Tourists suck

[s0me0nesmind1]

We go about every two years. September seems to be the least busy/cheapest time that I've found. I mean it's still Maui and if you're in a tourist area like Kaanapali there will still be a fair number of people about. Could always go to Hana to get away from people but I've sworn a blood oath never to suggest that drive again.

Is that the top hill of Maui or so right? We had our 1.5 year old at the time --I remember reading how long the drive was and said fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck that hah.

Would be one thing to go as a couple - another thing to go with a screaming baby after an hour.




When we were in Maui we spent half our time on the north side (Kapalua @ Ritz Carlton) and half on the south side (Wailea @ Marriott Wailea). I honestly think we liked the south side a tad better. Where do you recommend staying there?

 

[K1052]

Is that the top hill of Maui or so right? We had our 1.5 year old at the time --I remember reading how long the drive was and said fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck that hah.

Would be one thing to go as a couple - another thing to go with a screaming baby after an hour.




When we were in Maui we spent half our time on the north side (Kapalua @ Ritz Carlton) and half on the south side (Wailea @ Marriott Wailea). I honestly think we liked the south side a tad better. Where do you recommend staying there?

Hana is on the east side of the island and rather remote. The drive is long and a pain though the scenery is amazing.

Kapalua is nice but it seemed to rain every few hours because of how the winds push clouds on shore. The Ritz is a great property however.

We also split our time between Lahina/Kaanapali and Wailea. More often than not stay at the Hyatt Regency in Kaanapali and the Andaz or Hotel Wailea (adults only) on the other side. Previous to those opening we'd stay at the Fairmont but it was getting a bit worn.

 

[Exterous]

Caning would work. Once word quickly got out, the problems would vanish. Nothing like pain to reflect on your poor life choices.

My thought was that fines would mean the area was able to support even more rangers with the revenue from the fines

I would also LOVE to travel more to places where "the crowd" doesn't exist, and getting away from the crowd doesn't require paying top dollar for a top resort. Sadly, I fear now that we have a kid that the whole "Dur hur you can only travel during Summer because kids can't possibly learn things when traveling" will take over once they get into grade school =/

They're still out there - they're just harder to get to. And probably more expensive if you're going by air

As an aside I get the 'kid traveling' thing about school. Every parent thinks their kid is fine traveling, will learn lots of stuff and will still do just fine when they get back in school. So very many of the parents are wrong but then blame the school for their bad parenting\dumb kid. Which also causes more work for the admin and teacher staff. We're big on travel opportunities for kids (my wife co-chairs her districts study abroad program) but we've really soured on the parental abilities of the general population to chose and manage travel during the school year wisely.

airports are becoming a bigger PITA

I'm actually minding airports less. Except for NY airports. There are costs associated but getting things like pre-check, louge access, global entry help make things better. Except for NY airports.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

My thought was that fines would mean the area was able to support even more rangers with the revenue from the fines



They're still out there - they're just harder to get to. And probably more expensive if you're going by air

As an aside I get the 'kid traveling' thing about school. Every parent thinks their kid is fine traveling, will learn lots of stuff and will still do just fine when they get back in school. So very many of the parents are wrong but then blame the school for their bad parenting\dumb kid. Which also causes more work for the admin and teacher staff. We're big on travel opportunities for kids (my wife co-chairs her districts study abroad program) but we've really soured on the parental abilities of the general population to chose and manage travel during the school year wisely.

Meh, personally, I do think it's ridiculous and shackling to say that you can't travel with your kids unless it's during approved school holidays only.

But you know... I'm one of those weird parents that takes responsibility for my children... If my kid is too stupid to pass a test, I would take full responsibility - just as I did when I was in school. If I did shitty on a college test, I didn't go to the professor and say "Why did you suck to the point where I failed this test?"

 

[olds]

I agree with the OP's title. I lived in Lake Tahoe and experienced a lot of sucking by tourists.

 

[gill77]

Just bumped into this:

http://news.trust.org/item/20190722234024-dwb1d

 

[pmv]

Seems like more people should discover the joy of biking, it would help them avoid becoming like the tourists described by the OP.

Someone should start a biking thread.

True, though one can still be a damaging tourist if you start your biking after flying or driving to somewhere touristy.

I admit to being a weirdo in that it's become almost a point-of-principle to only go to places I can get to from my front door with minimal fossil-fuel-based travel. It's really not about conciously being "Green". I have just come to dislike most such forms of travel - far too much stress (not to mention various forms of travel-sickness), just can't be bothered with it. When I was a child nobody but the very well-off flew anywhere for holidays, now it's somehow become almost compulsory to jet around from one exotic tourist destination to another, posting your snaps on social media to prove you've done that one.

And I _do_ feel a bit uneasy about being a tourist somewhere a long way (geographically or socially) from where I belong. There's something unpleasantly consumerist about going to places just to cross them off a list, to 'experience' them, gawp at the exotic foreigners, and move on, especially if they are poorer or otherwise very different to your own. The few times I did that in the past I felt very uneasy about it. I dunno, I don't mean to be pious, but something doesn't feel right about jumping in and out of someone else's world without really participating in it.

