While we were on a family vacation in Italy, we missed our train from Rome to Cortona. We got to the station with little, but enough, time to spare. However, we couldn't find each other in the station when we got there. We ran to the train just as it was pulling away. Now, in a foul mood, I was ready to just go buy a new ticket from the automated machine, because the line at the ticket counter was so long.

My father-in-law asked a couple ladies at the front if we could cut ahead, since our next train was leaving in 15 minutes. They said, "sure" and we found out from the teller that our train ticket was good on any train that day, to the same destination.

So the lessons I learned from this are:
- Find a distinctive meeting spot for your friends or family very close to the train
- Don't get too stressed about missing a train in Italy, as long as it isn't the last one.
- Ask people before wasting time in line or money buying a new ticket.

Posted By Kelly on May 20, 2009, 3:43 PM

On a family vacation, we left Turrialba, Costa Rica in the mid-morning for what we thought was to be a liesurely drive to a house we had rented in Puerto Viejo, on the Caribbean coast. The rain turned to a downpour and then the flooding began. The roads were lined in places with flood victims waiting for a ride to a shelter. Vehicles were overturned in some places and along the coast the waves were about 40 ft high and full of dirty brown sediment.

After seven hours driving, we found that the the only bridge into Puerto Viejo had been washed out, so we drove back up the coast and spent the night at a nice hotel. Fortunately, the property manager was on the same side of the river as us and was able the next day to make arrangements for us in a different property. We settled into our new digs and enjoyed our first dinner for what was supposed to be a week long stay. The next day we toured the country side to the reservation at Bribri and inspected the work on the bridge, where the government was frantically building a by-pass. We stocked in groceries and by nightfall were able to take the bypass into Pureto Viejo for a very nice dinner.

Then disaster struck. My elderly father-in-law broke his leg at 3:00 am on Thanksgiving day. We followed an ambulance which first took him to the clinic in Bribri where they said we would have to go to the hospital in Limon. We followed the ambulance to the hospital in Limon and quickly went back to get our belongings while they treated him. Upon our return, they said they could not treat him and we would have to go to the hospital in San Jose.

By this time there was a red flag state of emergency for the entire eastern half of Costa Rica with wide spread flooding, mudslides, and many displaced families. We were able to hire a private ambulance and nurse and followed them to San Jose. All of the major highways were closed, so we had to take the back roads with all of rerouted traffic which seemed to include every truck in Central America, all through pouring rain and dense fog. We finally reached the hospital at about 10:00 pm. We spent the rest of our "vacation" traveling from our hotel in San Jose to the hospital.

The good that came from this is that we learned that Costa Rica has some of the best medical facilities in the world with patient, helpful staff, and incredibly efficient doctors. What could have ended tragically left us with a great impression of the country and its people. We plan to go back soon to complete our vacation and see more of their wonderful country. But you can be sure that we will invest in international medical insurance before we leave.

Posted By Tom Buqo on May 20, 2009, 5:13 PM

On the last night of a tour of Eastern Europe,we were in Vienna and I suffered a fall which caused significant back pain. Since it was in the evening and our flight was very early the next morning, I did not seek medical attention. I was extremely uncomfortable on our flights (Vienna to Frankfurt and then to Philadelphia) but we sat in our assigned coach seats. Naturally, we had inconsiderate passengers in front of us who insisted on reclining their seats to the max. I asked the one in front of me to give me more room which he did grudgingly. I later learned that I had suffered a fractured vertebrae. Next time, I would ask the airlines for some kind of accommodation due to my injury. I don't know if they do that type of thing, but it would have been worth a try!

