30+ Hilarious Tweets That Sum Up the Pains of Traveling

Passports are internationally recognized identification documents that decide whether or not you can enter and exit a country legally. Most people have one — including a non-dating-profile-appropriate photograph, a cool hologram, and key personal info.

This young woman rightly pointed out that it’s kind of weird that a tiny little book can have such a big impact on your life. Does the travel process need to be as bureaucratic as this? Who knows, but what we do know that is you don’t want to turn up to an airport without a passport!

Airports serve as hubs for departure and arrival. Despite challenges like security measures and environmental concerns, airports remain a vital component of modern transportation. They’re also the home of outrageous fashion choices.

It’s one of the unspoken rules of the airport that nobody can be judged on what they’re wearing, how they’re wearing it, or what time of day it is. From business attire to pajama parties, personalized t-shirts for bachelor parties, and the classic sweatpants and flip-flops look, anything goes when it comes to choosing your wardrobe for air travel!

Passport photos are notorious for being strict, boring, and sometimes embarrassing. Just remember, a neutral facial expression is typically required, and no winking or smiling. You’re also not allowed to wear camouflage paint on your face (that’s a real rule, by the way!).

They can be a portal into our previous lives, given we use the same photo for up to 10 years. Outdated hairstyles are a particular highlight/lowlight for people flashing a passport, just like this person discovered. At least he gave the immigration officer a good laugh.

Losing a passport can be a stressful and inconvenient experience, especially when you know for sure that it’s somewhere in the house because you just saw it minutes or hours ago.

Check every pocket of every item of clothing you own, throw all your items on the ground in a wild frenzy of frustration, and eventually discover it’s on the counter where you left it. No matter what, the adrenaline is bound to get pumping as you realize you’re half an hour away from being unable to board your flight at all.

Almost any pet can go on the plane if you’re smart. From finding a suitable crate to passing their medical checks and insurance, bringing your pet on an international flight is perfectly acceptable if you do things right. But, what if it’s not a pet?

Even Katy Perry has had her say on the matter, when she noticed a small fly managed to sneak onboard. Not only did the bold insect not pay for a ticket, it probably pestered travelers for the entirety of the flight (let’s hope it wasn’t a long haul).

Arriving at an airport is a magical experience. The excitement takes over, the comfy clothes are on, the bags are packed, and the passport is tucked safely away. You grab an overpriced coffee and wait for your gate number to be called. The pre-flight selfie is world class and you feel great.

When you land, not so much. The frustration of having been crammed into a tin for hours has taken its toll, and all you want is a nap and a good stretch.

One of the inevitabilities of international travel is the language barrier making simple requests complicated. Maybe your typical sandwich order isn’t a thing in that country, or perhaps they’re baffled by the idea of milk alternatives.

Take for instance asking for a coffee from a barista who can’t understand a word you’re saying and doesn’t comprehend the possibility of the existence of oat milk. Maybe just get a cup of water next time. Nobody can get angry at that, right? Right…

Traveling alone is very popular for younger generations who want to see more of the world. But as with every aspect of life, horror stories and grave warnings are never far away. The question is, is solo travel even that bad?

For this young woman, clearly not! She was shocked to learn it wasn’t as chaotic and exciting as it is in the movies. It’s hard to tell if she’s disappointed or relieved, though.

One of the beauties of international travel is that you’re unlikely to see any of the people you meet on your travels ever again. That means you can be a bit more silly and outgoing than you normally would be.

In this case, American comedian Matt Bellesai decided to try to annoy Brits during his time in the United Kingdom. Who knows how successful he was in achieving his goal, but we admire his determination to upset as many people as possible for no obvious reason.

Airports may be home to chaos, but the real magic of air travel is reserved for the main event — the plane journey. It’s an unspoken rule of life that there’s nothing too extreme when it comes to air travel, but it’s always the plane where the weirdest stuff happens.

While most people prepare themselves for a bit of turbulence and a cramped seating situation, there’s also the inevitable screaming baby and the person who had one too many adult beverages before boarding. Thank goodness we’ve never experienced the cologne-loving teenager, though.

There’s the negative side of travel, which is screaming babies and noisy chewers. On the other hand, though, you have the great but rare occurrences — like a hilarious safety demonstration or a row all to yourself.

