The 34 biggest lies in travel exposed

By Michael Gebicki

January 10, 2025 — 5.00am

Not too many of us still believe that the Earth is flat but the myths, misconceptions and downright deceits surrounding travel prevail.

“Dress up for a business class upgrade. Wait for prices to drop before booking. Street food will lay you low.” All, to a large degree, untrue.

Everyone knows someone who has fallen sick, been scammed or had things go badly wrong out in the big wide yonder, so the notion that the world is mad, bad and dangerous takes root.

Once implanted, it grows from one telling to the next and becomes the excuse for inactivity, the block that keeps us on the couch. Here are some of the lies, damned lies about travel that need to go the way of flat-Earth fiction.

HOT AIR

An aircraft’s emergency door can be opened inflight

Emergency exit doors on aircraft are designed to open inwards, and at cruising altitude the pressure inside the cabin is much greater than the pressure outside, which effectively pushes the door outwards. To open the emergency door, a passenger would have to overcome that pressure difference, and that’s not humanly possible. On the ground the pressure is equal, and the door can be opened more easily.

The autopilot flies the aircraft

The autopilot is usually engaged sometime after takeoff and deactivated before landing. When autopilot is activated the pilots are free to focus on other critical aspects, such as monitoring weather conditions and communicating with air traffic control. The autopilot cannot replace live human pilots. Could an autopilot have decided to land on New York City’s Hudson River, as Captain Chesley Sullenberger did, saving the lives of all 155 on board after a bird strike crippled his aircraft’s engines? When I’m flying, I want two humans in the cockpit.

One measure of alcohol in-flight equals two on the ground

Drinking a glass of wine has the same impact on your blood-alcohol reading, whether you’re sitting by the ocean or cruising at 10,500 metres in an aircraft cabin. That cabin is pressurised to the equivalent of 1800-2400 metres, where your body is absorbing less oxygen, possibly leading to hypoxia – a light-headed feeling – and that can create the impression you’ve hit the bottle harder than you really have.

Don’t drink the in-flight coffee or tea

This canard gets a regular airing. Taste and quality aside, the story goes that the water tanks for tea and coffee served onboard aircraft are never cleaned, allowing bacteria to fester. In fact, airline regulatory authorities require that those tanks are flushed out and sterilised at least four times a year. The water in those tanks is lab-tested even more frequently. Bottom line, if airline tea and coffee were unsafe to drink, pilots would be forbidden to drink them.

Stopovers aren’t worth it

A stopover relieves the tedium of a long-haul flight. If you can break your journey midway, spend a night or two in a hotel and get some exercise, you’ll get to experience another destination and arrive in better shape than if you travel straight through. Carefully managed, a stopover allows you to arrive at your destination mid-afternoon or evening, and you can go straight to your hotel rather than having to hang around for several hours before you’re allowed to check in.

The flight is delayed due to technical difficulties

What exactly is the problem? Is it a flat tyre, something wrong with the hydraulics or just a mess-up by the airline? They’re not saying. For some airlines, “technical difficulties” is a catch-all excuse for flight delays due to poor performance, or because there aren’t enough passengers and the airline is looking to reassign them to another flight. Who’s going to argue if they’re told the aircraft is unsafe to fly?

Ninety minutes is plenty of time between connecting flights

It may be, but that doesn’t apply at all airports and all circumstances. It only takes one delayed incoming flight and you’ve missed your connecting flight. Travel agents use a metric known as Minimum Connecting Time, the shortest time interval required to transfer a passenger and their luggage from one flight to a connecting flight at a particular airport, but it’s not totally reliable.

Check in late and your luggage will be first off the carousel

Baggage handlers don’t load and unload bags according to when passengers have checked in. Checked bags get shuffled in loading and unloading process and there’s no telling in which order they’ll get to the luggage carousel. If you want priority bag handling, fly business or work towards platinum status.

MONEY TALKS

It’s cheaper if you pay straight up for a full tank in your hire car and return it empty

Hire-car operators sometimes try to sell you a tank of fuel at a slight discount on the going rate, with nothing more to pay for fuel when you return the vehicle. You only win if you return the vehicle with almost nothing left in the tank, and preferably with the refill warning light aglow, a test of dedication, skill and nerves.

