Overtourism

[audreyh1]

Yeah, I wish we’d spent a little more time there when we visited in 1997.

Still want to visit Murano.

 

[gerntz]

Of course!
We are overpopulating the planet

Life expectantcies worldwide continue to rise, so I don't see how that is so.

 

[Eastbayboy]

I did Italy and would never ever again travel in the tourist months. We go to Europe in off seasons. The crowds are nonexistent and traveling has so much less stress. We visited Amsterdam in early December spent Easter in Strasbourg, went to Normandy in late November. In Venice we walked in the Saint Mark's Basilica without a line. I hate what traveling has become but with cheap air flights not much anyone can do but travel when no one is going.

 

[DCdave]

We've had this dream to go hike between the towns of the Cinque Terre when the weather is nice, after ER and while we are still young enough to enjoy it. Sadly, I am not sure there is an intersection point that doesn't include overcrowding.

We (my wife and kids (just graduated from college and a soon to be senior in college)) were in Italy for three weeks in June including 5 nights in Cinque Terra. It was our second visit there and we had a great time. A couple of the trails were closed but there was plenty of hiking. If you go to hike by 9:00 or so in the morning (before the day trippers) it is not crowded on the trails.

The 5 cities are all small and packed (especially on the weekends ) from roughly noon to 5:00. We avoided walking around the towns during that time-frame. To each their own but I feel bad for day trippers that run around to all five cities in a day, during the hot and crowded time, only walk around the first few blocks that have most of the souvenir shops and then head back to their ships. The towns are most charming early in the morning and after 6:00 PM when the crowds dissipate, it gets cooler and the better restaurants open for dinner (many of them are closed between 2:30-7:00).

 

[Souschef]

I read somewhere that they are fining tourists in Cinque Terre for not wearing proper footwear. Apparently tourists wearing flip flops and such are injurious themselves on the steep streets. and going to the hospital.

 

[audreyh1]

I did Italy and would never ever again travel in the tourist months. We go to Europe in off seasons. The crowds are nonexistent and traveling has so much less stress. We visited Amsterdam in early December spent Easter in Strasbourg, went to Normandy in late November. In Venice we walked in the Saint Mark's Basilica without a line. I hate what traveling has become but with cheap air flights not much anyone can do but travel when no one is going.

The days are awfully short in Amsterdam in December!

 

[explanade]

In Tuscany now, my first time in Italy in July. Very hot and crowded.

But have gotten plenty of clear skies, which was one of my goals.

Went to Puglia, Amalfi Coast and Capri at the end of May. There were some hot days but also some windy and rainy or overcast ones as well.

Was just reading somewhere that one flight (didn’t say how long) would exceed the per capita carbon footprint, that is your share of the carbon footprint on that flight.

Do feel bad about it but travel is one of my reasons for RE.

FWIW, I try not to run the AC all the time in the apartment or in the car but temps have been over 90 ...

Venice is also on the trip. Expensive and crowded. Would be my third time. Can’t help it.

 

[Scuba]

We (my wife and kids (just graduated from college and a soon to be senior in college)) were in Italy for three weeks in June including 5 nights in Cinque Terra. It was our second visit there and we had a great time. A couple of the trails were closed but there was plenty of hiking. If you go to hike by 9:00 or so in the morning (before the day trippers) it is not crowded on the trails.



The 5 cities are all small and packed (especially on the weekends ) from roughly noon to 5:00. We avoided walking around the towns during that time-frame. To each their own but I feel bad for day trippers that run around to all five cities in a day, during the hot and crowded time, only walk around the first few blocks that have most of the souvenir shops and then head back to their ships. The towns are most charming early in the morning and after 6:00 PM when the crowds dissipate, it gets cooler and the better restaurants open for dinner (many of them are closed between 2:30-7:00).

I’m so glad we went to Cinque Terre in 2002. It was beautiful and not crowded in July.

 

[Eastbayboy]

The days are awfully short in Amsterdam in December!

