Americans Are Warning Foreigners About What Places and Situations in America They Should Avoid, and It's a Mix of Terrifying and Funny

America is a big place, and there’s a lot to see and do here when you’re visiting. Then again, that also means you need to weed through what to put on your itinerary and what you should leave off the list. These people all took to Reddit to share some of their best tips about what to avoid and some necessary precautions to take when you’re exploring different locales.

Plenty of what we’ll look at here has to do with specific places in the United States. That’s not the case with this tip, it’s a more general thing to keep in mind if you want to survive. Even if you are just there for a fun picnic and not an intensive hike, it’s crucial to make sure you pay attention to the signs in a national park. After all, it’s not like the park rangers put those up to fill their time — those signs are there for a reason!

You have a lot of options on where to stay on your trip to America when it comes to booking accommodations. That doesn’t mean that every place you stay will have the same quality. If you’re booking a room in a place you’ve never been to, how are you supposed to know what’s good? You can rely on reviews, recommendations from friends in the area, and more. As far as this person was concerned, a few pictures of the hotel could tell you all you need to know.

When you go to any desert — in America or otherwise — you have to be careful. This means being even more careful than you might be when you’re taking a hike where the climate is not quite as demanding. This person suggests that you be careful before you explore any of the deserts that the southwest of the United States has to offer. The landscape can be deceiving, and it’s easy to quickly find yourself without enough water and in danger, even if you don’t get very far.

There are a few things that you just can’t do. There are some hot springs around the world that people can populate, but not all of them are like that. If you find yourself in Yellowstone National Park, remember that the hot springs are gorgeous to look at but not so much fun to be in. In fact, you’re more likely to suffer severe burns and even fatalities rather than get that cool photo you may have been aiming for.