This man managed to get that special feeling. If it was us, we would have made a point of sitting in every single seat of the plane between take-off and landing, just because we could.

Losing a passport is an expensive and stressful experience for anyone unlucky enough to misplace their international ID. But, what if the magic little book was closer to home than you ever thought it would be?

This poor soul used his at-home scanner to make a copy of his passport for safe keeping, and simply forgot to remove it after he was done scanning! The world’s longest game of “passport hide-and-seek” followed, with the owner taking an incredible two years to find the thing.

Have you ever heard of double-dating travel? It’s either the best or worst idea we’ve ever heard. When two couples come together for a trip, the line between “the more the merrier” and “what on earth were we thinking” is very small indeed.

As this woman pointed out on Twitter, “Extreme Double Dating” is something that should be reserved for couples who really, really know they’re not going to have a fall out while traveling the world together. Otherwise, the plane journey back could be very awkward.

International travel can be overwhelming when the culture shock sets in. From struggling to communicate to dealing with new cultures, social norms, and climates, navigating the world isn’t always a breeze.

But it’s usually worth it, especially when your friendly taxi driver starts playing “Dancing Queen” and “Mama Mia” en route back to the hotel after a long, stressful day. It reminds you that no matter what country you’re in, odds are that people love ABBA.

It’s honestly a little crazy how many airports exist. Yes, airports like Heathrow, JFK, and Miami are household names for even first-time travelers, but there are some airports that you wouldn’t know existed if it wasn’t for the planes!

From converted warehouses to airstrips with an office, sometimes it’s hard to see how some airports qualify as such. But hey, as long as the plane lands and you can catch a taxi, who cares?!

Taking off at 8pm and landing at 8am the day before is a bizarre reality of international air travel — and the more you think about it, the less sense it makes. Nevertheless, the gloriousness of taking a nap on a plane and waking up in paradise is an experience worth waiting for.

Indeed, one of the most magical feelings in the world is stepping off a plane into a heat you’ve never felt after leaving rainy Seattle for the sunny beaches of Miami. But, arriving yesterday is a whole other level of fun!

Security in airports around the world is more meticulous than ever, making the pre-flight experience safer but a heck of a lot more tedious. Yes, there’s the thrill of slowly making your way through each step, but there’s only so much standing in line a person can take.

The interesting part is that airports clearly don’t trust passport control very much. Once you’re through, you’d expect a free run to the plane, but nope — gate security wants to double-check you’re the real you, too.

We’ve all been there — you get to the airport, only to find out there’s a two-hour delay for your flight. You’re super hungry and you desperately need coffee. You quickly discover that airports are no friend to the traveler on a budget.

Not only do chips cost $17 but the coffee costs $8, the chairs are all full of people’s bags because how dare you want to sit down, and the floors are filled with people too cheap to pay for a hotel. A lawless place is a perfect description, really.

Ah, the infamous line for security. No matter what airport you’re at or what time of day, somehow the security line is the busiest and most densely populated place in the world. There are some hidden advantages, though.

The main advantage is that you make silent friends with the person you walk past in the opposite direction twenty times before getting to the scanners. You may share a smile, an ironic wink, or an awkward stare. The downside? Getting hit by others’ bags as they wheel them along.

There’s no moment more disheartening than seeing your assigned seat on a plane and realizing it’s a middle seat — the dreaded letter B and E. But, you accept that sometimes you have to be the one in the middle.

But, then you’re stuck in a middle seat with a semi-professional man-spreader who doesn’t abide by the law of “keep both your legs within the width of the seat in front of you.” That must have been a very uncomfortable flight for that poor woman.

Stock photos of popular travel destinations are regularly used to attract tourists, from Italian cathedrals to American national parks. But when it comes to Dublin, Ireland, it seems that Skyscanner had a slightly different way of doing things.

Apparently, Skyscanner thought the best way of attracting people to Dublin was the innovative route of advertising Ireland’s capital city with photos of Venetian landscapes. We admire the audacity of it but we do wonder if the people of Dublin would be a bit offended… since Dublin is pretty beautiful on its own.

Getting that all-important holiday snap for social media is a rite of passage for holidayers, as it’s a great way to show off your jet-setting nature and also create memories. But you of course want everyone in the photo to be… well, visible.

