25 Locations That Look Magical On IG But Feel Boring, Overpriced, Or Exhausting In Real Life
Social media has changed our perception of many things, especially travel destinations. Instead of focusing on the actual experience, we often value a place for its Instagrammability. Although some locations seem glamorous, vibrant, and envy-inducing in photos—making them popular among tourists—many people online have debated whether these destinations live up to the hype in real life. In fact, many find that these so-called dream destinations are underwhelming in person. Here are a few popular travel spots that Redditors say look magical on Instagram but feel disappointing to visit.
#1
Image source: forrealliatag, reddit
Lol, Egypt by a pyramid.
Drak_is_Right:
Cairo traffic is exhausting, both literally and figuratively when you consider the car exhaust pollution.
#2
Image source: Bonamikengue, TheCityTopic
Doha, Qatar.
Rollthembones1989:
I had a long layover in Doha and wanted to get out and see the city. There is literally nothing to do there.
#3
Image source: DrPeaNis, reddit
Lmao Dubai.
OP:
It has no natural beauty, everything is a man made attraction
#4
Dubai. Wasn’t that expensive actuallt, the things I tried (compared to Copenhagen) but it felt super shallow, exhausting and boring.
#5
Image source: DABBERWOCKY, Getty Images / Unsplash
Honestly? Paris. Besides going to the Louv…naw I’m just kidding Paris is amazing.
Lemurian_Lemur34:
To be fair, Paris has a psychological condition named after it for how disappointing it is to some people, especially Japanese tourists.
#6
Image source: jinsanity811, reddit
Vegas.
ratvespa:
It always cracked me up that ads and billboards makes it look like everyone is having fun while gambling. Then you get in the casino and it looks anything but fun.
#7
Image source: Hello_Badkitty, reddit
LA. You grow up watching Hollywood movies and then when you finally go… everything is far away, traffic is a nightmare and you realize your poor, so that LA lifestyle is just on TV. Lol dont get me wrong, I actually like LA and all the fun little food stops you can find, but d**n you need a car and paid parking everywhere.
#8
Image source: Lordsaxon73, reddit
Vegas. Leaving now, likely won’t be back.
#9
Image source: Radiant_Mushroom_215, reddit
Pisa.
After looking at the tower for 5 minutes all that’s left to do is drink overpriced coffee.
#10
Image source: pamonhas, Tomas Peršolja / Unsplash
Idk if it looks magical on Instagram, but Monte Carlo was so boring and overpriced. I’ve always wanted to go, and besides the Cousteau museum, everything was not for me, in every sense of the word$$$.
slashthepowder:
100% agree. Outside of the F1 track i had no interest in anything else. It just felt like a harbour compared to the other spots around the French Riviera.
#11
Image source: Popcornvanwinkel, reddit
Nashville. Cowboy Vegas, basically.
PlanetStarbux:
I disagree with OP on this one. Nashville is pretty awesome. Literally walk into any joint on the main street and you’ll see to much musical talent.
Food is awesome
Whiskey drinking everywhere
Plenty of historical stuff
Mountains not that far away
If you can’t find something to enjoy in Nashville, you’re the problem.
#12
Image source: definitelytheproblem, reddit
Istanbul. I did LOVE and appreciate the history (Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, Galata Bridge/Tower..) but it was just a tough city for me to connect with. Most of the “authentic” places didn’t necessarily feel safe to me as a solo female traveler, and I often felt like I had to have my defenses up more than usual to avoid being scammed or robbed, which is very unusual for someone that has lived in NYC for 10+ years and seen a lot of s**t here. The economic situation there is pretty dire and I don’t fault people for trying to simply make a living, but my expectations didn’t match reality.
Although I have no plans to return to Istanbul, I’d explore other places in Turkey with someone who is familiar with it more than I am, and I think that’s part of why I didn’t enjoy it – I just stayed in Istanbul (it was a few days stop-over after 2+ weeks in Central Asia)
On the bright side, I learned some new street scams I was completely unaware of!!
