A couple of things are more exciting, fun, and adventurous than a vacation in a foreign country. If you truly want to remember your trip a long time after you return home, what you want is to snag a memento on your journey.
It’s worth mentioning that not all souvenirs are built the same. Some of them are great keepsakes that will forever remind you of your vacation for many years to come, while others will probably end up in a donation box after a couple of months.
Here are some of the worst things you could get from one of your trips. Luckily, you will skip them on your way back home!
Ethnic clothes
Even if it could be tempting to buy a shirt or dress that really reflects the country’s heritage, it’s probably not such a good idea. For some people, it might come across as cultural appropriation, even if no one accuses you of it straight in your face.
It can also be a bit impractical to wear it back home. But if you want to buy something wearable, you can simply stick to a small accessory, such as jewelry, a belt, or even a purse.
Duty-free merchandise
When you decide to travel abroad, you will probably encounter a duty-free store at the airport. Duty-free also means that there’s no tax on the item.
Duty-free shops are loaded with beautiful bottles of perfume, luxurious purses, and top-shelf alcohol. But saving a little bit on tax often doesn’t make a lot of sense, especially since it could mean you run out of space in your luggage for more authentic souvenirs.
Meat, cheese, and produce
Eating foreign food is definitely one of the best parts of traveling, and it truly makes sense that you’d consider taking some home with you. But that could also be quite a waste of money.
Many countries have rules about food you can take home, and they could ask you to dispose of anything edible that you’ve bought abroad. What we’re trying to highlight is to make sure you fully understand those rules before you start splurging at the market.
Pirated merchandise
Buying anything on the black market could seem like the most innocent thing. Nevertheless, it’s advised to avoid doing so. Pirated merchandise is known to have poor quality, so it’s really not worth spending your hard-earned money on. Besides, you could get in trouble with the authorities.
Cheap souvenirs
When you’re vacationing, you could feel some sort of pressure to return home with tons of gifts for everyone who didn’t get the chance to join you.
But instead of buying all those cheap souvenirs for you and your loved ones, you can try getting something a bit more useful. Alcohol is definitely a popular choice, as well as other edible gifts, such as jars of honey or candies.
If you’re truly out of ideas, just send a heartfelt postcard from a foreign country that you can complete with a fancy stamp. It’s a simple yet tasteful solution.
Electronics
Buying the cheapest laptop while you’re traveling might seem like the best deal, but the purchase might come back to haunt you. Electronics are quite finicky, and even if something works great in the store, this doesn’t automatically mean it will function well as soon as you get home.
Besides, installing electronics can be quite tough, especially since they might be set up in their original language. If you’re not a native speaker, then it might not be good for use.
Besides, if something breaks, you won’t have any warranty to fall back on. When you are spending that kind of money, you should always try to buy from a retailer that has a proper return policy.
Expensive jewelry
It’s one thing to purchase costume jewelry while traveling, but it’s a whole other thing to buy expensive jewelry. First things first, you never really know if the goods you buy are real.
You might also be tempted to buy something and not have enough time to comparison shop. If, somehow, you decide to buy real jewelry, you need to make sure you research prices beforehand. Also, don’t be surprised if you don’t snag the best deal out there.
Breakable items
That beautiful piece of stained glass would look amazing in your kitchen, that’s true. But we’d advise you to steer clear of buying things that could break easily, especially if you are traveling abroad.
First, the materials that you will probably need to wrap the item could add more volume to the luggage. If you are cramming it in, there’s still a huge chance that it might break.
Also, there’s really nothing worse than spending a ton of money on something that could break before you get a chance to enjoy it.
Books
If you’re proud to call yourself a bibliophile, spending your days at a foreign bookstore might prove to be quite fun. Moreover, it can be quite tempting to buy a cheap book, but you should resist the urge to do so.
Books can be quite heavy, even if they don’t seem like they can take up so much space. Unless you decide to buy an out-of-print tome or a special first edition, you should still wait to buy the book until you are back home.
Plants
Plants, just like produce and meat, are often not allowed into the country. If, by any chance, you get caught trying to smuggle a plant in your backpack, you might have to deal with quite an awkward conversation at the customs border.
It’s really better not to risk it. Also, packing a plant is quite a hard thing to do, especially when it comes to long-haul flights. It can take up so much room in a suitcase.
Moreover, it’s probably not meant to be. If a plant isn’t native to your area or is very hard to find, then it could be quite hard to keep it alive as soon as you get home.
Spices
There are a couple of things that are, in fact, more romantic than going to a spice market and filling up toxic wares to take home with you. However, you could be forced to discard those spices at customs.
As a general rule, you are only allowed to buy commercially packaged spices, not the ones sold in bulk from open containers on the street. However, if you still wish to buy spices while you’re visiting other countries abroad, you can always visit a local grocery store.
Fabric
Buying clothes in a foreign country could be one thing. Buying fabric to make your own clothes is a whole other level. If you ask us, it’s more of a pipe dream.
Unless you are a wonderful seamstress, buying fabric while you’re abroad is probably a fanciful exercise. You might even spend more on the fabric and pattern than you would simply buy the clothes from a store. Besides, the fabric could also take up a lot of room in your luggage.
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