My BIGGEST Solo Travel MISTAKE
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- I made a huge mistake last year in Portugal... have you ever made a big mistake when traveling?
•Portugal Trip Video: • My Solo Trip to Portug...
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SOLO TRAVEL FAQ: allisonanderso...
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I’ve done a lot of travelling and I’ll never forget having my passport stolen in Vietnam. I had been away from home for two years travelling at this point and not ready to let it end. Sadly, after a week of enduring the stress of reporting it to the police, several visits to the embassy for a new emergency travel document and several visits to immigration for a visa to leave the country, I felt it best to head home and get a new passport so that I could fly back to Asia and spend a few more months travelling. If a hostel/hotel ever want to keep your passport in their possession until you check out just say no. This is how mine got stolen and I’ll never make that mistake again.
Dad always to the rescue! Where is your card wallet from, it’s so cute!!
LOL and he loves to tell the story too. And thanks, it's from Madewell!
Portuguese people are the best. I'm glad everything turned out to be ok and I hope you enjoyed Portugal. Please, come back!
I suffer from pretty bad insomnia. Whenever I have trouble sleeping I put on your videos on and especially this one. Knocks me right out. Thanks!
I solo travel quite a bit and losing my wallet would really scare me. Glad you kept your head and so glad you got your wallet back. Pick pockets are a reality of travel, but it's also true that the vast majority of people are honest, as these market owners demonstrated.
Thank you! And yes, it was a great example of how generally speaking, people look out for other people.
Oh my gosh this gives me such anxiety!! Thank goodness your dad was able to set up a transfer and that there was a location close to where you were!
I was SO LUCKY. I couldn't believe it!
I would of shit a brick for lack of better words 😳 so glad you got everything back & you’re safe!
YEP. Thanks!!
Dad’s are freaking awesome!!
Glad everything worked out and you’re safe.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Glad it ended ok with good people. I'm solo traveler too and after myself losing both keys and tiny card wallet (missed the bag I thought I slipped it into) in separate instances separated by years I developed the following strategy that never let me down. I attach a carabineer to both wallet or keys and the inside of my daybag. Even the label inside a backpack you can poke a hole into. I always carabineer my item onto the carabineer inside the pack. Ensures I never drop it outside. When getting off transit I'll clip keys to my bralette strap for my walk home. And I twist-tie the zippers on the bag. Alerts me if someone tries to fuss with it. So far so good after European and North American travel. And separating cash and backup card into different locations. Paying it forward, hope this helps somebody. 🌏🗼🗽🚈🛵✈️🚶🏾♀️
OMG what a hectic morning! but i'm glad to hear you're safe, and that there's honest people out there!
Wow, this was a crazy story! But shows that there are good people out there looking out for travelers! Can’t wait to solo travel myself. Thanks for the tip!
I'm gonna tape like a €100 note in my shoes or something.
I'm not going to reveal my 'secret stash hiding place' but I can tell you that it helped me out when I ended up at a dodgy beach bar on holiday a few years ago. I was stupid and didn't check the price of the meal before ordering and eating it and was then presented with a bill that would have looked expensive in New York, London or Paris. Fortunately, I had the secret stash and in my purse some small change and no bankcard. I am so thankful because I could get out of the tricky situation and still know that I could get back to where I was staying.
Moral of the story: A secret stash is essential when travelling.
So so glad you shared!! Didn’t think about keeping a separate card and cash in the hotel safe. So smart!
Faith in humanity, I guess there’s still a little left 👏
My feelings exactly!
Allison Anderson
Watch yes theory
Humanity is fine, its the mainstream media that depicts it otherwise as it sells better.
@@frydac hehe i love u
Yes and you will find that little in people in other places of the world .
I like the tip about leaving some cards or cash in the hotel room when you are out exploring. Definitely going to do that from now on!
You should write a book about all your solo travels!
