What else could make a daring journey worthless? Travel myth.

One of the beauties of traveling is experiencing a world that is different from your own. People are often saddled with fabrications and they fail to experience the essence of going places.

Hearsay, falsehoods and fictions which becomes part of our beliefs and ideologies but spoil our fun and opportunities. Stuffs Nigerians should put away

1. You’ll score big on airfares if you wait

Travel Myths: Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge in Nigeria. Image Credit: Adedotun Ajibade

Mastering airfare timing requires you to make use of every opportunity that meets your preferences while they last. Waiting to find cheapest fares a day to travel hardly ends up favourable, except if you don’t have fixed travel dates and aren’t planning on enjoying in-flight perks. Booking ahead of your trip or on hold could be a better option.

2. Airfares increases every year

Travel Myth: Arik Air offers cheap fares too. Photo Credit: Iqbal Osman

As you might have noticed, airlines change fares very often. It’s not strange. They do this to maximise their total revenue for every departing flight.

It’s a false belief to think airfares will go up with every incoming year. The price of crude oil, foreign exchange rate (market price determinants) and economy are but a few factors that influence fare dynamism. There are no hard and fast rules about how much they leverage, yet, it does not go on to say a company that gets a square deal on fuel supply for many years cannot pass on some savings to customers.

3. There is no freedom in Europe, US, Asia e.t.c

Travel Myth: The Statue of Liberty in New York. Image Credit: Salu972

It depends on what freedom really means – a moral/legal permission or chaos. Most countries of the Asian, European and American continents have organised and civilised societies and a system designed to care for everyone.

Over the years, such system has been adulterated in Nigeria, with heavy bribery and corruption, inconsistent government policies, unrealised campaign promises and unprofessional civil servants lording it over others. Before you go on telling lies that there is no freedom abroad, make sure it is not a vague reference to institutions restricting you from carrying out criminal acts in a foreign land.

4. English, French or popular languages will bail me out

Travel Myth: Departure Yard – Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos. Image Credit: Naejjean

Avoid this pitfall. Don’t believe you could always make your way round a new destination, especially if you will be involved with the locals, who converse in rather obscure languages. If you’ll need to use taxis, make purchases at the local market or visit public places; a good grasp of key phrases will help you command respect from the people you meet.

5. It’s lonely out there than in Nigeria

Travel Myth: Nigerian Carnival in Dublin in 2014. Image Credit: William Murphy

No gainsaying that everybody minds his/her own business in countries like the U.K. or U.S. … but that does not stop you from building a relationship that could be of benefit. It may take time, but a Nigerian freshly arriving in the UK or US would soon discover many Nigerian churches and parties to attend every weekend (provided he/she has his/her travel documents intact and had not intended to be lonely).

6. You don’t need insurance

Travel Myth: A British Airways Flight from Abuja to London Heathrow. Image Credit: Aero Icarus

Not with the spate of trip cancellations, lost luggage, flight accidents, medical expenses and even terrorism. Embarking on a flight – either within a country or internationally – without arranging for some form of reward to cover for losses falls on the borderline of ignorance.

7. Flights are not best option

Travel Myth: The plane house is the home of an eccentric Lebanese millionaire who lives in Nigeria. This house is at the edge of a cliff in the Tripoli area. It’s empty most of the year. Image Credit: Roberto and Bianca

Time is nigh we have a useful understanding of factors that cause air accidents, only 32%, statistic says, arises as a result of ‘Pilot error.’ Human, error, mechanical failure and sabotage could send an airframe down.

Odds of having a fatal accident while flying with the bottom 39 airlines with the worst accident rates is 1 in 1.5 million flights – enough flights and time for you to start flying with a major airliner.

8. Jet lag isn’t travel fatigue

Travel Myth: Asleep at the airport. Image Credit: Anthony Pujol

It’d be pointless not to give you the benefit of the doubt. That been said, jet lag is not an outcome of loss of sleep.

To put this in context – some people experience changes in frequency of defecation and quality of faeces whenever they travel to a new destination. Of course you didn’t stop eating – that’s if you weren’t swallowing a bit of everything on your way – yet you may have to wait for days to visit the john at your new destination. The disruption could have been caused by changes to time of feeding, reception, ambience and space.

That’s like a snippet of the many faces of jet lag, which occurs when the human internal clock loses its ability to adjust to the day and night cycle. It could arise after a rapid trans-meridian (east- west or west-east) travel across different time zones. Dryness on the flight, cabin pressure, lack of fresh air, and certain foods and drinks also contribute to jetlag.

9. Travel is expensive

Travel Myth: The great migration. Image Credit: Ray Morris

This is a common turn-off. There are alternatives to flights and hotel cost, which could be high-priced.

Opt for a shorter destination on a budget airline. If you wouldn’t compromise luxury, there are quite a number of credible agencies in many cities offering special discounts to couples, business travelers, students; as well as perks and tour packages by vendors. Put your ears to the ground and look in the right places.

10. I don’t have that time

Travel Myth: Downtown Johannesburg on a quiet afternoon. Image Credit: Jorge Lascar

The workplace has resumption and closing times and there is even a period so named: ‘leave of absence’. Embark on a journey to a perfect getaway destination on vacation days and return to discover a revitalised you.

11. Travelling unaccompanied isn’t fun

Travel Myth: A woman walking alone in Kaolak, Senegal. Image Credit: Angela Sevin

Great numbers of budget travelers have made a worthwhile experience from going alone. A husband will travel in company of his fellow researchers to a South African cave. He would later go watch the football World Cup alone before deciding to go on vacation with his wife. Circumstances and choices is all that matters.

12. It’s not possible to work while traveling

Travel Myth: Amala, egusi stew with chicken served at Cafe Spice, Peckham, London SE15. Image Credit: Kake

If you want to continue earning while on the road, take a Working Holiday Visa (WHV), which is widely available. A country like the UK grants a none-renewable WHV to (mostly) singles between ages 17 to 30 for the duration of two years – half of which you could utlilise making money.

You could take up an au pair opportunity in Dubai or relocate for work in Australia, Denmark or Canada. Volunteering, house or pet-sitting are other ways of traveling and staying employed.

13. Travel is not safe

Travel Myth: Terraces of the elephant in Angkor Thom, Cambdia. Image Credit: Alex Berger

There is high concern about some destinations that have been flagged as Travel Risk Countries (Zones), but chances you may be at the ‘wrong place at the wrong time’ are slim. Chances that the bad guys will hit your location during your travels are small. They are so small that shouldn’t stop you from experiencing something beneficially new – provided you plan to avoid the risk zones and the bad guys.