Hell, when I played sandbox games like Morrowind I used to refuse to use fast-travel, because it felt immersion-breaking. I think tourism is immersion-breaking. It's gotten a bit out of hand.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I'm actually minding airports less. Except for NY airports. There are costs associated but getting things like pre-check, louge access, global entry help make things better. Except for NY airports.

I pay extra to avoid New York on most occasions, except I will fly through Newark for some destinations (such as Portugal, which I DO want to go back to soon). I'll slit my wrists before going through JFK. Now that Indy has direct flights to Europe (Paris), I can get almost anywhere in Europe relatively inexpensively.

But regardless, I'm kind of over travel at this stage. For example, I went to Europe 3 times in 6 months late last year and early this year after going several times to different countries the previous few years. I need a break.

 

[Exterous]

Just bumped into this:

http://news.trust.org/item/20190722234024-dwb1d

That sounds about right. We went to Venice last year and the crowds were insane - until you spent sometime there to get to some of the other islands

 

[purbeast0]

A lot of sad sacks in here who will never leave their little comfort bubble.

When I travel though I do like to get out of the huge tourist areas when possible too. That's why I always rent a car and don't stay at resorts the whole time. Most tourists are scared to rent cars and explore so once you get out of the resort you notice way less crowds at the different beaches and places that only cars can get to. Most people (at least Americans) think that there is nothing on these islands outside of the resort and never leave the resort. I couldn't imagine going to another country and staying in one place the whole time.

But when I went to Spain/France, it was nearly impossible to get away from crowds in the main areas. I have no interest in ever going back to Barcelona or Paris in my lifetime though. The other cities I went to (San Sebastian and Valencia) I have no desire to go back to just because it's nothing special and it's way too far for that. I'd much rather go to the Caribbean.

And the whole kid thing and not being able to travel is nothing more than an excuse. My son is 4 and he's been on an airplane and out of the country more than my entire immediately family combined. He even knows his way around the FLL airport and where the play area is.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

That sounds about right. We went to Venice last year and the crowds were insane - until you spent sometime there to get to some of the other islands

Cruise ships are such a huge issue and I think they should either ban them outright or charge a huge per-person docking fee over and above what they already may be charging. We were in Lisbon last October and the city is really beautiful - until the cruise ships pull up and dump off herds of geezers who invade the city and make it impossible to move.

The couple I mentioned earlier who was fined $1000 for making coffee on their camping stove on the Rialto bridge? Yeah, they were German and not American like most probably suspected - you'd think Germans would know better as they're also bombarded with tourists from river cruises and their festivals like Oktoberfest and the Christmas market.

 

[K1052]

But when I went to Spain/France, it was nearly impossible to get away from crowds in the main areas. I have no interest in ever going back to Barcelona or Paris in my lifetime though.

I did not have this difficulty. It wasn't that hard to find pockets in both cities that were lower on tourist traffic. Sure if you want to see the big sites you'll have to endure it but that's true of any place. Though I'm perfectly content to sit at a quiet side street cafe in the Latin Quarter or wander through Canal-St Martin.

 

[akugami]

I agree with the OP's title. I lived in Lake Tahoe and experienced a lot of sucking by tourists.

Dammit Olds, that was supposed to be our "little" secret.


In all seriousness, it's disgusting how a few idiots ruin it for everyone else by defacing nature and trampling on historical sites. When I went to Yellowstone, there were footprints in the bacteria mats. Just not cool.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

And the whole kid thing and not being able to travel is nothing more than an excuse. My son is 4 and he's been on an airplane and out of the country more than my entire immediately family combined. He even knows his way around the FLL airport and where the play area is.

I have no problem traveling with our kid - Hell I've already taken my 2 year old to Germany, Belgium, Hawaii, a cruise, and a couple domestic states.

But believe me when I say - when your kid is in grade school you will have that problem of being confined to school holidays - From what I hear it's fucking ridiculous.

 

[Muse]

Dang, that OP I guess says it all. Thank you for that! I am not much of a tourist. Yes, there have been moments. I spent a few days at Martha's Vineyard a couple years ago. Visited Muir Woods with a cousin for a few hours, camera in hand 3 years ago.

I do not litter, ever.

You know, I plan to do some traveling. No plan at the moment, but that OP has me thinking I should TRY to go where the hordes do not. Go off the beaten track, take the trail that others don't think to take. Lodge or camp where the unknowing wouldn't think to stay. Certainly not possible to achieve this sometimes.

Well, it's enough to make you a misanthrope. I have that gene for sure.

I played on my home course yesterday (golf), and was disgusted with the amount of litter I saw. I pick up some, but can't pick up every piece I see, just don't have the time and I think it wouldn't help my mood. I golfed on the previous two days at a country club in L.A. as a guest. Now there I didn't notice trash on the course. I imagine that any member seen littering would be subject to being booted out of the club. They discourage people from using motorized carts there, didn't see one! On my home public course, it's the opposite. 90+ percent of the golfers are using motorized carts. To me, those are an annoyance. They tend to screw up the fairways, and cart paths are to me pollution.

