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

Daniel Radcliffe
ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images

Fans Are Loving 'Short King' Daniel Radcliffe's Tony Awards Red Carpet Photos With His Taller Girlfriend

We've all known a man or two who's hypersensitive and obsessed with his height, perhaps with good reason: the "short kings" among us are often the butts of lots of jokes online.

And many are the short men who say they're unbothered by their height but would never dare date someone taller than them.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Rosie O'Donnell; Donald Trump
Variety; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Rosie O'Donnell Skewers 'Psychopath' Trump In Unfiltered Red Carpet Interview At The Tony Awards—And She's Spot On

Actor and comedian Rosie O'Donnell called President Donald Trump a "psychopath" when asked about him by a reporter for Variety on the red carpet at the Tony Awards on Sunday night.

O'Donnell and Trump have feuded for years and O'Donnell, fearing the worst once Trump won the 2024 election, moved to Ireland shortly before he was inaugurated. She has cited the risks Project 2025 and Trump's potential retribution pose to her and her nonbinary child.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pete Hegseth
Kiran Ridley/Getty Images

Pete Hegseth Blasted After Using D-Day Remembrance Speech To Gripe About Immigrants In Europe

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was criticized after using a D-Day remembrance speech to complain about immigrants coming to Europe.

The D-Day operation on June 6, 1944, united the land, air, and sea forces of the Allied armies in what became the largest amphibious invasion in military history. Codenamed Operation OVERLORD, this massive endeavor landed five naval assault divisions on the beaches of Normandy.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump and Kristen Welker
NBC

Trump Just Tried To Blame His 'Meet The Press' Tantrum On The Weather—And Nobody's Buying It

President Donald Trump was criticized after he abruptly stormed out of an interview on Meet the Press on Sunday only to blame his tantrum on the rain.

Trump left after repeatedly insisting, without evidence, that both the 2020 presidential election and California's gubernatorial race were rigged. During the exchange, moderator Kristen Welker noted that California's lengthy ballot-counting process is routine, but Trump pointed to the ongoing tally as proof of wrongdoing.

Keep ReadingShow less
Woman putting cupcakes in oven; Message from u/Duskymoonlight/Reddit
BongkarnThanyakij/Getty Images; u/Duskymoonlight/Reddit

Beginner Baker Didn't Realize You're Not Supposed To Put Decorations On Until After Baking—And The Photos Are Priceless

We all have our own unique talents, and it's actually kind of awesome that they're not all the same.

That said, one of the best reasons to try something new is the potential laughs we'll get out of it.

Keep ReadingShow less