The one that got away: tourists reveal the souvenirs they regret not buying

We've all been there: standing in a sun-drenched market of a foreign country staring at a beautiful handmade item, only to walk away and spend the next 10 years regretting it.

It's the souvenir that got away, and it happens so frequently that travellers have taken to the internet to lament their missed opportunities.

To find out what haunts us most, insurance company AllClear analysed more than 700 confessionals on the online global forum Reddit, uncovering the keepsakes tourists most regret leaving behind.

The top culprits? Unique, unforgettable items of clothing and jewellery. More than 54 per cent of all holiday shopping remorse stems from walking away from these premium wardrobe additions.

While leaving Florence without a leather jacket or Edinburgh without a cashmere sweater topped the list, it is often the missed bargains and rare marketplace finds that haunt travellers the most.

Speaking to Explore, Melbourne-based globetrotter Stephen Maiolo said he still thinks about a pair of shoes he left behind in Japan.

"It was my first day in Tokyo and I found a pair of black Prada loafers for $120. They were a size too big, so I thought I'd find some that are exactly my size in the next few weeks for a similar price," he said.

"I never did. I still think about them and the insoles I could have bought."

Another Aussie traveller, Myles Stedman, told Explore about a unique find he wishes was in his wardrobe.

"I wanted to buy a cool shacket [shirt jacket] from a boutique in Colorado but I talked myself out of it, now all I have is a photo I took wearing it in the dressing room."

Beyond our wardrobes, buyer's remorse stretches to art and crafts, with 37 per cent of travellers wishing they'd bought paintings and handmade objects when they had the chance.

One tourist regretted leaving a hand-painted mural in Medellin, and another was still thinking about a miniature painting they should have bought in Uzbekistan.

Even culinary souvenirs were missed, with some travellers wishing they had come home with more pisco from Chile or biltong from South Africa.

AllClear's Letitia Smith said travel regrets don't have to be a bad thing, often they're a good reason to go back to a place you loved.

"But they most often tend to surface when we forget to live in the moment and focus on worries about prices or logistics," she said.

"While budget and circumstances of course matter on holiday, the sentiment from travellers is clear - don't forgo an experience or a purchase you really care about, particularly over a small amount of money."