Social media influencers use their videos and photos to bring the world’s largest, most interesting and most beautiful destinations into living rooms around the world.
Unfortunately, the reality doesn’t always match the messages on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, as a recent thread on Reddit shows.
Tourists use the site to share destinations that didn’t live up to the hashtag hype.
And those who did.
Reddit user ‘Amphotoxic’ started the discussion by asking, ‘What travel destination is nothing like the trip being portrayed on social media?’
A Reddit user says Japan’s Arashiyama bamboo forest is ‘much smaller and more crowded than often portrayed’
Plymouth Rock is described by a disappointed Reddit user as ‘literally just a little rock’
The Places That Do NOT Meet Social Media Expectations
Astonished by bamboo
Japan’s Arashiyama Bamboo Forest in Kyoto has more than 110,000 tags on Instagram, but for many travelers, it doesn’t live up to its photogenic promise. “The Kyoto Bamboo Forest is much smaller and more crowded than often portrayed,” says Existencefaqs. “SnoNight” adds, “I went there before sunrise and was surprised to see that it was just a bamboo path near some people’s homes.”
Tormented by Times Square, New York
Redditor ‘bedpeace’ complained: ‘It’s small and much less impressive than it looks in film or photos. Just a few blocks of giant screens and ads.
Plymouth Rock – Doesn’t Rock
Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts, United States, may be of great historical importance as the landing site of the Mayflower, but it doesn’t actually rock – at least not according to many of the commenters.
‘Possible_Implement86’ says: ‘It’s literally just a small rock! I was very disappointed.’ ‘Theretherekadooze’ says: ‘I was shocked that it was a literal rock and that day my faith that history was recorded correctly was shattered.’
‘JBookie87’ jokes that the Rock ‘has been disappointing school kids for generations’.
Mykonos stunned
“Good luck passing all the people,” said “rockdude625.”
Cancun – full of seaweed
A tourist complained that photos of Cancun on social media ‘never show seaweed’
One traveler called Bali the worst place he had ever been, adding that the ‘beaches are filthy’
Pena Palace has been described by one traveller as ‘the biggest waste of time’
Cancun, Mexico has over nine million Instagram tags, many of which feature the resort’s beaches. But one traveller, ‘witz93’, felt underwhelmed, saying: ‘They never show the seaweed on social media.’ Another added: ‘The seaweed is by far not the worst part of Cancun. The s****y drunk tourists are just awful.’
Fear in Bali
From treetop bedrooms to infinity pools, Bali is said to be an influencer’s dream, and has been tagged over nine million times on Instagram.
But the tourist ‘tricorn’ says: ‘I just got back from Bali earlier this month. It was one of the worst places I’ve ever been. The beaches are filthy.’
Another person agrees, saying Bali is “the most disappointing place I’ve ever been,” when he expected to see a “tropical paradise.”
Annoyed by Pisa
“I’ve enjoyed every place I’ve been in Italy except Pisa. What a waste of a day,” said one Redditor
‘The most disappointing place I’ve ever visited was Pisa,’ said ‘Live_Studio_Emu. ‘You get off the train and walk down a street full of tourist shops and eventually you come to the tower, which is fine but full of people taking the “hold it up” photo. It felt way too Disneyland for me. I’ve enjoyed everywhere I’ve been in Italy except Pisa. What a waste of a day.’
Pessimism in the Pena Palace
The colorful exterior of Portugal’s Pena Palace is a popular Instagram backdrop, but up close the castle didn’t look so pretty to one tourist. One tourist said the paint was “flaking off and there was some kind of black mold on it,” while another described it as “the biggest waste of time.”
The places that do meet social media expectations
Don’t unfollow all influencers yet. Some destinations really live up to their social media hype.
According to one Reddit user, Lake Tahoe is ‘even bigger and more beautiful in real life’
Puerto Rico has ‘breathtaking’ mountains, says one traveler, while another tourist says ‘it’s the most beautiful area in the US’
Love for Lake Tahoe
According to Reddit user ‘Johnbgt’, Lake Tahoe is ‘even bigger and more beautiful in real life’.
Another added: ‘Lake Tahoe is one of the most stunning mountain lakes ever. And I’ve seen a lot. A bucket list of breathtaking things.’
Spiders over Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico also gets approval: one tourist said: ‘[It’s’] “It’s breathtaking, especially the central mountains, and the people are incredibly warm and friendly.” Another agrees, adding, “It’s the most beautiful area in the US and the culture is too.”
‘Pictures don’t do justice’ to Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes, according to a Reddit user, who says it’s one of the ‘most beautiful places I’ve ever seen’
South America’s Iguazu Falls ‘look much more spectacular in real life’
Taiwan is just as beautiful as the pictures. One traveler even said: ‘it is one of the most beautiful countries’
Cooing about Croatia
The waterfalls at Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes have been tagged more than 415,000 times on Instagram, but all those photos can’t capture their beauty, according to ‘macshady’, who says: ‘No photo does it justice. Top 3 most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.’
Another user agrees, saying: ‘I’ve never seen water like in Plitvice. It looks like it came straight out of Avatar.’
Overwhelmed by the Iguazu Falls
The Iguazu Falls in South America “look much more spectacular in real life too,” according to one Redditor. Another says, “One hundred percent. Even professional photography doesn’t come close to the looks. And that’s not even counting the rest of the senses.”
Seduced by Taiwan
Taiwan also turns out to be just as beautiful as the photos, with one user saying it is “one of the most beautiful countries” while another praises the “beautiful waterfalls and mountains.”
