10 WORST Airport Mistakes⎜Airport Travel Tips

You do not want to make these mistakes when at the airport. And some of these mistakes I'm about to talk about, you've maybe done without even knowing it. In today's video, I'm going to share 10 airport mistakes that you might be making. Make sure you stick around till mistake number 10, because I'm very curious on your opinion on this mistake, because I can't be the only one that does this. All right, let's get into it. Mistake number one, and that is not dressing for travel. In my opinion, this is a pretty entry level mistake. Whenever you're traveling, you want to make sure that you're dressed appropriately, not only for comfort, but also for looks. What I mean by that is you want to find a good balance of kind of dressing up, but also keeping it comfortable. You don't want to look like a complete slob, but you don't necessarily need to sacrifice by wearing a suit or a fancy dress. Try to keep your footwear comfortable as well. I see so often, particularly maybe more so with the ladies, wearing high heels, but wear shoes that are comfortable. You're going to be on and off planes, you might be walking a little bit, so make sure that you're comfortable wearing your clothes and shoes for hours on end. Mistake number two, and that is not arriving to the airport with enough time. This mistake is made by beginner travelers and expert travelers, and in some cases, it's made even more often by the expert travelers, just by getting a little bit too comfortable and maybe a little overconfident. There's no reason to cut your time close when arriving to the airport. You want to make sure you arrive with enough time just in case security line is long or you have some issue checking your baggage or checking into your flight. You never know what can happen on a travel day, and there's no reason to cut it close and stress yourself out. Make sure you arrive with enough time. Mistake number three, and that is double checking your documentation. This is a really easy mistake to avoid and a mistake that you definitely don't want to make. It will really throw off your travel day. What I mean by this is double checking boarding passes, health insurance verifications, visas, really anything that has your name, some sort of number, date, time, double check it. Double check everything. Meg and I have made this mistake before, and it is brutal. One specific example where we made this mistake is we were applying for a visa to get to Vietnam, and we messed up our passport numbers. They didn't match. So when we got to the airport, they said we couldn't fly. And all of this could have been prevented by just double checking. Long story short, we had to wait an extra week to apply for a new visa to get to Vietnam. You really don't want to make this mistake, so just make sure you double check everything. Mistake number four, and that is over packing. This is another one that is relatively simple, but a mistake that people often make, including myself. And in my opinion, the more stuff you have, the more stress you have. If you can pack efficiently in a way that's going to allow you to get on and off the plane easy, get through security easy, it's going to decrease your stress. It's also going to decrease the chance that you have to make other mistakes, like getting things stolen or losing things. So do your best when you're preparing for your trip to not over pack. Mistake number five. And this one kind of goes along with the over packing one, just because both of these mistakes are usually made prior to even making your way to the airport. And this mistake is not being prepared for security. You're going to want to make sure that you pack your suitcase in a way that is security ready, meaning that you have all of your liquids in a Ziploc bag, all of your electronics are in the same area for easy takeout. Also make sure you're wearing, again, comfortable clothes and shoes that come on and off easily. If you can make your way through security much smoother, it's not only going to be better for you, but it's going to be better for all of your fellow travelers, being that it's just a way more efficient process. So try to be a little bit more prepared for security on your next trip. Let me know down in the comments, mistakes that you see made all the time at the airport. I feel like as travelers, we're always well aware of those around us and mistakes that are made, sometimes even more aware of others than we are ourselves. But I feel like we've all seen some sort of mistake when traveling through the airport. So let me know down in the comments, the ones that you've seen or mistakes that you make yourself. Let me know. I'm curious. Mistake number six, and that is being impatient. This one's a little bit more hard to grasp being that it's not really written in stone on what this term actually means. But in general, you want to make sure that you have patience when traveling. We know this is a very clunky and slow process, so don't expect otherwise. Making sure that you're giving people grace when going through security, making sure that you're giving yourself grace when going through security. Most likely something is going to happen on your travel day that doesn't go to plan. And if you arrive with the patience mindset, you're going to be much better apt to deal with that situation than if you're worked up and stressed out. So try your best when traveling to be super, super patient. It'll make