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10 Common Travel Mistakes And How To Avoid Them For A Stress-Free Vacay

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Cheng Sim •  Jul 31, 2019

You may have countless travelling experiences and passport stamps to your name, but common travel mistakes still happen. From exceeding your baggage weight to bringing excess fluids in your hand-carry, it's some of those travel headaches that we encounter time and time again.

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While it happens even to the best travellers, there are many things we can do to avoid them! These are some of the common travel mistakes we can all relate to, and useful tips for a worry-free vacation ?

1. You spend time queuing to purchase attraction tickets

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Queuing is every traveller's least favourite word. You can't avoid queuing for rides at popular attractions like Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan and it gets even busier during peak travel seasons. But in this day and age, you don't have to queue to purchase your entrance tickets for most attractions! Plus, there are some theme parks where you can even skip the queue to take certain rides when you have a special pass ?

Book your attraction passes and tour tickets in advance on Changi Recommends, so you don't have to waste time queuing or worry about tickets running out. Choose from over 2,000 attractions including Warner Bros. Movie World in Gold Coast, Ocean Park in Hong Kong, and Taipei 101 Observatory in Taiwan! Now you can plan your vacation wisely and save time too!

2. You didn’t buy travel insurance

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Mention travel nightmares and you'd probably think of overbooked flights, missing luggage, and unfortunate accidents. You may be fortunate enough to avoid these troubling travel situations now, but you never know when it might happen to you!

To ensure that you’re prepared for any of these travel nightmares, we recommend getting the HyfeAssure Travel Insurance from Changi Recommends! With this plan, dealing with delayed flights or loss of items will be less of a pain. Just apply online, and you'll get a comprehensive coverage plan for all travel-related incidents, including loss of personal money and documents as well as trip cancellation. If that happens, you can get instant claims of up to SGD200* at Changi Recommends' counters ☺️

*Disclaimer: While Changi Recommends is offering SGD200 instant claim from their counters, you might need to provide official documentation for specific travel-related incidents. For instance, if you're claiming for the loss of identification card, you may need to make a police report first before submitting your claim.

#HHWT Tip: If you're a few clicks away from purchasing HyfeAssure Travel Insurance, use promo code HHWTHYFE19 to get 60% off from any ASEAN, Asia and Worldwide plans (valid till 31 Dec 2019).

3. You forgot to check your visa requirements

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Carrying one of the world's most powerful passports may be a fantastic privilege (the Singapore passport was ranked first in the Passport Index 2019!), but it’s always best to check if you need a visa for the destination you’re visiting. You can always check the information with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or head to the respective site of the embassy of the country you’re planning to visit.

Although some countries might allow a fuss-free online visa application, others might require travellers to head to the embassy in person, and this might take you a few hours or the whole afternoon. So, never make this mistake and leave it to the last minute!

#HHWT Tip: Do also note that although you don’t need an official visa for countries like Australia, the US and Canada, you’d still need to apply for an electronic travel authorisation (or ETA) which comes with a small fee.

4. You only get a SIM card after you land

Staying connected is simple in the day and age of smartphones, and we travel better with it. Getting a local SIM card is usually a smarter option when it comes to staying connected as you wouldn’t want to make use of your mobile provider’s roaming services and come home to expensive phone bills!

One common mistake that many travellers make is to buy a SIM card only after you land at your destination. But one of the disadvantages of this is not knowing which local mobile provider is more reliable or which is value-for-money. You might end up paying extra for mobile data when you only need it for a few days or risk facing long queues as every other traveller would be getting their SIM cards too.

To ensure that you’re all set even before embarking on your trip, why not book your SIM card in advance with Changi Recommends? This way, you can collect your SIM card at Changi Airport and the sales advisor will activate and register the SIM card for you. It’s hassle-free and you get a peace of mind even before getting on the plane. Rest assured, the SIM cards are competitively priced too and you can score affordable rates with internet data as high as 20GB! Whether you're travelling to Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, there’s a wide range of local and overseas SIM cards to choose from.

5. You pay too much for airport taxis

As much as you enjoy chatting with your taxi driver on your way to the hotel, some airports are infamous for their expensive taxi rates and you might even encounter taxi scams. Of course, you’d want to avoid them as far as possible!

If you’re looking for a reliable airport transfer, Changi Recommends has a transfer service that looks after your journey from the minute you leave the arrival hall to the moment you arrive at your accommodation. Combined with a convenient and hassle-free meet and greet service, you'll be whisked away with a personalised concierge service and a full premium experience. The great thing is that they have options for large groups too – from 5 to 7 and even 10-seaters. The best part about this is that you can split the cost with your travel group. We definitely recommend this when you're travelling with your family too!