Great video. I'm also a solo traveler. Solo travel is one of my favorite things in life. I recently ALMOST lost my luggage at the Amsterdam airport. I have a very unique looking suitcase, which I bought because it would stand out. Apparently it wasn't unique enough: I picked another person's suitcase off the luggage carousel because it was the exact same model of suitcase. Thankfully I got my old suitcase back. But that was a temporary nightmare.
Awesome story! You survived! I carry a purse with a little cash for the day and no credit cards. I have a similar card wallet (just like the one you have) with passport card, credit card and cash, and put it in a zippered hidden waist pocket worn under my jeans. If someone takes off with my decoy purse, no great loss. If they check my pockets, nothing of value. Pickpockets in Europe often put out signs to warn you of pickpockets. Unsuspecting travelers see the sign and will check with their hand if their wallet is still there, which tells the thief where the wallet is! Clever, but don't fall for it!
This is so helpful to know! Wow what such great people you had the pleasure of encountering!
Definitely an adrenaline rush! I would love to travel solo too! More travel talk videos please!
What an awesome town to be so understanding and concerned!
I was so anxious as you were telling this story! Glad it turned out well. What did you do for the rest of your trip--just rely on the cash from the wire transfer? Were there issues with checking into your other hotels with your credit cards canceled?
Glad you were safe and that everything worked out!
What an important tip about the room safe that we all “know” to do, but often never actually do! Good timing for a reminder as I’m heading to Portugal for my own solo trip in May! Spending 8 days in Porto and Lisbon 🙌🏻
You're going to have the best time!!
This is a helpful tip as i love to travel alone. Glad those people took care of your wallet until you claimed it. And so helpful of your dad to come through no matter the time difference.
Can you do a packing video? I always overpack, and need some ideas. If you would, also include your photography equipment. TIA❤️
Glad it all worked out! I also have a few incidents in my solo travel where things could have gone really wrong but didn't and were scary at the time but just seem like a fun adventure in hindsight.
I don't use the hotel safe because I know I'm the kind of person that might forget about it. However I always keep my debit card, passport and driver's licence in one of those waist traveler wallets, and then my secondary credit card, some cash and a photocopy of my passport in my backpack or suitcase in the hotel. Even if it is a little overkill, having zero anxiety over losing my wallet on my trip is worth it.
Kevin Cardoza I do the same thing. Always good to have backups and the photocopy thing.
keep on travelling. it makes you a smarter person and also helps you keep the faith that world isn't all a big bad place.
Traveling in Japan I stopped off at a coffee shop. Stayed there about 2 hours reading a book. Walked out and left the book. I didn't even realize I left the book until I reached back at my hotel. The receptionist asked if I had left the book at a coffee shop. For the life of me I cannot figure out how the ladies in the coffee shop knew which hotel I was staying. I know my story isn't as serious as yours but it these are the kinds of travel moments that we can always reminisce and talk bout to others who travel.
Now I travel with 500 US and 100 dollars worth of the currency of the country I'm visiting and I keep that with my passport and a credit card locked in a hotel safe. Keep some some cash and one credit card in a small wallet like the one you have when I go venturing out.
Thanks for sharing. It brought back memories
I, too, have lost my wallet. I travel solo, but when I lost my wallet I was just home in NYC! It is the SCARIEST feeling so I can totally relate. I appreciate you sharing your story ☺. My wallet was eventually found as well, but like you, I had cancelled everything and even spent New Year's Eve at the DMV getting a new driver's license so it was null and void at that point. I never want to go through that again!
Wow thank you for sharing, very obvious but helpful tip, & thank goodness for kind strangers. Just goes to show you we should look out for each other
I was a victim of pick pockets in Barcelona last year ... it was a very bad experience and I was very angry at myself because I ignored all warnings about the huge problem of theft and brought all my money and cards in my wallet when it was stolen. Fortunately one of my cards had fallen from the wallet to my bag and they did not take it away, besides I was with my two children and the oldest already has a debit card. Just as it happened to you, I felt so relaxed and enjoying the trip that I was negligent. Lesson learned! I think it will never happen to me again. Thank you for sharing your experiece.
