Thursday, June 11, 2020

Worst Tourist Traps People Have Encountered


Someone on AskReddit got a thread going about the worst tourist traps that people have encountered. At the very least these unfortunate occurrences should serve as a guide for what to keep a watchful eye out for, while you're going about traveling. 

1.

Text - StormOfHoney • 1d Fiji. Walking along the street and friendly locals will greet you with "bula vinaka" (hello) and beautiful smiles. Every now and then one will start a conversation with you and ask you for your name. Before you know it, they are carving your name into 'traditional' wooden spears and shields etc then asking you for money for the work you never asked for. They will look upset when you tell them you don't want it and they will explain that now they can't sell the item becau

2.

Text - Aceofkings9 • 1d PSA: The Staten Island Ferry is FREE. If people are trying to charge you for tickets, they're scam artists. If you're traveling to New York, it's worth visiting for the views, especially considering the cost, or lack thereof.

3.

Text - they_were_taken • 1d At the pyramids in Egypt, people with fake badges will tell you that you are required to pay them extra to see the Sphinx. It's included with your park ticket.

4.

Text - Dude19086 • 1d If someone offers you something " For Free!" Don't f*ing take it! They will dump it on you. Make it as hard as possible to take it back, and then pressure you for money. I am talking about how in Italy people will approach you offering a bracelet attach tight and then ask you to pay them. Also any restaurant that has watermark pictures on their menus.

5.

Text - HobbitFoot • 1d Don't take that guy's mix tape.

6.

Text - bleepybleeperson • 1d Look up exchange rates before you get there, and use ATMS inside bank branches. There are companies who operate ATMS in airports and train stations who just want to take advantage of confused tourists, by offering them shit exchange rates and setting the default amount for withdrawal too high. In Prague for example, some ATMS have as their default withdrawal amounts the equivalent of a month's rent.

7.

Text - mozgw4 • 1d If you go to Rome, and visit Vatican City, on the way to the Vatican, there will be people trying to sell you tickets, as " the queues are very long today." They say that every day. All day, every day. Ignore them. You don't even get to see the Pope.

8.

Text - Mikeavelli • 1d If you're a young guy and some attractive women come out of nowhere thinking you're cute and asking to go to a bar, don't go. There's a very common scam where they'll start ordering ridiculously priced alcohol for you all night. You only find out at the end of the night when you get a bill for hundreds of dollars.

9.

Text - TheBassMeister • 1d If you go to Bangkok and are on the way to the grand palace, you will encounter very friendly guys falsely telling you that the grand palace is closed due to some ceremonies. They are very friendly and are good salesman. They offer to take you on a Tuk Tuk ride to other temples for a really good price. On the way to these other temples the Tuk Tuk driver will be very friendly and tries to win your trust. After the second temple or so, he will start talking about some g

10.

Text - nickking04 • 1d My dad, brother, and I took a trip to Egypt. We booked a tour with a local guide and the experience was great. However after we saw the pyramids we were brought to "look" at some local stores. Basically you take a look around and the shopkeepers do some convincing and you end up buying some cheap shit like a poster made out of "genuine Egyptian paper" or "exquisite cologne" My dad knew what they were doing but he decided to buy some to "support local business" If you want

11.

Text - delightfullyminor • 1d If you're in Rome at any big tourist site (Colosseum, Spanish Steps, etc) or just anywhere on the streets where there are people selling trinkets and a guy tries to show you bracelets, DO NOT LET THEM. They will put them onto your wrist and demand high payments for them, like a you wore it you bought it type situation, even though you didn't want to wear it. Went to Italy in February with a group from my school and like 7 people got scammed this way. One kid lost €5

12.

Text - splashingseal • 1d Do not go with the guy who says his friend is the owner of a nice hotel nearby. Most likely won't be nice or nearby.

13.

Text - W8SB4D8S • 1d Rome's touristy areas are unbearable. Every single popular site or place features the same mob of sketchy and all around annoying characters. Friendship bracelets, fake petitions, fake charities, shitty toys and souvenirs. You can't take two steps without somebody trying to hassle you. The Vatican isn't even immune to this. While approaching it, you still have scammers dressed in outfits to trick people they are part of the staff. They basically scam elderly and others into

14.

Text - ConfusedNerd1 • 1d In Phuket (Thailand) our taxi from the airport had to make "a quick stop" at a travel agency. He left us in the back of the cab so he could "go to the bathroom". We thought about getting out of the car but had no idea where we were or how to get a new taxi (pretty scary situation to be in). One of the salesmen from the travel agency came out speaking perfect English trying to trick us into buying every type of tour, luxury hotel, dinner, you name it and he was trying to

15.

Text - LOC98 • 1d I went to London with my friends for the weekend while I was still in uni. We wanted to go to a certain nightclub in London so we pulled up google maps and were discussing the club. A local man (early 20s) overheard us and offered to bring us there. We were cautious and stayed a bit behind him while he walked us through the streets. He brought us to the nightclub and we thanked him profusely. We joined the queue and on entry had to pay £15. While paying we noticed this man had

16.

Text - billbapapa • 1d Bring your own refillable water bottle. Especially when travelling, but even just everyday, you'll have a ton of $.

17.

Text - soulfister • 1d I was in Paris walking with a female friend and some guy in front of us picked up a ring off the floor and motioned to ask if it was her's. She said no but he insisted she take it. I said "don't, he's trying to get money off of you" and she said “no, he just picked it up off the floor!" Sure enough, he asked her for money, she gave him a little, I guess it wasn't enough so he asked for the ring back. When we walked away I said "you know that guy just took you for a ride, r

18.

Text - Jackpot777 • 1d This is for Paris. Great city. Couple of tips. The Louvre. There's excellent art in L'Orangerie and the Musée D'Orsay, just a short walk away, without having two hundred tourists as part of the same tour group walking 40 abreast like a wall of humanity up the corridors. My recommendation is to make sure you have the Museum Pass (you can buy them online and have them shipped to you before you even head out) so you can enter museums when you like. Preferably later in the day

19.

Text - carsonwentz_god • 1d Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Lovely city, but everybody hypes up this one street that's crowded full of people. It's practicallly highlighted in every tour guide of the city yet I still don't understand the draw. Every restaurant and shop on the street is a tourist trap as well: overpriced and under-quality. It's much more worth your time to stroll around the Gothic neighborhood if the city rather than Las Ramblas.

20.

Text - philliamm96 • 1d Unlicensed cabs, always always use a registered company especially for safety never mind financially A lot of countries have Uber equivalent... Philippines has grab, Bali has blue bird too

21.

Text - thelizardking81• 1d In Istanbul I connected with two random dudes, we had some beer together at a bar, spent a good two, three hours there. I bought them a few beers and they offered me beers aswell. Had a genuine good time as I often do when meeting strangers since I travel alone most of the times. When the bar closed they said they knew a good place near by so naturally we went there. They ordered a bottle of whisky (cheap one), and some girls came to our table. Also, not unusual. But t

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