Detours Welcome: Turning Travel Mishaps into Life Lessons
The airport gate flashes “Delayed.” Your luggage is somewhere between here and a mystery continent. It’s raining on the one day you planned for the perfect sunset photo. Travel has a funny way of shredding our carefully color-coded itineraries — and then handing us something better in return. Because somewhere between the missed train and the wrong turn is where perspective sneaks in. The stories we laugh hardest about rarely begin with “Everything went exactly as planned.” They begin with chaos, discomfort, and the moment we decide: this will ruin the trip… or make it unforgettable.
If travel teaches us anything, it’s that control is mostly an illusion. The power outage becomes candlelit conversation with strangers. The wrong turn leads to a café you’d never have found on purpose. The storm that cancels your boat tour gives you an afternoon to wander without an agenda. When we loosen our grip on how the trip should look, we make room for how it actually feels — raw, unpredictable, and often far richer than the postcard version we imagined.
Making the Most of Travel’s Curveballs
Each year I try to find a “focus word” for the year. This is a word that will help keep me focused on something I would like to enhance or improve. Back in 2024, I chose the word PERSPECTIVE and it really helped the way I travel. The word perspective reminds me to see things according to their true importance, or their relationship to other things. In other words, don’t sweat the small stuff! Issues will happen…how you deal with them is what matters.
Looking back over my past trips, there is always something that didn’t go as planned. Some have been minor, while others have been a bit bigger. I choose to keep such things in perspective before and during travel. This has meant that I can continue to focus on the larger picture of what travel means to me…a deep joy and freedom. Travel is also an immense privilege that I never take for granted. I choose to roll with things as they happen, in order to still enjoy the overall experience.
Let’s break possible travel mishaps into three main categories:
- Weather-related issues
- Logistical issues
- Health issues
1. Weather Issues
The biggest question mark for any trip is always Mother Nature. You can plan and plan, but the weather will often throw a wrench into those carefully laid plans. I have had a few different times where Mother Nature has tried her best to ruin a trip for me. However, I did not let her win and I still managed to enjoy myself.
Foggy Views in Switzerland
On my Romantic Rhine river cruise with Avalon in 2017, I spent a few days pre-cruise in Switzerland. One of the excursions I was most looking forward to was a day visiting Mount Pilatus and Lucerne. With an elevation of nearly 7,000 feet, Mount Pilatus promises sweeping views of the picturesque Swiss Alps. However, the day I visited proved to be rather foggy. The fog thickened as I crept up to the summit in a cable car. My few glimpses of the scenery near the bottom were completely erased at the top. A mass of thick, dense fog blanketed the entire area!
So yes, the promised views were non-existent. But does that mean the day was ruined? Of course not! I enjoyed the cable car trip to the summit, and then spent some time at the summit wandering around. I enjoyed a nice lunch in the restaurant at the summit. A small Toblerone chocolate bar was a nice, sweet treat. After lunch, I took the cogwheel train, the steepest in the world by the way, back down to the base. From here, my group continued on to explore Lucerne.
Rain in Brazil
Another time when Mother Nature attempted to get the best of me was during my visit to Iguazu Falls. This visit was in Foz de Iguazu, Brazil, after my Carnival In Rio cruise with Azamara in 2023. My tour group arrived at the Brazilian side of the falls on a cloudy and humid morning. We made our way through the entry line and took the short bus ride to the start of the hiking trail. Less than five minutes after starting our hike, the rain began falling. Actually, “rain” seems a bit of an understatement…it was a torrential downpour!
I had a hat and poncho with me. But by the time I actually got the poncho out and put it on, I was already soaked through. Luckily, I had some moisture-wicking clothing and sandals on, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. My group huddled under a small shelter area near a concession stand and talked over our options. We all agreed that since we were already there (and already rather wet!), we may as well continue the trip. Turning around and heading back to the hotel seemed a bit silly to all of us. So, we carried on and finished the hike in the rain. Did I get wet? You bet I did! Did I enjoy the day? Absolutely.
- Check the weather forecast ahead of time to get a general sense of what weather to expect
- Prepare for any possible weather issues by packing some small basics: umbrella and/or poncho for rain, or a hat, scarf, and gloves for cold weather
- Have a few “Plan B” options available if severe weather cancels or closes options you had originally planned to do
2. Logistics Issues
Another common challenge when traveling can be when the logistics change. This can encompass any number of problems…delayed or cancelled flights, missing luggage, hotel cancellations, etc. As with the weather, logistics issues are virtually always out of your control. Hopefully the issues present themselves ahead of time so you can make adjustments. But sometimes logistics issues pop up without warning. How you choose to react to a logistics issue can mean the difference between enjoying a trip and being miserable.