Posted By Karen McIntyre on May 21, 2009, 1:08 PM

My story has to do with airline flights. In February 2008 my husband and I were scheduled to fly from Chicago (O'Hare) to Miami for a one-week vacation. We managed to leave on the day of a big winter storm and return on the day after a big winter storm. Our flight from Moline IL to Chicago was relatively on time, but O'Hare was a zoo!! Snow, high winds, thousands of people milling about trying to reschedule flights - the typical bad weather Chicago chaos. We could tell that our late afternoon flight to Miami stood a very good chance of being cancelled, so while one of us stood in the line to rebook, the other used the 1-800 American Airline help line. The help line came through, big time. In less than ten minutes, my husband had us on a flight to Atlanta with a connection to Miami, that actually did leave Chicago on time and made it to Miami with minimal delays. On the way back - same thing, different direction. Chicago was snowed in, so we used the 1-800 number to rebook an alternate flight to Dallas and back to Moline. The lesson of this story? Use the 1-800 numbers as much as you can - they work 100% better than waiting to talk with an overworked and harried gate agent. Our experience with the phone service was so positive that we've programmed it into our cell phones! The other lesson: be flexible about your itinerary. If the flight ends up where you want to go, good for you!

Posted By Connie Kennedy on May 21, 2009, 2:37 PM

We were on a student tour through Europe and I had thought I was being smart by purchasing AMEX travelers checks. I had put the extra checks in my luggage and put the receipts with check numbers in a separate place in my toiletry kit. When we left Paris and arrived in Holland, I realized that my checks had been stolen from my luggage, either in the Paris hotel or somehow during loading and unloading of the tour bus. Incredibly, the receipts had also been found in the toiletry kit so we could not put a hold on them. When I called AMEX, they said I would have to call my bank in the US and get the receipt numbers from them and go to an AMEX office at the next large city. Well, every time we came to a big city with an office, it was a weekend and the office was closed. So I did not get my money back until I returned to the States and had to borrow spending money from my travel buddy. Now, I rely on ATMs, much easier and I just get out enough cash to last a few days, plus it comes out in the correct money for that country and at a reasonable exchange rate.

Posted By Elizabeth Alexander on May 21, 2009, 3:52 PM

While on my honeymoon in Acapulco, Mexico some years ago, while dining at an out of the way restaurant called Los Rancheros, there occurred 2 tables away from us, a political assassination. I walked quickly to the back wall and then jumped onto the wall where i faced an 18' drop onto an angled and gravel slope. I was about to get back down when a burst of bullets behind me sounded loke popcorn popping forced me to jump immediately.
I broke 3 wrist bones, my right humorous bone and had a hairline fracture on my right foot. I was in a cast from my knuckles to shoulder and a cast on my foot to almost the knee with just my toes sticking out. I was in therapy for 6 months but Capitan Moya and one other person were killed with many others wounded. What a honeymoon!!!!!!! janis

Posted By janis Gager on May 21, 2009, 6:02 PM

In London, I had my ATM card taken by a faulty machine. Because it was not attached to a bank, I could not get the card back. It was controlled by Wells Fargo. I learned that had it been attached to a bank, they could have gotten it to me the next day.

Posted By Sharon L Stern on May 21, 2009, 9:12 PM

I was on a sightseeing trip with my adult daughter, traveling from Kaiserslautern, Germany to Prague on an overnight sightseeing tour that was popular with armed forces personnel. The typical tour was a drive-all-night, sightsee during the daytime, and drive-all-night again to get back scenario.

This particular trip occurred just as the borders between East and West were beginning to open, but it was still just a bit scary being in a communist country. The bus driver dropped the whole group off in Prague and we had a lovely day seeing the sights of this beautiful city.

As our group gathered for dinner before reboarding the bus for our return, I did as I had been doing all day - checked inside my purse to make sure that my passport and traveler's checques were all present and accounted for. But this time, they weren't! After checking and re-checking again, it became apparent that somehow I had missed the stealthy person who had helped himself to my passport and all my traveler's cheques.

Since I knew that we had a border crossing ahead, I became frantic. The tour guides said it wouldn't be a problem...I responded that if it were such a non-issue, I'd take their passport and they could be the one without.....no one took me up on that offer, of course! Since I wasn’t about to allow them to leave me in the Czech Republic, I knew that somehow I had to get across the border into Germany so I could get to the American consulate and get my passport replaced.

