Summer is the time to make plans for your annual vacation. Kids are out of school, the weather is nice, maybe you spent the winter months trying to trying to fit into your new bathing suit. There are an infinite amount of places you could visit this summer. Unfortunately most of these destinations are also on the bucket list of a lot of other travelers around the world. So instead of seeing all the places you planned on visiting, you are stuck in long lines, dealing with over crowded restaurants, bars, stuck in traffic. We all know these things happen but we tell ourselves “it will be fine, so what if we have to wait a few minutes”. Then you get there and reality kicks in. The wait times are not just a few minutes, patience wear thin and your relaxing and enjoyable vacation suddenly becomes a chore.
If you want to avoid long lines, angry locals and annoying tourists here are a few places that you should avoid this summer.
Barcelona Spain: This city is on top of the list for good reason. Type in Google “Barcelona doesn’t like tourists” and you get over 11 million results. The city gets over 32 million tourists a year and the locals are upset the over-tourism is causing on their way of life. Anti-tourism protests have broken out throughout the city as well as some of it’s neighboring suburbs. Petty theft and pick-pocketing is a real issue there and the punishment is basically a slap on the wrist. A lot of the pick-pockets are children and they get almost no punishment for their theft.
The Grand Canyon Arizona: Summer time is very crowded and the temperatures are pretty hot. Many of the local hotels are booked up in advance and you can expect a lot of tourists at most of the viewing areas and visitors center. Many people like to hike into the canyon but the temperatures can be as much as 20 degrees warmer on the canyon floor. Instead go in March or April when everything is n bloom and temperatures are in the 70’s.
Venice Italy: Like Barcelona, Venice see’s on average about 30 million tourists a year. And just like Barcelona the locals have had enough and are taking their frustrations to protesting on the street. Local government has put up partitions separating the locals from the tourists and the locals are fed up. It is such a shame because Venice has so much to offer. If you must go, read the Top 11 Tourist Mistakes in Venice, Italy post before you go.
Agra India: The reason why Agra, or India in general is on this list is not because the locals don’t want you or because other times of the year are less busy or hot. Agra is an ugly city. it receives millions of tourists every year who come here to see the Taj Mahal yet everything around it is dirty and run down despite the relitively expensive fee to get in to see it. Where does all this tourism money go? It certainly isn’t put back into the city. Agra is full of liars and con artists trying to take advantage of people. Selling fake goods, trying to lure you accross the street to sell you something you don’t want, charging you double, triple or even ten times the regular asking price for goods. How enjoyable is your vacation going to be if you are always worried someone is trying to get one over on you.
Antarctica: I know, this is not the first place you think of when you are looking to book your summer vacation but the recent trend in adventure travel has caused a boom in travel to the southern most continent. Over 44,000 tourists traveled to the South Pole in the 2016-17 season and environmentalists are getting more and more concerned about the impact it will have on the environment. Now obviously locals aren’t bothered by the influx of tourists because there are none. Wildlife on the other hand would certainly have something to say if they could speak up. There is also concern of oil spills from the passenger ships coming in, accidentally bringing in invasive species of insects, plant seeds etc. Human’s can also greatly impact the breeding of birds and erosion and disturbances of the local environment. So for no other reason than just protecting Antarctica’s fragile ecosystem lets all be good humans and just leave this barren land to the locals. They will surely appreciate it even though they have no say so 🙂
