When you travel, you hope everything goes perfectly to plan, but the more frequently you travel, the more you may realize that hitting bumps along the way occurs more often than not. And sometimes those bumps are more like potholes! We asked our followers for stories of when their trips went wrong, and unfortunately, there are some serious injuries and illnesses that have occurred during their travels. We are lucky that they are willing to share with us their travel emergencies stories, and most important lessons learned!

The #1 point we have learned from these travel tales is to get travel insurance or a travel security membership that covers at least 50k in expenses (medical, flights, transportation, reimbursement for hotels/excursions). My recommendation is an innovative travel security membership that has a quick response app and pays all expenses upfront—no reimbursement means more peace of mind: https://www.concentric.io/gear-aws

Sheila B’s Travel Emergencies Story

Husband and I spend four months in Scotland every spring photographing seabirds. We were in Orkney and I tripped on a rock and broke my wrist. We went to the hospital in Kirkwall (lovely by the way) and they x-rayed it, reduced the fracture and applied a cast. When they were done they brought me a cup of tea! One week later they x-rayed it again to make sure it was healing properly.

Six weeks later we were in Shetland so went to the fracture clinic at the hospital there. They x-rayed it once again to make sure it was fully healed, removed the cast, had me meet with their physiotherapist for exercises to strengthen the wrist. I gave them all our insurance info (we have insurance that covers us when traveling), but they just kept waving me away – “no charge”. We couldn’t believe it! I felt guilty because we are not British and don’t pay into the NHS, but I tried. The care was exceptional, very kind and professional. I was grateful.

Kirsten and Michael S.

I saw your post about travel emergencies while traveling and thought I would send you over our little story. While I wouldn’t say our recent story is exactly an emergency, it did result in an interruption to our trip and an early flight home this past June. My husband Mike & I are independent travelers that enjoy hiring private guides where we travel. This trip was a big one for my husband’s 50th birthday. We were to spend a week visiting Maiori & Naples. Then, flying from there to Switzerland to go hiking for about 10 days. We had planned this trip for over a year.

After a few beautiful days exploring the Amalfi coast we were really enjoying Naples when Mike started saying he had a pain near his groin. He tried to push through and managed to do a lot including Pompeii like a trooper, but the afternoon before we were to depart to Zurich it was pretty clear that he wasn’t going to be hiking. From what we could tell he had developed inguinal hernia.

Thankfully we had purchased travel insurance through Allianz. That one part of the trip that I always wondered was a waste of money was finally going to pay off. I gave them a call and they immediately sprung into action. We visited a hospital in Naples which confirmed the hernia and allowed Mike to get a fit to fly. They also advised us that we should go home and have surgery immediately. I had already decided that we were heading home by that point. No one was going to enjoy the Swiss Alps in his state. Between calls to the insurance company, I had sprung into action changing our flights.

Lesson learned: I just should have let the kind folks at Allianz handle it because they ended up upgrading our flights that I had adjusted to business class anyway, and it would have saved me hours on the phone. They upgraded all of our flights and had wheelchair assistance as well. They called several times to check on us and also checked on us when we got home. Mike ended up in surgery 48 hours after our return home. Allianz was also pretty good at handling our claim. We didn’t have a bill from the Naples hospital, but we did have things booked that we were within the cancellation window for resulting in about $4,000 out of pocket. Allianz covered $3,900 of it and we had a check within 3 weeks of filing the claim.

While our story isn’t a full blown emergency it definitely taught me a lesson about travel insurance. I will be a huge promoter of it now forever and will encourage others to purchase it as well. I sort of always looked at it like a rain jacket when packing. You bring it hoping it won’t rain, but it sure is handy to have when it does.

We ended up booking an Alaskan cruise the day he was in hospital getting prepared for surgery. Made me smile remembering your account of your (Sarah’s) cruise you took. It might be the same one!  Mike is well now and able to physically get back at traveling. We are now cruising back to Seattle today and I must say after all the drama of June this cruise was an easy no brainer and we made our own fun. Since we are from Florida we enjoyed all the whale watching and Switzerland is being planned for next year already!

Kim B.

My Peru TRIP -2018

We had just finished our time at Machu Picchu and had moved on to Lake Titicaca. Lake Titicaca is the highest large lake in the world, located in the Andes mountains at an elevation of 12,507 feet! 

The guide had planned for us to head out on a boat to visit the floating Islands and the people who live there; then a 2 hour boat trip to a remote island where we would disembark, hike up to the peak of the Island, meet local people who live here, far from any services. Only Solar electricity- no stores, no healthcare, no hotels….. 

A few hours after we were dropped off we would meet the boat at another location. It was drilled into us- we could NOT be late for boat pick up as the ride back to mainland was a 2 hour trip and there were literally no services on the Island if we were stuck there overnight.

