The world is full of well-meaning travelers and professionals dishing out travel tips and advice to would-be vacationers. But it’s not always useful.
In fact, I often hear less-than-helpful advice being passed on to Italy-bound travelers, advice I know will put a dent in their trip if they follow through with it. I hesitated to write this post because people pass on tips that are based on their experiences and they do so, I believe, to be honest and helpful to future travelers. The problem with that is their advice doesn’t always coincide with-oooh, how do I say this?-the law or even the norm for the country they visited.
It is also doesn’t take into account differences in personalities, travel preferences, money or time allowances and it assumes all travelers are the same.
Some of the most reckless tips I’ve heard regarding traveling to Italy include:
– “Technically you are not supposed to fillintheblank, but I’ve never gotten caught doing it.”
– “I saw most of Italy in a couple of weeks, I think you can do everything on your list.”
– “You can go swimming in Calabria in November.”
– “Don’t waste your time in XYZ … there is nothing there but a crooked tower anyway.”
Last week I quizzed my Facebook friends and Twitter followers about the worst travel advice they’d ever received and here’s what they had to say.
Spencer Spellman of Carolina Nomad said his worst advice was being told his group could easily walk to their hotel from the train station. After two miles, up hills and along bumpy sidewalks-with their luggage-he added this tip to the worst tip file.
Lisa from Wanderlust Women’s Travel Dreams said her worst advice came from a travel guide that sent her-along with a Russian couple-on a search through Rome for the Porta Portese market.
Other misdirected advice included:
– “Go to insertcityhere.”
– “Don’t go to insertcityhere.”
– “Just reading one guidebook (or travel site’s) advice, read: ads!”
What was the worst travel advice you ever received?
Until next time … Buon Viaggio!
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Oh, I could write a book! But the one that I hear most frequently has to do with a hotel in the town from which we operate our tours. They tell their guests before arriving that they should not get a car, and that public transportation is excellent. Unfortunately, when guest arrive, they find that they need a 35 minute train from Rome to Orte, then an hourly (no sundays) bus to Soriano, which takes an hour, even though it is only a 15 minute drive away… Then once in Soriano, they have a 1/3 mile walk UPHILL, including 124 stairs… All with their bags. Sadly, I hear this every week, and guests often trust the hotel’s adice more than mine.
Ugh, Michael, that is horrible. I guess the hotel is misleading their guests because they are afraid they’d choose another place if they knew they needed a car? Also, regarding your clients listening to the hotel over you, I think that has a lot to do with people believing “what they want to believe” rather than the whole truth. Thanks for sharing!
.-= Michael´s last blog ..The Wine Is Always Finer On The Other Side of the Fence =-.
I always give advices to travelers in my travel blog and are all based on my personal experiences… might not be the best tips one could give but hopefully they are not the worst either. 🙂
Oh, I’m sure they aren’t, Cecil. I was actually referring to people who don’t really go into detail and just say “you should go here” instead of “I liked this place because … .” 🙂
.-= Cecil Lee´s last blog ..Top 5 Reasons why tourists are traveling to Australia and New Zealand today =-.