New Survey Reveals Travelers’ Biggest Pet Peeves

Deputy Executive Editor Sarah Schlichter's idea of a perfect trip includes spotting exotic animals, hiking through pristine landscapes, exploring new neighborhoods on foot, and soaking up as much art as she can. She often attempts to recreate recipes from her international travels after she gets home (which has twice resulted in accidental kitchen fires—no humans or animals were harmed).

Sarah joined the SmarterTravel team in 2017 after more than a decade at the helm of IndependentTraveler.com. Sarah's practical travel advice has been featured in dozens of news outlets including the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, USA Today, Budget Travel, and Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio. Follow her on Twitter @TravelEditor.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "A journal. Even years later, reading my notes from a trip can bring back incredibly vivid memories."

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: "Road tripping and hiking through the rugged mountains of Patagonia."

Travel Motto: "'To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.'—Freya Stark"

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Aisle. I get restless on long flights and like to be able to move around without disturbing anyone else."

Email Sarah at sschlichter@smartertravel.com.

See recent posts by Sarah Schlichter

What bugs you most when you travel — a kid wailing on a plane? A backseat driver on a road trip? A dirty restroom on a train?

Busbud.com, a site for booking bus tickets, recently conducted a survey of 2,000 Americans to identify travelers’ top pet peeves. There was one common winner for both flying and bus/train travel: body odor. More than three-quarters of the respondents — 77 percent for flying, 76 percent for bus/train travel — found their fellow passengers’ stench to be bothersome. (Perhaps flight attendants should hand out deodorant in addition to headphones.)

The second-largest pet peeve for fliers was delays, with 66 percent of respondents reporting that they found them annoying. Crying babies or small children came in at number three (62 percent). The survey also discovered that people’s annoyance at crying kids varied by gender (66 percent of men were bothered, as compared to just 57 percent of women) and by generation, with millennials having less patience for unhappy babies than baby boomers or Gen Xers. (Just wait till they have kids or grandchildren of their own…)

On trains and buses, the next most common pet peeves behind body odor were unwanted bodily contact (69 percent), loud passengers (57 percent) and crying babies/toddlers (55 percent).

When it comes to road trips, respondents were less upset about assaults on their senses than they were about safety risks; the top two pet peeves in the car travel category were texting while driving (72 percent) and dangerous driving (68 percent).

The survey uncovered a few other interesting tidbits, including one that surprised me: Train and bus travelers would rather have a sneezing, coughing seatmate than one with smelly food. (Personally, I’d prefer to put up with a garlicky stench for a couple of hours than spend a couple of days sick on vacation.) And apparently fliers’ annoyance with checked baggage fees is fading; fewer than half of the respondents (43 percent) named them as a major pet peeve.

What bugs you the most about traveling?

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