your travel day much more enjoyable, not only for yourself, but also for others around you. Mistake number seven, and that is going off the grid. Let me explain what I mean by this. Oftentimes, unless you're traveling for business, you're usually traveling for a holiday or some sort of vacation, basically a time to get away from the reality, maybe take a break from your work or your stressful life. And oftentimes what comes with that is maybe putting your phone away. My dad usually does this whenever he's on vacation. He's like, I don't want anyone calling me, I don't want anyone texting me. And that can be great to kind of disconnect for a little bit. But I recommend waiting until you get to your destination to do that. Whenever you're traveling, you're going to want to stay connected to the grid, meaning having close access to a phone or some sort of electronic device to make sure that you can get updates on flight information, gate changes, boarding passes. Unfortunately, this is just the way travel is these days. And I know it can be frustrating for some of you, but overall this makes travel a lot more efficient. So make sure the next time you're getting ready for your trip or you're spending any time in the airport, you have a close electronic device to make sure you can check all those updates and really just be connected to the grid. It'll make it a lot easier. Mistake number eight, and that is buying things at the airport. In my opinion, this is something you're going to want to avoid as much as possible because the prices at the airport are going to be jacked up. You're going to end up spending a lot more money than you need to and or want to. Now I understand this might not be entirely possible, especially if you have like a long layover or a long international layover, you're going to need to buy something. But there are ways you can be more prepared so you don't have to spend quite as much money. For example, bringing your own entertainment like a magazine or an iPad, as well as maybe bringing some of your favorite foods like a granola bar or some sort of snack. Also bringing a water bottle. Those things can save you tons of money if you bring with you to the airport versus buying there. So in my opinion, I would try to avoid buying stuff at the airport as much as possible. Mistake number nine, and that is not being aware. This mistake is very similar to the one I talked about with patients because it not only affects you, but it affects every single traveler around you. Being aware of your surroundings when traveling is key for a lot of reasons. The first one being just general safety. You're going to want to make sure you keep track of your luggage, keep track of your kids and family. Being aware of your personal items and the people around you is not only going to help yourself have a more successful travel day, but also keep the others around you a lot more happy and comfortable. For example, if you're getting ready to board a plane, try not to take up like four or five seats, one for you, one for your bag, one for your electronic. Be aware of your surroundings and be courteous to others. It's ultimately going to keep you safe and keep the travel experience more enjoyable for everybody. Mistake number 10, and that is not checking to see if your gate is real. Please, please, please let me know in the comments if this is something that you also do because I feel like I can't be the only one that does this and I just think it's kind of funny. Whenever I arrive to the airport and get through security, I must go directly to my gate to see if it exists. G12, G13, whatever it is, I got to go see it before I go get food, before I sit down. I have to make sure it's real. I know that sounds kind of funny, but it is actually a mistake that could cost you greatly on your travel day. For example, say you get through security and you just go right to a restaurant and sit down. You're like, oh, my gate's right around the corner. Well, what if your gate isn't right around the corner? This is something that has happened to Meg and I before where we thought our gate was right around the corner, but actually to get to G13, you had to walk around the corner, take a staircase, and then take a shuttle. Well, if you don't plan for enough time, you could be in trouble. So I would actually highly encourage you to make your way to your gate as soon as you get through security so that way you know the appropriate time to head to your gate when you're ready to board. This way you're not late and you don't miss your flight. Please let me know in the comments if this is something that you do because I just think it's so funny, but actually has a pretty real application. Let me know in the comments. Remember, mistakes are inevitable when traveling, so don't beat yourself up too bad when those mistakes happen. All we can do is learn and prepare better for our next travel experience. If you're looking to continue on your journey to become a more efficient traveler and make less mistakes, I would highly recommend checking out the video we made about the unwritten rules of flying. In that video, it's very similar to this one. We talk about a lot of mistakes that are made actually on the plane, and some of them are kind of funny. So you might want to check that video out. If you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up as well as subscribe to our channel for more content like this. We will see you in the next video.