Yeah it’s cold...You can always dress for warmth... this Wednesday it is going to hit 93*! I would rather fight the cold than 5000 people in The Rijksmuseum!

 

[Eastbayboy]

In Tuscany now, my first time in Italy in July. Very hot and crowded.

But have gotten plenty of clear skies, which was one of my goals.

Went to Puglia, Amalfi Coast and Capri at the end of May. There were some hot days but also some windy and rainy or overcast ones as well.

Was just reading somewhere that one flight (didn’t say how long) would exceed the per capita carbon footprint, that is your share of the carbon footprint on that flight.

Do feel bad about it but travel is one of my reasons for RE.

FWIW, I try not to run the AC all the time in the apartment or in the car but temps have been over 90 ...

Venice is also on the trip. Expensive and crowded. Would be my third time. Can’t help it.

I did Pompeii in late August of 2011 due to my inexperience in what time of year to travel in southern Italy. The heat was atrocious with a good dose of humidity. We walked Pompeii for the full day due my fascination of its history. Being from California was probably my biggest downfall, the only other time I felt this humidity when I went to New Orleans in mid June. As my previous post says... I can always dress for the cold.

 

[Oz investor]

I read somewhere that they are fining tourists in Cinque Terre for not wearing proper footwear. Apparently tourists wearing flip flops and such are injurious themselves on the steep streets. and going to the hospital.

you should have socks on with the flip flops ( Jandals in NZ ) and proudly call them Maribyrnong wedding boots ( and call it 'cultural attire ' )

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maribyrnong,_Victoria

after seeing the carnage caused by wearing high-heels and platform soles , i sense there is some sort of revenue raising afoot ( maybe they are sponsored by Nike )

 

[athena53]

The towns are most charming early in the morning and after 6:00 PM when the crowds dissipate, it gets cooler and the better restaurants open for dinner (many of them are closed between 2:30-7:00).

In the cities which are major stops for cruise ships, that's also when the cruise ship passengers are gone. DH and I stayed in Dubrovnik for 4 days and it was much more peaceful during the hours when the cruise ship passengers weren't around. I can't remember if it's been mentioned upthread, but many times the number of cruise ship passengers descending on a city in a day is greater than the permanent population- sometimes by multiples.

 

[kcowan]

We did the same thing in Capri, staying in a boutique hotel and spending prime time hiking the ends of the island, while enjoying the towns early morning and evenings.

 

[Souschef]

In the cities which are major stops for cruise ships, that's also when the cruise ship passengers are gone. DH and I stayed in Dubrovnik for 4 days and it was much more peaceful during the hours when the cruise ship passengers weren't around. I can't remember if it's been mentioned upthread, but many times the number of cruise ship passengers descending on a city in a day is greater than the permanent population- sometimes by multiples.

Look at Skagway Alaska. The permanent population is about 1000. Some times there are 2 or 3 cruise ships there with more that 2000 passengers each.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Look at Skagway Alaska. The permanent population is about 1000. Some times there are 2 or 3 cruise ships there with more that 2000 passengers each.

Just another reason I just LOVE cruise ships...

 

[JoeWras]

Look at Skagway Alaska. The permanent population is about 1000. Some times there are 2 or 3 cruise ships there with more that 2000 passengers each.

Bar Harbor, ME goes through the same thing (but only one ship).

We took the landlubber route to Acadia NP. In B.H., we discussed with a local when to rent a bike. She kindly suggested Tuesday instead of Wednesday because of the cruise ship.

Yep. Tuesday was a nice day. Wednesday was nuts around there.

 

[braumeister]

Look at Skagway Alaska. The permanent population is about 1000. Some times there are 2 or 3 cruise ships there with more that 2000 passengers each.

You can sometimes see in advance when cruise ships will be in a particular port. For example, here's the schedule for Sitka this year:

Sitka Alaska Cruise Ship Schedule 2019

Nothing tomorrow, but on Tuesday there will be two ships docked there, one with 1,600 pax and the other with 200. Then Thursday will see one with 450 and one with 2,200.