As we approached the border, we hatched a plan. I was to go inside the bus's restroom and lock myself in. I was to stay there until we had crossed the border and I was given the all-clear. During the crossing, my daughter was scared half to death that the border officer would notice that there was only one empty seat on the bus and wonder where that person was. But the officer boarded the bus, and if he had any questions about the empty seat with the scared-to-death-looking young woman sitting beside it, he gave no clue. Everything went well and no questions were asked. I was so glad to get out of that bathroom, knowing I was safely back in Germany!

Of course, early the next morning I had to present myself to the consulate in Frankfurt to replace my passport before my flight out that day. After a wild taxi ride, a long wait at the consulate, and -thank goodness for my voter’s registration card, the only positive citizenship document I had - I hurried back to the airport, but I had already missed my flight back to the US. I explained my situation to the gate agent at the airport and he was exceptional in his assistance. He actually put me on a later flight that arrived back home before the original flight I was originally going to be on!

All ended well, but those were some scary moments! What I learned from this trip is: keep your passport physically on your person in a place that you will notice if someone touches. Keep your money in a separate place from your passport. And finally, be really nice to the airport gate agent. They have a lot of power to help you, if you are pleasant to deal with.

Posted By Georgene Harkness on May 21, 2009, 9:33 PM

The last time my wife and I flew to Nicaragua it was on American Airlines and it was a terrible experience going both ways with that airline. We were going to attend two baptisms and to become God parents, my wife at the time was six months pregnant. When we were decending to Managua international the a/c felt like it wasn't working it was very hot, and with the pressure changes my wife felt like she was going to pass out. Before we landed my wife asked the attendant to get her to the front to get off, she told her how she felt. The attendant told her to run up to the front when we are told to remove our seat belts. My wife was looking very pregnant and ill and this lady wants her to run, elbowing through the crowd! We had to wait, get a wheel chair, and I had no assistance with her and my two year old son. While in Nicaragua my wife twisted her ankle and it was so swollen she couldn't walk, so we asked american to have a wheel chair at Miami, the captain called ahead. When we arrived there wasn't one and they told me my wife needs to get off and wait for one, I guess they expected her to stand on one leg or sit on the floor. I refused to leave until the chair arrived and a kind person helped us out. Don't expect much compassion from American!

Posted By John Rooney on May 26, 2009, 7:35 AM

My husband and I taught and lived in China in 2008. We traveled over Spring Festival, the country's busiest and most important holiday, joining the millions on the move. We traveled for two weeks, south by train, first to Shanghai, then Hangzhou, then Nanjing. All was well until it started to snow the day we were scheduled to fly back to Beijing. Being from Chicago we thought little of it. But the bus routes to the airport closed. One of our students, who was visiting his hometown, had been our tour guide. He got us on a shared taxi to the airport. We got to the airport just before the highways shut down. It continued to snow and we found ourselves in the midst of the biggest snow storm in 50 years, during the busiest travel season China had ever seen. Southeast China doesn't get snow; they don't have plows and a plan in place for snow. We stayed at the airport for about 48 hours, trying to get on a flight. Did I mention we were about to run out of money?

Our original flight was, of course canceled. We were promptly given what we thought were ticket vouchers by our carrier, Southeastern, to another airline. These were in the form of a handwritten vouchers. The employee assured us we could use these "vouchers" to get on the other airline's flights. This happened twice and each flight was canceled before we turned in our "vouchers" to get the new tickets.

As the highways were closed, we thought we were stranded at the airport. In fact, the airline employees didn't come to work on our second morning there. This is how we discovered the airport was also closed that morning and that our third flight must be canceled.

On the afternoon of our second day, we found someone who spoke English on the other airline, who informed us the vouchers (our fourth set) from our original carrier were not good for tickets on their flight. They were just pieces of meaningless paper. The worker then hopped over the counter and ran over to scream at our original airline's employees, who had been handing out fake tickets since the storm hit.

