Worst tourist trap you fell into?

An Fear Aniar · 14-03-2009 4:47am #1

In Rome last week I paid 15 euros for an ice cream cone. Don't buy icecream anywhere near the Spanish Steps.

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starbelgrade · 14-03-2009 4:52am

I once paid €200 for what I thought was a Tucan - a very nice & rare breed of bird. Turned out that it was a spelling mistake & I ended up with a turban. Damn you, E-Bay.

cuppa · 14-03-2009 4:55am

five for fifty ,,fifty what i dont know

SoupyNorman · 14-03-2009 4:56am

starbelgrade wrote: »

I once paid €200 for what I thought was a Tucan - a very nice & rare breed of bird. Turned out that it was a spelling mistake & I ended up with a turban. Damn you, E-Bay.

DEFINE: Tourist Trap

Mr. CooL ICE · 14-03-2009 4:56am

The cliffs of moher

Ardscoil Ris · 14-03-2009 4:58am

The Grand Canyon, I couldn't get out.

starbelgrade · 14-03-2009 4:58am

bravestarr082 wrote: »

DEFINE: Tourist Trap

I was in an internet cafe in Turkey at the time.

SoupyNorman · 14-03-2009 5:00am

starbelgrade wrote: »

I was in an internet cafe in Turkey at the time.

....And?

dfx- · 14-03-2009 5:02am

A tour of Soweto

starbelgrade · 14-03-2009 5:05am

bravestarr082 wrote: »

....And?

And that's it. The Turks have a complicated set-up.. it's an even worse form of tourist trap - they catch you out with bad grammar & terrible syntax. It's dreadful stuff.

Duiske · 14-03-2009 5:27am

On the viewing deck of the WTC, you could put 1c into a machine and it was flattened and had an image of the towers imprinted on it. Cost $1. Hows that for a mark-up

Still have it. Ha, could be worth something in years to come.

Bobeagleburger · 14-03-2009 9:42am

This pothole in Cavan

you*ess*bee · 16-03-2009 7:16pm

Cancun, Mexico. Came out of arrivals, looking for our van to the hotel, got caught by someone selling tickets to the attractions in Cancun. She invited us to her hotel for breakfast for the following day. They picked us up, drove us 2 hours into the middle of nowhere to this huge resort...which was a time share. I went mental and they drove us back, minus breakfast. Wasted the whole day!

Still never got the tickets!

admiralofthefleet · 16-03-2009 7:20pm

i gave a wanker the equivalent of £20 to shine my shoes in turkey in 1999. the little bastard legged it before giving me change

aoibhebree · 16-03-2009 7:23pm

Anyone ever go to the Blue Grotto off Capri? You pay about 25euro to get boat to Capri ... another 20 to get a boat to the Blue Grotto ... but you only find out when you get there, you've to pay another 20 each plus tip to get an even smaller boat into the Grotto! So between two of us it cost 130euro.

Twas worth it though ...

steo87 · 16-03-2009 7:29pm

An Fear Aniar wrote: »

In Rome last week I paid 15 euros for an ice cream cone. Don't buy icecream anywhere near the Spanish Steps.

.

How in the name of Jebus did you pay 15€? Surely you would have seen the price before hand? Or if not, then at least not pay it??

TheIrishGrover · 16-03-2009 8:21pm

Actually a good idea for a thread. Well, the reverse I mean. Somewhere in the travel section have a section of top tips for major tourist spots. Example, in NY you can pay I think it's 10 dollars for a ferry to Liberty Island. However it goes too close to the island to get any decent shots of the statue of liberty with manhattan in the backround plus there's always a mad queue. Better off getting the (free) Staten Island ferry if you just want the classic photos. Can get a brilliant shot of manhattan and the statue for nowt.

Biggest tourist trap I've been in was Kyoto. More tourists than locals. (Didn't get ripped off there though)

FlutterinBantam · 16-03-2009 8:41pm

Kingoro border crossing between Zimbabwe and Botswana, just out from Vic. Falls was bursting for a shíte.

Was going to blow out the pipes on the Zim side but some wise arse said the shítters on the Bot. side were better.
Went for it and discovered there was no fookin arse paper so had to drag a 3K wad of Zim dollars across my hole to get her clean.

About $1 at the time.

Acacia · 16-03-2009 9:00pm

steo87 wrote: »

How in the name of Jebus did you pay 15€? Surely you would have seen the price before hand? Or if not, then at least not pay it??

