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Mumsnet users share their holiday nightmares with Admiral Travel Insurance

315 replies

EllieMumsnet · 03/04/2018 09:03

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We can all laugh about our nightmare holiday moments when we are back in the comfort of our own home, but at the time they can often seem like the end of the world! The team at Admiral Travel Insurance have asked us to find out what holiday nightmares, however big or small, made you wish you’d stayed at home at the time.

So what's the worst holiday mishap you’ve had to deal with? Did you have a suncream explosion in your suitcase? Or realise you didn’t actually book the hotel you thought you did? Perhaps you planned a beach holiday and it rained every day? Or you discovered the major mistake of not practising putting up your new tent before you went camping?

Whatever your holiday nightmare moment, please share it below and you will be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 voucher of your choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

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Mumsnet users share their holiday nightmares with Admiral Travel Insurance
OP posts:
SSCRASE123 · 16/04/2018 08:57

Last year, our first day in Thailand, I went into the pool to retrieve some of my lads toys and missed the final step. Gashed my ankle deeply and had to go straight to hospital for stitches. Spending the next 2 weeks, unable to go into the pool, sea or even shower my leg was horrible.

lulumajor · 16/04/2018 08:57

Getting to a hotel that we had driven to from our apartment for 3 horus to find out that we couldn't stay there as we hadn't taken our passports

beanlucy21 · 16/04/2018 09:00

The one which stays in my mind is when we took our first family holiday together down in Cornwall, The place itself was beautiful but it was the caravan it was something out of a 70s stains on beds and sofa, carpet ripped and covered in hairs the shower broken and smelly the list was endless we left the very next day, it would of been on the same day but we had already driven 6 hrs

islePinklady · 16/04/2018 09:01

my holiday nightmare was when travelling with family as a child, I was been dropped of for a weeks riding holiday on the way. My suitcase was put in my granddads car, while I traveled with my parents. my granddad was following our car but then got lost and could not contact my dad (no mobile phone in those days). He decided to go home, on arrival at the riding Holiday it was realized I had no suitcase. which resulted in me missing a day of my Holiday until my granddad arrived the next day with my suitcase.

Bellaboo1234 · 16/04/2018 09:02

My sisters family and my family went camping with a 2 and 4 year old to where our dad used to take us as kids as he had died a couple of years before. When we finally got the tent up due to winds, we woke up the next morning to most of the tents in the field being blown away and ours just about still stand. We through everything back in the car and went home leaving my sister behind in her caravan. We were suppose to be there for 4 nights!

sunshinewey · 16/04/2018 09:02

Having my elderley parents, hubby and three young children and on return from some winter sun, the plane being diverted to a different airport, London, which is a 3 hour drive from where we should of gone, due to snow, and then after hours of waiting in the middle of the night, being put on a coach,and watching the coach driver falling asleep at the wheel, this is a memory i really would rather forget, horrific !!

andreyero · 16/04/2018 09:15

Leaky felt-tips in the bottom of the suitcase that I didnt even know had been put there! Goodbye new white linen trousers!

lsymons · 16/04/2018 09:18

snakes on a plane.... whats worse? MORNING SICKNESS ON A PLANE!!
Worst 5 hours of my life.

AR2012 · 16/04/2018 09:26

Forgot my passport once had to double back and barely made it to the gate on time.

glenka · 16/04/2018 09:30

realised we had put the suitcase that we keep the winter clothes in in the car instead of the suitcase we had packed for our holiday with all our summer clothes in. it was to late to go back and get the right one so we had to buy a load of clothes once we got to out hotel.

Jade5093 · 16/04/2018 09:32

Being delayed 3 hours with a 2 year old and a baby in a hot Greek airport .... couldn't wait to just be at home!

ThemisA · 16/04/2018 09:50

Camping around europe in perpetual rain, mud, cold - never again. Trying to dry essentials out of the window during short sunny spells!

footdust · 16/04/2018 09:53

Thought I'd done really well in getting a bargain for an apartment in Corfu only to find that most of the apartments were booked out to a Club 18-30 type holiday company. Needless to say it was not exactly quiet and lesson learned to research a bit more

hiddenmichelle · 16/04/2018 10:03

Took washing powder with me in the suitcase. Big mistake not to wrap it is a carrier bag. Could have been worse though - it was powder not liquid. But it was everywhere when we opened the case. Silver lining was a very fresh smelling suitacse!

jelleng · 16/04/2018 10:04

On my first day in Thailand I fell down some steps and ended up with my leg in plaster, I did continue with the holiday but it was at a much slower pace and all the places we had planned to visit was reduced to a couple

tallandlong · 16/04/2018 10:05

driving abroad is always a nightmare

amyhalliday1 · 16/04/2018 10:08

Last holiday we had a fisteen hour delay from Turkey with two kids !!!!!

AnimalAddict · 16/04/2018 10:18

We ended up getting lost the very first night of our holiday in Spain. We ended up in a remote village with the locals looking at us like we're absolute idiots.

TracyKNixon · 16/04/2018 10:23

We lost a suitcase on arrival in Tenerife once and it wasn't found and returned to us until the last day! Luckily I always pack a mixture of everyone's clothing in each of our suitcases so if we ever did lose one, like we did, then at least no one person would lose all their clothes! We still had to buy extra though while on holiday!

thesockgap · 16/04/2018 10:36

We've been lucky and not really had any major disasters (touch wood!)Probably the worst holiday we had was when it was just DH and I in Turkey for 2 weeks, and between us we were ill with D&V for about 9 days of it. Not both at the same time, one after the other. That wasn't much fun. But other than that, we've always had enjoyable holidays! Let's hope it stays that way!

shellywkd · 16/04/2018 10:38

We all got food poisoning from some dodgy chicken in Spain once only got to enjoy 4 of our 7 days as we were al! In bed for 2 of the days.

socat · 16/04/2018 11:06

Coming back from Tunisia I had terrible diarrhoea so spent most of the flight / train back in/out of the loo. Guess it was change of food/minerals in the water etc. Nice hol spoilt a bit.

charw92 · 16/04/2018 11:17

I always remember one holiday I went when I was younger with my parents. They had forgot to bring the travelers cheques, meaning we had to spend a good day or 2 in Spanish banks trying to sort it.
I was only young and just wanted to play in the pool!

kamaxtra · 16/04/2018 11:20

We had a connecting flight from Madrid to Valencia but our first flight was extremely delayed. Since it was the airlines fault (and the connecting flight was part of the same ticket for many passengers on the first flight), the crew told us they had spoken to ground staff who would hold the plane for another 15 minutes so we could disembark and make a run for the next flight. About 20 of us RAN for it, and I mean sprinted through the very large, maze-like airport. When we got to the gate...it was empty. The flight had left without us anyway. Such a nightmare!

mollymoo818 · 16/04/2018 11:23

There has been so many! It wouldn't b e a family holiday without a few disasters along the way from sickness to missing flights and there is always something leaking in one of the bags no matter how careful I am. Luckily there has never been anything too serious and although it is a pain at the time when something goes wrong it has never stopped us having a great time in the end.