Paying with cards overseas is risky

NFC (near-field communication) payments, which is what happens when you wave your mobile wallet or an enabled credit or debit card over a payment terminal, uses encrypted payment information that can’t easily be intercepted or tampered with. The authentication methods verify each party’s identity before exchanging sensitive information and that prevents unauthorised devices from stealing the data that is being exchanged. Contactless payments are safer than carrying a wad of cash around with you.

Currency exchanges are commission-free

Plenty of exchange booths advertise “commission-free” currency exchanges, but the important point is how many euros, baht or dirhams you’re getting for your Aussie dollars. If the exchange service is manipulating the exchange rate in their favour, the commission is irrelevant. Download the XE app and you’ll know what the exchange rate should be.

You don’t need to pay traffic infringements committed overseas

Unpaid fines can escalate quickly, and traffic authorities have ways of extracting the fine without you having any say in the matter. They can squeeze the car-hire operator for your credit card details and charge you, and that’s standard practice. If you don’t pay, and you return to that country and drive, a brush with the law could get awkward, but more than that, it’s the right thing to do. Breaking another country’s laws and trying to dodge the consequences is just wrong.

Travel insurance is too expensive after you turn 70

It gets pricey as you age, but there are ways around it. Some credit cards offer travel insurance at no extra cost. Provided you meet the conditions, which usually include a minimum spend on the card, you can be covered by travel insurance well past 70 years of age.

SHIPS OF FOOLS

Relax. Your cruise ship will wait if you’re late returning

When your cruise director tells you the ship will be sailing at 6pm, and you need to be back an hour before, that’s non-negotiable. Cruise ships don’t wait, and getting stuck in traffic, over enthusiastic shopping or even medical emergencies won’t change that. To add to the pain, so-called pier runners – those late returning passengers who run desperately along the quay – are a source of entertainment for those passengers who managed to get back to the ship on time.

It looks relaxing, but plenty can go wrong on a cruise.

You don’t need travel insurance for a cruise

Plenty can go wrong on a cruise. Even if you’re cruising in Australian waters and require medical attention, the staff on board probably won’t have a Medicare provider number, which means you’ll be paying for the full cost of medical care. Without travel insurance you’ll be footing that bill yourself.

Don’t forget to pack formal attire for your cruise

Except for a few lines such as Cunard, the days when you needed to frock up for dinner are over and done. There may be the occasional formal night, but it’s optional, and not in all parts of the ship. Smart-casual is about as dressy as you need to be on most cruises these days.

Cruises are only for old people

Most cruises cater to all age groups, and many modern cruise ships are designed with kids’ clubs as well as adults-only areas. Newer vessels might have a stunning array of amenities that appeal to different age groups, surf simulators to roller coasters, craft brewery tours to cocktail-making classes. Cruises can work especially well for multi-generational holidays, since there are facilities and activities that cater to all age groups.

SUITE LITTLE LIES

The hotel concierge is your best friend

The hotel concierge is like your own personal assistant. They can recommend hot restaurants and probably book a table, find a tour, tell you when to leave the hotel to make your flight and generally make your travels run more smoothly, but it’s important to recognise how they work. Some operate on a commission basis, so they’ll channel you toward a particular restaurant, a tour operator or a transport service. Have some idea of what you want to eat and where you would like to go before you hit the concierge desk, and a small tip never hurts.

Your name and credit card are stored on your hotel room’s key card

The only information on your card is in the magnetic stripe, or in the RFID chip that unlocks your door for the duration of your stay. There is nothing that links it to you, to your credit card or anything else that could be valuable to a thief who fishes it out of the rubbish bin.

Tell your hotel staff it’s your honeymoon and you may get an upgrade

Front-desk staff have heard it all before, and they’re not likely to sympathise. If you’re extremely polite and dusted with confetti you just might swing it, but you’re better off telling the hotel when you make the booking, or paying for it.

