These are the holiday horror stories you hope will never happen to you

Summer has finally arrived and with that comes some amazing summer holidays, and a lot of Instagram envy. But don’t start getting too jealous, because sometimes these holidays aren’t as amazing as all the filters make them seem. And to prove it, we asked you lot for your worst holiday horror stories, and you did not disappoint.

Whether you’re going to a festival in Europe, partying in Thailand or going on your year abroad, just make sure you don’t come back with any stories like these.

Kerian, Maths, Graduated

We were at Hideout festival in Croatia and Craig David was on stage and he was a little drunk and really hot and everyone started crowdsurfing so we put our friend up crowdsurfing and he was wearing very short shorts and he was going towards the front of the barriers and the bouncer was calling him forward since he was crowdsurfing. Then when he got there he was stood on the edge of the barrier and he went up and you could just see a little of poo coming out the bottom of his shorts. Then we found him later and he said he was crowdsurfing and it just slipped out then he went into the sea to clean up.

Sounds like this guy had a nightmare – avoid accidents like this if in Europe this summer and also make sure to apply for an EHIC card.

Miles, Maths, 3^rd year

I was in Vang Vieng last summer, which is obviously a notorious party place, and we were so buzzing to go tubing but when we arrived the bars were quite bad and it wasn’t as good as we were expecting.

The next day we’d had a really chill day with some shroom shakes and then we left to go back to the hostel and were just chilling outside passing around a bong with some American gals and then the next thing we know we’re surrounded by loads of Laotian guys but the American gal is still lighting up.

They searched us, asked for our IDs and took us to the police station and we were quite terrified tbf. We all got interviewed separately but were denying everything and they threatened us with jail and handcuffed us but, eventually, they let us go. Until one of the American girls had confessed everything to them and written a statement – we had to pay £500 or go to prison, as they said we didn’t respect the Laotian law – we chose the £500 then left.

Drug laws are very strict in Laos and this guy was lucky to escape a lengthy prison sentence. So make sure you respect Laotian law if you’re planning on tubing this summer.

Shay, Broadcast Journalism, Graduated

Twenty-odd of us were doing the jungle trek to Machu Picchu. On the first day, the guides took us to the top of this mountain to bike down it and they said the bikes were American so the brakes were the opposite way around. Unfortunately, mine was a British bike. I pulled hard on what I thought was the front break and tumbled down the mountain at mad speeds into a ditch. The bike had impaled my thigh, hooked on the flesh and tore it inside out. It took them 12 hours to get me to the hospital but I still got to Machu Picchu 4 days later though so all good.

If you’re doing the Inca trail make sure to go with a reputable company and be careful if hiking/biking in steep areas.

JJ, Economics and Philosophy, 3^rd year

We had decided to go back to Kuta in Bali for my birthday and we managed to find a lot of Indonesian moonshine; it tasted quite peng so we drank a lot of it and we were gone.

We set off from our dingy motel and hit the strip. The vibes were like an Aussie version of Magaluf – so pretty grim – but we were still having a good time. I set off back to the motel with my girlfriend and the taxi drivers were shouting at us so we turned down a narrow alley and a scooter was going in another direction which then reached over and grabbed my bag. I chased after him and left my girlfriend but after 300m I just gave up – I couldn’t believe it, especially on my birthday! I cried for weeks but luckily my passport wasn’t in it so could’ve been worse.

Be aware in Bali, only take out your essential items and NEVER take your passport – bag snatching is VERY common in Indonesia and most tourist hotspots while abroad!

Max, History, 3^rd year

I was in Guatemala at a Spanish school and I was staying with a local host family. One night we went out to this really sick rave and I had taken a lot of coke and then we went to an afterparty and this guy gave me a tab of acid but I just put it in my pocket and forgot about it. Later on, I went back to my homestay and slept until I woke up sweating with no clue what was going on – the acid had gone into my system through the sweat and I woke up tripping and thought I had gone insane.

For 2 hours I was so confused not knowing what was going on until I realised what had happened – I had to go take a few valiums and get my Guatemalan family to look after me and said to them in broken Spanish ‘no quiero tocar las drogas’ – not realising I was saying ‘tocar’ instead of ‘tomar’ (to take). It was quite awkward with my Guatemalan family after that.

Drugs are actually illegal in Guatemala and certainly won’t win you any brownie points with a host family – make sure you have no accidental bad trips if traveling in Central America.

Lucy, Biology, 2^nd year

I was in Madrid on a bar crawl and had a bit too much to drink so decided to get a taxi home by myself as my friends weren’t keen to go back. I woke up a few hours later in hospital – the taxi driver had robbed me and then dropped me off alone at the hospital.

This is definitely enough reason to never let a friend get a random taxi home alone when abroad – ask your hotel or hostel to recommend a taxi firm, especially if getting in it alone.

Billy, Fine Art, 1^st year

So I’d been playing pool in a bar in Koh Phangngan and had lost 3 games in a row against a few locals. I decided it would be a good idea to go up against the guy who apparently “never loses” and play for money and then he accidentally potted the black. I asked for the money (100 baht) and the guy wouldn’t pay me. So after a heated 2 min convo the guy eventually threw the money on the floor and I went to pick it up and got hit around the head with a pool cue. My friend ran over to help me and got punched about 3 or 4 times in the head but then everyone ran over to me but my friend pushed a few of them off me. We decided to run after my friend got an ashtray smashed on his head.

The next day, my friend realised he’d left his hat at the bar so we decided to go back to retrieve it but ended up having another controversial convo with a Thai man holding a plank of wood and the guy who lost the pool match holding a gun – me and my friend took one look at each other and ran fast out of the bar. I ended up in hospital with 13 stitches – we avoided playing pool in Thailand for the rest of our trip.

Don’t go back to collect a hat off two men who hit you with a pool cue the day before. 

Tom, Biochemistry, 3^rd year

About 8 of us were on our way back from a cave just outside of Pai in Thailand and we each had a moped. I was riding through a village when a dog was in the middle of the road, I could either hit it or brake, so I braked and I flew off my bike. I was wearing shorts so my legs were wonderfully skinned along with my arms and chest – and to make things worse my insurance wouldn’t cover me as we didn’t realise you can’t actually drive legally in Thailand with a UK licence.

At one point in Koh Phi Phi I went to have my bandages redressed (I looked like a terrible version of a mummy) and I found out they got infected…so all of my scabs had to be picked apart in front of me, this was made worse by the fact I recognised the guy redressing them from Grindr…oh hello! I also found it humorous how they viewed my wounds as pay-as-you-go with a fiver for redressing each wound.

Wherever you head this summer, remember to respect the local laws of the country you are visiting. You can view extensive travel information for every country in the world at: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

If you have any holiday horror stories you’d like us to feature please email [email protected], or message us on our Facebook page.