People travel for many reasons, but ultimately because they enjoy it. Whether discovering new countries and cultures, spending quality time with friends and family or simply relaxing on a beach, travel is all about positive experiences.

Unfortunately, as soon as people travel, they open themselves us to the gods of fate and the possibility of a bad travel experience. These are often unavoidable so, as Jessica Estrada from The Daily Sundial says, “the important thing is to try to make the best out of it and look on the bright side.”

When travelling your plans can be thrown into disarray by weather, tragedy, theft or any number of other factors. But as annoying, inconvenient or horrific as they might be at the time, bad travel experiences often turn into interesting stories that you will retell and laugh about for years after! In many cases you’ll learn from the experience and be better prepared to avoid something similar next time around.

This was the case for gap year traveller Lauren Lunstrum, who found herself stuck in a disgusting hostel in a dangerous area of Hollywood, after arriving with no idea of where she would stay. Having braved the hostel for one night she quickly switched to a much more expensive hotel which, while being a massive improvement on the previous accommodation, ate into her travel budget. Although this wasn’t the ideal start to her trip she “learned a valuable travelling lesson” and would “advise travellers to do some research beforehand”.

There is never any guarantee that your plans won’t go array, so whether it is bad planning, illness or even natural disaster that causes your bad travel experience, the important thing is to learn from it…and laugh about it later!

Read volunteer advice on how to have a good volunteer travel experience with Inspire.