Worst Travelers

My bet is the dude in the article pic is wearing short-shorts and bright orange crocs. Not that there is anything wrong with that...hey you should wear what you want....what makes you comfy...on to Notre Dame next.

Actually, he looks alot like the guy I saw arguing with one of the security people at the Louvre, he was really upset that no one could tell him which room Michelangelos David was in; he thought they were idiots.

My favorite part was "The absent-minded vacationer". I was once waiting to board a direct flight from Newark to Beijing. They made an announcement for all non-Chinese citizens to approach the counter for visas to be verified. No less than three different passengers didn't know they had to acquire advance visas. You wouldn't believe the shouting and screaming between the Continental airline personnel and those passengers. The airline actually offered to fly those passengers into Hong Kong (for free) instead, so they could get their visas there. But the passengers would have none of it and actually thought the airline had some magic wand and could override Chinese law. Back in 2006 at the World Cup in Germany their was a widely publicized news report of the American fan in Berlin who forgot the name, address, and U-Bahn stop of his hotel. The only thing he could remember was that there was some auto dealership nearby. The Berlin police spent eight hours driving him to every dealership in the city until he recognized it.

Even though I like visiting there... Disney World seems to attract the March of the Arrogant Idiots better than any single destination in the world.

I wasnt mocking. They were old enough to have seen it all already.. lol..

Colorado has shops, just not Good ones. Being from California, which has shops like the ones on Oxford street, etc, Colorado has nothing but mountains and coffee shops. No real Department stores. Europe is awesome for that!!!!

On a ferry trip in Alaska, from Bellingham WA to Juneau, the locals regaled us tourists with stories and local lore. One of the funniest was often-asked "tourist questions" from the cruise ship day trippers.

Do you accept U.S. dollars?

What's the elevation here?

Just sit back and enjoy what you can't change.

Part of the ugly American tourists must include the people who don't remember that many Europeans speak English. These people will talk trash about the city or country they are visiting without realizing that the locals understand them.
I was at the Venice airport once and a young snobbish couple infront of us were complaining about what a horriable and trashy city Venice was. Italian girl who was doing 'pre-check in' heard them and marked them. The couple had every bag checked and they got bumped from thier nice business class seats. The woman at check-in said "sorry we over sold the business class seats'. The couple were punished for thier rudeness. Plus I think it ensured that they never come back to venice.

Sitting in a little restaurant in Rome near the Pantheon. Waiter asks a woman what she would like. She says french fries. He looks a tad puzzled and then says, oh yes, ok, pommes. The woman says "NO!, in America we call them "FRENCH FRIES!!!" in a very loud voice, enunciating every syllable. This was one of the worst cases I have seen. I wanted to slink away.

Arrived on the Normandy coast and are gazing in astonishment at the house-size bomb craters left over from the D-Day invasions, when a group of American teens walk by. One girl asks the teacher in a loud voice, "so are we gonna see anything cool here?" I guess the history lessons in school aren't as good as they could be?

Standing in the Frankfurt Kaiserdom, looking at a beautiful stone altar called "Sleeping Maria", the tour guide explained that it was done in the 1400's and shows Maria, the mother of Jesus, on her death bed. Indian guest asks, "was Christ still alive when this sculpture was made?"

So, Americans do not have the corner on dumb questions or bad behaviour when traveling.

When I managed a restaurant in downtown Frankfurt, the least favorite guest would be the Russians, followed by Middle Eastern & Gypsies, then Chinese, French, and Spanish. American, British, Australian, and Japanese were always the favorite. You might think it was because of the tipping, but it was more because of the politeness, saying please and thank-you that made them so well liked.

So, 3 cheers for all of us who are polite when we travel.

For the ultimate story about American tourists not remembering that many Europeans speak English, head to this site:
http://tinyurl.com/db5u6l
Click "full episode", and when the player pops up, fast forward to 44 minutes. It's from best selling author David Sedaris, and is performed before a live audience.

I went to Pere Lachaise (I probably spelled that wrong) when in Paris and walked over to where Jim Morrison was buried. An American girl was wanting to leave her contact information there so any other pining-over-the-loss-of-Jim people could contact her, but the only thing she had to write on was a dollar bill. The French guard there started yelling at her, saying "you Americans think you can just throw your money around anywhere!" She started yelling back at him about the French being rude. My fellow American friend and I just laughed at the stupidity of both of them.

I didn't like the "Me...um...I'm Canadian".

I've been embarassed by many American tourists but I figure I can balance it out somewhat by being a decent American tourist. If the decent Americans say they're Canadians, it reinforces the idea that all Americans are horrible tourists.

My favorite is when I go to the States and they ask me if we have running water up in Canada. And I have been asked this a few times(even in Michigan which borders Canada!)

But I agree with a previor poster that it is too bad that some Americans say that they are Canadians while overseas. They should be proud that they aren't one of the ignorant few.

Come on now Maureen, you know Jim Morrison is not REALLY dead (seems I hear this one about once a week). He's just "laying low" until the new album comes out.