I'm sure the fiendish Italian wrestled the fifteen euro from his hand, laughing maniacally and shouting "You a-stupid tourist!"...I mean, it's not like he the choice to pay it or not out of his own free will, it was clearly a trap....

rossie1977 · 16-03-2009 9:29pm

chamonix france, we arrived off the bus, roasting hot day 36C (middle of french august heat wave that killed thousands in 2003) no map so decided to hop in a taxi to get to our hotel, taxi driver drove us all around the town looked a long distance, arrived at the hotel and charged us €25.

we went upstairs unpacked and decided to go for a walk, around the corner and at the top of the road what did we spot but the bus station no more than 500 metres from our hotel, we were pissed to say the least :mad: still rest of trip was fantastic, wonderful part of the world. every new town i visit i make sure to print a map before i leave

TheIrishGrover · 16-03-2009 9:30pm

Acacia wrote: »

I'm sure the fiendish Italian wrestled the fifteen euro from his hand, laughing maniacally and shouting "You a-stupid tourist!"...I mean, it's not like he the choice to pay it or not out of his own free will, it was clearly a trap....

That's an awful Italian stereotype.......... Besides, they say "It's a me: Mario"

Professey Chin · 16-03-2009 9:31pm

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

That's an awful Italian stereotype.......... Besides, they say "It's a me: Mario"

Whatsa matta you eh?

TheIrishGrover · 16-03-2009 9:39pm

Ultimate Chin wrote: »

Whatsa matta you eh?

Why you looka so sad?

carrieb · 16-03-2009 9:44pm

Im living in Italy at the moment and was bulling when I payed 6 euro for an ice cream in Florence last week!!
Piccolo means small, you ask for a piccolo but......... the small is called "baby", it is 4 euro, piccolo is 6! The bas****!!
They always charge "tourist prices" in cafes here, a local pays about 1 euro for a cappuccino, a tourist anything between 2.50 euro and 5 euro!

anmhi02 · 16-03-2009 9:47pm

Totally agree with you......went to rome for my honeymoon, sat outside at a cafe, met by a lovely server who gave us the days specials and recommended a 'lovely' bottle of wine....whole bill came to nearly 120 euros for two bowls of spagetti and a bottle of wine!! Lesson learnt....ask for menus and make sure prices are on it!!

TheIrishGrover · 16-03-2009 9:48pm

Just remembered. The whole feckin' place. One price for locals, one (normally 3 times the price) for tourists. Now, I'm not talking some bloke pulling a swifty. I'm talking about all museums etc. There on the price list. Russian and nonrussian prices. That REALLY put me of the place!!!

MaxFlower · 16-03-2009 10:02pm

In New Orleans, before Katrina, I was approached by a black guy who said something like 'a dollar for the shine, ten for the line'. Before I knew it he had bet me he could tell me where I got my shoes.

At this stage I didn't have clue what he was rabbiting on about and he volunteered the answer - 'You got's them on yo feet man'. He then demanded ten bucks.

I had never heard such BS so I told him to get lost. Two of his mates appear out of nowhere and he gets more 'insistent'. Anyway I wouldn't back down and basically barged my way past.

It was only later that I found out that this is a well known tourist scam and I was lucky not to end up in serious trouble.

IronMan · 16-03-2009 10:15pm

TheIrishGrover wrote: »

Just remembered. The whole feckin' place. One price for locals, one (normally 3 times the price) for tourists. Now, I'm not talking some bloke pulling a swifty. I'm talking about all museums etc. There on the price list. Russian and nonrussian prices. That REALLY put me of the place!!!

Russia in general is a terrible place for that. Apart from all the museums having a special non-Russian price list, they will take the opportunity to rip you off at every opportunity. Restaurants, shops, pubs, they all seem to take pleasure in trying to rip you off. Add to that the breathtaking rudeness of the people, and you have the potential for a bad holiday.

The city itself is amazing though.

TheIrishGrover · 16-03-2009 10:23pm

IronMan wrote: »

Russia in general is a terrible place for that. Apart from all the museums having a special non-Russian price list, they will take the opportunity to rip you off at every opportunity. Restaurants, shops, pubs, they all seem to take pleasure in trying to rip you off. Add to that the breathtaking rudeness of the people, and you have the potential for a bad holiday.

The city itself is amazing though.

+1 Yeah, the city is beautiful and the Hermitage was amazing............. I just could not recommend the place to anyone though (And let's not even talk about the visa and invite scam)

misty floyd · 16-03-2009 10:36pm

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

i gave a wanker the equivalent of £20 to shine my shoes in turkey in 1999. the little bastard legged it before giving me change

In fairness for £20, a **** and shinny shoes isn't that bad.

Diabhal Beag · 16-03-2009 10:39pm

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

i gave a wanker the equivalent of £20 to shine my shoes in turkey in 1999. the little bastard legged it before giving me change

Premature ejaculation is what I got out of that post

Worst tourist trap you fell into?

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