We also got a cash advance from the Bank of China in the airport using my credit card. It saved us from a dire financial situation.

My husband finally got service from our airline by essentially screaming and pointing and embarrassing the worker, causing a gigantic scene. She had been avoiding us and at once point actually ran away from us and disappeared in an employee elevator. We were given real tickets for a flight three days later. Finally, we got a cab and took some snowy back roads to go back to our hostel for a few days until our next flight.

What I learned: Don't break down and cry. I did this once and immediately realized the futility of my tantrum when I looked around at all the poor Chinese in exactly the same situation as I. A granny stared me down curiously and her gaze knocked some sense into me.

Make the best of your situation. Staying positive was so important. Some stranded Chinese made snow men on the closed airport roads. They tied clothes together and played jump rope inside. They kicked around water bottles. They played cards. They found cardboard and carts to sleep and sit on. Sometimes there's nothing to do but wait it out.

Expect the unexpected. I was in the most populous country in the world and traveled in its peak season. Then a huge snow storm hit. It was unreasonable to expect everything would go according to plan.

Expect bad and/or no information in case of disaster, at least in China. This was the worst snow storm in 50 years after all. We didn't speak the language. The airport employees withheld information from us to save face. It doesn't make sense to me, but you can chalk it up to cultural differences.

Be persistent. If you won't go away, they'll probably get sick of you eventually and give you what you want.

Know this: Customer service in other countries is not like it is here in the US. Don't expect it to be and you'll be a lot less frustrated.

Posted By Juliana on May 26, 2009, 10:43 AM

Travel insurance can help in situations like the ones described above. Having that Customer Assist number to call for immediate attention, 24/7, can save your vacation and your investment in it. It's something to consider while you're in the planning stages of your trip; that's when the most options and best pricing are available to you.

Posted By Travel Insurance Lady on May 26, 2009, 1:24 PM

I was on my first trip to Prague three years ago and woke up in the middle of the night with a pain in my back which I recognized as a bladder infection. I knew that there were 24/7 clinics in Prague and went to the front desk to see where the nearest one was. The desk clerk discouraged me from that saying that I didn't want to spend hours waiting for treatment (which I didn't). She said that she could call a doctor to come to the hotel but that I would have to pay the doctor and for his cab in cash. She called the doctor and his fee came to about $268 US. I had insurance that would cover it so I agreed to the doctor coming. When he arrived, I was very impressed. He had a huge black physician's bag which contained not only regular instruments but testing equipment, prescription pads, and medication. He performed a urinalysis, confirmed that I did indeed have a bladder infection, discussed previous medications I had used and found that he had a sufficient supply of one which he gave me. He then gave me two receipts, one for me which was not itemized and one for my insurance company which was completely itemized and included diagnostic codes. All this was accomplished in an hour and he didn't charge me extra for the medication. Afterwards, I thanked the front desk clerk profusely. I learned that even if you know one solution, always check to see if there is another solution, more convenient, that you may not have thought of and always carry trip insurance which includes medical emergencies.

Posted By Pat on May 26, 2009, 2:41 PM

We have never had any major issues (knock on wood) just delays here and there...

One year when flying home to Atlanta from Seattle after Christmas, when my girls were very little, our 1 hour layover in Denver turned into 7 hours due to the weather. While waiting and striking up conversations with other families in the same boat we ended up making a corral out of luggage and carts and over the 7 hours different kids and their new toys came and went without any major meltdowns. A positive attitude makes a big difference!

I second the Travel Insurance Lady about getting Travel Insurance! I never really thought about insurance except for the one trip to Africa where we didn't need to use it but when I booked our trip to Cabo San Lucas last year the travel agent offer the travel insurance and it was such a minor cost (less than $20 per person) that I took it. We left Seattle on a 6am flight to San Francisco only to arrive there to find out that the flight to Cabo was cancelled due to a tropical storm and the earliest flight that we could get on was the next morning. Alaska Airlines was great and put us (and 20 others) up in a hotel in Oakland (no hotels near SFO? :)) for the night and gave us a meal voucher. My husband and I had been to SF for business over the years but the girls had never been so we threw our bags in the room, the hotel van took us to the BART station, and we proceeded to see all we could see of SF in 1 day. There was a mix up with the transportation back to the airport the next morning so in order to get moving and not miss the flight we just paid for it.