This poor woman had a face full of her own hair on a trip to Alcatraz island, off the coast of California, and anyone who has traveled to a windy place definitely has a photo just like this one. Wind doesn’t care about that perfect Instagram shot.

Traveling with kids is bound to get you a bad reputation, especially when it comes to seeing them waddle onto the plane with their Hello Kitty rucksacks. As a parent of traveling children, it’s important to set out the rules early on like this dad did.

This may seem harsh, but as a parent, you’ll often say anything you can to avoid the death stares from other plane passengers because your kid is throwing a fit. If it works, it works!

Once again, it’s worth emphasizing that children on airplanes are possibly one of the most despised public nuisances. We know that they often can’t control themselves, but man, can their little screams get annoying!

Even as a parent, they drive you nuts because you spend all this money to give them unique experiences and all they want to do is play games on the iPad. Heaven forbid they realize that a world exists outside those little screens!

An interesting quirk of travel is that you never quite know how many clothes to bring with you, even if it means turning your usual clothing routine completely on its head. Where one t-shirt would work for two days at home, being on holiday suddenly means you need four!

The result is a jam-packed suitcase with more clothes than you’ll ever need, or would ever wear during the same time span at home. Why do we do this? It’s one of life’s greatest mysteries and it’s unlikely to be solved any time soon.

Sure, airports are the gateways to vacation, where we’re supposed to be able to relax and enjoy our time off. The airports themselves, however, are stressful as all get out! The lines and the chaos are enough to drive any person crazy.

Meditation is known as a great way to manage stress, but if it means you get forced to check your carry-on bag, then it kind of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? Hopefully, the baggage claim didn’t take too long.

Airplanes put a lot of stress on our bodies. We’re crammed into tiny seats, surrounded by anxious people, and then shaken about by turbulence or rough landings. It’s enough to throw out even the fittest person’s lower back.

That’s where chiropractors come in. This may have been funny to hear, but most people don’t want their pilots to be making jokes after a rough landing — they just want to get off of the dang plane!

People talk about the terrible twos of toddlerhood, but no one realizes just how bad toddlers can be until they have one of their own. And they really realize how bad they can be when they take them on vacation.

Parents love their kids, but everyone has their limits — and while parental love is unconditional, it isn’t entirely endless. So, a lot of parents are thankful to have a break after a week of tantrums and toddler whims.

People who can nap on airplanes are in a lucky minority. The seats are uncomfortable and there are often disruptive noises from kids and others chatting, so it’s hard to get some shut-eye. At least, that is, unless you’re this guy.

There’s never really a good time to tell a stranger that you drooled all over this shirt, so hopefully, this person kept it to themselves. Better to let him think it’s his own and he just had a nice, deep nap.

For people who grow up in urban environments, a fun part of travel is often visiting places like zoos and farms, where you get a chance to see normal everyday animals that you may never see otherwise.

This is one of those tweets that you read and you desperately want to know more. What exactly was on the black pants? Fleas? Dirt? Something more mysterious? At least she can sleep peacefully knowing she helped a donkey be slightly less itchy.

Komodo dragons are the epitome of coolness in the animal kingdom. With their immense size, powerful jaws, and venomous bite, you wouldn’t want to mess with them. Their prehistoric appearance and unique hunting techniques make them a true marvel of nature.

We have so many questions. Why was Diplo so close to a Komodo dragon? Why did he do it with his passport on him? Are passports a typical part of a Komodo dragon’s diet?

One of the funniest parts of traveling to non-native-English-speaking countries is seeing things translated into borderline unreadable English. You appreciate that they tried, but really wish they had hired a professional to help.

“Biscuit-shaped animals” and “animal-shaped biscuits” are not quite the same thing, Hong Kong, but you get a B+ for effort. No one will be buying them anyway, not because of the mistranslation, but because animal crackers are honestly a bit mediocre.

The duty-free section of an airport is pretty wild. It makes you wonder how many people truly feel the compulsion to buy strange perfumes, massive tubs of chocolate, and bottles of bubbly when they’re trying to survive the chaos of air travel.

The samples are nice and all, but what happens when you try on an awful perfume, and then everyone on the plane has to suffer how bad you smell because of it? At least she learned her lesson.

As a passenger, you feel that if anyone should be in control and know what’s going on at all times when it comes to flying, it’s the pilots. It’s scary to think that there are moments in which they may be as clueless as the passengers.

