There’s nothing nicer than a great getaway, but boy can it stink when things go wrong!  I know I’ve had my share of flat tires, transmission breakdowns, and lost luggage, but I’ve had many cases where I got lucky instead, either arriving as the last two people on board for our honeymoon cruise or barely making a connecting flight home from London when I desperately wanted to see my kiddos.  Not everyone is so fortunate.  I quizzed some friends recently about their tough travel times and they had some real doozies.  Read through a few!

MPB: When I still lived in Canada, my fiance and I (now husband) flew from Calgary, Alberta, to Las Vegas, Nevada, rented a car, drove all day to see the Grand Canyon and it was closed! I kid you not, there was a police barricade...some nut job was taking shots at people with a b.b gun at the viewing rim. It was my only opportunity to visit the canyon as I was on my way to Lake Powell to go houseboating. Fast forward 20 years - I just took my kids to see the Grand Canyon in March 2010! First time for all of us!

BMS:  The one that comes to mind is when I was traveling in Europe with my sister and her friend. We were supposed to meet in Salzburg, Austria, after having visited with separate friends in Germany for a few days. I learned that day that Youth Hostel and Youth Hotel are NOT the same thing. Long story short, I ended up lost by myself on foot in Salzburg. Thankfully, I met some very nice people along the way and did manage to find my sister and her friend after a harrowing afternoon.

CK:  A couple of years ago I was on a mission trip in Guatemala. I stayed for a month after to go to a language school. After being at the school for two weeks I came down with a parasite. The people I stayed with didn't speak English and the doctor that I was sent to was this hole in the wall place and the doctor didn't even speak English. I kept having to look at my English/Spanish translation book.

PSW: On my honeymoon there were 2 missed flights, 1 lost (forever!) bag, + 2 bags that didn't arrive for 2 days.

I think we can all relate to that last one!  How about you?  What’s your worst travel story?  TravelingMom is hosting a twitter party about travel nightmares.  Please go to this link to find out more!