Top Tourist destinations Expectation versus reality

[hollydolly]

Obviously when we go on holiday most of us expect our destination to look like it does in the brochures... but it's not always the case...in fact most often especially in high season it's definitely not the case.

I've been to a few of these places both in and out of season...and generally agree with it all... some of you will have visited these places too ..

There's many more that could have been included but haven't but

grab yourself a comfy seat this will take about 10 minutes to look through...



here are a few of the top Tourists destinations in the world ...Expectation versus Reality.....


http://frank151.com/travel-reality-vs-expectations-at-the-world-s-best-attractions/26/

 

[Big Horn]

I live a few minutes from one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world: Yellowstone National Park. There are crowds in the summer at Old Faithful, but it doesn't spoil the view. Traffic can be heavy and stops for wildlife are frequent, but people aren't trying to get to work on time. Tourist numbers fall by 50% in September and almost 95% in October.There's hardly anyone there in November although the park closed early this year because of snow. In places noted for natural beauty, trails are empty after a half mile or less from the trail head. That's true everyplace.

I've been in museums when there was a special exhibit or where there is a famous item. The rooms are packed, provided that it's in season and well-known. The rest of the museum is near deserted, however. The people in the trendy crowds seldom have the slightest understanding of what they're seeing.

It's almost always possible to arrange smaller private viewings. I've been in Chicago's Art Institute in the evening when the museum is closed to the public. The people in the museum at that time are aware of what they're seeing and they're a more civilized group. Private tours can be arranged virtually anywhere in the world. They're almost always included for members.

Airline travel is nightmarish at almost anytime in these days of terrorists. However, people who fly fractional or charter are never exposed to the problem.

People who go scuba diving can either join large crowds and experience contemptuous crew members or they can charter a boat and enjoy themselves. The same applies to helicopter tours which are generally private or at least expensive enough to keep the herds away.

 

[Cap'nSacto]

Those pictures made me lol, hollydolly.

I took a group tour of The Holy Lands years ago, with two cousins on my father's side. Our group merged with several other groups, and it was insane! Tons of people squeezing through narrow stone corridors, inching along shoulder-to-shoulder and belly-to-back, barely able to breathe...just to look at a rock, or a pile of rocks, or a 2-foot square piece of floor made of rocks.

I came home with a souvenir; a little locket filled with - you guessed it - tiny rocks.

 

[merlin]

Yes I agree Holly to a degree, but the thrust of the argument in this case, is basically all the places of interest are overloaded with tourists, so it's not so much the actual place, but the fact that there are too many of us travelling at the same time

I was lucky at Machu Picchu in that it was empty (though we had to walk 10 miles) and the Taj Mahal I have been to several times, and it hasn't been too bad, out of peak hours.

I can see though that the brochures often show these places deserted, which is often simply not the case, and that changes your experience completely.

If you can travel on your own, visiting outside tourist group times works well, I went with Lisa to Angkor Wat both during the day and in the evening, when it was deserted, the experience then was magical as described in brochures.

These days I don't have many expectations of anything in life though ................ so I am rarely disappointed

 

[RadishRose]

Wasn't that Merlin in the gray floppy hat at Machu Picchu ????

 

[Sunny]

We had the same experience the first time we visited the Grand Canyon. Several busloads of Japanese tourists had beaten us there, and the only photos we got were pictures of a lot of smiling Japanese people lined up along the rail. We could barely see anything of the Canyon, and wondered what the big deal was.

About a year later, we returned for another visit, and got lucky this time. There was hardly anyone else there, and the enormity of the view took our breath away. Got some great pictures.

About the Spanish Steps, I disagree. We were there on a very busy day, and loved having all those people there. What a great place for people-watching! In that place, the tourists (and locals out on their lunch break) are the attraction.