What an awful experience, I'm glad you had one of your cards left. Lessons learned - we won't be making the same mistakes again!
Glad you're safe love! Thank you for sharing your experience though, so important!!
Thank you!!
Super helpful glad you decided to share your experience ! I just recently started traveling solo and I'm realizing how important it is to be prepared and safe . Thank you 😊
This is such good advice! You inspired me to take a solo trip to Portugal, and now I'm absolutely going to have a back up plan just in case. Thanks for sharing this video! 🙏🏻
Trying to save others from making my same mistake! 😂 You'll love Portugal, it's such a great place.
@@allisonanderson Your blog post was incredibly helpful in helping me plan! I even booked the same hotel that you stayed in during the Lisbon stretch of the adventure. I would've had no point of reference without it 😊
When I studied abroad in Chile, I carried my debit card with me only when I needed to go to an ATM, and otherwise left it in my apartment in case I would get pickpocketed or mugged.
I think the only major solo travel mistake that I made was in my first hour in Latin America, when I went through Costa Rica by myself on the way to Chile (trying to both save money on airfare and fit in a low-budget trip), and got gypped by a (presumably pirate) taxi with an adulterated meter that ran up to 35,000 colones (almost $60) in just 10 minutes. I would have taken a bus to my hostel, but I couldn’t find any information on the Internet about one of the bus companies, and the other bus company that served the airport appeared to have had run their last buses for the day before I arrived (It was around 10 PM by the time I got out of the airport), according to their website. I made that 4-day Costa Rica trip so cheaply otherwise that the gypsy cab ended up being a large fraction of my expenses there.
Wow! I actually never thought of that, great tip! I’m solo traveling next month so this is GREAT advice 🙌
Fiamma Garritano me tom
If I was in that situation I wouldn’t have gone to the market to get my wallet. Especially since they called the hotel room. I would’ve immediately thought that I was being followed and it was a trap for them to get me for sex trafficking.
Portugues people are awesome
I’m so glad I watched this I never use the room safe but I understand it’s purpose now
Your story was like watching a mystery program with a great ending! And what a great advice. Thanks for sharing.
I was on a school group tour in Kingston Jamaica and we stayed in a private hostel (me and my roomate’s room door was the only one that couldn’t lock) and one of the girls on my last day of trip stole my cash, my roommate’s cash and money her classmate. In total almost $400 and she stole souvenirs from another classmate. When we all realized the money was gone in the morning. She proceeded to place the stolen souvenirs in my room drawer to frame me. Needless to say, I was livid!
I see that chase sapphire reserve lol. Best travel card ever!
Someone was definitely praying for you ❤️ this story is supernatural!🙏🏾
Great travel story! Thanks for sharing because travellers need to think about 'what will I do if...'
Wow so crazy! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing this with us ♥️
My husband has ADHD...bad lol. We went to Italy this summer, it was our first big trip with our child who was just under 2 at the time. I discussed with him to NOT get on the phone when we landed and of course he ignored my advice. Landed, went to get our luggage, he got on the phone with a client, I was watching our kid play since she had been cooped in a plane for hours so I wasn't watching him. Before all of that but after customs, I had this gut feeling to stick all 3 of our passports in my daughters tiny backpack. Listen to your gut! My husband straight up left his backpack in the Rome airport with his wallet. Yep. To top it off our luggage didn't make it (this is normal for us, I need to start a channel about how to know when you're going to lose your luggage).
Anyway that night he went back to the airport and the people were very kind and kept his backpack. No one stole it. Someone turned it in. Most people are good and will do what they can to help people!
But dang if I was solo traveling and that happened to me I would have had a full blown panic attack!
Savannah Watson How do you know when your luggage won’t make it?
