A huge mistake tourists make when booking airline tickets can ruin your vacation

A SSPDaily expert has revealed the biggest mistake tourists make when booking airline tickets that can ruin your vacation. Frequent flyer Dawn Gilbertson has found that even after using all the best vacation tricks to buy plane tickets, you can be disappointed when you arrive at your destination.

Now she's given advice to other travelers after her experience during her Thanksgiving break in Amsterdam. Despite the reduced travel prices during the holiday season, she regretted not booking tickets to some of the most popular tourist destinations in advance - before leaving. The tourist shares her experience in the article for thescottishsun.co.

In addition, she gave travel advice to others to not only secure seats on airplanes, but also to book entrance tickets to attractions before leaving home and heading to the airport.

The just-published six-point guide for vacationers includes the instruction: "Research attractions worth visiting before you book."

The Dutch disappointment came after she landed at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport but was unable to buy tickets to the city's Anne Frank House and Van Gogh Museum.

Other tips Dawn offers include: "Prepare to pounce" - a description of how a £430 flight she was going on for Thanksgiving was offered online - for the same date - for £1,000 24 hours later.

She also urged winter vacationers to "make peace with off-season weather." And Dawn urged people to be flexible with their travel dates, with the option of returning home on a Sunday rather than a weekday, potentially increasing her price from £430 to almost £800.

She suggested that her fellow Americans make the most of the new wave of "cheap flights" to Europe by tipping capital cities with similar prices, such as Dublin in Ireland, Oslo in Norway, Lisbon in Portugal, and Prague in the Czech Republic.

A former flight attendant gave guidance on which lines to avoid during security checks. Other recommendations include how to prevent your luggage from going missing and avoid mistakes that marred a family trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Tourists were also offered tips on how to make sure that your suitcase is the first to appear on the airport carousel after landing.