Whoopsy – The 2025 Travel Mistakes I’ll Keep Making

2025 Travel Mistakes

I’m enjoying my currently-infrequent travel pattern.  My family and I are in a life season where a busier travel schedule just doesn’t fit.  Part of this current lifestyle means I’ve lost my fastball a bit.  Consequently, the ins and outs that frequent travelers reflexively handle don’t come as naturally to me right now.  I’m fine with that setup – so much so that I’ll probably keep making these 2025 travel mistakes for the foreseeable future.  Here are just a few.

Oh, That’s Lotion

Bathroom bottles have gotten busier over the years.  Gary at View from the Wing nailed it back in March – writing on container labels has gotten comically smaller.  Even worse, there seems to be so many more words on bottles these days.  I have an easier time reading credit card terms and conditions than any bathroom container.  I suppose all of this low-font, high-word-count labeling is supposed to make me feel like I’m using a luxurious product.  Instead, I’m wasting a more luxurious one – time.

So out of my own impatience and/or my desire to just get out of the way, I don’t put enough time into reading those bottles.  Indeed, I don’t want a queue building up behind me in the bathroom as I carefully review.  Instead, I routinely end up attempting to lather at the sink with lotion.  Eeww.  Restart.

Slow on the Draw

Understatement of this article – I probably take more time at hotel check-in than most.  I ensure to cover all bases: late checkout request, upgrade query, breakfast benefits, other elite perks, and property-unique specifics.  I mentally exhaust myself; unsurprisingly, I just want a brain break after.  At nicer properties, I’ll get on the elevator and forget to scan my room card/press my floor button before the elevator is called to other floors.  Invariably, that happens again (and again) later in the visit.

Is it me, or are these elevator systems even less friendly these days?  There seems to be little to no time or room for error when swiping and entering my floor.  Or maybe I’m just slowing down….

Not Checking Enough

As I prepare for my flight the day and night before a departure, I ensure to check in and confirm flight status.  But on the day of the flight – the date that matters more – I routinely forget to check flight status.  By failing to do so, I open myself up for even more time at the airport than I already spend.

Fortunately, this hardly ever comes back at me in any substantial way.  Most of my flights board as scheduled or within a negligible amount of time after.  Knock on wood.

Way Too Early

Okay, so this technically isn’t a mistake, but it’s a habit I probably take way too seriously.  I plan my schedule to arrive at the airport way too early before flight departure.  This goes back to my childhood.  We had a flat tire on the way to the airport, my dad changed it on an interstate shoulder, and we made our flight on time.  Since then, I’ve generally planned for the worst.  But while I like the peace of mind which comes with arriving early, I conveniently ignore the perceived hours unnecessarily wasted in airports.

Too Many Lounges

I enjoy hopping around to different airport lounges for a few reasons: content, the wacky thrill, and – egads – a bit of genuine interest.  But on many occasions I end up leaving perfectly fine clubs to try out others which turn out to be clearly inferior.  Of course, I know this is the cost of doing business here.  But the process of lounge hopping works against what these clubs strive to offer – a bit of relaxation before a flight.  I put myself through unnecessary nuisances as I jump back and forth to check lounge boxes.

I generally correct this on follow-up visits, honing in one preference for the entirety of my pre-flight time.  But I can’t ignore that I probably could have just accomplished that from the beginning.

2025 Travel Mistakes – Conclusion

I’ll screw up plenty in other realms, but these five I’ll continue.  I must remember to forgive myself, and more importantly, other travelers (with one exception annually).  But in the grand scheme of things, I know none of the above are that major.  It all could be much worse.  Beyond my 2025 travel mistakes, what screw-ups do you find yourself repeating?