 

[NW-Bound]

We have been to Europe a few times in the off-season. No crowd, but the problem is that the daylight hours are so short. You have from 9AM till 3PM!

 

[Teacher Terry]

The times we went to Italy we went in February and March. The crowds weren’t bad and the weather was in the 50’s and 60’s. The times we went to Poland we went in May and October. Great weather.

 

[NW-Bound]

Look at Skagway Alaska. The permanent population is about 1000. Some times there are 2 or 3 cruise ships there with more that 2000 passengers each.

In contrast with Skagway, Haines is a really sleepy town because very few cruiseships stop there.

And with most of these ports, just 10 to 30 miles inland is spectacular scenery that cruise ship passengers do not get to see.

I am glad I made an RV trek to Alaska, and the only regret is it was too short. We could not stay longer, because my wife had a commitment to look after her mother, and our RV and toad developed mechanical problems near the end that took a bit of fun out of the trip.

I may get a newer class B and go back again.

 

[gerntz]

I read somewhere that they are fining tourists in Cinque Terre for not wearing proper footwear. Apparently tourists wearing flip flops and such are injurious themselves on the steep streets. and going to the hospital.

Maybe in the towns, but certainly on the rough trails between towns. Keens for me.

 

[explanade]

Cinque terre is a prime example of tourism overwhelming an area without the infrastructure to handle the volume of visitors it does.

Locals like the money tourism brings but they literally can't handle it. Even without easy car access to the towns, people load up on these small trains or ferries to visit the towns.

The guide for one of the hiking tours I took blames it on Rick Steves bringing the CT to the attention of a global audience.

They've been recovering from a big mud slide which caused closure of the coastal and very level trails for a long time, now approaching 10 years.

But the hordes still come so they probably feel no pressure to hurry the repairs.

 

[DCdave]

I read somewhere that they are fining tourists in Cinque Terre for not wearing proper footwear. Apparently tourists wearing flip flops and such are injurious themselves on the steep streets. and going to the hospital.

We were there in June. Many people were wearing flip flops and I did not see anyone get fined or warned. That being said....two of the days we went on hiking trails there were security people at the entrance that were not allowing people with flip flops to go on the trails.

 

[DCdave]

Cinque terre is a prime example of tourism overwhelming an area without the infrastructure to handle the volume of visitors it does.

Locals like the money tourism brings but they literally can't handle it. Even without easy car access to the towns, people load up on these small trains or ferries to visit the towns.

The guide for one of the hiking tours I took blames it on Rick Steves bringing the CT to the attention of a global audience.

They've been recovering from a big mud slide which caused closure of the coastal and very level trails for a long time, now approaching 10 years.

But the hordes still come so they probably feel no pressure to hurry the repairs.

Yes, several of the well known trails are still, after a number of years, closed. The very scenic Monterosso to Vernazza trail is open as are a number of less publicized trails. You can still have a lot of fun there but, as I posted earlier, avoiding the towns of Monterosso, Vernazza etc between noon and 5:00 or so is probably a good idea.

 

[DCdave]

Venice is also on the trip. Expensive and crowded. Would be my third time. Can’t help it.

We were in Venice (our second time there) for three nights during our June trip.
I was a little hesitant to return but we ended up having a great time and found much better restaurants than our last visit. Places like Ristorante da Alvise and La Palanca have great views and excellent pasta for 8-11 euros which is much cheaper than what we pay in the DC area. The same dishes close to St Marks Square are nearly TRIPLE....20-28 euros. During “cruise boat time”, from noon to six or so, avoid the crushing day tripping crowds around St Marks and the Rialto Bridge like the plague and explore less crowded, but interesting, sections like Dorsoduro where we walked along canals and enjoyed very cheap (2-3 euros) Spritzes. Have fun.