How to stay out of trouble when you travel in 2025

I should have known she was going to be trouble. I was stuck in seat 36J on a flight from Tampa to Zürich, Switzerland, and before the plane even started down the rain-slickened runway, the passenger in front of me turned to her companion and asked, “How do I recline this seat?’

Recline the seat? Bad idea!

Edelweiss Air, the Swiss charter airline I was on, offers a scant 31 inches of seat pitch in economy class. I’m 6′ 1″. The physics translates into nine hours of torture on an overnight flight.

As a traveler, you can spot trouble, too — and this holiday season, with travel hitting more records, there’s plenty of trouble to be spotted.

“Travel problems can be mitigated before they become problems,” says Harding Bush, associate director for security operations at Global Rescue. But it takes something that’s in short supply today: situational awareness, research, and common sense.

I learned a lesson from the Swiss seat leaner

Back to my overnight flight airline disaster. I peered over the seat and saw that the passenger was short and she also seemed to be articulate and well-dressed. Surely, someone like this would never lean her economy class seat all the way back, I thought. I don’t need to say a word.

Wrong. No sooner had they served dinner (which was unfit for human consumption) than she jammed her seat as far back as she could. Her seat nearly locked my knees in place. I was already half asleep, but my son, who was seated next to me, took a picture of the spectacle. I was wedged in like a cork in a bottle of Port. There was not even an inch between her seat and my face.

“Never be afraid to speak up,” says Becky Blanton, a writer and frequent traveler from Richmond, Va. “But don’t be a Karen, or a jackass, or demanding and rude. That doesn’t get you anywhere.”

I’m embarrassed, but I didn’t say anything for the duration of the flight. I just suffered quietly. In retrospect, I should have struck up a friendly conversation when she asked about reclining the seat. I could have said something like, “Save a little space for me, maybe?”

But Blanton is right — don’t be a pushover. But also, don’t be a jerk.

What kind of trouble should you expect when you’re traveling?

Trouble comes in all shapes and sizes when you’re going somewhere. Here are a few recent run-ins our readers have had.

The fake cop

Every trip has its risks. For Lauren Milligan, a career advisor from Glen Ellyn, Ill., it was a run-in with a fake traffic cop. Good thing she’d brushed up on Mexican scams before her last vacation. Sure enough, on the way home from an outdoor market, they were pulled over by a fake cop, who quickly offered to settle her “ticket” for a cash payment. (The fake cops demand you pay your ticket immediately.) She talked her way out of the fake ticket by saying she had to fly back to the States the following morning and had no cash. “¡Que aventura!” she says. 

The ding and dent scam

Here’s one of the biggest problems travelers run into when they rent a car: a bill from their car rental company for damaging their car. I’ve also seen this in hotels and vacation rentals. There’s only one way to avoid that problem: Take “before” and “after” photos of the vehicle, including the license plate, VIN, and dashboard readings (mileage and fuel level). And if there’s even the smallest ding or dent, ask for a different car. “Don’t leave the rental car location if you are not 100 percent satisfied with the condition of the car,” says Tom Harriman, an attorney from Clarksville, Md. “Even if you are in a hurry.”

Bogus travel sites

Yep, they’re still out there, and they’re pretty clever. Scammers try to mimic or impersonate popular travel websites, spoofing familiar branding, logos, and company verbiage. They’re so convincing that even an, ahem, experienced consumer reporter sometimes has trouble recognizing them. Darius Kingsley, head of consumer banking practices at Chase, said there’s an easy solution. Go directly to the website instead of finding it through a search. “Always pay through the service’s official website,” he says. Going off-site or paying with a money transfer is just asking for trouble.

Unruly guests

When you travel, your powers of observation are important, says Kellee O’Reilly, a consultant and frequent traveler from Wayzata, Minn. For example, if you’re having a romantic dinner at a restaurant, look around. “If you see a family with three unruly children, ask the host to seat you somewhere else,” she says. Always be a step ahead to avoid trouble, and ask the staff to become your ally. This applies to other situations as well, including hotels with potentially bad rooms, airline seats, and even a rideshare driver who gives you an “off” vibe, she says. Think two or three moves ahead like a chess game.

Say something

What do all these things have in common? Smart travelers are proactive when it comes to staying out of trouble. They anticipate everything from dented rental cars to bogus sites, and they speak up right away instead of waiting for someone to address the problem.

“Don’t settle for the dregs when you were promised high quality,” says Mitch Krayton, a travel advisor based in Denver.

Oh, and one more thing. 

Want to stay out of trouble? Don’t forget to do this

I deal with consumer problems all the time, and I can tell you they’ve gotten much worse this year (here’s my advice for resolving any consumer problem). In fact, I’m sitting on a record number of cases for 2024. I expect that trend to continue.

How not to become a statistic? Well, one of best ways to sidestep trouble is to pack your manners.

“Remain pleasant,” says John Gobbels, chief operating officer of Medjet, an air medical transport program for travelers. “That’s the number one way of preventing escalation. You could approach the situation with hostility, but honestly, you will get your problem handled much, much better if you’re nice.”

Next year, travel trouble can come in many forms, from seat leaners to rowdy travelers. And while the problems don’t fit into a neat category, the solutions do. Look around, be prepared and use common sense. You would be shocked by how many travelers fail to pack these simple strategies when they hit the road. 

Then again, if everyone did, I might not have a job.