Good u got ur stuff back even if they took the money. even when i go places close to home i have certain pockets for ea thing and guess i ocd or something cause i recheck or feel for stuff at random times to make sute it all still there even though i only checkd it few mins ago. so always have certain bag on u to store away certain needs to check anytime and so not to loose anything by chance on next trip. even when i take a bag , i recheck it random to make sure all is good anytime.
The Universe has your back!!!
Portugal and its people had her back 😂
What a great story! The world is full of wonderful people 🙂
What if the call had been the criminals luring you to them 😱 Seems dangerous to just go to some random place. I’m glad it all turned out well, though. Thank God for your dad!
Thank you for sharing your experience!
Thanks for sharing. Your experience is a great reminder to have a backup money plan.
Love this about to do more solo traveling outside the states and I would not had t thought about this thank you thank you thank you
I'm planning my first solo trip this summer, you really taught me well to not do that crucial mistake!!! 😉
What did you do for the rest of your trip with no valid card??
So glad you got your wallet back! It must of been a relief at least knowing it ended up somewhere! The family who found it did their good deed of the day!
I'm doing my first solo trip in May (going to the UK for the first time!) and now I'll definitely be sure to keep a backup card/cash locked up in my airbnb!! so lucky you got your wallet back!! another good thing is that at least Apple Pay works in quite a few places now too.
I solo travel all the time but have honestly never thought of keeping extra money/a separate credit card in the hotel away from my wallet. Yikes! Definitely going to do that from now on.
@Never lose sleep over the small stuff exactly what I do now after losing all my money before. No need to take all your money with you for a day out
My mother taught me well, always split money and cards and leave some in the hotel -and I usually wear a flat waist travel pocket under my clothes with my valuables in esp in busy cities. Yes it's slightly embarrassing fishing around for change, but a lot less stress than this situation.
Not having a form of payment on solo international travel is one of my biggest fears. I do keep in money in 3 places. The hotel, wallet, and cell phone. I change out my cell phone case on travel to a phone case that has storage for a credit card. The good thing with travel in the USA is you can use your bank app to access the ATM.
That's so scary! Your story made me think that I should keep a little cash and a spare card somewhere else in my bag (glasses case, zippered pocket) just in case.
That's crazy AND AMAZING! =) I'd probably remember this every time I travel alone. :D
wow. I had the similar experience when I was solo traveling in Lisbon. I got pick pocketed when I was walking around at the flea market, and I was panic because the same situation as you, all my cards and cash were inside my wallet. Luckily, I found my wallet half hour later from one of the market stands, an old couple picked up my wallet on the ground by their stand. Of course all my cash was gone, but at least my ID and all my cards were there. Since then, I learned that always have back up card and cash somewhere else. But all and all, I love travel, and I traveled solo many times!
Thanks for sharing I did something similar in Chicago and it too had a happy ending
Kind of a safety & awareness story for a lone traveller in serious need.
Good story, same here, I lost my wallet on the big Island in Hawaii few years ago. Lost it at a families small tienda at market day…They tract me down for a week through my credit card bank phone # back home in Colorado and my bank called me. Very grateful , big smile and good attitude go's a long way on solo travels. The rest seems to pan out every time.
I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS!!! PLEASE POST MORE!!! xxx
Omg! Something similar happened to me when I waa in Berlin! I also left a receipt in my wallet and someone reached out to my hostel and returned it to me.
Have all your cards on your phone or use revolut 👍you can freeze your revolut card from phone if it’s lost and can get an instant new virtual one to use
Definitely making sure I have back-up cash in my room when I solo travel next. Thanks for sharing the story!
This happened to me, but I had also sent off my passport and drivers license for a Visa so had NO form of ID. That was fun.
This makes me nervous- I'm travelling solo for the first time in a few days!
