Travel protocols: Don’t Hike Naked in Switzerland and 101 Other Travel Etiquette Tips spells out sensible pointers and advice on good manners when you’re out and about, exploring places of interest, in accommodation and talking with strangers. Photo: Supplied.
We’ve all been guilty of making the odd travel social blunder at one time or another. Maybe you know someone who’s made an embarrassing faux pas or cultural gaffe on their trips? It can cause embarrassment or offence, sometimes with significant consequences.
Here’s a fun story about travel protocol tips, tricks and gripes with some expert guidance from Lonely Planet.
Don’t Hike Naked in Switzerland and 101 Other Travel Etiquette Tips celebrates the amusing, frustrating and deeply relatable mistakes we all make while travelling and provides tips to refine your social graces.
Editor, photographer, journalist and author of many books, including Lonely Planet’s Toilets: A Spotter’s Guide, Patrick Kinsella delivers a realistic, playful reference work to getting it right on your next big adventure.
“The world is a fiendishly and fabulously complex and unpredictable place,” Kinsella writes. “Sometimes what’s considered heinously rude in one region or country — like loudly and proudly belching after a meal — can be perfectly acceptable, even encouraged, in another.
“This book is intended to help you steer clear of the worst cultural clangers as you navigate the globe. Because while erring is (definitely) human, to be clued-in and culturally considerate when you’re a guest in a country is to be cool.”
Why is Kinsella the right person to be dishing out advice on travel decorum?
“Well, this is one area where it’s a good idea to learn from other people’s mistakes, and I’ve made a bunch of them over the three-and-a-half decades I’ve been stumbling and blundering around the planet, exploring countries as diverse as Moldova, Malaysia and Malawi, and putting my foot in my mouth everywhere from the Yukon to Tierra del Fuego.
“While I never intend to insult or offend, I happen to be pathologically clumsy, primarily left-handed and all-too-often childishly excited, making me a veteran faux-pas collector.”
Even the well-travelled experts from Lonely Planet share the one custom rule they feel holidaymakers get wrong.
Editorial director Fionnuala McCarthy: “Hugging the luggage carousel. Why do some people stand right up against the belt waiting for their bag, blocking everyone else, or worse, jam their trolley up to it? If I ruled the travel world, everyone would have to stand a good two metres back, behind a visible painted line, and only be allowed to approach the carousel when their bag is within arm’s reach …”
Vice-president of experience Tom Hall: “I think it’s poor form to get annoyed with small children on planes or trains. We were all kids once. If there’s noise just put some headphones in and be a grown-up.”
Lonely Planet editor Ann-Douglas Lott: “I get irritated when people leave the door open after using the plane bathroom. The poor souls who must sit next to that nasty mess!”
Destination editor for the Caribbean, Central America, South America and Mexico, Alicia Johnson: “One travel etiquette rule I secretly feel very strongly about is creating a row environment where the window person doesn’t feel like a hostage. If they need to go to the bathroom, it’s up to the aisle (and middle) person to allow them to feel comfortable doing it.”
Destination editor for Oceania Jessica Lockhart: “It’s not a secret; I can’t stand it when people crowd the baggage carousel! If everyone took a step backwards, we’d all have an easier time spotting our bags and wheeling them away without bumping into our fellow travellers …”
Have you ever had a meltdown in an airport, worn PJs to the hotel buffet or tried to pet a bear? If that caught your interest, then you’ll love diving into this book!
You may be surprised to learn that more places are prudish about flashing flesh (men and women alike) than you could ever guess. Cover your shoulders. Don’t hike naked or flush the toilet after 10 pm in Switzerland, cut up your spaghetti with scissors in Italy, take a selfie with a Buddha statue in Sri Lanka or stick your thumb up at people in East Africa or Greece.
This handy travel companion is packed with more than just global do’s and don’ts on eating out and local hospitality. It’s the ultimate guide to experiencing new cultures and customs without putting your foot in it.
Featuring lively illustrations by Kaitlin Brito, Don’t Hike Naked in Switzerland and 101 Other Travel Etiquette Tips offers considerate, hands-on guidance.
Whether you are using transport systems and finding somewhere to stay and eat, through to negotiating what to do and what to avoid, observe how applying good manners elevates everyday travel experiences!
Don’t Hike Naked in Switzerland and 101 Other Travel Etiquette Tips, by Patrick Kinsella, Lonely Planet, $26.99
