When it comes to traveling, every city has its charms and its traps. However, some cities are more known for their tourist traps than others. In a popular thread on a social media platform, travelers were asked which cities they believed to be the biggest tourist traps. Here are the top 10 cities that made the list:
1. Cancun, Mexico
“The most touristy place I've been was Cancun Mexico. I swear that city's chief export is kitschy t-shirts,” one person griped. Others agreed, with one person adding, “Makes sense. Cancun is a purpose-built resort city. Before Mexico decided to develop it as a resort area, there wasn't much there, so it doesn't have much anchor it other than the tourism.”
2. Niagara Falls, New York
“Yes, Niagara Falls is so tacky. Run down hotels and the restaurants aren’t really great. They wanna be like Vegas but has no money like Vegas,” one person complained. Someone else jumped in, adding, “as someone born and raised in the falls I can confirm this is true. it has its good local spots in terms of food but all the restaurants in the tourist area are overpriced and not great. And it’s definitely tacky but now that I’ve moved away it’s kind of cute and kitschy to go home to. I’ve never understood the appeal of vacationing there though, at best it’s a day trip from Toronto.”
3. Los Angeles, California
“I live in LA. There are lots of great reasons to visit here. Hollywood, specifically the walk of fame, is not one of them. It’s absolutely disgusting in every way. I can’t believe people still go down there,” someone pointed out. Between the homeless people and the smell, I don't blame this person for warning people away from Hollywood Blvd.
4. Bangkok, Thailand
“If someone in Bangkok approaches you in a friendly manner, and wants to “help” you, they are probably trying to redirect you to a tourist trap store, and will get a small cut of whatever you buy. Just saying,” someone advised. Another person added, “Or they are trying to loot you. When I visited with my family, more often than not strangers would ask my dad to exchange dollars for thai bhat (read it as fake USD). And tell he would sell it at half price as there are no atm machines that takes their credit card :D”
5. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
“Dubai.. it’s a beautiful and impressive city but in terms of things to do it really doesn’t have a ton to offer other than fancy malls, etc.,” one person admitted. Someone else added, “I spent 2 days in Dubai and another 2 in Abu Dhabi and i felt that i didn't cover half of what I wanted to see. Dubai is just a fancy concrete jungle, but the architecture can be fascinating.”
6. Venice, Italy
“Venice- just one aspect that was a bit of a mood killer…men (usually south Asian) selling roses around the main square in the evenings. Usually geared towards obvious couples. But often they would just come by and hand the rose over to the woman and usually the instinct is to take what is handed to you. Then they would bug you to pay for it and if you try to give it back they won’t take it or tell the guy that he needs to buy it to show that her loves her etc,” one person shared.
7. Honolulu, Hawaii
“I live in Honolulu and I gotta say, Honolulu itself is tourist trap-y. Waikiki is so chock-full of tourist traps aimed toward Asian tourists it's crazy. Like an indoor gun range where 50 rounds is like $100 because private gun ownership is a foreign concept to them. Mainland American tourists get subject to it too,” someone advised.
8. Albufeira, Portugal
“I’ve never disliked a place so much before going to Albufeira. What a waste of a beautiful spot with a neat little town. The place was crawling with drunk British people and all of the shops/sidewalks had the same cheap trinkets,” one person complained.
9. South Beach, Miami, Florida
“South Beach, Miami. There is a stretch of Ocean Drive where every art deco hotel has turned into a sketchy place to get roofied. People stand in the street and offer drink specials if you come inside, but they are all scams. The food is bad as well. Outside of these 8 or 10 blocks, South Beach is actually pretty cool. And Miami is a lot of fun. But from 5th street to about 14th street, it’s a total tourist trap,” one person shared.
10. Santorini, Greece
“Santorini is off my list for the same reason. Gorgeous, yes, but you can find similar enough experience in mainland Greece without paying a kidney for the ferry and feeling like I’m in a never ending street party due to the crazy amount of tourists. I think most of the people just go there because other people went and I’m not one that loves crowds unless there is some specific reason to,” someone shared.
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