Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

The Absolute Worst Ways To Ruin A Vacation

Person reading a book on the beach
Photo by Chen Mizrach on Unsplash

Reddit user UndercoverSports asked: 'What’s the worst way to ruin a vacation?'

Some people absolutely dream of the weekend each week, and don't even get us started on how people dream of the perfect vacation.

But sometimes even the most thought-through trips wind up being a total mess, and some of the reasons why can be really surprising.


Redditor UndercoverSports asked:

"What's the worst way to ruin a vacation?"

Getting Laid Off

"Getting an email from your boss, scheduling you for a disciplinary meeting as soon as you're back from vacation."

- theassassintherapist

"A buddy of mine got a call from his HR department saying he was laid off in the middle of his vacation."

"With his family. At Disneyworld. Right in front of the Cinderella Castle."

- Whizbang35

Different Strokes for Different Folks

"Traveling with people who aren’t on the same travel 'vibe' as you."

"If you’re super active and want to see all the sites, go with people who are looking for the same experience. If you want to lounge and spend days being lazy, you’re going to be miserable and vice versa."

- RandomValentina1980

A Vacation Is What You Make It

"Something I realized as an adult is that a good vacation is 75 percent just willingness to have a good vacation. If you want to have a bad time, you'll find a way to make that happen."

"Relaxing? Say it's boring."

"Eventful? Say it's chaotic."

"Busy schedule? Complain about how stressful it is."

"Fun evening out? Say you're tired, have a headache, and be cranky."

"Beautiful walk? Think of it as an exhausting hike."

"So basically, always look for the worst in everything and be loud and vocal about it."

- Cody6781

Too Real.

"Usually my period."

- motorgurl86

"I know, right? I feel like my body actually plans it out to annoy me, because even if I organize a holiday a week and a half after my period is due on short notice, then that is the month that my period is a week and a half late (and the same goes for early)."

- xa12349

The Worst Kind of Company

​"My ex-FIL had... unreasonable expectations. Any experience less than 'perfect' in his opinion was ruined."

"The worst way to ruin a vacation was to be on one with him."

- midOrWild65

Inconvenient Injury

"I twisted my ankle and messed up my foot the night before flying to France."

"Just so happened to be a trip where we had planned to visit many small towns and villages."

"It didn't exactly ruin the vacation, but let's just say being on crutches with a swollen, f**ked up foot while hobbling through many old cobblestone roads and paths isn't all that fun."

- DevappaJi

Any Plans in 2020

"A pandemic."

- TheGreatGamer1389

"I was helping my SO (significant other) with a photo shoot in Vegas in March 2020. It didn't get canceled. We still had fun."

"But when we got there and turned on the news, we saw reports of a melee breaking out at a Costco over toilet paper."

"I had no idea this was happening everywhere until I got back home."

- flibbidgygibbit

A "Lit" Friday Night

"Having your car burst into flames next to a 300-year-old pub on a Friday night."

"It makes the firefighters hate you because they can't go to the pub. The whole village hates you because they can't go to the pub. The pub owner hates you for ruining his pub."

"The recovery dude hates you because the fire was so hot the remains of the car are sunken into the asphalt which has hardened again overnight. The owner of the parking lot hates you for ruining his parking lot."

"Your insurance hates you because you just bought the car an hour before with the intention of driving it back and importing it into your own country and you managed to insure it on the VIN so they have to pay for all the damages. Local police hates you because it was a V5 vehicle but still on English plates and with foreign insurance."

"Source: Friends and me."

"(To be honest. The townsfolk were absolutely amazing when they got over the fact that they didn't get their Friday night beers and fish 'n chips. We had a place to stay before the fire was out and got an amazing breakfast the next morning.)"

"Other than that, I really need some like-minded people around me when traveling. The way I travel it happens all the time that strangers are part of the group and as an introvert that can be quite tiring. It can be nice to just sit apart from the others with one or two others for an hour or so after a long day of having to interact with many, many people."

- akamsteeg

Too Tight of a Budget

"I don't understand people who aren't willing to spend money at all during international vacations. You already paid good money to be in this place you're visiting, and it may be the only time in your life you see it, so why not experience it?"

"Obviously, you can't splurge on everything but spend money on things that spark joy. For me, I like treating myself to good food and live music when I travel. I also don't mind spending a bit extra to get around quickly and comfortably. It's different for everybody."

- KWONdox

Poor Money Management

"Going across the United States and getting stranded on your way home because you ran out of money and you have to hitchhike all the way back home."

- Aries_Forever

"I knew a girl who did this in college. Didn't account for any expenditures and blew her money on souvenirs. Didn't plan for hotel fees or gas and severely underestimated the cost of food."

"She had to get a waitressing job somewhere one-third of the way into what was supposed to be an incredible road trip vacation because she just had no concept of not blowing every cent she had to her name."

"She was really irritating, stuck-up, and awful, so I thought it was hilarious."

- coconut_greek_yogurt

The Vacation Patch

"Just do what my dad did and quit smoking a week before every vacation."