Last Minute Flight Changes to Cambodia
I had a couple of different logistics issues both before and during my Mekong River cruise with Avalon in 2020. This cruise was scheduled for February 2020, which was exactly the same time when Covid was starting to hit. My original flight to Cambodia was routed through Hong Kong. Three days before I left, the Hong Kong airport officially closed due to the pandemic. I will admit…this definitely caused some panic for me! Luckily, my trusted travel advisor was there to quickly get things back on track. He had me re-booked on a completely different itinerary within about 12 hours of getting the airport closure notification.
While it was stressful to have to completely re-book a three-leg flight three days before departure, this change actually ended up being a very good one for me. My new flight was routed through Singapore. I ended up with a rather long layover there, which gave me plenty of time to explore the gorgeous Changi Airport in Singapore. After exploring the many garden areas and the butterfly pavilion, I headed over to The Jewel. The highlight of The Jewel is the massive (and beautiful!) HSBC Rain Vortex. Had I not been forced to change flights, I would have missed out on this opportunity.
Delayed Luggage in Cambodia
But the cancelled flights were not the end of the logistics issues on this trip. Upon arriving in Siem Reap, Cambodia after three flights and nearly two days of travel time, I learned that my suitcase did not arrive with me! A very short layover in San Francisco was to blame…I made the mad dash through the airport but my luggage did not.
I’ve dealt with delayed luggage a few other times while traveling, but this one was the most complex by far. For one thing, it was a challenge to simply locate the bag (I was booked through United but arrived into Cambodia on a small partner airline, so that got a bit confusing!). Once the bag was eventually located, it was another challenge to get the bag from where it was to where I was. For some reason, it got routed to Seoul, South Korea (do NOT ask me how that happened!), but it was eventually located (once again!) and sent onto Siem Reap.
The challenge was exacerbated even further with the knowledge that I was a moving target…by then, we had flown from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh to board the ship and begin the cruise. Our ship was making its way up and down the Mekong River by then! One final challenging element was the fact that I had only one change of clothes with me, and it was very hot and humid! I attempted to replenish my wardrobe along the way but, unlike being in North America or Europe, there are not a lot of retail shopping opportunities in Cambodia! I picked up a couple of pairs of “elephant pants” at the local markets, and my phenomenal cruise director directed me to a local shopping center in Siem Reap to find a few other essentials.
With all of this stress and frustration, I could have easily just given up and wallowed in misery during the five days it took for me to be reunited with my luggage. But, I stepped back and got some perspective. I realized that I was on a dream trip…sailing the magnificent Mekong River! Sure, I ended up wearing the same clothes A LOT during those days. And yes, my clothes were not always as fresh as they could have been. But I still enjoyed those first few days of the trip exploring the fabulous temples at Angkor Wat and enjoying many other stops in small villages along the way.
Low Water Levels on the Danube
Another time I ran into some logistics challenges was on my Active & Discovery on the Danuberiver cruise with Avalon in 2018. This was the end of a long, hot summer in the area and the Danube River was struggling with low water levels. Luckily, we were able to do nearly all of the cruise on the ship as planned. But as we sailed closer to Budapest it became evident that we would not be able to sail all the way through.
Our fabulous cruise director and the entire Avalon team jumped into action and quickly found some options for us to end the cruise. We were diverted to Komarno, Hungary for the last two days of the cruise. Due to distance, several of the excursions had to be cancelled but a few still went on as planned. I was lucky to get to do one excursion I was really looking forward to – paddling a canoe on the Danube. Since we had to take a bus further than originally planned, it was impossible to get us back to the ship for lunch that day. So, our excursion group met up with the other excursion groups in the area and had a fun lunch at a medieval-themed restaurant.
While it was a bit frustrating to have a few of my last excursions cancelled, and I missed out on the grand views of sailing past the historic Parliament building in Budapest, the overall cruise itself was fabulous. The effort it must have taken the Avalon team to get these last-minute arrangements made must have been large. I heard a lot of my fellow passengers complaining, rather loudly and rudely, about all of the changes. That just made me take a step back and examine things from a different perspective. I had a wonderful time on the cruise, and I was very appreciative of everything Avalon did to make the last few days as good as possible. Sure, it was a bit disappointing to arrive in Budapest on a bus instead of sailing in on the river, but that did not dampen the overall experience for me.
- Pack your patience and flexibility to deal with any logistical issues you may incur before or during travel
- Go with the flow and enjoy the ride if your original itinerary gets changed
- Rely on a trusted travel advisor to help navigate any travel-related issues
3. Health Issues
One other issue that can put a wrench in your travel plans is health, especially these days. As with the first two categories, health is another issue that you do not always have total control over. I have experienced some health-related travel issues over the past few years.
Traveling with Covid Restrictions in Europe
The first time that health-related issues impact my travel was on my Christmas Markets Cruise with Avalon in 2021. I took this cruise in December of 2021, which was shortly after the world started re-opening after the lock-downs and quarantines of the height of the Covid pandemic. I was fortunate to remain healthy myself during this cruise. But the health-related impacts were still there for me.