True stories from tour director days:

Two middle-aged couples from Brooklyn on the tour. (To give you a picture, the two husbands wore oversized shorts, black socks and sandals every day. Cigars constantly in mouth.)

We arrive at the rim of the Grand Canyon.....less than 5 minutes later the conversation was as follows:

Men: What's there to see around here?

Me: The Souvenir shop is over there.

Men: Thanks....(they then threw their cigars on the ground, mashed them with their sandals, and marched over to the store.)

Ugh

At Bryce Canyon....big sign....."Please do not walk on the grass."

Korean group arrives. Tour leader gets out and marches them single file over the grass to a place they can take pictures. The paved walkway, meant to be used, took them out of their way about 10 feet.

I walked over to their tour leader and had the following converstaion:

Me: Do you speak English?

Him: Yes

Me: Do you read English?

Him: Yes

Me: Did you see that sign?

Him: Yes

Me: How would you feel if I took a tour group to Korea and did that in one of your national parks? You'd probably think I was a disrespectful ugly American, right?

Him: Yes

Me: How do you think I feel about you?

On his return to his bus, he walked the people of the pavement.

Americans don't hold the exclusive franchise to "ugliness."

I was sitting at a locals dominated pub once in Ireland and had a American tourist come in and proceeded to get blitzed drunk (which most locals don't do).

He was acting like a know it all sports wannabe. Played football and baseball was a rugby expert etc. One of my friends asked if he had ever seen hurling? His reply was "no but just wait until I have a few more and you will". No one in the pub was amused by this wanker and promptly threw him out of the pub.

This can be classified as worst native:

I'm in London on vacation. Walking out of the British Museuam, I'm stopped by an older British couple right out of central casting. He has a big mustache, three piece suit, bowler hat, and is carrying an umbrella:

Him: Excuse me, do you know how to get XXXX St.

Me: Sorry, no I don't.

Him: (recognizing my accent) Another bloody tourist

Me: True, but I'm not the one who's lost.

Frank, that stuff happened to me as well! "Oh, youre American are you?" I took it as a compliment, meaning that my attempt to not look like a tourist paid off. The people asking me for directions were Brits near Trafalgar square asking me how to get to Big Ben (You could see it from where we were standing..lol). They were probably from the north or something and if they wanted to laugh at me because im the tourist, well sheesh, they are the ones that live in that tiny country and dont know where things were so whos sillier in the end?

Many British people live in London and many do not, and the ones who do not may occasionally visit London. Although they are British they are not Londoners, and they need to find their way around just as other tourists do. When an American from Utah visits Boston or New York, he, too, may ask someone for directions, because being an American does not necessarily mean one is familiar with New York or Boston.

Yea Norma, but England is so small!!! You would think that they would know it inside and out!!

Tami, do you know everything in Colorado inside out?

If Tami went to downtown Denver, I doubt that she would have to ask someone how to find the capitol.

I am from California. Yes, I know about Denver and could find my way around it, but I dont go there because alot of its a craphole..lol... sorry lee, you probably live in highlands ranch or something...thats the exception :)
If I grew up in Colorado, I would know everything about it, like how I know California. If Colorado had historical Castles, Shops and rolling green knolls, I would know it inside and out, but alas, it does not. Maybe the adventurer in me would know England if I grew up there! Its just so small I cant imagine not visiting everywhere in it if given the opportunity!

I was speaking French once in Paris and the person with whom I was speaking mentioned something about me being American. She was quite embarassed when I told her that I was Canadian, but it lets you know that not everyone has stereotypes about Americans only speaking English.

Tami, my last word on the subject, I promise, but England (not including Scotland) is about the same size as Greece, larger than Portugal and not that much smaller than Italy. Are the people who are native to these other countries expected also to know their country inside out? It's highly unlikely.

But Tami, surely that's what those people were doing- they were discovering their own country. And yet you mock them!

I'm distressed to hear that Colorado has no Shops. I'll have to cancel my visit ;)

I had an experience a several years ago playing golf in Scotland. My brother and I were paired with 2 gentlemen from England. Through out the whole round all my brother and I heard was you Yanks this and you Yanks that. When the round was over I asked the polite Brit how he tolerated his rude and obnoxious friend. He just smiled and said "He's paying".

I have a friend who works in an English (style) Tea Room here in Washington. She is originally from Kent in England. She and her sister are taking a vacation to London where they are renting a flat and doing all the tourist things I, as an American tourist and anglophyle, have already done. When you live in or near a city or state you never stop to think you should go see everything because, after all, you and they will always be there. Tami needs to be a little more generous of spirit and remember that people who think they know everything greatly annoy those of us who do.

The rudest tourist I have ever seen was a Brit. I do not know from where as I cannot tell accents well, but he was definately from England.

We were in line at St Chapelle, when somehow man got wind that this was the line for those who had tickets( the security line). We had been waiting maybe 10 minutes. In actually it was for both. Well, I said to my friend, go to window and buy ticket and I will stay here in line, and the man had to do the same with his wife,, but instead of if being no big deal, he actually screaming " f8cking Frogs should have a bloody sign up explained that" and then went on a loud tirade about how he was " never coming back to this bloody country etc etc.". His wife was trying to shush him up .. but he as just an a&s ..

