Worlds most overrated tourist destination

Iceland. Sorely disappointed.

great thread. my wife and i were considering a trip to the Smokies/Gatlinburg this fall (i went there as a kid and thought it was fun) but this is definitely making me reconsider. glad everyone is on the same page of Vegas being an incurable pit of degeneracy. I personally hate NYC, but i fully admit I have not experienced all the city has to offer. To all the people saying Disneyworld is overrated, if you're over the age of 15 and came to that conclusion then that's on you. I've been going to Disney for 20+ years and I'm always amazed at how different each trip is. Yes you can do the same rides over and over again and as I get older those get stale, but it really is an immersive experience in spite of crowds, obese people, brazilians, etc.

Here are some places I have found to be overrated:

- Grand Canyon: Really annoying/depressing to drive to and to be honest kind of looks like the worlds biggest construction site. The day hiking options are not great; the real draw is hiking into the canyon but you need to be prepared. The scale of it is magnificent and you probably should see it once in your life, but otherwise there are lots of tourists and inbred zonies with crying children who can't hike. Food options on the south rim village are hot garbage.

- Idaho Potato Museum: Since potatos are what most people connect Idaho with, I was expecting something with more production value. Or something closer to the Dole plantation in Hawaii or something more commercial. Instead, this place is a small one story building with the most mundane displays possible, even for potatos. The world's largest potato chip is not big at all and I was severly underwhelmed.

- Salem on Halloween: DO NOT GO HERE. Salem is a nice town with an old New England feel, but during the Halloween season the tourists come out and this place is miserable. Insufferably crowded, the attractions suck, and you'll soon realize that people who believe in ghosts/supernatural are the lowest common denominator. Just stay home and watch Hocus Pocus instead.

- Miami: Feels like another country, and not in a good way. The city aesthetic is nowhere near as cool as pictures make it out to be (for as much as Vegas sucks, at least the architecture on the strip is interesting). Beaches are not great. Humid as balls. No one speaks English. In the daytime the place feels eerily empty. However the Florida Keys are interesting and I would recommend going there.

Global Traveler #1 wrote:

For me it’s the Taj Mahal, hands down. It’s not better than in the pictures and it’s miserable. I’ve been there twice just to make sure.

Tower of Pisa is second.

Las Vegas.

I'm trying to wrap my head around how you think Disney is amazing but The Grand Canyon is a tourist trap with bad food.

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are indeed disappointing and schlocky. This have been said, hiking in the Great Smokies is excellent, and some other towns in the region - Brevard, North Carolina being one of them, are fantastic places to visit and the hiking near there is really, really good. (I never run on a track any more - I am in the old guy category - but when I visit my mother who retired in Brevard I cruise around the Brevard College track, and can't think of a more peaceful place to be). I wouldn't dismiss the Southern Appalachians as a whole.

Buenos Aires. People call is the Paris of South America. This would be true if Paris was a dump.

Chaco Canyon, but only because pale faces like me dismantled it.

Underrated: Royal Canberra Golf Club in Australia (got in for a charity tournament). Sunset with kangaroos munching the fairways.

Forgot: Calle Ocho 8K (still held?). Street party and bonfires at dusk through Little Havana!

beezo wrote:

+1 for vegas wrote:

Vegas, the Worst Place on Earth.

I'm not sure why so many people say Vegas is overrated. What were they expecting? It seems to me like it delivers what it promises. If that doesn't appeal to you why go there in the first place?

This.

I just went to vegas. It delivered exactly what it promised. I went for 5 days. I dont gamble and i still had a blast. I got off the strip for 2 days. 1 day was a hoover dam trip and one day was bonnie springs riding horses. We saw a show every night. By the end, i was "vegased out," having already had my fill of seeing casinos and trashy people, but i cant wait to go back for another trip.

I guess its because i researched the hell out of it and there were no big surprises one what we were getting

ataglance wrote:

I'm trying to wrap my head around how you think Disney is amazing but The Grand Canyon is a tourist trap with bad food.

yeah what's wrong with that

I am surprised no one has mentioned Ayers Rock in the Australian outback. Such a pain to get to, and no facilities. I guess you can hike around the rock (if you are a Lewis & Clark type). And watch the sunrise & sunset. But where do you toilet yourself?

Is it worth such a long trip?

One more overrated destination: Disneyland Paris. It's a watered down version of disneyland but with parisians and people smoking in the lines. The space mountain ride there used to have a steampunk theme but when I went they were in the middle of changing it to star wars themed. the ride had no sound and there was one graphic of an asteroid being shot by lasers

messi wrote:

I am surprised no one has mentioned Ayers Rock in the Australian outback. Such a pain to get to, and no facilities. I guess you can hike around the rock (if you are a Lewis & Clark type). And watch the sunrise & sunset. But where do you toilet yourself?

Is it worth such a long trip?

Yea you have a point. Ayers Rock stinks. Not as bad as the Taj Mahal because it doesn’t literally smell bad, but pretty disappointing for all the effort it takes to get there. You could sit around in the bush almost anywhere.

If you're considering going to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, go to Asheville, NC instead.

/mu/tant runner wrote:

Yellowstone was very disappointing to me... far too much driving and almost like a "drive-thru and look and say woah" sort of thing.

+1 Yellowstone

I went in with such high expectations, and don't get me wrong it was beautiful with some very cool features. My lasting memories were a ton of buffalo & terrible traffic (thanks for people stopping in the middle of the road to take pictures of buffalo).

I could name at least a half dozen parks in the West the blow Yellowstone away.

asdfasdfsdfd wrote:

Buenos Aires. People call is the Paris of South America. This would be true if Paris was a dump.

I guess everyone has a different reaction, but I found BA to be more interesting than Paris (and a pretty good running area, BTW). If you stay in Palermo or Recolleta, BA has plenty to offer: great parks, museums, and restaurants. Sure, some areas of BA would be shabby, but that is true of any city.

New Orleans. Bourbon Street is just one long bar fight and outdoor toilet and night and during the day reeks of stale cheap beer and garbage roasting in the sun. The really good restaurants are always overbooked and have snooty Maitre D's who will only seat people wearing designer stuff and make everyone else stand around for hours even with a reservation. The "authentic" cajun/creole places are complete tourist traps serving the worst versions of Louisiana cuisine. One block too far in the wrong direction and you are in the middle of "my god how do they live like this" level of poverty. Completely unbearable heat and humidity from May through September. Magazine St. is turning into a little Portlandia after Katrina forced out just about every business and carpetbaggers swooped in to take advantage of cheap rent. The jazz music scene has been taken over by hipsters doing faux dixieland acts in some sort of musical equivalent to steampunk.

Lo ughtchhtg wrote:

San Francisco. There is human and dog? Poop everywhere. Needless everywhere. Homeless people and drug addicts just chilling. It's the city of hepatitis

100%. Not sure why so many people travel here.

I would also like to include any Disney resort. Worst places on the planet. $200 to get in per person. Hour+ waits in line. Overpriced everything. Rides are meh. Better off going to six flags.

But did you enjoy yourself? (sorry)

It's a good point - every major city has been corporatized to some degree with some kind of substitute in order to meet historical stereotypes of tourists. Those looking for the essence of the city will have to venture off the beaten path into more...interesting areas that may not look as nice and feel as safe.