6. You rely on public Wi-Fi

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From your first taste of halal dim sum in Hong Kong to admiring Tokyo’s cityscape at the Tokyo Skytree, you'd want to share them with your loved ones on social media. Not to mention that with Wi-Fi, it’s easier to navigate too. That’s why having Wi-Fi is a must in order to stay connected. Some cities have public Wi-Fi, but it’s not always reliable ?

With Changi Recommends’ high-speed overseas routers, you can stay connected on the go , wherever you are! Gone are the days where you’d need to hang around a Wi-Fi hotspot or stay in a café just to get Wi-Fi. Wherever your wanderlust takes you, you can get unlimited data across more than 70 countries, including Japan, New Zealand, United States, Dubai and other places. Reliable and affordable, it's great to walk around with seamless Wi-Fi.

#HHWT Tip: Travelling by 31 Dec 2019? Use promo code 2FREEDAYSHALAL or 2FREEDAYSAEUHAL (for Australia, USA, Europe & UK) to enjoy two days of free Wi-Fi. Do note that you have to book by 31 Oct and a minimum of 4 days is required for all countries except for Australia, USA, Europe and UK.

7. You book your accommodation at the last minute

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If you're a traveller who only reserves a hotel room very close to your travelling date or even upon arrival, we applaud your sense of adventure. Living on the edge may be your motto, but your luck may turn against you when you travel during peak season, school holidays or festival weeks. When this happens, most of the accommodation in good locations or those value-for-money ones might already be sold out. And those that are still available will usually be more expensive ?

To ensure that this doesn’t happen, we recommend searching for your accommodation in advance to get good deals! Book a comfortable stay from almost anywhere in the world with ChangiHotels - this hotel booking site has 300,000 properties across 5,000 destinations. On top of that, you can also take advantage of their hotel discounts and deals, so you’d pay less than paying on the spot at the hotel. Find your home away from home and use promo code HALALSTAYS to enjoy 10% off your hotel bookings (up to a maximum of SGD100)*. It's way better to guarantee a comfortable stay than to experience a travel headache!

*The promotion is valid for bookings by 31 Oct 2019.

8. You didn’t change currency ahead of time

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Are you constantly on a tight schedule and find yourself not having enough time to head to the money changer before your trip? The last thing you’d want is to end up having to change money at the airport or when you reach your destination. That’s because in most cases, the exchange rates may not be as good as the ones you’d find back home.

But with Changi Recommend’s foreign exchange service, you can now get foreign currency delivered to your doorstep! The delivery is available anywhere in Singapore (except offshore islands), and you don't have to trouble yourself and compare currency exchange rates from different places. You will receive competitive prices from the get-go, which is perfect for any traveller! It's much simpler, and most importantly, it’s safer than having to carry large amounts of cash to and from the money changer too.

9. You pack too many clothes

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Many travellers are guilty of packing too many clothes for short trips or weekend getaways. You bring more shirts thinking that it'll come in handy when you get soaked in the rain. You pack more shoes fearing that your sandal straps might fall off. You bring more than one sweater because you know, just in case, the jacket you have is not enough ?

At the end of the day, you might have to pay for excess baggage fees at the airport and massage your weary backs after carrying a heavy backpack for hours. Over time, it'll hurt your wallet and body too.

To deal with the habit of overpacking, why not adopt some smart packing hacks? Start by planning your outfits accordingly. Then, roll up your clothes or use vacuum seal bags to flatten winter wear or jackets. If you're determined to be a packing pro, practise these essential tips to avoid overpacking for your next trip!

10. You didn’t plan your journey to the airport

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Never underestimate the time it takes to travel from your hotel to the airport, especially when you're heading to the airport during peak hours or weekends. Imagine getting caught in rush-hour traffic, but you're just an hour away from your departure time! Oh, the heart-thumping and nerve-wracking situation! It's the last thing that any traveller wants to go through.

Set a plan to leave your hotel ahead of schedule, and book your airport transfer in advance in case you get stuck in traffic. If you're catching a red-eye flight, make your reservation a day before, so you won't waste time searching for a ride in the dark and empty streets!

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Some of us might have years of travel experiences in our hands, but there are some common travel mistakes that we are bound to make at some point or other. To help you minimise these mistakes, head over to Changi Recommends – your one-stop concierge to keep everything in place. From getting your booking tickets to the latest attractions to securing a night's stay in a comfortable hotel, Changi Recommends caters to all your travel needs. This way, you don't have to scurry around in a panic in case something happens and enjoy a hassle-free vacation!

This article is brought to you by Changi Recommends.