Skip the Crowds at These 6 Common Tourist Traps and Go Here Instead
Head to the Top of the Rock Instead of the Empire State Building, New York City
While the Empire State Building is still one of New York City’s most iconic landmarks, it’s also a major tourist trap. To get to the top, you’ll have to stand in a very long line — sometimes in queues that rival the worst lines at top amusement parks.
Additionally, you have to purchase a very pricey ticket, currently $54 USD for an adult admission to the top deck.
While the views are amazing, they won’t include the building itself, of course. Instead, go to the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center, just blocks away.
Admission for an adult is currently $32 USD, and while it may be shorter at 850 feet high, the views are no less breathtaking, and you’ll get the very best view of the Empire State Building too.
Instead of the Pyramids at Giza, Visit Ancient Petra in Jordan
Nearly 5,000 people visit the Pyramids at Giza every day. Just getting there can be a nightmare, with just about every taxi in Egypt looking for ways to rip you off.
Once there, it’s nothing like you’d imagine. While one side of the pyramids are against the desert, the other side is a residential neighborhood, and just across the street from the main gate is a Pizza Hut, which is what the Sphinx is forced to look at day after day.
Then there are all the cheap “Made in China” trinkets everyone wants to sell you, and others insisting that you take a pricey camel ride.
Egypt’s neighbor, Jordan, offers a much better alternative: the ancient city of Petra. You won’t be hassled nearly as much, and this “lost city” that’s believed to have been built in the first century BC is one of the most fascinating sights you’ll ever experience.
Made up of hundreds of tombs, houses, a theater that could fit more than 3,000 people, temples, obelisks and altars where animals were sacrificed to calm angry gods or ask for favors, you’ll be able to explore for hours.
If you are having some serious travel withdrawal, one of the easiest (and cheapest) fixes is getting lost in one of these incredible travel novels.
Shop Kensington Street Instead of Oxford Street in London
Shopping is big in London, with visitors heading there in droves to experience shopping on Oxford Street, home to over 300 shops. But what they find is the same stores they could be shopping at right at home, along with the very same goods.
Instead of doing the same thing everyone else does, skip Oxford and go beyond to one of London’s 70 or so shopping streets, such as Kensington, where you’ll find more unique retailers without having to battle the crowds.