When we got home I submitted the claim on the insurance and was reimbursed for the night that we missed in Cabo and all that we spent on meals and transportation while we had the added bonus to our vacation of touring San Francisco.

Posted By Cheryl Brown on May 26, 2009, 4:35 PM

We were on a canoing trip in the Boundary Waters Wilderness area near Ely, Minnesota. My husband and daughter were in one canoe, while I was in another with our 15 year old son. We had paddled out from shore for about an hour when we decided to drop anchor and fish for awhile. My son grabbed the rope that was attached to the anchor and started letting in run through his hands while the anchor sunk to the bottom of the lake. Apparently the rope snagged onto a big treble-hook fishing lure, and the hook ripped through one of his hands and lodged in the other, with the weight of the anchor holding it firmly in place. He said a few choice words no 15 year old should know, and we realized what had happened. My husband paddled over to us quickly and got out his fillet knife and cut the rope. Our son's hands were bleeding, the hook was stuck, and we realized we needed to get back to shore. He was not able to paddle, so I struggled to paddle us both back to shore which took quite awhile. We made it back, got in our car and drove to the nearest hospital in Ely. As we walked into the emergency room, and attendant took one look at us and said "fish hook? That room over there". Apparently fish hook accidents are common place in Ely! But later, the bartender at our lodge told us "You should have just brought him to me. I would have given him a shot of whiskey and pulled that thing right out. Would have saved you a trip"! Our son thought that would have been a much better plan.

Posted By Michelle on May 26, 2009, 4:54 PM

My boyfriend and I live in the Detroit area. We visited Mackinaw City near the Mackinac Bridge for the New Year holiday. We decided to venture to the Upper Peninsula to see Pictured Rocks. It was quite cold and therefore not very busy. Mostly there were only snowmobiliers in the area. We took a road back east from the park that runs parallel to the Lake Superior coastline, heading towards Grand Marais. The map we had was just a simple tourist map and we just assumed the road was a "good" road. We were driving in a sedan and the roads were snow-covered but packed down.
Well, along the way through the woods, my boyfriend had to stop for nature's call. We hadn't seen another car or snowmobile for miles. To make a long story short, the car got stuck because we pulled a little to the side of the road where it sloped down and the snow was deeper. We had no way to get it out and our cell phones had no coverage. It turned out that the road was only a snowmobile trail in the Winter, something we didn't know. We got stuck at 7pm and didn't get saved until 3am by the luck of having a dog sledder that was practicing with his dogs - luckily HIS cell phone worked!
The thing that scared me the most was that we hadn't told anybody what we were doing that day. Even if I had told family back home what we were doing that day, they wouldn't have realized something was wrong until we didn't come home when expected, which wasn't until the next evening. From then on, we always leave a note in the hotel room indicating where we expect to be during that day. That way, if the hotel staff were to notice that we didn't check out as expected the next day, they would know that something was wrong - sooner than my family would know.
Luckily, we were dressed warm, had food and water, and enough gas to keep turning the car on.
We'll also be more prepared by having the right maps and bad weather gear like a shovel & sand.

Posted By Michelle on May 26, 2009, 8:51 PM

I just arrived in Paris at a station and was trying to go onto another train to get to my hostel and was totally lost. A man saw me looking around for a map and quickly led me upstairs to a ticket machine. I wasn't sure about this whole situation and was scared of being led up where not a lot of people were but i somehow just went. He pushed buttons on the ticket machine for how many days i was going to be in Paris, and quickly put in his card into the machine before I could get to it(big sign!). The tricky thing I noticed but stupidly fell for, was he had a one time ticket in his hand that i stealthily put in the ticket box and grabbed them after. Then led me back downstairs, and then made me pay 80 euros for a one time stupid ticket before he went to run after new prey!!!! argh!

