The internet can be an amazing place to find travel inspiration and plan your next trip. That said, what we see online isn’t always what we get in real life.
Some travelers on social media, especially influencers, often aim to portray their adventures in a flattering light. This can lead to a bit of a surprise when we finally go to their advertised destinations and find they’re not quite as we imagined. Take “Paris Syndrome”, for example, which describes the disappointment some Japanese tourists feel when they visit the French capital.
At Bored Panda, we’ve gathered some of those eye-opening moments from around the web. Find them below and let us know if you’ve ever had a reality check during your travels!
#1 I Was Finally Able To Travel To Paris, And The Arch De Triumph Looks Like This. It's An "Art" Project
Image credits: hhyyerr
#2 I Traveled All This Way Because Of A Post I Saw
Image credits: artifexlife
#3 Tourist Site Instagram vs. Reality
Image credits: Ehansaja
#4 That Sure Didn’t Go As Planned
Image credits: travelinginstyle
#5 On The Topic Of Unfortunately Timed Maintenance In Japan, Here Is What The Floating Torii Gate At Miyajima Looked Like When I Was There Compared To What It Usually Looks Like
Image credits: baquea
#6 Even Though The Trevi Fountain Is Possibly The Most Crowded Tourist Attraction In The World, It’s Still A Masterpiece You Cannot Miss When Visiting Rome
Image credits: duvetstealer
#7 Expectations vs. Reality In Santorini
Image credits: oana.bucketlist
#8 Sightseeing In Rotterdam
Image credits: i_like_alpacas
#9 Taking Pictures, Expectation vs. Reality
Image credits: julianatalie777
#10 Went To Visit Casa Batlló In Barcelona
Image credits: KarmaCollider
#11 Hard-To-Obtain Permits For A 10-Mile Hike To See Havasupai Falls
Image credits: TitillatingTofu
#12 I Was In New York For The First Time In My Life
My wife and I spent almost 10 hours on a plane, crossed the Atlantic Ocean and flew 7,500 kilometers. We climbed to the top of the rock to enjoy a view of Central Park. We had only one day in New York and this view will always be with us.
Image credits: prestoff
#13 The Blue Lagoon, Iceland
Image credits: h0rdur
#14 Went To See The Famous Neuschwanstein Castle And This Was Our View
Image credits: LoveWineNotTheLabel
#15 I Traveled From UK All The Way To Germany To Take Photos Of The Devil’s Eye. This Is What I Saw When I Got There
Image credits: AlleDs
#16 A Friend Went To Visit A Bamboo Bridge And Rice Field In Thailand That She Saw On Google, Unfortunately During The Dry Season
Image credits: lordofbuttsecks
#17 Railay Beach, Krabi, Thailand
Image credits: airmusetel
#18 Buxton "Blue Lagoon"
Image credits: Angry-_-Kid
#19 Terme Di Saturnia
Image credits: johnzimmer__
#20 Instagram vs. Reality
In all seriousness, though, I still really enjoyed visiting Railay. Plus, I am also a tourist, so who am I to judge?
Image credits: rebellieon
#21 Drove For Two Hours To See The Lighthouse
Image credits: ItsFourCantSleep
#22 I Traveled To Singapore A Few Months Ago. Went To See The Famous Singapore Merlion In Merlion Park... That Was Under Construction
Image credits: yupitsnoone
#23 Brooklyn Bridge, New York
Image credits: thewilliamanderson
#24 Traveled 2,874 Miles To See The Cliffs Of Moher
Image credits: youngpotato307
#25 Expectation vs. Reality London Edition
Image credits: anticlimaticveg
#26 Mount Fuji, Japan
Image credits: vincelimphoto
#27 I Drove 4 Hours (One Way) To See Radium Springs, One Of Georgia’s Natural Wonders... After A Heavy Rainfall
Image credits: Don_Quixotel
#28 Great Wall Of China, Beijing
Image credits: cari.watches
#29 The Mona Lisa
Image credits: flowergirlfly
#30 Expectation vs. Reality Venice Edition
Image credits: cristinaa.laura
#31 My Trip To Bali, Nusa Penida Island
Image credits: DollarAkshay
#32 My Friend And I Were In Paris And Decided To Take The Pilgrimage To The Tame Impala Lonerism's Album Cover Gate. This Is What We Saw When We Got There
