The lovely Simon over at Man Versus World recently started a new blogging relay thingy which I’ve been following along for a couple of weeks now – and I personally think it’s one of the best ones yet, not only because it lets me get to know a few more bloggers but also because of the fact it serves as a great tool for everyone planning trips and helping them learn from our mistakes – this series is all about our biggest travel regrets.
Neil from Backpacks and Bunkbeds tagged me in and surprisingly it was quite easy to put together my list – guess sometimes I don’t listen to my own advice!haha!
So here’s my Top 5 Travel Regrets…
1) Booking an Australian WHV (and not doing my 2nd year) – For me this is easily my biggest regret and at first glance it might be hard to see why. Basically I wish I’d landed on just a tourist visa and had travelled on it for a few months first. I landed with a good chunk of cash in my pocket and didn’t work for like 5months – I would have been better off bouncing to Indo and applying, buying myself nearly an extra 6 months in Australia. I also wish I’d got round to doing the work for my 2nd year too…
3) Not Surfing for 5 Months – Although I really enjoyed my time in Asia and SCUBA diving so much I really wish I’d not spent so long out of the waves during this time. I landed in Morocco overweight and with my fitness out the window, so I’ve basically spent the last 4 weeks getting back into my surf regime….never again!
4) Not Taking More Pictures – I trained as a photographer at uni and I’ve visited so many amazing places, yet I’ve neglected my SLR camera quite a bit in my travels and my photo albums are more filled with party pics than travel shots! I need to kick myself into gear next year and get back on the photo missions! Still the Photo of the Week feature has been keeping me slightly in check!
5) Not Utilising My Blog Sooner – Although my blog is now ticking along nicely and helping to boost my travel funds I wish I’d got more seriously into it back in 2009 when I started it…clued myself up on SEO, analytics and monetized it quicker. If you’re heading out on your travels and you’re getting into blogging too I suggest going into it head on, that way you can reap the benefits sooner!
And to keep the ball rolling I’m tagging in some bloggers of my own;
- Oceana of Barefoot Beach Blonde
- Sam of Totally Sams World
- Will of The Gonzo Traveller
- Becki of Backpacker Becki
…do you guys have any travel regrets – if so what are they?
None of these regrets sound too horrible, you are still travelling after all :) My usual (not the biggest) regret is nt checking what the closest airport is and booking a flight to the place that I think is the closest. More often than not, my geography lets me down. :)
yeah can’t complain too much if those are my top regrets hey?!
ooooo airport mistakes, never a fun way to start!
You’re too kind, mate. Part of my thinking was “why are all these travel companies starting blogging relays all the time for their own nefarious means? I should start one that actually does some good!” To be fair, not taking more pictures should really be the top of my list…
it’s good to see bloggers learning from other bloggers and helping our readers out at the same time! Taking pics is probably on everyones list I guess!
Exciting my first blogger relay! I’ll have to have think about this one… although I think the laptop theft is DEFINITELY at the top >.<
hahaha yes – warn everyone to insure all their stuff no matter if they’re travelling their home country or not! Interested to see what else you did out too!
I like to begin by congratulating you on an awesome site. I discovered it a couple of weeks ago and have been hooked ever since. I have done a fair bit of travelling myself and can relate, sympathize and laugh at some of your tales.
This post in particular got me thinking about my own regrets from my travels. I hope you don’t mind but I have included it in my own travel related blog? (http://liveliferunfree.wordpress.com/)
Keep up the great work and inspire many more people to pick up their packs.
glad you like it Paul – stoked that it has made you take a look at your travels and see what you’d like to achieve and change in the future :)
I totally agree with the not taking enough photos regret. Back when I first started backpacking I didn’t take nearly enough photos and that is something I regret. I was paranoid about seeing too much through a camera lens. But I make up for it now and take loads! The only otger regret is not travelling sooner. I was 23 when I first started backpacking and I just think of all those years I wasted in college that could have been wasted on a tropical beach somewhere! Ha.
I’ve found having an iPhone in my pocket means I take HEAPS more shots now Michael as it’s just so convenient! I totally agree that you don’t want to live life through a view finder though!
23 aint bad – my photography degree has opened up a lot of travel doors so I don’t really regret it, but I would’ve rather been travelling!
I know what you mean, but mobile phones were still the ancient nokia handsets when I first started travelling! Not exactly conducive to taking photos! Haha. It is much, much easier now. But you are right, my own degrees have opened up doors too and I dont regret them, I just feel like I was late to realise the benefits of backpacking. Perhaps I wasnt ready to appreciate travel then? Loving the website though, keep up the good work!
I think you’ve got to put in the time building a foundation before you can appreciate the freedom of backpacking. Lets face it if you went straight from school to backpacking your mindset would be very different and would you really make the most of everything and enjoy the escapism of it all as much?