Hi Allison, I’m from the Algarve so I’m glad that everything end well, just to let you know even if you don’t have the receive in the wallet the police knows where you are, in here is mandatory the hotel inform the police of all the foreigners with your details in case of anything happens, may take a litter bit longer but they will find you.
I can guarantee that everyone who watched this has gone through the same thing to various degrees. I was hoping it was going to end on a good note! Sometimes losing money/cards, etc. (if not a huge amount) is not as important to your sanity as actually finding what is lost/misplaced. A question though for you is---How do you think it got stolen? You said there wasn't very many people around, etc. Thanks for biting the bullet and sharing this with us.
Good tip on keeping extra cash in the room safe. So nice of that family looking out for you.
It sounds like your not alone when you travel. You have an angel with you. God is so wonderful isn’t he? We rush and have little oversights and he picks up the pieces and fixes everything. You are blessed. Out of curiosity, why wasn’t your husband your hero? Why did you call your dad?
I always travel alone. I also have a money story. I did the right thing and let my bank know that I was going to India so they didn't think it was stolen and cancel it. I'm enjoying my stay in India and my money starts running low. So, I go to the ATM. My card wouldn't work. My credit card wouldn't work either..and most places only take cash. So, I cut my spending. My last day, I literally had 0 rupees after getting my taxi to the airport. They changed my flight and I didn't have money to call my mom. Luckily, the lady at the phone booth let me pay with a US quarter. lol My bank failed to tell me that my cards wouldn't work in India.
that was a crazy and interesting story! Thanks for sharing!
Something similar to this happened to me in an island in the Bahamas except I had no cash and it was returned to me by the very nice locals :) also I got stranded in that same island because we missed our flight to the main island and I only had a credit card and the banks were closed 😅 this is an amazing story and it gave me so many flash backs to my Bahamas trip lol
My worst fear while traveling!
In my bag along with my passport I keep $100 USD, spare Credit Card, and spare cash of the current I'm traveling in.
On my person I keep my wallet with Driver License, debit card, credit card, $20 USD, and local cash.
If I'm somehow separated from one I have the other!
Keep wallet in front pocket and hands in pockets touching wallet and phone when navigating crowds so someone would literally have to pull them out of my hands to pick pocket them.
Very good, thought provoking advice! Thank you!
Wow, awesome story! Knowing myself, I would have had a quick melt down before pulling it together to figure out a solution. LOL. I truly believe God worked everything out for you! Happy travels!
I've never thought about having a back-up plan. I'm always super careful with my wallet. I hold it in my hand sometimes or put it in my camera bag, make sure I zip it up and check that sucker a hundred times (or so it feels like it). Having a back-up plan is really a great idea. Of course, I hope I never have to use it, but then again, it is there if I ever need it. Thank you.
I have lost both my wallet and passport while travelling solo for the first time (at different times but on the same couple months long trip). Both times my immediate reaction was to call my dad too. Definitely learned my lesson the hard way about having cash in multiple places.
I always leave all my cards and most of my cash money at the hotel/airbnb/etc. I only take the cash I'm going to need that specific day, this way if you lose the wallet you're carrying with just the cash for the day, you're not going to lose anything but the little bit of cash you have on you if you haven't spent it yet. The best way to do this is to exchange your money at your local bank and maybe estimate what you're going to spend while you're there for say a week not including stay (say it's $600 to eat out/shop/activities). Every day you only take the little bit you're going to spend (say $50-$100) and none of your cards are actually on you. This is also a smart way because if you get mugged or pick pocketed, there's nothing to pick pocket lol. Basically never ever take your cards with you out and about if you have somewhere to stay and leave them behind because they're your back up if anything happens while you're solo.
Crazy story, thank goodness you were able to get cash! I lost my wallet in an Uber in Boston one time but thankfully like three hours later the Uber driver was able to find me and give me my wallet back!
Losing your wallet is so stressful!! Glad you got yours back!