I was hiking on a smooth, flat path all the way up and feeling happy and giddy. On the way down I remember smiling and skipping and almost euphoric (I now know I was slightly low in my blood oxygen levels). My husband and I turned the corner and there in front of us was a beautiful arch going over the narrow path with the Sea in the background.

I handed my phone to my husband and asked him if he would take a picture of me with the arch and the Sea. I turned to face him with my back to the arch and the downward slope of the path. As we were getting ready to snap the pic, a group came up behind my husband – also hiking down to the boat about 1 mile away still. 

I then decided I should let them pass us so as not to deter them. Without looking behind me, I took a step back and to my right to get off the path and let them pass. Up until this point there had been dirt and earth on either side of the path. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, this was an area where there was approximately a 4 foot drop off and a bed of rocks at the bottom. 

My body slammed into the rocks as I fell. It happened so fast I wasn’t even able to brace myself. I landed squarely on my right rib cage. As a nurse, and a former horseback rider, I knew that my diaphragm was in shock. I had had the wind knocked out of me and I was pretty sure I had broken ribs. Having realised this, I quickly did an assessment of my body. I could wiggle my toes, wiggle my fingers- I was awake. I knew where I was. But I was in excruciating pain, couldn’t draw in breath easily and fearful that my broken ribs had probably lacerated my lung(s) and I could only hope and pray they hadn’t lacerated my liver, which would be a surgical emergency.

I knew that in order to survive this I needed to stay calm and try and think my way through this emergency. I was at a vulnerable place where I could easily die if I didn’t get myself to medical care. 

After a bit I was helped up and out of the trench and back into the trail. I was still unable to breathe and could tell that I needed oxygen right away. I was beginning to see stars and my peripheral vision was starting to dim.

My first lesson I learned:

I had listened well to the instructions on the boat, and I remember them telling us they had a full tank of oxygen on the boat. Somehow, I was able to squeak out the word “oxygen”.

At that point, our 22 year old assistant guide, who was a soccer player in Peru, ran the mile down to the boat and a mile back uphill to me with a large tank of oxygen.

I had to stumble 1 mile down to the boat. They tried carrying me, but it was too painful so I ended up walking with my oxygen mask on and people carrying the tank. I carefully managed the oxygen flow ( liters per minute), holding up fingers for the flow number: 10 when I was feeling like I was on the verge of losing consciousness. A 2 when I was feeling better. We only had one oxygen tank and I knew it needed to last me at least two hours. Staying calm, keeping a clear mind, and approaching my problem in a systematic way was the only way I could stay alive.

Once we arrived on the mainland, I was still requiring supplemental oxygen to stay clear headed. I got to a small local town, Puno, where I was able to get a chest xray and confirmed I had lacerated one lung, and it was starting to deflate (known as a pneumothorax). My guide had contacted a doctor in Lima and stated that we needed to get to Lima to a large Medical Center.

The drive to the nearby airport was about 1 hour in traffic and then a flight over mountains and down to the Sea. I was able to get to the plane (last one out that night) amidst a lightning storm.

Now those of you that are in the medical field, probably know that flying at high altitude with a pneumothorax is not a good idea. However, my brother-in-law, who is an engineer, pointed out that we were at 12,000 feet and a pressurized cabin was roughly 8000 feet. So technically I would be safer on the plane and I did need to get to Lima for medical care.

Once in Lima, I ended up at a private hospital used exclusively for wealthy political figures and embassy staff.

The second lesson I learned:

Make sure you have travel insurance .

If you didn’t get it – like I had not (ooops) 

Travel Emergencies Lesson Three:

Have a good credit card with you!

Make sure you have a credit card that can be charged several thousand dollars, as a hold, to know we could pay for services rendered. 

The staff at the hospital were amazing and extremely competent. I was able to communicate easily with them in Spanish through Google Translate. 

Even though my trip was cut slightly short and I had this accident, I kept a positive attitude and learned quite a bit about the healthcare system in Peru. The use of narcotic pain meds is rarely used in Peru. If you have 6 rib fractures, you get Tylenol IV and a little Tramadol. In the US – we would definitely be giving dilaudid! 

The staff was beyond kind and even brought me gifts when they heard I was a nurse. 

My fourth lesson:

Make sure you have the Google translate app on your phone and you know how to use it.

After three days of hospitalization, a chest CT, multiple X-rays, and surgery to place a tube in my lung to help it re-expand, I was ready for discharge. I had six rib fractures over five ribs. This was going to be a long recovery! 

When we went to discharge – we had to settle up before I could leave. My bill was only $2600 for everything. I was shocked at the quality of care I had received and the actual cost. I believe in the US a hospital based chest CT alone is about $5,000. And who knows how much that surgery would have been! My work insurance ended up happily paying 80% of the bill. 

