Ever heard someone say something about travel that made you raise an eyebrow? As a travel writer (among others), I’ve encountered countless misconceptions about travel and bizarre beliefs about traveling. Here’s a collection of the funniest, strangest, and most unusual things people say about travel.
From travel misconceptions to superstitions, here are …… gems that will make you laugh, scratch your head, or wonder how these ideas even exist.
As a note, I am including them here also in the hope of raising awareness on these topics and letting people know about these lies about travel so that more people will start to plan trips 🙂
Funniest and Most Unusual Things People Say About Travel
1. “If you fly over the International Date Line, you age faster.”
Time zones don’t actually speed up the aging process, but wouldn’t that make time travel more exciting?
The only thing that happens is that traveling westward gains you a day – and vice-versa – due to different time zones. But that does not mean that you age faster! So this is a great example of travel misconceptions people have!
2. “You can see the Great Wall of China from space.”
This China affirmation is one of the tourism myths we have all heard many times. Sorry, folks, but astronauts have debunked this myth. It’s no more visible than a highway from space.
3. “All plane food tastes bad because of the altitude.”
This is one of the top misconceptions about flying – and, I would say, a travel myth. While altitude affects your taste buds, the quality of the food plays a big role too.
The food we had on our flight to Paris was tasteful.
4. “If you visit a country during a full moon, you’ll have bad luck.”
There are many travel superstitions and one of them is – not surprising at all! – connected to the moon. Full moons have inspired myths for centuries, but your travel plans are safe—unless you’re a werewolf.
I never consider when it is a full moon and when it is not when I travel.
5. “Drinking tap water abroad will immediately make you sick.”
Another thing on this list of wrong beliefs about travel that people have is that you should never drink tap water.
While this can be true in some places, not every country’s tap water is hazardous. Research is key.
Plus, even in countries where tap water is safe, you may still get sick because it is very different from the water your body is used to. But you can also be completely safe while drinking…