Halloween Edition: My Scariest Travel Stories

The last few years on Halloween, I’ve shared some of my travel nightmares (not real events, but actual dreams I’ve had where travel has gone wrong). This year, I’m sharing some of my scariest stories from my trips. These stories aren’t necessarily spooky, but they are times when my heart has pumped a bit faster.

Losing track of my kids

One of my kids has always been a “runner”. He has ADHD and is easily distracted. When he was 2, we used one of those kid harnesses (i.e. leash) on him at Disney World. Sure, we got some dirty looks. But I didn’t want to lose him in the crowd.

Over the years, I’ve gone on a few trips with my kids without the help of my husband. As my son got older and we ditched the harness, I lost track of my son in two different places:

• Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington DC (see my trip report here)
• California Academy of Sciences (see my trip report here)

Thankfully, in each case, I found him within 10 minutes. However, those were the longest 10 minutes ever, and I was completely panicked. Anyone else have a runner in the family?

Leaving Things Behind

Have you ever forgotten something really important? I have!

• When my husband and I were traveling to Hawaii for his company trip, we were halfway to the airport when I realized I forgot our vaccination cards. This was in 2021 when they were required to enter Hawaii. We had to race back home to get them, and thankfully, we still made our flight. See my Hawaii hotel review here.
• This past summer, when my daughter and I traveled to Europe by ourselves, my husband gave us a ride to the airport. I put my backpack and my suitcase on the kitchen table, he loaded up the car, and we left. When we arrived at the airport, my backpack wasn’t in the car. I panicked! It had our travel documents and medication in it. My husband had to race back home to retrieve it. Thankfully, I like to leave for the airport early, so we still made our flight. See my post about visiting the beautiful Norwegian Fjords here.

Heights

I don’t do well with heights, and I’ve had a few heart-stopping moments at high elevations:

• Cliff Walk at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in Vancouver, British Colombia (see this post): I started to walk it, but I had to return to secure land before finishing.
• Suspension bridge on top of the Sea to Sky Gondola in British Colombia (see this post): I had to almost run across it without looking down.

Surprisingly, I’m ok with most mountain gondolas that are completely enclosed. But,  you won’t ever catch me on an open-chair ski lift.

Weather-related Scares

Bad weather can be very scary!

• When my husband and I were flying to France on our honeymoon, our flight hit the worst turbulence I’ve ever experienced. The flight attendant had just served my husband a cup of hot coffee, and the turbulence was so bad that the scalding coffee was flying out of the cup onto him!
• On our 2019 trip to New Zealand, we rented a car and drove from Rotorua to Hot Water Beach. We had to traverse narrow, winding mountain roads while driving on the left side of the road during a huge rain storm. My husband and I were both white-knuckled for the last hour of that drive. Thankfully, Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove were spectacular (see this post), so at least the scary drive was worth it.
• Earlier this year, my husband was visiting my son at college in Oklahoma. They were both staying in a nearby hotel when the tornado sirens went off. All the hotel guests congregated in a downstairs conference room. The tornado did significant damage a few miles south of them.

Safety

Sometimes, things in foreign countries don’t seem to live up to U.S. safety standards, and that can be scary. Two examples from my travels:

• In college, I traveled extensively throughout Guatemala on chicken buses. These rickety buses with chickens on the roof would fly around corners and mountain curves on bumpy dirt roads. There are no lanes or passing rules. It was definitely an adventure on those buses!
• When my family visited Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, our all-inclusive resort offered different entertainment every evening. One night, the show featured entertainers twirling and throwing fire. Sparks kept flying into the audience and we got a bit nervous! We decided to move back a few rows. See  my Puerto Vallarta post here.

Interactions with People

Occasionally, interactions with people can be a bit scary. Or humorous. Or both.

• On a work trip to San Francisco, my husband was accosted by a homeless man who began threatening him and wanted to fight. On a separate trip, my kids and I were harassed by a woman in a McDonald’s who told my son he was going to die soon. My son was really freaked out! Whenever San Francisco comes up in conversation, he mentions this incident.
• On a different business trip, my husband was visiting a client company and his contact was a man who identified as a vampire. His office was decorated with gargoyles, he dressed the part, wore sunglasses inside, and he had fangs. He even talked about how he and his girlfriend drank each other’s blood. This was in May, so not at all related to Halloween.

Please share your “scary” travel stories in the comments! And for those who celebrate, Happy Halloween!