NEWS COPY
Suffering sunburn on your first day abroad, being sold fake designer goods and getting hopelessly lost are the most common holiday mishaps, according to new research.
Food poisoning also features high in the list of woes, along with coming down with heat stroke and being the victim of theft.
Trying to pay with the wrong currency, arriving to finding the holiday accommodation is on or near a building site and having a traffic accident also appear.
Commissioned by First4Lawyers, 2,000 UK adults were asked to name their holiday mistakes and accidents.
Qamar Anwar, Managing Director at First4Lawyers said: "Although some mishaps are more likely than others, the results show some of the things that can go wrong when holidaying.
"More often than not holidays go smoothly and people get a much deserved chance to recharge their batteries and forget about everything.
"However things can go wrong so it's important to take steps such as having good travel insurance should something happen when you are away."
Slipping near the swimming pool and having an infestation of some kind in your hotel room are also in the list.
Over a quarter of people polled have experienced a holiday mishap such as an injury or becoming the victim of a crime.
And of those that have been on the wrong end of such events, two thirds said they were abroad at the time.
Around half of UK adults surveyed said they are nervous when holidaying abroad.
Over a third avoid visiting Africa, a quarter steer clear of Asia and one in five does not visit Eastern Europe.
Although nine in 10 people polled said they take out a travel insurance when going abroad a quarter don't know what a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is.
A fifth have needed to make a claim on their travel insurance at some point, while one in 10 have needed to use their EHIC.
Over 30 per cent of respondents said they have claimed compensation due to flight delays or cancellations.
Qamar Anwar said: "Thankfully most people go on holiday and have a great time, but if things do go wrong our solicitors are experts in accident abroad claims.
"They regularly deal with incidents such as slips, trips or falls on holiday or illnesses caused by dodgy food in hotels and can offer advice and support if something goes wrong."
Most common holiday mishaps1. Got sunburnt on the first day
2. Flight was delayed
3. Got lost
4. Suffered food poisoning
5. Had heat stroke
6. Had items stolen
7. Run out of money
8. Had no hot water in your hotel room
9. Bought items that turned out to be fake
10. Had an infestation of some kind in your hotel room
11. Slipped near the swimming pool
12. Flight was cancelled
13. Missed your flight
14. Vehicle has broken down
15. Got to your accommodation and found it or the surrounding area to be a building site
16. Had no power/electricity in your hotel room
17. Been wrongly stopped in customs
18. Had a traffic accident
19. Got to the hotel to find your room had been double-booked
20. Tried to pay with the wrong currency
ENDS