We just stopped there for the first time too! The St Augustine Florida location. Great gas station for filling up if you have a travel trailer attached. Great grab and go food- inexpensive and actually very fresh and tasty.
And the employees are super helpful and friendly. They had a job board out front - they pay their employees very well.
2 Likes
“Junkies shooting up in Greenwich Village?!” Was this trip in 1975? 
2 Likes
One of the biggest tourist traps to me was Monterey in CA. Plus the Aquarium (which we’d heard a ton about) was really disappointing - not nearly as good as the Shed in Chicago. That being said, the drive to Carmel was lovely with gorgeous sea views (Carmel itself, though lovely, also a bit touristy).
2 Likes
Here are some places I consider tourist traps:
The area around the Chinese Theater and Kodak Theater in Hollywood.
Times Square and Piccadilly Circus in New York City and London
Bourbon Street
I could also say the Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans as well. The beignets were good, but it was so crowded and dirty. There was trash all over the place and lots of pigeons.
I feel that tourist traps are places that hype themselves up and encourage you to spend a lot of money that you wouldn’t otherwise spend. For instance, those random “attractions” you see advertised on billboards and you go and it’s really not that great, but you’re a captive audience.
Also, I’d say places like Ripley’s Believe it or Not and Madame Tussauds are also tourist traps. They have them in cities all over the world. They’re fun, but they aren’t unique and you can go to them in Los Angeles and London…and I certainly wouldn’t put them on the same pedestal as the British Museum.
Certain areas of Prague, Amsterdam, Florence, and Dubrovnik are what you could call a “tourist trap.” I remember we were in Prague and there was an area of the old town that was full of souvenir shops all selling the same “real Czech souvenirs” and “real Bohemian crystal” that for all we know was probably made in China. What’s especially funny is that all these shops would be within 100 feet of each other and they’d literally carry all the same stuff. And of course lots of museums that you can find in any touristy European city, like a medieval torture museum, sex museum, chocolate museum, etc. It’s not necessarily bad, just not very authentic…
Also, like someone else mentioned here…places like Old Faithful aren’t really tourist traps. They’ve just become so popular that they aren’t as interesting or appealing anymore. I’ve heard people say the same thing about the Colosseum in Rome and the Eiffel Tower. Yeah, they’re interesting and fun to see and experience, but the crowds take away the appeal. It also doesn’t help that so many tourists are so disrespectful and care more about getting the perfect shot for Instagram with their selfie stick then enjoying the place they’re seeing and respecting other tourists…
4 Likes
Most of these places become popular because they are beautiful and/or fun. So, of course, vacationers flock to them.
The trick, to me, is to go when there are likely to be fewer people around – not during the busy season.
For instance, go to the Dells in May or September – before Memorial Day or after Labor Day. That goes for pretty much any tourist destination in Wisconsin.
5 Likes
IMO, most places are tourist traps. One of the key challenges for seasoned travelers is simply finding places that are not yet tourist traps 
So true! That’s true in Europe, if you want to avoid the crowds don’t go during the high season.
One piece of advice I heard from a long time travel agent:
Don’t feel like you HAVE to visit the most popular sites if you really don’t want to. Yes, the Eiffel Tower is cool, but if it doesn’t interest you, you don’t have to visit it. Visit places that interest you, even if they aren’t super popular or hyped up!
I know people who went to Italy (it was their first time in Europe) in July. They hated it. Everywhere they went was totally mobbed. They went back to Italy in January and had a great time. The nice thing is that they’re retired, so they can go at other times of the year. H has some friends who are bike riders and they’ve gone to Italy and the rest of Europe during the summer. The nice thing about being on their bikes is that they can just simply ride away from the tourist crowds. I’ve heard other advice that says if you want to avoid crowds during the high season in Europe, head off the beaten path and go to places that most tourists don’t visit!
5 Likes
Boston’s North End comes to mind - mobbed and the food is overrated. As a New Yorker, there are lots of places I avoid if at all possible (Times Square and Rockefeller Center top the list). Bourbon Street is just plain gross. Can’t really call the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museum tourist traps, but if you are in Rome during the tourist season, I would advise steering clear.