The countries I visited (Switzerland, France, and Germany) were all still requiring mask wearing in all public areas, even outdoors at the markets. Each of these countries also required proof of vaccination to enter most public places, so I had to download a separate app for each country and pre-register my vaccination history in order to get a pass to display to enter facilities. While each of these things was mildly unpleasant, neither dampened my enjoyment of this fabulous cruise. I still had plenty of fun visiting local museums, sipping gluhwein (and collecting mugs!), shopping, and eating a lot of delicious food (hi, raclette, I’m looking at you…).
Getting Covid in Sweden
A more impactful health issue struck me at the end of my Northern Voyage cruise (a.k.a. my “Fab 50 Cruise”!) on Azamara in June of 2022. As the cruise came to an end, I planned to spend a few days in Stockholm on my own before heading home. The first day in Stockholm I felt a bit of a cold coming on, so I took a Covid test but it came back negative. I found a local supermarket and stocked up on some cold medicine to try to get me through. However, the next morning I woke up feeling even worse. A second Covid test came back positive this time.
I was able to rely on my trusted travel advisor (TA) to help adjust my arrangements. I knew I had to lay low in Stockholm for a few days until it was safe for me to fly home. Although I would have loved extending my stay at my original hotel, it was a bit out of my price range for a longer stay. It also did not offer room service. My TA found a hotel in the airport that did offer room service and was in my price range. A bonus was that my room overlooked the tarmac, so I could lay on my bed and watch planes come and go all day! He also helped me get my return flights rebooked.
Once again, I paused and looked back at my trip overall…I had an absolutely amazing cruise to celebrate my 50th birthday, I met some wonderful friends along the way, and I was lucky enough to test positive at the end of the trip, so I still got to enjoy the vast majority of it.
- Pack a few basic OTC medications with you to help manage any minor health issues that pop up – having cold and flu medicine or digestive aids may come in handy
- Look for local stores or pharmacies that sell medications, if needed, and don’t be afraid to ask for help with translating things (or use a tool like Google Translate)
Common Questions
How can I help mitigate any potential weather issues?
I like to start checking the weather forecast a week or two prior to the trip. This will give me a general sense of what the weather may be like when I get there, knowing of course that things can change quickly! I also like to include some basic things on every trip I take, depending on what potential adverse weather I may face: an umbrella and/or poncho for potential rain, and things like a hat, gloves, and/or a scarf for potential cold weather. These things are small and lightweight, so they are easy to pack. As my grandmother used to say, “it’s better to be looking at it than looking for it!”
Is travel insurance worth it?
Ask yourself: If something goes wrong, can I afford the worst-case scenario? If the answer makes you uneasy, travel insurance is probably worth it.
International trips (especially expensive ones!) are prime examples of when travel insurance is key – to cover anything that could potentially happen before the trip (to either you or a loved one) that would require you to change or cancel the trip, or anything that could potentially happen during the trip. Also consider which parts of your trip are non-refundable…these are the things that insurance can protect. A final consideration is the type of activities you plan to do on the trip…an adventure trip with things like skiing, scuba diving, hiking, bicycles/motorbikes/ATVs, or a remote destination are good candidates for travel insurance coverage, because regular health insurance often does not cover rescue or evacuation abroad.
If you are traveling within your own country and your existing heath insurance provides good coverage, everything is refundable, and/or the trip is inexpensive, then travel insurance may not be needed.
Here’s my approach:
- Domestic weekend trip? Usually skip it.
- International trip? I buy it.
- Expensive or once-in-a-lifetime trip? Definitely buy it.
- Adventure-heavy trip? Non-negotiable. BUY IT!
It’s less about the cost of the trip — and more about the cost of what could go wrong.
How do experienced travelers stay calm when things go wrong?
Honestly, we don’t stay calm because nothing ever goes wrong…we stay calm because we expect things to go wrong and have planned accordingly. It’s never if, it’s always when!
Some of my key tactics:
- Build margin or “fluff” into your plan – consider the length of a layover, understand the challenges of non-refundable costs, and be thoughtful when planning certain things (planning a big activity the morning after a very late arrival may not be the best idea!).
- Understand the difference between “inconvenience” and “emergency” – things like delayed flights or a change in itinerary are annoying; things like a lost passport or a medical emergency are serious. Most travel problems are uncomfortable, not catastrophic.
- Focus on the next small step – instead of trying to solve the entire, big mess all at once, instead break it down into smaller, actionable steps. And don’t be afraid to ask for help, whether it is from your trusted travel advisor or a kind clerk in a local pharmacy! Momentum reduces panic and allows you to focus in on solving the problem.
- Control what you can; let everything else go – as much as you would like to believe it, you cannot, indeed, control things like the weather or train strikes! Many travel issues are things that are out of your control. But you can control things like your tone, your reaction, and your flexibility. You can also control your preparation.
Even More Travel Ideas
How to Avoid Common Travel Mistakes