This is more likely a joke than something that actually happened, but if it did actually happen, that pilot definitely pushed the intercom button by mistake and likely dealt with some very disgruntled passengers!

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, more commonly known as the Olsen twins, were absolute icons in the 1990s and early 2000s. So many little kids dreamed of being like them, traveling the world, and getting up to all sorts of antics.

The Olsen twins may have stepped away from Hollywood since then, but the memories of the good times watching their films live on in the hearts of millions of little girls, who dream of having a holiday in the sun just like them one day!

A lot of people choose not to eat fast food, but even if you don’t eat it, you can’t exactly deny that it’s very convenient — especially when you’re on a long road trip and don’t have time to stop at a sit-down restaurant.

As an exhausted parent who’s spent hours driving, all you want to do is make sure that your kids are fed, even if it takes some more… unconventional methods. What kind of kid doesn’t like McNuggets?

Have you ever gotten in the car with a friend, only to realize that said friend absolutely refused to let you play any of your own music? They instead spent the entire trip hogging the aux cable and pretending to be a DJ.

Some people just can’t seem to relinquish control, even over something as simple as letting their guests choose a song or two. The funny thing is that usually, the people who do this don’t have that great of a taste in music!

Children don’t really understand money. Since they don’t deal with it on a daily basis, they tend to think that food and holidays and gifts just magically appear, and they don’t understand how expensive those things really are.

That is until they grow up and they can never afford a vacation, curtains, nice Tupperware, or any other adult thing that’s way more expensive than you’d think. That’s why we work so hard to hang onto good food containers and cardboard boxes!

Hotels can be so nice and relaxing, but that’s only if the room is nice and clean, and if the walls aren’t so thin that you can hear your room neighbor blaring the TV at two o’clock in the morning.

This unlucky person was near someone snoring so loudly that they could hear it in their own room. It makes you wonder how nice the hotel really was if the walls are that thin!

Air conditioning in your car is absolutely vital when it’s hot outside or when you’re on a road that’s too fast for open windows without being deafening. So, what happens when your A/C goes out while you’re on a long road trip?

Chaos ensues. Your kids get hot and upset and start whining. They argue with each other, they argue with you, the baby starts crying, and the next thing you know — you’re jumping out the door at top speed just to get away from them.

If you’ve ever been around children, you’re probably familiar with Pete the Cat. He’s a groovy cat who loves lots of things, like sunglasses and his snazzy new white shoes. But, Pete quickly learns that white shoes don’t usually stay white.

They don’t stay white if you walk through a pile of blueberries, and they definitely don’t stay white if you take them on a backpacking trip. The good news is that as long as this person was persistent and proactive, it’s not too hard to get white shoes clean again.

Using a luggage lock offers many advantages. It provides peace of mind by securing your belongings during travel, preventing theft and tampering. It gives you privacy and prevents unauthorized access, giving you one less thing to worry about at the airport.

Luggage locks are pretty inconvenient when you lose the key or forget the combination, though. What once protected you from theft now prevents you from getting your dirty clothes out to wash them. That bag will smell pretty bad after a few days.

Hotel rooms often surprise guests with light switches in unconventional locations. While initially perplexing, these quirky placements encourage exploration, turning every interaction with the room into a delightful adventure, fostering a sense of curiosity and adaptability in travelers.

At least, that’s what the hotels would probably tell you. Really it’s just super annoying and inconvenient when you get in late and all you want to do is go to sleep, yet you can’t figure out how to turn off the lights. Travel is tough.

You can see lots of different sea critters when you go snorkeling. From colorful tropical fish to graceful sea turtles, mesmerizing coral reefs, and even majestic rays and gentle sharks, the underwater world is not only diverse, but very fascinating.

This is definitely mentally tough, but also a bit silly as snorkeling is in such shallow waters that the odds of you seeing a Jaws-sized shark are pretty slim.

A lot of people really hate packing, and we can’t blame them. No matter how well you prepare, you always feel like you’ve forgotten something important, whether it’s your toothbrush or socks (and you only brought sneakers! Oh no!).

This person couldn’t have been traveling by plane, because if they were an hour away from their flight without having packed, they definitely would have missed it. But even for bus or train travel, they’re cutting it close!