40+ Travelers Are Sharing the Most Disappointing Tourist Traps They’ve Ever Visited

Tourist traps are found all over the world. They're generally places where people feel that they have to visit in order to make their trip worthwhile. Most of these places are a little disappointing, as potential visitors have built up their expectations. This means that, sometimes, the reality is not exactly what they imagined. Here's a compilation of some of the most disappointing tourist trap destinations.

Soggy Sydney

A Sydney boat trip is the ultimate tourist trap. Unfortunately, this visitor had a soggy and unpleasant experience. What a way to remember that trip to Australia that they had probably been planning for a while.

This is the true travel aftermath of the pandemic, it seems. At least she's smiling, and making the most of her trip despite the weather — and the fact that every sight she wanted to visit was closed.

Chased by Mario

Times Square is the classic tourist trap, most actual New York inhabitants avoid the area like the plague. Tourists though, always seem to love it. It's crowded, loud, and crazy — but can you really say you've been to NYC if you don't go to Times Square?

It does get complicated, however, when you're being chased by life-size cartoon characters demanding money from you! These poor tourists could definitely not handle being harassed by Super Mario.

The New Pose

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the biggest tourist traps ever. Naturally, everyone wants a photo for their Instagram of them 'touching' the tower, as demonstrated by the hundreds of tourists in the background.

It does help the experience if you have a competent photographer who understands the assignment and can actually guide you to the perfect pose — ya know, to make the trip to this over-photographed monument worth it.

Where's the Sand?

We agree with the poster here — Ipanema Beach is absolutely packed and the pool seems like an infinitely better option (but maybe that's because sand is the worst). However, if you love a bit of umbrella spotting, this place is for you!

Though, with that, we also think this poster could have searched around a bit more... or checked out a few other beaches in Rio that would have satisfied his birthday vacay! There are plenty of beautiful places to enjoy!