'No air conditioning outside' and other ridiculous travel complaints

New Zealand travellers are more likely to complain about tropical islands being too hot than the colour of the sand. Photo / Supplied

White sand beaches, a sea full of fish and extensive markets just down the road - all elements of a relaxing holiday at first glance.

But not for the put-upon vacationers who found their gripes the subject of a recent list of 'ridiculous complaints to travel agents' compiled by the Association for British Travel Agents (ABTA) and Thomas Cook.

"We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as yellow but it was white," one complaint reads.

Another person moans they were not told there would be fish in the sea: "The children were startled."

And the owner of a new pair of 'Ray-Ban' sunglasses - purchased for five euros (NZ$11.30) from a street trader, was most put out to discover they were fake.

Perhaps the most startling claim however, was one blaming the conception of a child on the hotel an engaged couple stayed in.

""My fiancé and I booked a twin-bedded room but we were placed in a double-bedded room," it begins.

"We now hold you responsible for the fact that I find myself pregnant. This would not have happened if you had put us in the room that we booked."

A spokeswoman for ABTA told Britain's Daily Telegraph more than 22,000 people made complaints to ABTA-recognised operators in 2008, up from 19,552 complaints in 2007.

Marie Pilkington, a spokesperson for Flight Centre New Zealand, said New Zealanders don't tend to grumble too much about their holidays.

"As a general rule Kiwis have quite a 'she'll be right' attitude and don't get too flustered about things, but you do get the odd one," she said.

Pilkington said those who did complain had three main gripes: the length of queues at airports, planes being too cold and tropical islands being too hot.

"Kiwis have quite high expectations because we live in such a gorgeous country ourselves ... sometimes if they haven't travelled a lot before they can be a bit disappointed," she said.

More of the 'ridiculous complaints' compiled by ABTA and Thomas Cook

* A woman wanted topless sunbathing banned after her holiday was ruined because her husband "spent all day looking at other women".

* A guest staying at a Novotel in Australia complained his soup was too thick and strong - he had in fact been eating gravy.

* A woman called police, saying she'd been locked into her hotel room by staff after misinterpreting a 'do not disturb' sign as a command to stay put.

* A tourist staying at a game lodge near a watering hole in Africa complained his honeymoon was ruined after the sight of a visibly aroused elephant made him feel "inadequate".

* A traveller moaned after a holiday in the Caribbean: "It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England it only took the Americans three hours to get home."

* "I compared the size of our one-bedroom apartment to our friends' three-bedroom apartment," wrote one complainant, "and ours was significantly smaller."

* "We had to queue outside with no air conditioning," huffed another.

* A visitor to Goa, India said they were "disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don't like spicy food at all".

* A traveller craving the comforts of home suggested: "I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts."