5 American Tourist “Traps” that are Actually Worth Visiting

-Originally posted on June 10, 2020-

Note: All photos are taken by either Kenton Smith or Maya Smith.

Since we can’t travel, I’ve naturally been thinking constantly about travel. What I have been realizing is that a lot of my favourite places include what most people would call “tourist traps”. If you don’t know, tourist traps are defined as “a crowded place that provides entertainment and things to buy for tourists, often at high prices”, and they are often looked down upon or avoided by the travel community. As someone who doesn’t really love crowds and hates being taken advantage of as a tourist, I totally get that. However, I think there are some great destinations and attractions that get overlooked by people who want to stay off the beaten path. By all means, go out and explore other things, but these are the five American ‘tourist traps’ that I think are worth the visit.

#1: Balboa Park, San Diego, California

Balboa Park is by far one of my favourite places that I’ve ever visited, not to mention my favourite place in San Diego. The sheer number of museums in the park make this destination a multi-day visit for sure. We only went there for one day and we could have spent our entire holiday in that park, just walking around and taking in all of the food, sites, museums and attractions.

Yes, it is a busy place. We drove around looking for parking for probably 30+ minutes. However, the park is so big and there are so many options for activities there that it doesn’t feel super overwhelming.

The park includes 17 museums (we visited the Museum of Photographic Arts, the San Diego Museum of Man and the Timken Museum of Art), the San Diego Zoo, beautiful nature, restaurants, and amazing architecture. Seriously, there is so much to see.

In terms of cost, we didn’t find this too expensive. Granted, we didn’t go to the Zoo, which is by far the most expensive part ($58/day) but the museums are reasonably priced and often are pay what you can.

This is a destination that I will definitely visit again, and it should be on your list too.

#2: Disneyland, Anaheim, California

Yes, THE biggest tourist trap in America makes this list #sorrynotsorry. I am a Disneyland fan and if I lived in California, I’d have a yearly membership for sure. It can be busy, it is VERY expensive and there are a lot of screaming children but I think if you do it right, it is lots of fun.

My tips:

Go in the off-season, it’s cheaper and it’s less busy (we went in April, right after American spring break and it was not very busy at all. Our longest wait was 45 minutes and that was in California Adventure).

Utilize the Disneyland tricks like Fastpasses and the park-hopper pass to get the most out of your day. I would also recommend going for more than one day, if possible. The first time I went, we did 2 days with a park hopper pass. We spent the first day completely in Disney and then headed over to California Adventure for the second day. At the time, there weren’t as many rides as there are now and we used the park hopper pass to go back to Disney for the afternoon and re-ride our favourite rides. The second time I went, we did one day and it was a lot to cram it all in, but we just went on the rides we really loved.

Lastly, you don’t have to stay in the park to make it a magical trick. We stayed at a cheaper hotel down the road from Disneyland and it was perfect. It had a pool which was a necessity after a long day in the parks and it was just a short walk to Disney (aka, no parking).

Also see if you can get any discounts or anything, especially as a Canadian traveller!

#3: The Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, Illinois

Yes, that is me

For these ones, please keep in mind that was about 10 years old when we went to Chicago. However, these two museums stand out in my mind as the best museums I’ve ever visited so…

The museums in Chicago can be tourist traps. They can be busy, crowded, expensive and did I mention… BUSY. I’m talking line up outside the door about two hours long type of busy. However, there is a reason that these museums can have long wait-times; they are some of the best in the world.

The field museum is a super cool place. It is a natural history museum but it doesn’t feel like that. The exhibits are hands-on and interesting and touch on actual topics worth learning. I still remember learning about Natural Selection there and it was more than 10 years ago.

The Shedd Aquarium is located right next door to the Field Museum and is great for adults and kids alike. I’ve been to quite a few aquariums and this one stands out as the best one in my mind. There are so many beautiful fish and underwater creatures. I distinctly remember touching the stingrays and seeing the jellyfish.

Here’s what you need to do: get the Chicago City Pass. The pass gets you into 7 of Chicago’s most popular attractions- Shedd Aquarium, Skydeck Chicago, Field Museum, Adler Planetarium (located next to the Field Museum and Shedd), Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, and the 360 Chicago Observation Deck. If you’re going to more than one of these, it is worth it. The price works out to be cheaper than purchasing admission at multiple museums, it gets you in the door faster and you get special access to certain areas or exhibits. It saved us from standing in line, outside, during the hottest heatwave Chicago had had in years.

We also took transit so we didn’t have to deal with parking!

#4: High Line, New York City, NY

I’m not sure if this is 100% a “tourist trap”, it was relatively quiet when we were there, but I think it has gained traction since then. If you find New York too industrial and busy, The High Line is the perfect escape for you. Located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, The High Line is a public park built along the old railway lines that overlook the city. It’s a beautiful walk that features art, nature and design.

When we were there, we were meeting friends in the Chelsea/SoHo area, which is near the lower entrance to The High Line and we were staying in Midtown, which is near the top of The High Line. We ended up walking the entire thing at dusk and it was so beautiful. It’s amazing to look out over the city and see the lights. Be sure to keep an eye out for The Vessel. You can get the app to make sure that you don’t miss anything along your way.

#5: Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, California

Heading back to the West Coast for this one. The first time I went to Santa Monica Pier was in the middle of April at about 11 pm and I was cold and miserable. However, Santa Monica during the day is much much nicer. Depending on when you go, the Santa Monica Pier area can be very busy. However, I don’t think anything really beats walking all the way out to the end of the pier and feeling like you’re standing in the middle of the ocean. There are some interesting touristy shops and some theme park rides that I have never trusted. However, just the walk down the pier is enough for me.

The park area is also very nice. They also sometimes have food trucks in the area and one of the few times I’ve been there, I got an amazing wrap from the food truck. The last time I was there, which was in December of 2019, my dad and I explored a little bit more of the area around the pier. It’s such a cute area and I could totally see myself living in that area someday (except, $$$$$$).

I don’t have many tips for this one because I’ve never been there during the busiest time of the year. However, if you are headed to LA in April or December, it seems pretty quiet, especially if it isn’t the warmest day out.

Where is your favourite “tourist trap” that you actually love?