Image credits: 3tmp
#33 Visited Mount Fuji For The First Time. The View Was Magnificent
Image credits: a_typical_guy-14
#34 The Harsh Reality
Image credits: pubityearth
#35 We Were All Hyped Up To Check Out The Pink Lake In Torrevieja... Only To Be Greeted By The Sad Sight Of A Not-So-Pink Lake On The Day Of Our Visit
Image credits: sammcclendon
#36 Hakone Shrine In Japan. Instagram vs. Reality
Image credits: alexandrab_
#37 I Went On A Hike In Norway Expecting A Great View
Image credits: fakejew
#38 Paris
Image credits: thecardexpert
#39 This Is So Real
Image credits: F_Descraques
#40 Went To Visit The Cherry And Spoon At Sculpture Gardens In Minneapolis. Cherry Is Out For Repainting
Image credits: PurpleEngineer
#41 Touristy Thing In Rome
Image credits: NotLaurenceFishburne
#42 A Few Years Ago I Traveled More Than 7000 Miles To See The Grand Canyon
Image credits: roare
#43 Months Of Savings, Traveled Over 5000 Miles And An 11-Hour Flight. Ladies And Gentlemen, The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA
Image credits: Gmunns
#44 Instagram vs. Reality On Maya Beach In Thailand
Image credits: daniel_san_14
#45 Looking Through My Pictures From The Last Few Days I Saw This And Thought: Can't Remember Being In Such A Beautiful Place. Because My Impression From The Days Is The Busy Harbor Side
Image credits: exbackpacker
#46 I Traveled Nearly 300 Miles To The Northernmost Point Of Vietnam So I Could See China - This Was The View
Image credits: siyoung91
#47 Grutas De Tolantongo
Image credits: farfarwego
#48 Mount Fuji Perfect Picture Hunt, Day 2. Clouds 2 - Human 0 (5-Hour Trip - 2-Hour Walk. One Way)
Image credits: StarrkC
#49 A Few Years Ago We Hiked A Mountain For The View On The Foggiest Day Possible
Image credits: brgr_face
#50 Keukenhof
Image credits: ambxrris
#51 The Taj Mahal, Agra, India
Image credits: nomadicfare
#52 So We've Thought To Stand On The Same Spot For That Magnificent View (The Peak In Hong Kong). It Wasn't Foggy When We Went Up
Image credits: zsoltika
#53 "Afternoon Tea On The Thames With The Best View Of London Bridge" They Said
Image credits: Mfombe
#54 Overnight Sleeper Train From Bangkok To Chiang Mai, Thailand
Image credits: myguy2013
#55 The Real Aare Gorge
Image credits: missbucketlist
#56 It's Beautiful There, But
Image credits: nellycadlenson
#57 Hiking In Norway. I've Missed Traveling So Much. This Was Kind Of A Good Timing Reminder That It's Not Always That Glorious Anyway
Image credits: pilotviking
#58 I Hope You Enjoyed It Despite The Crowds
Image credits: Casualtravelist
#59 Traveled 4000 Miles From The USA To Ireland To See The Cliffs Of Moher
Image credits: Invertednipple
#60 The Rain Has Stopped Today. Look At This Gorgeous Place. Grateful
Image credits: guilhermegmesquita
#61 In New Zealand, I Stumbled Across This Lone Tree Standing In The Middle Of A Lake
Image credits: ekantv
#62 I Still Loved It
Image credits: randomanna1
#63 We Loved Rosemary Beach And Already Planning Our Next Trip But We Were Not Prepared For The June Grass
Image credits: jordynsleek
#64 Maldives
Image credits: ninaskalikova
#65 Expectation vs. Reality
Image credits: yuna_enyoonara
#66 Zanzibar Expectation vs. Reality
Image credits: sandra.ccosta
#67 I Was So Excited To See Mount Fuji During My Stay In Japan. Well This Is All I Saw All The Time
Image credits: z0nky
#68 I Drove 21 Hours To Mount Rainier, And It Was Cloaked In Fog For Days
Image credits: allybearound
#69 Went To Visit Hook & Ladder Company 8
Image credits: HauntedPotPlant
#70 Choose Your Travel Dates Wisely
Image credits: seoulsearchinglexi
#71 Traveled For 30 Hours By Train, Then An Overnight Bus, Then Rented Bikes... For The Amazing Views
Image credits: thefakekiwi
#72 If You Know You Know
Image credits: travelwithdna
#73 Things Don’t Always Go As Planned
Image credits: youngblood334
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