A few years ago I organised a 40th birthday party on a Malaysian island for 10 of our closest friends only to discover I’d booked us in during Ramadan (a month of fasting for Muslims) and we couldn’t get an alcoholic drink, even in our resort.

And I once lost my iPhone on Gili Air (off Lombok) and for two months afterwards new photos of towel elephants (snapped by the hotel cleaners/towel elephant makers who must’ve found my phone) kept appearing in the photo library of my new iPhone, despite the best efforts of Apple Store staff.

And then there was the time my passport was stolen on a small Thai island and I couldn’t catch a plane to Bangkok to get a replacement at my embassy because they wouldn’t let me fly without photo ID. I had to take a 20-hour combined ferry and bus ride instead.

Just because I travel for work doesn’t make me a flawless travel expert; I make as many mistakes as any traveller. But there are a few checks and measures I take now to avoid falling into these same traps.

The very first thing I do these days before I organise any trip is to properly scrutinise exactly what’s on at the destination I’m going to. “The official tourism sites for the destination will give the best information and I check these often while planning a client’s itinerary,” personal travel specialist Tracey Flower says. “Major events like the World Cup hike up prices and affect availability, but less known religious and public holidays cause closures too, and they’re generally listed on these tourist sites.”

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I also plan out what days of the week might save me the most money on flights. If I have flexibility (and I usually do), I always travel midweek … why? Because others can’t, or don’t.

“Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday generally have better availability and pricing,” Flower says. “With people maximising their holiday leave to cover the weekend, many airlines will offer better airfares based on midweek departures.”

As for my phone, of course I lock it … now, often just while I’m travelling. And I make sure I’ve installed a tracking app (Find My iPhone is built-in and it’s the best, or try Google’s Find My Device) and to be extra careful, I enable remote wipe so I can wipe all data using the Find My iPhone app). If your phone falls into the wrong hands, they have access to everything that makes you … you. Effectively, they’re you now. If I’m going somewhere really off-the-beaten-path I’ve occasionally carried a cheap, backup burner phone so I can go some way to clearing up the mess while on the road.

And I always have copies of my passport photo page ready to show anyone if I ever lose my passport again. I keep a copy in my suitcase, one in my day pack, and a digital copy on my laptop’s desktop, my Cloud and email account.

“Email it to yourself so it’s really easy to access if your passport gets stolen,” says Jess Strange, chief customer officer of Southern Cross Travel Insurance.

“And leave a printed set with a family member back home, just in case. And if it was lost or stolen in the care of an airline or cruise ship or hotel, report to them immediately and make sure you keep the report or a reference number. But make sure you file a police report too.”

I still make plenty of stupid mistakes when I travel. But they’re not as stupid. And that’s something, right?