Best Travel Disasters Post

The Travel Disasters cases readers rated highest and believed most — the jury's all-time picks.

1. Lost, Robbed, and Fourteen Minutes From Losing the Flight Too

   The last morning of the trip was supposed to be easy. Pack, metro to the airport express, home by night. I gave myself three hours of buffer…

   178 Upvote · 67% of readers believe this story

2. The Address Did Not Exist and Neither Did the Hotel

   The photos were beautiful. That is how these things get you. A restored townhouse in the harbour district of Peleth, whitewashed walls, a co…

   165 Upvote · 68% of readers believe this story

3. Two Cities Have the Same Name and I Flew to the Wrong One

   This is a story about not reading carefully, and it has haunted me for years. I was flying to meet an old friend in San Ferro, a mountain to…

   148 Upvote · 67% of readers believe this story

4. They Closed the Gate While I Was Still Running Toward It

   People love to tell you to arrive early. I did arrive early. My problem was that early meant nothing at Terminal C in Vardholm, where a sing…

   132 Upvote · 67% of readers believe this story

5. Someone Had a Key to My Room and It Was Not Me

   I had booked the Rosa Vieja in Cantelmo because it was cheap, central, and had a private room, which after a week of dorms felt like luxury.…

   121 Upvote · 67% of readers believe this story

6. The Front Desk Handed My Room Key to Someone Else

   The Grand Marisol in Tolvena looked like the safe choice. A proper hotel, a real chain-adjacent name, a lobby with a chandelier and a man in…

   97 Upvote · 67% of readers believe this story

7. The Medina Ate My Sense of Direction and Nearly Kept Me

   I want to say I am a careful traveller, but the truth is I walked into the old town of Zaffira feeling smug. I had a paper map from the gues…

   84 Upvote · 68% of readers believe this story

8. The Hostel From Below the Ground

   I have stayed in cheap places before and been fine. I am not fussy. But the Backpackers Nest in Korovgrad broke something in me. I found it …

   55 Upvote · 65% of readers believe this story

9. There Was Already a Man Asleep in My Hotel Bed

   It was almost two in the morning when I finally reached the Hotel Continental in Brescano, soaked from the rain, dead on my feet after a del…

   47 Upvote · 65% of readers believe this story

10. The Border Guard Kept My Passport and the Bus Kept Driving

    The overnight bus from Halberg to the coast had to cross one land border in the small hours, and the driver had made it very clear at the st…

    33 Upvote · 71% of readers believe this story

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