So, I’ve been tagged in a blogger relay by Neil from Backpacks and Bunkbeds who nominated me in a post about his Travel Regrets. I feel like I’ve been accepted into the cool crowd (victory dance). Except, I have to write about regrets.

Not many people like discussing their regrets (except maybe my Nan, who has a lot of them at almost 90) and I know a lot of people who churn out the old “no regrets” cliché when faced with it but, in reality, I think everyone has regrets.

I like to think that I obviously wanted (or didn’t want) to do something at the time which is why things have panned out how they have. However, hindsight is a wonderful thing and I often get a twinge of I wish I hadn’t done that or I wish I’d done more of that.

On the other hand though, things always seem worse at the time. When I had my phone stolen in Madrid I regretted not having insurance on it for the immediate weeks afterwards. But now? That seems like a silly thing to regret; I have a new phone now and the episode has all but slipped from my memory. Regrets come and go, I think, so it’s hard to regret one thing forever which is why I think I’ve found it particularly difficult to come up with a decent list that is worth reading.

I spent the weekend racking my brains for some kind of specific regrets that I could go into detail about, but clearly I have an awful memory or I have simply blocked them from my mind because they were too horrific.

So, without further ado, I give you my slightly boring, slightly generic travel regrets.

1. I never bring back enough visible souvenirs

A whole street of souvenir shops in Toledo… that I didn’t go to

Whenever I return from somewhere, I happily load up my laptop, plug in my camera and… Disappointment. I thought I took more pictures than that. It’s the same with goodies from places; I always get my family something but I always seem to forget myself. Every time I head away again I promise to myself that I’ll take more pictures and buy more stuff to remind myself of the fun times when I get back home. Except I never do.

But, there is an upside to this. Whilst I don’t have many photographs to share, I have lots of memories. Some people are hell bent on getting the perfect photo (which is great!), but I prefer to look up from my camera once in a while (or all the time) and enjoy the things around me without the lens of a camera screening them.

And as for the souvenirs? I’m not much of a shopper at the best of times, in fact I can’t even remember the last time I bought something that wasn’t necessary like food and electricity (and alcohol) so why would this change when I’m away? At least it means I have more money to spend on activities whilst I’m there and, of course, other trips in the future!

2. Not making the most of university holidays

I went round Eastern Europe in my second year of uni.. starting in Istanbul

Oh sweet, sweet university and your exceptional holidays, how I miss thee. I did go away every summer whilst I was at university but I could have made so much more use of the Christmas and Easter breaks as well as the seemingly endless reading weeks. Now that I’m employed full-time and enjoy a very limited amount of holiday I wish I had taken advantage of the perks of university more. I did work during uni, but only part-time jobs in which I could take time off pretty much whenever I wanted. I wasn’t bound to a contract like now where I have to clutch my remaining holiday to my chest like a child who doesn’t want to share their toys. This is probably my biggest regret, in fact, and I will hark on and on about university students making the most of their holidays as well as their student loans!

3. Not learning a language sooner

I had Spanish lessons in Madrid this summer and carried on when I got back

Yes, I studied German at school but no one likes lessons at school and you don’t seem to realise the importance of it until years later. I’m attempting to learn Spanish now but studies show it’s increasingly difficult to get to grips with a new language when you’re older. Damn not using my young sponge of a brain sooner!

Well, these aren’t very interesting regrets but I think they might resonate with a few other people out there (hopefully I’m not alone!)

Do you have any travel regrets? Share them in the comments below, I would love to hear from you!

Nominations

And now it’s my turn to nominate some fellow travel bloggers who can hopefully provide you with more interesting stories than I can!

Avena from Avena vs The World – @veeeenr
Emma from Emmas Travel Tales – @scottishemma123
Emily from The Cosy Traveller – @easternspell
Shing from The Culture Map – @TheCultureMap

About the author: Lizzie is a full time marketing assistant and part-time travel blogger promoting the ways to get the most out of grab-it-when-you-can travel. She spends her time creatively thinking of ways to plan trips around her job and advocating the idea that you don’t have to be ‘homeless’ to enjoy the perks of frequent travel. Aside from this, Lizzie likes questioning why people travel and the psychology behind it, watching crap American TV programmes, and drinking too much tea (cider). You can find out more about Lizzie here (go on – I know you want to see what’s behind the melon…)