Teenage German tourists deported from Hawaii over ‘suspicious’ hotel booking
‘We had already noticed a little bit of what was going on in the U.S. But at the time, we didn't think it was happening to Germans,’ Maria Lepère says
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They found it suspicious that we hadn't fully booked our accommodations for the entire five weeks in Hawaii
Fuckin seriously? We all know what backpacking is. I've never pre-booked an entire stay when traveling internationally except when it's for work.
Yeah wtf... I even traveled to countries where I had no place for the night, but knew I would get one spontaneously. Not great in certain countries, and you gotta know that, but 5 weeks?
Both of you are crazy. I'd never book a trip anywhere without the accommodations secured several months in advance. If I had to deal with the stress of finding the perfect hotel after I've already arrived at my destination, I'd probably have a panic attack.
But that's not backpacking. It's a journey without those limits to allow you freedom to change your mind.
I didn't do it much but when I backpacked I tended to avoid public transport (hitch hiking) and would often just sleep in a city park or railway station. Different times now but it was part of the journey
This was when I was backpacking in Europe. These days it would stress me out too.
Not that this justifies the response of the US, but the phrasing is ambiguous. Wonder if they mean this in the sense of, they had booked accommodations for some but not the entire of their trip, or if they mean, they had booked none at all so their entire trip was open.
Backpackers commonly book no accommodations ahead of time. I've done that plenty.
Arrive at airport. Get cab. Drive to hotel number 1 and ask about room. Drive or walk to hotel 2 and ask about room. Repeat as often as desired. Return to hotel with best deal.
I can't count how many times I've done this, having zero specific plans about where I am going to stay. Sometimes I just take the first hotel and then on the next day go look for something better. This is totally normal backpacker behavior.