 

[Muse]

There are just too many people and it's only getting easier to travel. Everything is going to get a lot shittier as there are billions of people coming up in the world economically and they are all going to want a first world life. On top of that social media means everyone can brag about/expose all the cool spots you can go to, so secret/local places are becoming a thing of the past.

Someone needs to make a movie about this. Maybe they have, but I don't know what it is. Certainly there have to be many scenes in movies that cameo the evils of tourism. But you could easily make a whole movie about it. It would have to be a dark comedy, but the possibilities are huge. Do you hear me, Mike Judge?

 

[purbeast0]

I go out of my way to pick up trash at the beach if I see it. When diving or snorkeling I will pick trash up as well down at the ocean floor.

I simply can't comprehend how one can be so lazy to just litter everywhere. It's just something that does not process in my mind.

 

[nakedfrog]

Hell, even non-tourists suck. I live in a small town (less than 10k), but my house is on the main downtown street and I end up with trash in my yard all the time. These people just litter wherever they are, I guess.

 

[Muse]

Glad I never go anywhere further than I can cycle to. Being a stick-in-the-mud is now the high-status stance. Travelling around is declasse and the marker of being a pleb. I do all my sightseeing with Google streetview.

Guess you're being dead serious. I'm kinda like that, but I haven't used Google streetview much. I went to the trouble of getting a passport a little over a year ago. Haven't used it yet, it's sitting in a SD box.

Hey, folks, there's a real cool ~3 hour video, basically a walk through of NYC, complete with street noises, people coming and going on the sidewalks a free watch on my Roku TVs. It's like wandering the streets of New York! You don't have to book flights, pay for accommodations, be concerned with your next meal. I really is great. I've only done around the first hour, I really should finish it. They tend to concentrate on the more interesting areas, but cover a lot. It's kinda random. Now you're here, 1/2 minute later you're there, etc.

 

[nakedfrog]

Guess you're being dead serious. I'm kinda like that, but I haven't used Google streetview much. I went to the trouble of getting a passport a little over a year ago. Haven't used it yet, it's sitting in a SD box.

Hey, folks, there's a real cool ~3 hour video, basically a walk through of NYC, complete with street noises, people coming and going on the sidewalks a free watch on my Roku TVs. It's like wandering the streets of New York! You don't have to book flights, pay for accommodations, be concerned with your next meal. I really is great. I've only done around the first hour, I really should finish it. They tend to concentrate on the more interesting areas, but cover a lot. It's kinda random. Now you're here, 1/2 minute later you're there, etc.

But you're missing out on the smells!

 

[Muse]

And I _do_ feel a bit uneasy about being a tourist somewhere a long way (geographically or socially) from where I belong. There's something unpleasantly consumerist about going to places just to cross them off a list, to 'experience' them, gawp at the exotic foreigners, and move on, especially if they are poorer or otherwise very different to your own. The few times I did that in the past I felt very uneasy about it. I dunno, I don't mean to be pious, but something doesn't feel right about jumping in and out of someone else's world without really participating in it.

I totally get this and my one trip to Maui I tried hard not to be another tourist. I stayed 2.5 years, got work there, made friends with the locals. Some of them still called me haole, some people are just incorrigible.

 

[Muse]

But you're missing out on the smells!

Very very true, and I have AFAIK a really excellent sense of smell. Also, you don't feel the breeze on your face, arms, can't feel and think your whims, don't make those decisions about what/where to go next. But those things can and do complicate and take away from your experience sometimes, at least for me. It certainly is easier on the feet... and the wallet. That video is a major contrast from most travel videos, which highlight nature, architecture or geology. I found it refreshing!

Ah, but here's a song (from 1984) about a serious itch to travel, if I can find it... Yep, found it:

 

[nakedfrog]

Very very true, and I have AFAIK a really excellent sense of smell. Also, you don't feel the breeze on your face, arms, can't feel and think your whims, don't make those decisions about what/where to go next. But those things can and do complicate and take away from your experience sometimes, at least for me. It certainly is easier on the feet... and the wallet. That video is a major contrast from most travel videos, which highlight nature, architecture or geology. I found it refreshing!

I've enjoyed quite a few of the Rick Steve's Europe videos.

 

[purbeast0]

Hey, folks, there's a real cool ~3 hour video, basically a walk through of NYC, complete with street noises, people coming and going on the sidewalks a free watch on my Roku TVs. It's like wandering the streets of New York! You don't have to book flights, pay for accommodations, be concerned with your next meal. I really is great. I've only done around the first hour, I really should finish it. They tend to concentrate on the more interesting areas, but cover a lot. It's kinda random. Now you're here, 1/2 minute later you're there, etc.

Watching videos of people doing SCUBA is just as cool as actually doing it.

/s

 

[Scarpozzi]

I feel the same way about ATOT. This place used to be great, but the tourists have ruined it. All these cute women with huge tits keep posting on here and wrecking the scenery.....