TravelJAN 7, 2023

50 Disappointed Tourists Share Travel Destinations From Around The World That Aren't Worth The Hype

Rasa Žilinskaitė and Rokas Laurinavičius

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When we're planning our next vacation, we want to go somewhere that will wow us with its beauty and culture, and will enrich our lives in ways we may not even know yet. We think of our favorite books and movies, hit up our wanderlust friends, maybe do some research online, and finally pack our bags, hoping for the best. Unfortunately, some places just don't quite live up to the hype.

So to provide you with an alternative point of view and help you get the most out of your time and money, we at Bored Panda decided to scroll through the subreddit 'Travel' and see which locations its 7 million members have been listing as the biggest disappointments.

#1

50 Disappointed Tourists Share Travel Destinations From Around The World That Aren't Worth The Hype

don't bother going to Liberty Island (statue of Liberty). all you're going to end up doing is craning your neck upwards for a shi**y view of the statue.

Instead, take the Staten Island Ferry out to SI. It's FREE. 100% Free. read that again because it's not common in NYC. IT IS FREE.

It's a 30 minute trip from Financial District down to Staten island. The ferry has concessions which serve alcohol, or you can actually bring your own on board and drink. It offers an awesome view of the statue of liberty, and Ellis Island. 30 minutes to Staten, then just jump on the next boat back to Manhattan. That's an hour of your life and is totally worth it and fun.

cheeseburgerwaffles, Julie Crawford

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318points

#2

Disney World. The lines are terrible. Expensive as hell. The rides are not even that impressive anymore. You're surrounded by weird people and jerks. The service is crap. It is completely packed. It's either raining or hot as hell.

babbyjay, Ivan Curra

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240points

It will be interesting to see how the travel industry will look in 2023. Day Out in England, a travel website on a mission to introduce people to the best days out in each county in England, recently surveyed 980 of their readers about their day trips for 2023, and found that 41% of them think they may have fewer days out in 2023 due to the rising cost of living, and 31% said they definitely will.

"When it comes to those long-awaited holidays, 39% of people said they plan to stay in England for their main holiday in 2023, while 50% will be going abroad. 11% won’t be holidaying at all," Day Out in England told Bored Panda in an email.

#3

Well, lots of people say the United Arab Emirates, and I'll agree. It held my interest for a while with the craziness of its modern elements, and I saw quite a lot of it, enjoying the rural places like Liwa and Al Ain, but it really gets tired quickly. The facilities just don't stack up to western cities and they always seem like a pastiche, with the repressive undercurrent throughout the place never fully hidden (did you know they had a spate of foreign maids falling out of apartment windows?).

Anyway, the reason I bring it up is because, for a better Arab experience, you can go next door to Oman. Old forts, dramatic mountains, dunes, beaches, souqs, old men drinking tea and playing chess on the corniche, it has it all and feels much more authentic and friendly than Dubai. It's certainly not as advanced and easy to visit but the roads are good, crime is low, and English is widely spoken, so it's actually not that difficult a place for tourists.

HotChickenHero, PinkFloydFanSince1986

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195points

#4

LA.

Lots of stuff to do, but it takes forever to get there. I feel like I spent my whole LA stay in the car, stuck in traffic.

The rest of California that I saw was great, I'd do any part of it again, but not LA.

Kevlaars, Jirka Matousek

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184points

#5

Boise Idaho, I know what you're thinking "It's hot, brown, nothing really interesting about it, and it's full of crazy mormons and republicans and spiders." In real life it's actually slightly worse

cyrusm, Elevate PC Consulting

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183points

"As the cost of living crisis eats away at disposable income, the average person expects to spend £20-30 per person per day out, including transport, food, and attraction costs, so finding affordable activities could be big in 2023," they continued.

However, people's desire to travel hasn't gone anywhere. 82% of respondents would rather have a day out than a big gift for their birthday or for Christmas.

#6

Monaco. I was in southern France in 2012 and decided to take a quick bus ride over to Monaco one day just because I heard was almost like a paradise. But I was thoroughly disappointed with the place. Nothing but high end clothing stores, extremely overpriced, terrible food, and yacht docks. A complete absence of anything interesting. It seriously felt like a place for ultra-rich people to sit around jerk each other off.

crwrd, Vadim Limin

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168points

#7

Times Square is the most overrated tourist spot on the globe. New York is an incredible, wonderful city but Times Square is its nadir

DenisDomaschke, Joel Kramer

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164points

#8

The Mall of America, its just like any other mall. There's just 4 Victoria's Secrets instead of 1.

Firedupchip, Tyler Vigen

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153points

"The capital continues to draw people for days out, with 37% of people saying they plan to visit London in 2023," Day Out in England added.

"The South West is also a firm favorite, with 26% of people saying Cornwall was on their list for next year, and 25% saying Devon was their top choice."

