Dear Friends
Lean from my mistakes.
Many taxi drivers before taking you to the airport will ask you, 'Do you have your tickets and your passport?' They must have had lots of panic stricken passengers making them return half way or even on arrival at the airport.
Missing Passports & Visas
Have you ever gone away without your passport or visa? Brexit was good for those without passports. But you still needed them for some countries hotels, and banks for money, drawing it out of your account.
Since Brexit, exit from the no passport system joining the UK to Europe, we have needed passports again. I recall the time before we were in Europe and I forgot my passport.
France, Ferries and Missed Fun
For a day trip on a ferry to France, I was so busy making sandwiches for the journey that I forgot my passport. I was so embarrassed, I did not want to admit it to the organizers of the trip. A colleague went and told them for me. He came back with good news. Fortunately, you could buy a visa for a one day trip, and the ferry terminal had a photo machine for the ID on the document. The only loss was loss of face, and a couple of pounds for the document.
On a later occasion, to be sure of not going off without a passport, I left my passport in my big suitcase to be sure of not going off without it. When I went to pack for a brief three day trip, taking a small wheel on suitcase, I could not find my passport in any drawer in the house or any handbag. I missed a trip to the opening of a theme park in France.
On another trip to France, I had my passport okay. We stayed overnight in northern France. We planned a diversion to Italy. When we got to the border to Italy, we had to turn back. I had left my passport on a lanyard over the back of a dining chair at breakfast.
These incidents were all my fault. What are the solutions? Have one place for the passport. It's always there. No frantic hunt. Now I look for it a week before the
Visa And Passport Renewal
Better still, allowing enough time for the passport renewal. My son's father-in-law discovered his passport had less than 6 months and needed renewing.
Safe Storage Of Passports
On my later trip, I forgot my passport again, and realised twenty minutes down the road. I phoned home. My husband found it in its usual place. He drove towards us so instead of losing twenty minutes going back and hunting for it, we lost only ten minutes.
I have also read stories of people who left their passports on planes. One couple put their passports in the back pockets of the seat in front. I always check the back pockets, and under the seat. I always keep my passport on me, or in a small cross body bag.
Stolen Passports & Bags In Spain
However, even that can't help if somebody steals the whole bag whilst it is still on you. In Spain a car drove up behind us when we were unloading the car on arrival at our hotel. A Swiss army knife was used to slash the strap of my large shoulder bag and the car sped off with the entire bag.
If your passport expires or is stolen, mine was stolen in Singapore, the British embassy will give you a replacement to get you home. But it costs about a hundred pounds.
It requires photos signed by somebody who has known you more than three years, such as a doctor or lawyer in a foreign country. They might charge twenty pounds or dollars to sign.
It was a temporary passport without pages for visas and was valid only for a week.
Back in London I had to go through all that cost, and supplying for authenticated photos again to get a new passport.
Expired Passports
Each year check when your passport and credit cards expire? And how long it takes to receive a replacement. My daughter-in-law was going on a cruise with her family. She discovered that her passport was going to run out. Many countries won't let you in.
Left On The Plane
The plane seated us separately. Our luggage was on opposite sides of the plane. The duty free chocolates I had bought for his parents were left behind in the overhead locker, along with my hat and umbrella. I now take a folding hat and umbrella and keep them in my handbag. Any duty free goods go into my wheel on bag or are attached with a belt or knot.
Left In Hotel Rooms
My relationship with a partner broke up, because I checked out of the hotel when he rushed off to work. I left behind his silk dressing gown on the back of the bathroom door.
The only thing you hang on the back of the bathroom door is the hotel bathrobe.
Before leaving a hotel, photograph the minibar with all the contents, or none, so you can show reception downstairs as you settle the bill. Pay the night before for a quick exit if you oversleep or the taxi arrives early and starts charging you for waiting time.
Before going on holiday
I lave the family my itinerary, transport, hotels, any foreign phone's numbers. And my insurance company hotline.
Suitcases Safety
I like to check suitcases early in the week before travelling. What have I found wrong? Cases which needed cleaning. Missing or wonky wheels. Handles which would not pull up, or down. Combination locks I could not undo. Suitcases filled with off-season clothes which created a mess when I emptied the suitcase. Mouldy food. Once a mouldy swimsuit which had been wet a fortnight before. Four washes in the washing machine.
The last thing I photograph is my luggage. It it is missing I can show the photo, or fill out a form giving the brand name and colours.
In Japan you can buy a suitcase cover to protect it. A cheap alternative is on old tee-shirt with sleeves folded inside. You might wish to add a strap or ribbon to the hem.
Your Hotel Identity
Print the hotel name to show the taxi driver, and the nearest landmark, such as the nearby, church, square, shopping mall, beach. Note any other hotel with similar names. And cities with similar names.
And how many branches of that hotel are in the city. We tried to convince a suspicious hotel receptionist in Phoenix, Arizona, that we had a booking at the Holiday Inn, she she denied. When we produced our booking confirmation letter, she saw immediately that we were booked into a different holiday inn five miles away.
In the Canary Islands this year, July 2026, we stayed at a Melia Hotel. It had a long name. I just remembered the word Melia. Melia is a group. they had three Melia hotels in our destination. The taxi driver kept querying which Melia hotel. Luckily we knew it was near the beach.
If you can get your hotel to send a car to meet you at the airport, you can be sure of going to the right hotel.
So, learn from my mistakes. Happy travelling.
