Travel mistakes experienced travellers still make

Even experienced travellers keep repeating the same avoidable mistakes. According to a new Global Rescue Traveller Sentiment and Safety survey, reported by Euronews, the biggest problem is still the most familiar one: packing too much. The survey found that 38% of experienced international travellers named overpacking as their worst travel mistake. Other common regrets included booking connections with too little time, building itineraries with no buffer and leaving home without offline copies of maps or booking documents.

Overpacking is still the biggest mistake

Overpacking is easy to understand. A few extra clothes, another pair of shoes and a handful of "just in case" items can feel harmless at home. The problem becomes obvious later, when the bag has to be lifted through airports, trains, stairs, cobbled streets, cruise terminals or hotel corridors.

Global Rescue's survey found that overpacking has become a more common regret than it was in the previous year. The figure rose to 38%, compared with 32% in 2025 and 35% in both 2024 and 2023.

That is still much lower than the level recorded before the pandemic. In February 2020, 74% of travellers identified overpacking as their biggest travel mistake. The drop suggests that many people have learned to travel lighter, but not enough to remove the problem entirely.

The practical lesson is simple: the best bag is not the one that holds the most. It is the one you can move with easily for the whole journey.

Why too much luggage creates more than inconvenience

Heavy luggage does not only slow people down. It can make a trip more tiring, less flexible and more vulnerable to disruption.

A heavy suitcase increases fatigue and makes it harder to keep balance, especially on uneven streets, station platforms, stairs and crowded transport. It can also raise the risk of strains or falls, which is the last thing anyone wants at the start of a trip.

The risk becomes more serious during emergencies. If travellers need to leave quickly because of wildfire, storm, civil unrest or another crisis, oversized or multiple bags can become a real obstacle. Moving quickly may matter more than saving every item in the suitcase.

That is why packing light is not only about comfort. It is a safety habit as well as a convenience habit.

Tight connections are the next big regret

The second major mistake in the survey was booking layovers that are too tight. 19% of respondents said this caused their greatest problems on international trips.

Short connections can look efficient when everything goes exactly to plan. In reality, international travel often includes passport control, long terminal walks, baggage rechecks, security lines, delayed boarding, weather disruption or late arrivals from the first flight.

A 45-minute connection may be technically legal, but that does not mean it is wise. The safer choice is to build in enough time for the ordinary delays that happen every day.

This matters even more when the second flight is the only convenient departure of the day, when checked luggage is involved or when travellers are passing through a large unfamiliar airport.

Over-scheduling makes travel feel fragile

Another 10% of travellers regretted over-scheduling their itineraries with little or no buffer time. This mistake is common because planning can be exciting. It is tempting to fill every day with restaurants, tours, museums, viewpoints and transport connections.

The problem is that real travel has friction. Meals take longer than expected. Trains are delayed. Children get tired. Weather changes plans. A place that looked like a quick stop becomes somewhere worth staying longer.

A crowded itinerary leaves no room for those ordinary moments. It can turn a holiday into a schedule that has to be defended all day.

For most trips, one anchor activity per day works better than three or four fixed commitments. The rest of the day can still be planned, but it should be flexible enough to absorb delays or discoveries.

Offline maps and documents still matter

The survey also found that 8% of travellers regretted failing to download offline maps or digital booking documents before departure.

That mistake is easy to dismiss until mobile data fails. Coverage may be weak in rural areas, roaming can be expensive, airport Wi-Fi can be unreliable and some apps become awkward just when a traveller needs an address, QR code or booking reference quickly.

Before leaving, it is worth saving:

• Offline maps for the destination and airport area.
• Hotel addresses and check-in details.
• Transport tickets and booking references.
• Travel insurance information.
• Passport or ID copies stored securely.
• Key phone numbers for accommodation, airlines and emergency contacts.

These backups do not need to replace the original apps. They are there for the moments when the apps, signal or battery are not cooperating.

Airport currency exchange is another avoidable cost

A further 8% of respondents said they regretted using expensive currency exchange desks at airport kiosks instead of planning ahead.

Airport exchange counters are convenient, but that convenience often comes with weaker rates or higher fees. The difference may not matter for a small emergency amount, but it can become costly if travellers exchange a large sum at the last minute.

Better options usually include withdrawing a modest amount from a reputable ATM, using a card with low foreign transaction fees or ordering currency before departure when cash is genuinely needed.

The rule is not that airport exchange should never be used. It is that it should not be the default plan for the whole trip budget.

The travel hacks people rely on most

The survey did not only ask about mistakes. It also asked experienced travellers which hacks they use to make trips easier.

The most popular was putting smart tags in checked luggage, chosen by 31% of respondents. That is a practical response to one of the most stressful parts of air travel: not knowing where a missing bag actually is.

Digital document backups came next. 16% of travellers said they email digital copies of passports and identification documents to themselves. For security, those copies should be protected carefully, but the broader idea is useful: important documents should not exist in only one place.

Packing systems also remain popular. 10% use compression packing cubes, and another 10% roll clothes instead of folding them. These methods do not solve overpacking by themselves, but they can make a smaller bag easier to organise.

Other habits were more about comfort and convenience. 9% carry a multi-port wall charger, 7% bring an empty reusable water bottle through airport security, and 6% download entertainment before departure.

A practical pre-trip checklist

The survey's findings point to a useful way to check a trip before leaving. Instead of asking whether everything has been packed, ask whether the journey can still work when something small goes wrong.

Before departure, check:

• Can you carry your bag for 15 minutes without struggling?
• Is there enough time between flights for delays, walking and security?
• Does each day have space for rest or a change of plan?
• Are maps and key documents available offline?
• Do you have a sensible plan for cards, cash and currency?
• Can you charge several devices without carrying too many plugs?
• Would you be able to move quickly if plans changed suddenly?

That kind of preparation is less dramatic than buying new gear, but it usually makes travel smoother.

Bottom line

Global Rescue's survey shows that the biggest travel mistakes are rarely surprising. Overpacking, tight connections, overfilled schedules, missing offline documents and poor currency planning are all familiar because they happen so easily.

The useful part is that they are also preventable. Pack less, leave more time, save key information offline and make the trip flexible enough to handle ordinary delays. Those small choices can remove a lot of stress before it starts.