#9

Pyramids of Giza; might be being too harsh, but the swarm of aggressive market vendors surrounding them makes the place a bit of a nightmare. One woman from our group asked a guard to take her photo standing next to the pyramids, and the guard refused to give it back without recieving payment (I cant recall the amount but being extorted by a man with an AK-47 isn't an ideal situation). Inside the tombs themselves it reeked of piss and was a claustrophobes complete nightmare. A ~ 5 foot tall, very steep ramp with fuck all to prevent a fall wide enough to fit 1.5 men at best with a steady stream of people coming up from the opposite direction. Being literally yelled at to buy headscarves and assorted plastic shite by the truly horrible merchants outside completely ruined my experience of the place, which I'm so, so sad about because I spent months looking forward to the trip.

TheTrustyCrumpet, Vincent Brown

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142points

#10

I used to live and work in Waikiki. A lot of people don't know this but if you leave Waikiki there's a whole bunch more island to explore with more beaches and more food and more authentic culture than what you get in just one tiny area.

The number of tourists I used to meet out there who would spend thousands of dollars and travel thousands of miles to come to Hawaii only to never leave their resort, much less the area it's in, never ceased to disgust me.

schnit123, dlhnpdx

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130points

#11

I present you the most overrated/underwhelming tourist attraction in the world...

Editor's note: It's Manneken Pis in Brussels.

PyongyangJim added:
If you find yourself in this situation, turn around, go into The Poechenellekelder across the street. Grab some nice Belgian beer and watch the people.

Triplen01

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127points

Even though the world is waking up to the environmental impact travel has on the planet, a surprising 67% of people say they still don’t look for eco-friendly activities when planning days out.

#12

Don't go the Empire State Building. Instead, go to 30 Rock - the view is better, it's cheaper, it's bigger, and the wait times are 5 minutes instead of 5 hours.

[deleted], Matthew Nissen

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116points

#13

I’m not sure if it’s really globally critically acclaimed, but Sunset Blvd in Hollywood.

It is literally just a rundown street with dingy storefronts and the Church of Scientology trying to rope you into joining their cult. But oh! There’s plaques set into the sidewalk for celebrities or celebrity-adjacent people you may or may not recognize that paid for them to be there. Seriously. There is nothing to see there.

I’m sure people more familiar with LA can give better suggestions (I’m partial to Venice Beach, but that is rough around the edges too), but I say, just go to San Diego.

BohoPhoenix, Doug Kerr

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113points

#14

Most underwhelming/overrated one I can think of is the Mona Lisa. It is quite small, with a 10 foot barrier around it and about 1000 asian tourists snapping photos at any given time.

ZAHANMA, Ninara

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113points

CEO of Day Out in England, Victoria Philpott, better known online as Vicky FlipFlop said:

“As the cost of living crisis bites and we consider the cost of holidaying abroad, many of us will be changing the way we travel in 2023."

"Days out in England haven’t been this popular since before budget airlines began, and I always love finding out which English counties are the most popular on our site, as it can be so different for everyone," she explained.

"Whether you want to see the cities, have an adventure in the countryside, or find some photo-worthy towns and villages, England has it."

#15

Shocked no one has said this yet.

Plymouth F**king Rock

If you haven't seen any pictures of it, you imagine it as this epic massive stone representing the pioneering spirit of the first European settlers.

What you get is a rock that's the size of about 3 footballs with a date carved into it. It's surrounded by this little gate thing and you look down into it. Since the pit the rock is in is surrounded by sand, people find it to be a convenient ash tray. There were cigarette butts everywhere when I went. Shit was depressing.

InferiousX, Thomas Hawk

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112points

#16

Bourbon Street. Happy I did it once but it smells of garbage, is crowded, sketchy, and did I mention the smell?

Schmabadoop, Infrogmation of New Orleans

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103points

#17

Niagara Falls on the American side was not so great. The falls you always see in the movies are Horseshoe falls, and you can barely see those from the US. And in reality, there are like 20 "Maid in the Mist's," and you pay like $30 for a 10 minute boat ride, and to get drenched in stinky water. And there is nothing else to do in the area unless you go into Buffalo.

frogfeets, Doug Kerr

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102points

For many, traveling was crazy in 2022. Rental car shortages, packed capitals, and sky-high airfares were really testing some nerves. Hopefully, travel in 2023 won't be as overwhelming.

#18

I found Pisa to be overrated. It’s small and was extremely crowded when I went.

There are definitely some things worth seeing but I wouldn’t go back again. A day trip was plenty.

captainmagictrousers added:
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is great, if you want to see 500 people posing like they're mimes trapped in a box.

KrytenLister, Ray Harrington

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101points

#19

If you want to see Redwoods or just Nature and you are in San Francisco, do not, I repeat, do not go to the Muir Woods. The traffic and congestion going over the Bridge to Marin County is horrible. The woods are packed with noisy people and there is no parking. Instead go hike amongst the trees at Henry Cowell State park instead. It's in Santa Cruz and the drive is almost as lovely as the hike.

Badmoterfinger, Vinay Shivakumar

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99points

#20

Mount Rushmore was much smaller IRL than I expected

thedistrictof, Kevin Gates

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90points

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