I was so embarrased,, there were french people in line,, you know french people do not all live in Paris and many like to visit Paris as tourist also,, so when in a line, yelling "f*cking frogs" one should be mindful you may be standing right near one!!

Seriously. And watch the comments about housewives.

I've lived in Atlanta for 16 years and still get lost downtown. But I usually only go down there a couple of times a year as a tourist myself -- taking visitors to the aquarium, going to a baseball game, things like that. If someone asked me for directions downtown, I'd have to send them to someone else.

My husband's the same way, can't find his way around Atlanta. But we've been to Charleston 3 times and he knows that town like the back of his hand. Go figure.

I'm not a housewife by any means (I have a fulltime job and a parttime, seasonal job during the winter), but even I was offended by the comment about housewives with too much time on their hands. The helpline is no place for such remarks.

I was commenting on how when I was in England some English people asked me for directions and I thought it was funny because they were english and im american and I made a comment to the effect of if I was lucky enough to grow up in England, I would know it inside and out. It was an older guy who asked for help. Thats it. Someone had said something similar in the post before mine and I was relating to his experience. Thats why I LOVE England, they know how to find humor in everyday life. And I would help someone there now that I know my way around London.

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I have deleted a lot of posts on this thread that should never have been made in the first place. Please see Kent's comments above or read our posting guidelines before posting again.

There are plenty of ugly Americans out there, but they have nothing on young, drunk Brits. On our travels through Europe last fall, we encountered several large groups of young Brits who seemed to be traveling to various places in Europe-- just to get drunk. We even sat near a bunch of them on Eurostar (on their way to Brussels) recounting many tales of previous drunken adventures.

And then there are the tour groups (regardless of nationality) who act as if they are the only ones who are visiting a site. Beware of large groups of tourists!

Some time ago I spent a year running a scuba dive charter boat in Belize. Most of our pax were American, along with a few Canadians and Europeans. Most were very amenable, but I experienced first hand more than a few ‘guests’ who were rude, obnoxious and demanding. In discussions with others who were involved in the tourist industry in some way or another, we developed some theories as to what motivated such bad behavior.

One idea we came up with is that many Americans have only two weeks vacation each year so they have a lot invested emotionally and financially in their trip and expect everything to be absolutely perfect. When things don’t go according to their expectations they lash out at everyone in the vicinity. People who would, at home, normally be more patient and understanding lose control and act irrationally. For example, there were several times that I was blamed for the weather being less than perfect. When hurricane Gilbert came through the western Caribbean with 100+mph winds there were even guests who insisted we leave port and sail out to the offshore divesites. Insane. Apparently, some folks leave their common sense at the gate when they board the plane.

"Apparently, some folks leave their common sense at the gate when they board the plane."

They probably checked it with their luggage and the airline lost it.

Wray: The old Graffiti Wall is still there, click here to go to Graffiti Wall. As you probably know, the limitation on the GW is that you can't post questions, they aren't allowed and the GW does not facilitate answering questions. And so the Helpline has become popular in the last few years as a place where travelers can get questions answered in an interactive forum.

I wish the old graffiti wall was in place. It was less about opinions and insults and more about pure information. I miss it.

I wish the old graffiti wall was in place

Is that your opinion?

Wray, the grafitti wall is still there, and still filled with opinions too.

The people who expect everything to be just like it is as home! Good grief! Why are they even traveling??? They are an embarrassment to real travellers everywhere.

A few years ago, I was on a day-long bus tour of TV filming sites in Vancouver. Three bus-loads of people, all stopping together at each location. Time at each stop was limited, which required that each individual be as considerate and quick as possible, so that everyone would get a chance to see and photograph the sights.

At the first stop, a group of six British people started shouting that they had flown farther than anybody else, and demanded that everybody wait on the buses until they had explored and photographed each stop by themselves. They were ignored, and one woman started waving her arms and shrieking, as if trying to scare a flock of birds. The tour guide had to explain a few things to them.

One stop was a film studio, and someone very kindly came out and tossed a few souvenirs into the crowd. I caught a hat with a show logo on it, then gave it to a teenage boy nearby. The same woman who had been shrieking earlier marched up to me and said, "I traveled much farther than him! You should have offered that to me! We can't even get those hats in our country." I looked her in the eye and said, "I wouldn't offer you a handshake. Try eBay," and left her sputtering.

"I wish the old graffiti wall was in place. It was less about opinions and insults and more about pure information"

Wray,

Because one states the way he feels about others it doesn't mean it's an insult.
This is one of the problems with some people on this forum.

I was waiting in line to check out at a store in London, when the lady in front of me starts yelling at the cleck for not taking her American dollars. The clerk tries to explain that she can't take her dollars and the lady goes nuts. Screaming at the girl for not taking her good hard earned American money.