Sometimes travel mishaps can lead to the best adventures.
That was certainly the case for Lynne Mazouz and Kira Smith, two friends who set out for a dream vacation in Costa Rica — only to realize they booked a flight to San Jose, Calif., instead. Their mix-up was documented in a now-viral TikTok clip.
The two friends, who booked their flights separately, didn’t realize the mistake until they had already landed in California. It wasn’t until Smith asked a flight attendant for directions to Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, that reality hit them.
In a follow-up TikTok video, Mazouz recalls the moment: “I turn on my data roaming, and my phone starts blowing up. It’s like ‘Lynne, we f—– up. Lynne, check your maps. Lynne, oh my God, what are we going to do?’ ”
Looking back, Mazouz says there were so many moments where they could have caught their mistake. They departed from LaGuardia, a domestic airport in N.Y.C., and their connecting flight was in North Carolina — again, a domestic connection.
Additionally, their boarding passes clearly stated San Jose, Calif., and a fellow passenger even mentioned moving to San Jose because it is the “start-up tech capital of the world.” However, that didn’t register with Mazouz. She remembers thinking, “Hm, Costa Rica? That’s crazy.”
With nowhere to stay in California, as all their accommodations were booked in Costa Rica, they found themselves stranded at the airport, contemplating their next move.
“We considered going to Hawaii, but then we realized, with all the money on the Airbnbs and the hostels we purchased in addition to Airbnbs and hotels in Hawaii, it would end up being so much more expensive,” Mazouz notes.
Instead, they found a motel and made the most of their unexpected detour by heading to the bars in San Francisco. Still determined to salvage their vacation, they eventually rebooked their flights, flying into Houston, and finally making it to Costa Rica.
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Despite the chaos, Mazouz and Smith were greeted with a warm welcome at their hostel in Costa Rica. “I was so close to giving up because of the number of road blocks we’d faced,” Mazouz exclusively tells PEOPLE.
“I was convinced the universe was sending me signs not to go,” she continues, adding that she’s happy she followed through. “As cliché as it sounds, the toughest journeys can lead to the most rewarding experience.”
For those who might find themselves in the similar predicament, Mazouz offers advice: “Give yourself a few minutes to freak out but then get back on track with a plan to action. Don’t think about the worst that could happen but the best.”
In the end, the two women used what could’ve been a bummer of a vacation to make an unforgettable moment. Mazouz even ended up extending her trip another week, and calls it “the best vacation of my life.”
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