My mum's debit card got stuck in one of the ATMs in Bali (apparently this is a normal thing there since the network is slow or lags). Had to call the bank and block the card but couldn't get another one. Can't imagine this happening to me when traveling solo. It's good to have at least 2 debit cards and/or some extra cash.
That must be terrifying!! Mistakes happen to anyone. Pls can you share where u will keep your passport if your hotel room doesnt have a safe? Thanks!
Wow, that would be my nightmare!
There are good people everywhere in sharp contrast to the assumption that you can't trust anyone. What a blessing
Wow!!!! Crazy!!!! Glad you got it back tho!!
Initially I can't understand your english because I m poor in english but now better compared to before because of watching your videos thanks very much
I went to Rio for a week when I was studying abroad in Buenos Aires. I had been using Xoom for getting money while in Argentina (I sent USD and went to an office and retrieved my money in Argentine pesos at a better rate than a bank). When I got to the airport in Rio and went to an ATM to get cash, I couldn't remember my debit card pin because of how long I had been using Xoom and not an ATM. My spare credit card didn't have a pin and I couldn't set it up then. My phone didn't work in Brazil and wifi didn't work, so I couldn't call my credit union. I asked one of the strangers passing by if he was getting wifi. This person was so nice, he tried to help me with wifi first, then tried to help me make a call to a friend and when that didn't work, he walked me to a taxi, told the driver the name of my hostel and gave me money not only for the taxi but for the first 3 nights at the hostel! I was so grateful to him and felt so stupid to not even remember my pin or not to have exchanged money while I was in Argentina. Anyway, my friend there was able to loan me some money, I got money through Xoom in Rio and I was able to pay back everyone. That experience taught me to always have a plan B (and A in the first place) and I also learned that random strangers can do these acts of kindness.
i lost my wallet on an island in cambodia, had to hustle and a friend came from vietnam to pay for my hostel and my boat trip back to mainland to get bank resources and a western union...... backup stuff is way clutch i never thought of that
Great tip to keep the back-up credit card & cash separate from the wallet one carries. Also, it's a good story to highlight that many people DO care about travelers from other countries and that they are not ALL just trying to take advantage of them!
Want to hear another crazy story, I’ve stayed at the Carvi Beach hotel in Lagos, I was on fall break from studying abroad and my mother joins me we were in the downstairs breakfast area and I was talking about this past summer interning at Macy’s and literally mid conversation my coworker/ girl that worked in my section taps me on the shoulder ( given Macy’s has literally thousands of employees in their corporate office but in my section there was only about twelve) just a very strange encounter because Lagos is so tiny and pretty remote/ a random destination. There must be something in the Lagos air that makes this stuff happen 😂
My friend lost her wallet once when we were in Asia but she didn't cancel it and just kept tracking her statement to make sure nothing was charged. I thought this was pretty smart because it meant she didn't have to request new cards (we were studying abroad so it would've been a pain to wait for them to arrive) and also because if there's no charges happening, it probably means someone found it and is keeping it safe somewhere or at least no one has taken it. She lost it during a night out and eventually found the bar that had it the next morning.
Two stories;
I'm definitely not a morning person, one time I forgot my wallet back home even before my trip began. Luckily I noticed it right before hopping on the airport bus and I had left early enough so I had time to run home and get it.
Another time I forgot my passport in the safe, but luckily that time I decided to store my bag at the hotel and go for a walk in the town one last time. When I came back again I noticed I didn't have my passport and could go back to the room and get it.
There's been cases where I have had all my cards with me, but thankfully I haven't lost any card or cash yet.
My Kung fu family and I were in Hong Kong when some of the guys went out to celebrate after our lion dance. The next day, I meet them in the lobby and hear one of the guys lost his wallet with all of his credit cards, bank cards, and cash. He called to get everything cancelled. Later in the day, he finds his wallet in the safe. 😑 Apparently he was so drunk he forgot he put it in there the night he got back to the hotel. Everything is useless now since he got them call cancelled but at least he had his cash 🤣