My fifth lesson:

Carry all insurance cards with you at all times. 

I needed to go home with the chest tube. I hadn’t purchased any medical transport to get back to the USA. It was a lot of work to figure out if flying commercial was safe and possible. As it turns out, under my distinct circumstances – I was ok’d to fly home commercial. But this only happened because I was personal friends with a specific type of surgeon who manages these types of surgeries.  She and my surgeon in Peru were able to make a plan that was safe for me to fly home independently. Once home, however, I was instructed to get straight to a hospital – where I had to wait 3 more days before my chest tube was removed. 

My sixth lesson: 

If nothing else, purchase insurance to get home if you need medical transport. 

Lesson 7:

The BIG lesson I learned is hire a GOOD guide. I had an amazing and credible guide who stayed with me; he even spent the night at the hospital. A great guide knows how to help you navigate any troubles you may have and access local resources. I truly believe I would not be alive today were it not for my guide. 

Melissa Q.

I have two experiences that really shaped my traveling soul. Don’t panic, you’re in good hands, and be prepared before you embark!

#1 Hospitalization in France

My daughter and her soccer club were playing in the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

I had checked with our insurance about our coverage while overseas and what was needed.

So I was all set, if there was an injury. Never did I imagine it would be a full blown asthma attack with a two week hospital stay for us!

I learned that in other countries they strictly adhere to an Adult Hospital and a Children’s Hospital. My daughter looks older due to her size, so we were taken to an Adult Facility and dropped off… she was 15 years old …. I had to get us over to the children’s hospital, not knowing where I was even brought.

It was stressful but, with years of experience overseas, I was able to navigate the local ride share company, get a car and get them to race me to the children’s hospital, and run with me to the Emergency check in.

Navigating billing at the end of our stay with Accounting… I needed an itemized statement in hand for my insurance provider back home (reimbursement purposes). That took a couple of days of communicating for this to be executed.

But in the end, it was all good and we made many French friends.

#2 Emergency Room Visit for Extreme Constipation in Porto, Portugal.

Haven’t we all been there, traveling through different countries and enjoying local cuisine

–I learned the difference between going to a private, trauma, or general hospital ER. 

–Also when you’re there waiting… double checking that you’re not forgotten between shift changes.

–Identify a hospital member or local that can help be your communication advocate in moving your treatment along.

Deidre H.

Here is what happened to me while in Torino, Italy in October 2023. 

The day after my husband and I arrived in Torino, I started feeling a pain in my upper stomach area and by nightfall, I was vomiting continuously. In the middle of the night I called Doctors in Italy (50 euros, well spent imo). The doctor said he didn’t think I was having a heart attack and prescribed me some medication for food poisoning. By morning, though, I knew I needed help, so I called an ambulance. 

After triage, I was moved to a second hospital via ambulance. They did many tests (including an angiogram) and eventually discovered there was an issue with my gallbladder. The next day I had an endoscopy in which they cleared out an infection. In Italy, I discovered, they do not sedate you for an endoscopy — it was the most brutal experience of my life! (And I’ve been through childbirth!). Afterwards they advised me to have my gallbladder removed, which I did, and was sedated for that, thank God. I spent a total of five nights in the hospital and received excellent care.

The day of my dismissal from the hospital, I got up to use the bathroom, and when I returned to my bed, I discovered my purse, passport, phone, and tablet had been stolen. Hospital staff were appalled but there was nothing they could do. I was released from the hospital, and we went directly to the questura to file the report. Fortunately I speak passable Italian. 

Here is what I learned:

–We (well, my husband) called our medical provider the second I entered the hospital and they (and their outside insurance) kept in contact the entire time. Kaiser paid (or reimbursed me) for all bills. 

–We had travel insurance (Allianz) and called them immediately upon going to the hospital. In the end, the insurance paid for some of our expenses getting home — basically mine but not my husband’s. They also did not pay for the hotel etc., that we stayed at in Milan getting an emergency passport. They paid for some of my stolen items but not others. For example, they said that my phone was too old to cover. I probably recovered 50% of what we spent. Still, I was very happy to have it. 

–I’m grateful I had paper copies of my passport. Very helpful at the US embassy and at hotels. 

–I’m not sure what exactly I would have done without my husband — we used his phone to cancel the credit cards, rearrange flights, etc. I guess I’ll keep him. 

–I wish I had pursued reimbursement from our credit cards (Chase Sapphire Reserve and Capitol One Venture X). I have no idea why I didn’t do that. 

–I asked for and received copies of the medical records which were very helpful when I returned. And are fun because they’re in Italian! 

The medical care I received in Italy was excellent. I felt in very good hands.

Check out part 2 of our travel emergencies tales for more.