#13
Image source: chowderbags, reddit
I live in Munich and really like it, but I’ll point out that Oktoberfest is almost certainly not as good as you think it is. Basically, imagine way overpriced beer, way too many drunken tourists, bad music, and carnival rides.
Basically any other beer festival in Bavaria, or even just random biergartens, will be much more pleasant and a much better bang for your buck.
#14
Image source: Basketball312, reddit
Dubrovnik in the height of the summer with cruise ships coming in, might as well be hell on earth.
I hear it’s much nicer at quieter times and I can believe it.
#15
Image source: klippekort, reddit
Zurich. No reason to visit, literally. Just go straight to proper tourist traps in the alps or ignore the „influencer“ stuff and go hiking somewhere less touristy like the locals do.
#16
Image source: Drak_is_Right, Slava Jamm
Key West. Lot more run down and ugly than the highlighted pictures would have you believe. Also the coral bleaching is very bad.
#17
Image source: Nice_Share191, Knut Robinson
Honolulu, Waikiki in particular. Not easy to get around without a car, and nothing I couldn’t find on an East Coast beach – all outposts of chain bars and resorts. Plus the people working at the resorts seemed exhausted from tourists.
#18
Image source: danger_72, reddit
Da Nang, Vietnam, felt like the whole city was built to be a tourist trap. On Instagram I could see so many reels calling it ‘The Miami of Asia’, but besides the few high-rise buildings in front of the sea, I couldn’t see it one bit.
#19
Image source: mrmartinimaker, reddit
The Maldives. Cost is outrageous as everything needs to be flown in (think $20 OJ at breakfast). And at some resorts those overwater bungalows are pretty close together and not that private.
#20
Gary, Indiana.
idkwhattowriteee:
You can literally smell Gary from the highways yuck.
#21
Image source: jetpack_operation, NoTimeToKink
If your entire Instagram image of Agra is the Taj Mahal, that is the answer. I enjoyed every other city I visited when I spent a month in India for work back in the day, but Agra was gross.
#22
Image source: worf1973, Outrageous-Media-603
MIAMI.
Everyone thinks it’s all Miami Beach, and it’s not. It’s super overpriced everywhere, and the beach moreso. Burgers and fries for two at a restaurant on beach will easily cost you $100, no alcohol, no parking.
#23
Image source: MountainFee8756, Haunting_Stomach143
Bangkok. It feels like one giant cruise port in the worst way, and I say this as someone who likes cruising. Also the traffic is insanely, almost comically, bad. Like to the point you don’t even want to bother going anywhere around the city that isn’t within walking distance.
Also all those pretty temple pictures? They leave out the fact that the rest of the city is a concrete, semi-brutalist hellscape of air pollution and minimal green space.
Oh and the waterways all smell like sewage. But hey at least the food is amazing.
#24
Bali. Beautiful place but you can’t smell through Instagram and my partner and I both got ill twice from the sheer quantity of burning trash, plastic, and motorcycle exhaust. Basically gave us strep throat. Plus the locals just steal from the reserves so the wildlife is completely tarnished.
Image source: PeriodDramaJunkie
#25
Image source: maxim456, Fantastic-Rain-4263 / reddit
Marrakesh
Harassed by aggressive by jerk vendors at the medina for looking.
Also, went on a tour to the film studios (which are just sad, derelict left-behind film props that Moroccans decide to turn into an attraction) and the male tour guides spoke only to my partner and not to me.
The only good part was a cooking class I took at the Amal Center, which is a women’s foundation, food was great but even then the people who hosted the class were racists. A tourist asked where Morocco’s tea come from and the host made a face and said most of Morocco’s tea is from China. I mean, where do you think tea originated? Do you think Morocco’s climate can grow enough tea to sustain itself?
Got wisdom to pour?