4 Likes
A lot of the things listed can be fun, but not if they are crowded. And most everything seems to be crowded now. I really found the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to be awful. But it was crowded and hot that day, and any place crowded and hot will not be fun.
So true! You’re right, I wouldn’t call the Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museum tourist traps, but they sure aren’t fun when they’re crowded. I’d say if you have your heart set on visiting them, go in the off season when they aren’t as busy. If you’re there in the high season, go elsewhere and vow to come back at a different time of year!
I’m pretty sure Branson, MO is the definition of a tourist trap. I highly recommend avoiding it. Lol
2 Likes
I so agree about Florence.
1 Like
We do this all the time. When we were flying with youngest to New Orleans my seatmate on the plane asked us what we were planning to see. I told him the bayous and nature in general. He thought I was joking. Nope. We’re nature people and this lad loves flora/fauna. We camped next to Lake Ponchartrain and explored the bayous on a boat, drove down to the southern tip of LA stopping along the way at probably unnamed spots to explore the Mississippi River, went to the beach in MS, and explored a state park (that my seatmate helpfully told us about). We drove through NO one day, but had no desire to even get out and prowl.
We had a great time, even if it’s not everyone else’s cup of tea. My youngest still likes to tell people about it.
Design the trip for the traveler and you’ll rarely complain about a tourist trap.
Go to Las Vegas because folks insist, “You’ve got to see it!” and you can add an experience to this thread. 
2 Likes
Well said! I think it was a Rick Steves quote or something I saw on his website where he said that it’s better to have an A plus experience at a lesser known attraction, then have a C experience at a well known site. I don’t remember if that’s the exact quote, but it resonated with me.
1 Like
We absolutely LOVED Silver Dollar City when our ds was growing up. We lived about an hour and a half away - maybe an hour and 45 minutes. Such a wholesome theme park. Many of the workers are retirees. They are happy and friendly unlike surly teen ride workers in other places.
I do agree that Branson is a tourist trap, however.
1 Like
I think the Corn Palace is so worth seeing!
1 Like
If any of y’all haven’t been to South of The Border, stop by the next time you’re on I-95. It’s been about 20 years since I stopped, but at that time in the stores they just had bins of stuff that you can get from Oriental Trading Company. There is no beautiful at South of the Border. I guess it could be fun if you like really tacky kitschy stuff. The rides are bad, like the cheapest traveling carnival bad. Here’s the Google Streetview of the beautiful border of SC/NC on I-95: Google Maps You can see the South of the Border sombrero.
1 Like
The Mona Lisa - it’s small! It’s in a crowded room and it’s small. Oh look. A painting. Woo.
Mt Rushmore - it’s small (relatively speaking). Like it looks way more grand on a postcard. I saw it in my 20s and said, “that’s it?” My child has the same reaction when he was 10.
Stonehenge- out in the middle of nowhere, the road divides/curves and there are a few rocks. It’s small. It’s really not that big. Really! Like that’s it?
The Statue of Liberty- again, she’s TINY!
I think I was just deluded by photos in books and on tv. Really I thought so many things would be far more grand than they actually are. I’ve been lied to 
. Sure these things may have other things going for them to have tourists flocking to them but I get sad when I get there and my first thought is, “that’s it?” 
If any of y’all haven’t been to South of The Border, stop by the next time you’re on I-95.
Haha yes! I’ve only stopped at night. It’s like a Mexican style Vegas with all the neon. The ice cream place was open at 8pm so we had no complaints 
1 Like
My girls and I went on a bayou tour while my husband was working the oil spill in LA. It was really fun and interesting. We also went to the D-Day museum on one of his days off and it was well worth the visit. My youngest who was maybe 10 or so, could give an overview for a long while after, of all the beaches that were stormed and the Allies who were assigned to which beach. She absorbs so much just listening to information.
1 Like