"By the time you're traveling, you'll be such a f**khead from jonesing for a smoke that you'll make everyone's lives miserable until you have a massive, blowout fight."

"Then you give up, start smoking again, and wait for the next vacay!"

- bellrunner

Don't Forget the Essentials

"Just do what I did, and lose your wallet/phone/passport. You won't be able to go anywhere, and you'll be panicking the whole time. A great trip!"

- Jimmy_whispahs

Simply a Safe Environment

"The worst vacation I ever experienced was as a young teen (only child) accompanying my parents from Texas to Florida by car."

"Dad drank and raged and parents fought the whole time. I was miserable, lonely, and frankly, frightened, for the whole trip."

"So the way they ruined our vacation was by being selfish, narcissistic, dramatic, drunk, and lacking empathy for their child."

"Think of others, be nice, and keep your self-centered, moody attitudes to yourself if others are with you."

- peachesswearengen

Pack Extra Drama

"Make every possible thing go wrong."

"Book the wrong date for when you have to leave or the place you're staying at."

"When you're going somewhere for fun, like maybe a boat ride, make sure you make everyone wait for you so you're all late."

"Pretend to or actually get sick."

"If there's someone on the trip you don't like, try excluding them. Bring someone everyone doesn't like."

"There are so many more options, lol (laughing out loud)."

- anonymousgirlonhere

A Positive Spin

"I've never had a bad vacation."

"I can say, though, that if I went on vacation with someone that was negative or poking holes in everything, etc, I’d probably straight up tell them to shut the ever living f**k up, and that would be the end of that relationship (if friend or boyfriend) or hamper it (if a family member)."

"I don’t care about your misery on vacation. Suffer in silence for one week or however long the vacation is. Start up your s**t when we get back to our day-to-day lives. Though I always get tired of victims/oh-woe-is-me people so HA."

- Inside_Scheme_2883

Though vacations are meant to be fun, it seems there are countless ways to ruin them.

But there are ways to save trips, too, if everyone can be accountable for their own behavior and consider what they are bringing to the trip emotionally.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Mehcad Brooks (left) and James Van Der Beek (right) are pictured prior to Van Der Beek’s death in February 2026.
Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images; Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Close Friend Of James Van Der Beek Slams Critics Of His Family's GoFundMe In Scathing Post

When critics began questioning why a GoFundMe had been launched for James Van Der Beek’s family, actor Mehcad Brooks came ready with a response.

Van Der Beek died February 11 at age 48 following a battle with stage 3 colorectal cancer. In the days after his death, a GoFundMe page organized by family friends was created to support his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, and their six children, who organizers said were facing “an uncertain future.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Barack Obama
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Obama Clarifies His Claim On Podcast That Aliens Are 'Real' After Accidentally Sparking Conspiracy Theories

Former President Barack Obama was forced to clarify his claim on liberal influencer Brian Tyler Cohen's YouTube channel that aliens are "real" after unwittingly sparking conspiracy theories online.

Since the 1980s, conspiracy theorists have claimed Area 51 in Nevada hides aliens. The idea exploded in 2019, when millions online jokingly pledged to storm the base to “see them aliens.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Randy Fine
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

MAGA Rep. Hit With Instant Backlash After Tweeting Truly Vile Post About Muslims And Dogs

Florida Republican Representative Randy Fine is facing harsh criticism after publishing a bigoted tweet that draws a comparison between Muslim people and dogs.

Fine said he was reacting to an online post from Palestinian American activist Nerdeen Kiswani, who wrote that dogs belonged in society but not inside homes, calling them unclean. Kiswani later told NBC News the remark was satirical and part of a local New York debate about dog waste following a recent snowstorm.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hillary Clinton; Donald Trump
Alex Wong/Getty Images; Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Hillary Clinton Epically Calls Out 'Disgraceful' Trump For Working With Putin Against Ukraine: 'He Has Betrayed The West'

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized President Donald Trump and his administration during an exchange at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, saying Trump has "betrayed the West" with his "disgraceful" handling of Ukraine.

In particular, Clinton called out Trump's often deferential attitude toward Russian President Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine in a "special military operation" in 2022. Clinton said that not only are Putin and Trump "profiting" off Ukrainian "misery," Trump is also looking to Putin as a "model" of what a leader can be, effectively betraying Western values.

Keep ReadingShow less
Miss J. Alexander; Tyra Banks
Netflix; Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Fans Upset After 'America's Next Top Model' Favorite J. Alexander Reveals Tyra Banks Didn't Visit Him After His Stroke In 2022

Tyra Banks wanted to share her side of the story and do some big reveals in the Netflix docuseries Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model, but if she was hoping the docuseries would improve her image to the public, she was sadly mistaken.

Past model contestants have already gone public about their time on the show, but now, people from behind the scenes, like one of the show's photographers and judges, Nigel Barker, the creative director, Jay Manuel, and judge and runway coach Miss J. Alexander, have all come forward with their experiences, and the history might be darker than we ever expected.

Keep ReadingShow less