Hostel stays are only for backpackers

A basic hotel room close to the centre of New York City or London will set you back at least $300 a night, but for a bed in a hostel you’d still have change from $100. You’re not there to spend time lounging around in your hotel room, stay in a hostel, and you can probably stay longer and have more to spend on the great experiences these cities offer.

INTERNATIONAL STEREOTYPES

Italians are maniac drivers, Brits can be whiffy, Parisians are rude

Some are, but in about the same proportion as Australians. National stereotypes dissolve when you’re confronted with reality on the ground. Italian drivers are a lot slower to reach for the horn than their Sydney brethren; adult Brits take 1.5 showers per day on average; and most French are unfailingly polite. Just don’t make a face when they’re eating snails, that riles them.

Australians are the world’s greatest travellers

It depends on what you mean by “great”, and who’s saying so. According to British-based market research and data analytics firm YouGov, in Indonesia, only 14 per cent of the survey population nominated Australians as among their favourite tourists, 7 per cent said we were the worst. In Vietnam, 31 per cent named Australians as among their most liked tourists. Throughout most of South-East Asia we’re among the top three of the most liked nationalities and in the UK, 17 per cent say Aussies are among their best tourists.

Everyone in France understands English these days

That’s largely true of hotel and restaurant staff but only in Paris and other major tourist areas. Outside those regions, ask directions of people on the street or order food in a provincial restaurant and without some basic French you might as well be speaking ancient Greek. The same applies in most other European countries, learn a little of the local lingo or stick to the capitals.

Japan is way too expensive

It can be, especially if you want roomy accommodation and Western-style dining, but there are some great alternatives. A bento box is a nourishing meal, and it costs anything from $6-$15 if you buy it from a train station. Convenience stores have heaps of pre-prepared meals you can take away and eat in a park. Youth hostels and capsule hotels cost between $30-$75 a night and if you want to stretch your budget, don’t spend too much time in big cities.

You can “do” Italy in two weeks

You can’t even “do” Rome in two weeks. You might get to know a small part of the city well, maybe the local barista will deliver your coffee as you like it without asking, but you can’t possibly see everything. Like long and leisurely meals, travel is best served slowly. Gallop through the world on a see everything, box-ticking exercise and you’re probably not going to enjoy it.

THE CLASSICS

Duty free shopping is a bargain

Apart from alcohol and tobacco products, there aren’t too many bargains at airport duty-free shops. You can often buy electronic items and clothing more cheaply at home, particularly if you wait for the sales.

You don’t need a travel agent

Visas, guide services, medical advice and access to funds are all vital, and a travel agent should have the answers. If something goes wrong during your travels your agent can often sort it out quicker than you could.

Book at the last minute and you’ll score a bargain

Flight tickets, train bookings, hire cars and hotel rooms don’t often get cheaper as the date nears. It’s usually the opposite since the travel industry uses dynamic pricing to regulate prices according to supply and demand.

Dress well and you may get an upgrade

No, dressing like David or Victoria won’t get you one. But if the cabin you’re booked in happens to be oversold and the airline needs to upgrade some passengers, looking like you belong may, we repeat, may get you in.

Here’s the tip: A failure to do so or under-tipping is considered rude and disrespectful.Credit: iStock

As Australians don’t tip, you don’t need to leave one at a US restaurant

Failure to tip or under-tipping is considered rude and disrespectful, and you probably won’t get away with anything less than 20 per cent. Tip less, or not at all, and you may be followed outside by your outraged waiter.

Whatever you do, don’t touch street food

I’d sooner eat a samosa straight from a deep fryer than a sausage roll that’s been festering for hours. Street food should be freshly cooked from a busy stall, served hot and accompanied by recyclable eating utensils.

See Australia first

Chances are this nugget is addressed to a young person starting out on their travels. If their destination is overseas, support them. After seeing the world they may come to realise just how special Australia is.

Travelling will expand your mind

It may well do, provided you start off with an open mind. On the other hand, travel may confirm your prejudices. If you go looking for extreme poverty in India or crazily expensive fruit in Japan, you’ll find it.

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