find products, it might make more sense to just pay to check a bag with items you will need, instead of trying to replace missing items upon arrival.

I made this mistake in Europe, when I went to Croatia for a month to do a sailing tour and attend several music festivals. I left my special contact lens solution, contact lens eye drops, sunscreen, mineral makeup and some festival costume items at home to avoid checking a bag, since liquids were restricted in carry ons.

I ended up spending more than 100E upon arrival in Croatia trying to replace all the things I left in Canada, just to avoid a 25$ checked baggage fee. I also had a hard time finding an exact replacement for my contact lens solution. It makes no sense to spend money to save money, so just pack reasonably, bring what you really need and check luggage when it makes the most sense.

Don’t make these 12 travel transportation mistakes !

These are my top 12 tips to avoid a travel transportation issue that could cost you you a significant amount of time or money and a lot of frustration on your trip ! Remember to give yourself enough time, double check bookings and destinations, and use logic and common sense when it comes to luggage and packing and you can avoid many of these issues I have experienced over 10 years of travelling around the world.

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