Posted By Kumiko M. on May 27, 2009, 1:46 AM

I was in St. Moritz in early Dec about 15 years ago & had to drive over the Alps back to Flims. It was late afternoon & drizzling when I started back over the pass & I saw a big electric sign as I headed onto the pass road (probably said chains or snow tires only--not in English) As I got to the top all I saw was white snow & black sky. I felt like I was in a snow globe. My car started to skid as I started down over the pass and I went front first into the mountain. Since there were no guard rails or lights I had no idea how much room I had to back-up. I thought I would go very slow as soon as my left foot stopped shaking so that I could use the clutch. Then I saw lights in the sky & couldn't tell if the car was above me or below me. I put on my brights & flashing lights & started pounding on my horn. I was in a white car & afraid they wouldn't see me on the curve in the road. They passed behind me & continued on down the mountain. I then knew that I had at least a cars width behind me. I slowly backed up and started down the mountain into Davos. I never said so many Prayers. When I got to Davos I thought I would stop & eat & when the food was delivered I was so sick to my stomach that I couldn't eat. I had more than an hour to drive to get back to Flims. The next day I stayed in my room all day just recovering. My lesson was if it's raining at the bottom of the Alps it's snowing at the top. I should have stayed in St. Moritz for the night. Since I was traveling alone & had no set schedule & no one would have known where I was. If my car had gone over the side a white car wouldn't have been found until the spring thaw. I was very lucky. I still travel alone all the time.

Posted By Rosalie Greer on May 29, 2009, 12:10 AM

I visited Jamaica last week....but the destination matters little, this could happen anywhere. We were hiking through a forested area when I was stung by wasps or bees (my hysteria prevented proper ID). I looked around and noted there were several of the flying beasts so I bolted and told everyone else to get away.

This may seem like a minor problem to some but it really hurt badly enough to ruin the hike for me, I just wanted to curl up and be left alone for about an hour.

I had 3 bites on my hands and wrist and started sucking on them to withdraw the venom. I have since found that this is probably useless, a bee sting kit with its small, strong vacuum will work well. However, I could find no stingers; I have to wonder if I spit them out.

I knew that ice would be the best pain reliever and we had some in the car. Ice calmed the pain and reduced the swelling as long as I kept the ice applied. Elevation helped, my wrist would throb more if I let my arms hang. I also took an aspirin which also helps with minor pain and is suggested for itches. I had topical cortisone in my purse and it seemed to do nothing for the itch, even when applied over the next few days, although I had always found that it worked well for mosquito bites. I had benadryl, always recommended for allergic reactions and have taken one each night since the bite.

Since coming home and 4 days after the bite, the itch was still quite annoying so I checked the internet and found this information on stings:

1. Ice and aspirin are good painkillers in this case.

2. One should hunt for the stingers and remove them (because they are still releasing venom) by scraping the skin, as with the edge of a knife, to pull them out. Tweezers WERE NOT recommended because, often, the stinger breaks.

3. For the vexing itch that can last for days, I found that toothpaste worked well! I checked one website where a man had himself stung repeatedly over quite some time to find out what works. His top pick was toothpaste and that was an easy ingredient, so I tried it and the calm was immediate. As scientifically as he conducted his experiments, all he could say was that he'd heard that the glycerin in toothpaste dried out the skin and the venom along with it. But I did see mention of toothpaste in several other comments on the web.

4. Wash the stings with soap and keep them clean.

5. There is value in bee sting kits; people who are highly allergic to bee stings should carry one.

6. Benadryl is also recommended for allergic reactions such as bee stings.

7. A suggestion from beekeepers (far too late for me and I don't think I could have done it anyway) is to stand stock still when surrounded by bees, movement excites them and they are more likely to sting. Good luck with that.

Posted By MisChell Anne Cox on May 31, 2009, 1:22 PM