The other day I was going about my business when I came across this TikTok of Santorini during peak travel months:
terrastravels / Via tiktok.com
It used to be a place I really wanted to visit. But now, thanks to its popularity with tourists, I'm not so sure.
The video left me perplexed… what other (once peaceful) Travel Destinations have become absolute crowd scenes due to tourism? Luckily, Reddit user SomeoneNo had the same question for the Redditsphere. Here's what people had to say:
1.“If you're planning a weekend in Lucca, Italy to cap off your honeymoon, make sure it doesn't coincide with one of Europe's biggest comic book conventions being held there. LOL. It didn't ruin the trip, but it certainly wasn't what we had planned. At least we got a great story out of it.”
2.“Versailles. I knew it would be crowded, it was summer, but it was a must-see for me. There were so many people inside the palace that I could barely see the rooms and treasures (the Hall of Mirrors had no magic for me because of the crowds), and we felt like herded cattle. However, we absolutely loved the gardens and other buildings (Petit Trianon, etc.), so overall we still really enjoyed the whole day.”
3.“Santorini. I went in October and it was still crowded! Some tourists were also very rude.”
4.“The Vatican inside St. Peter’s Basilica. This was pre-COVID, so it might be a different experience now, but it was so crowded. I wanted to stay inside the Sistine Chapel to see the ceiling paintings, but I was being pushed around and it was so loud.”
5.“Yosemite. You go there for the peace and quiet of a national park, only to find packed parking lots, illegally parked cars blocking others, TikTokers straying from marked trails, and unpleasant human behavior everywhere.”
6.“As a Canadian, I believe that tourism in Banff National Park is destroying the environment. It is difficult to enjoy it when you constantly see such disrespect for it around you.”
7.“The Time Out market in Lisbon. Thousands of people crammed in like cows in a food court. People walking aimlessly or stopping abruptly in front of you as you try to carry a tray with drinks on it, looking for an empty seat at a table that doesn’t exist.”
8.“Christmas in Singapore. It was the queues that ruined my experience at tourist spots.”
9.“Angkor Wat. The first time I went was in 2001. There were monks everywhere and the locals were really friendly. Now you’re a number, and it’s so crowded and full of rules that it’s hard to enjoy it.”
ten.“Rio, Brazil. Actually, most of the things in Rio were good, but when we went to see the Christ the Redeemer statue… damn. You could barely move, it was horrible. I don’t usually go see things like that, but we had family with us who wanted to go.”
11.“Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland. I walked down the path to the shore, thinking, 'This would be really cool if it wasn't so crowded,' and then I walked back up the path.”
12.“Phi Phi, Thailand. Breathtaking scenery and waters completely destroyed by a sea of tourists floating in orange life jackets. The island is tiny and completely filled with hotels and bars. In the town, you see nothing but three-story buildings. The streets are crowded, the beaches are crowded. This is about as far from an “island paradise” as you can dream of.”
13.“Nothing was as horrible as Prague in September. There were tourists everywhere and all the shops were selling cheap tourist stuff. The main square was full of bad street performers who had nothing to do with Prague. It felt more like a medieval Disneyland than a real city. We didn't like it at all.”
14.“Kyoto. I just left the other day. I imagined Kyoto as a sort of provincial, peaceful antithesis to Tokyo. That’s how it’s presented, anyway. But the crowds are absolutely intense. I’m talking tens of thousands of people gathering at the popular sites: Fushimi Inari, Arashiyama, Nishiki, Kiyomizu-dera, and Ninenzaka/Sannenzaka. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to escape. To me, Kyoto is a prime example of how Instagram (and the mass abundance of society) has ruined beautiful things.”
15.“Machu Picchu. Don’t get me wrong, it was really beautiful, but there were way too many people. And almost everyone was there just to take pictures.”
16.“Mount Rushmore was full of idiots. Parking problems, people standing in everyone's way, rudeness, kids screaming and running around. If I hadn't been there before, I wouldn't have bothered to come.”
17.And finally, “Santa Monica, California. It used to be cool, but now it's so crowded it's hard to enjoy it.”
What are some tourist destinations that you think have been overrun by tourists? What was it like when you were there? Let us know in the comments for a chance to be featured in an article BuzzFeed Community post or video!
Note: Some contributions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
