Social media influencers bring the world’s greatest, most interesting and most beautiful destinations into everyone’s living rooms with their videos and photos.
But unfortunately, reality doesn’t always live up to those Instagram, YouTube and TikTok posts, as highlighted in a recent Reddit thread.
Tourists have taken to the site to share destinations that didn’t match the hashtag’s enthusiasm.
And those who did.
Reddit user ‘Amphotoxic’ started the discussion by asking: ‘What tourist destination looks nothing like what is depicted on social media?’
A Reddit user says that the Arashiyama bamboo forest in Japan is “much smaller and more crowded than it is often depicted”
A disappointed Reddit user describes Plymouth Rock as “literally just a little rock”
Places that DO NOT live up to social media expectations
Baffled by bamboo
The Arashiyama Bamboo Forest in Kyoto, Japan, has attracted over 110,000 tags on Instagram, but for many travellers it doesn’t live up to the expectations that can be obtained from photos. Existencefaqs says: “The Kyoto Bamboo Forest is much smaller and more crowded than it is usually portrayed.” SnoNight adds: “I went there before dawn and was surprised that it was just a bamboo path near a few people’s houses.”
Haunted by Times Square, New York
Reddit user ‘bedpeace’ complained: ‘It’s tiny and way less impressive than it looks in movies or photos. Just a couple blocks full of giant screens and billboards.
Plymouth Rock – does not rock
Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts, USA, may have enormous historical significance as the landing site of the Mayflower, but it is not a rock, at least according to many commentators.
‘Possible_Implement86’ says: ‘It’s literally just a small rock! I was very disappointed.’ ‘Theretherekadooze’ says: ‘I was shocked that it was literally a rock and that day my belief that history was recorded correctly was shattered.’
‘JBookie87’ jokes that The Rock has been “disappointing school kids for generations.”
Mykonos baffles me
“Good luck trying to communicate with all those people,” said “rockdude625.”
Cancun, full of algae
A tourist complained that photos of Cancun on social media “never show the algae”
One traveller called Bali the worst place he had ever been, adding that the “beaches are dirty”.
Pena Palace has been described by one traveller as “the biggest waste of time”
Cancun in Mexico has more than nine million hashtags on Instagram, many of which show the resort’s beaches. But one traveller, ‘witz93’, was disappointed, saying: ‘They never show the seaweed on social media.’ Another person added: ‘The seaweed is nowhere near the worst part of Cancun. The drunk and dirty tourists, for example, are just terrible.’
Rejecting Bali
From its treetop rooms to its infinity pools, Bali is supposedly an influencer’s dream, having been tagged more than nine million times on Instagram.
But tourist “Tricorn” says: “I just came back from Bali earlier this month. It was one of the worst places I’ve ever been to. The beaches are dirty.”
Another person agrees, saying Bali was “the most disappointing place I’ve ever been” after expecting to see a “tropical paradise.”
Upset by Pisa
“The most disappointing place I’ve ever visited was Pisa,” says Live_Studio_Emu. “You get off the train and walk down a street full of tourist shops and eventually you reach the tower, which is pretty cool but is packed with people taking ‘holding it up’ photos. It felt too Disneyland to me. I’ve loved everything I’ve visited in Italy except Pisa. What a wasted day.”
Pessimism at Pena Palace
The colourful exterior of Portugal’s Pena Palace is a popular Instagram backdrop, but the castle wasn’t so beautiful up close for one tourist, who says “the paint was peeling off and covered in black mould” while another describes it as “the biggest waste of time”.
Places that DO meet social media expectations
Don’t stop following all the influencers just yet. Some destinations really live up to the hype they’re getting on social media.
Lake Tahoe is “even bigger and more beautiful in person,” according to one Reddit user
Puerto Rico has ‘amazing’ mountains, says one traveler, while another tourist says ‘it’s the most beautiful territory in the US’
Love for Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is “even bigger and more beautiful in person,” according to Reddit user “Johnbgt.”
Another person added: “Lake Tahoe is one of the most amazing mountain lakes out there. And I’ve seen so many. It’s a bucket list item that will blow your mind.”
Purring over Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico also gets a thumbs up, with one tourist saying, “It’s stunning, especially the central mountains, and the people are incredibly warm and friendly.” Another person agrees, adding, “It’s the most beautiful territory in the U.S. and so is its culture.”
“Pictures don’t do justice” to Plitvice Lakes in Croatia, according to one Reddit user, who says it is one of the “most beautiful places I have ever seen.”
Iguazu Falls in South America “look much more spectacular in person”
Taiwan is as good as the pictures, one traveler said it is “one of the most beautiful countries”
Lulling Croatia to sleep
Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes waterfalls have been tagged more than 415,000 times on Instagram, but all those images can’t capture their beauty, according to ‘macshady’, who says: ‘No photos do it justice. Top 3 most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.’
Another user agrees, saying: “I’ve never seen water like Plitvice. The place looks like something out of Avatar.”
Sprouting over Iguazu Falls
According to one Reddit user, Iguazu Falls in South America also “looks way more spectacular in person.” Another person says: “100 percent. Even professional photography doesn’t come close to matching this. And that’s not even including the rest of the senses.”
Seduced by Taiwan
It turns out Taiwan is only as good as its photos: one user says it’s “one of the most beautiful countries,” while another praises its “magnificent waterfalls and mountains.”