Managing your expectations when choosing destinations
It wasn’t the first time a tourist had said it — and it won’t be the last.
“Wait, the bridge isn’t gold,” I complained, trying to convey my disappointment as only a whiny 10-year-old can. (In my defense, we’d just driven from New Jersey in a Ford van with no AC in July, so cranky doesn’t begin to cover it.)
The family had just moved to California and we decided to mark the occasion by driving into San Francisco and across the Golden Gate Bridge, a prize for surviving the journey. But it wasn’t gold. Rats. The good news is I wasn’t on vacation and I didn’t spend a lot of money to see it, although I imagine there are plenty of paying travelers who arrive in San Francisco and have a similar reaction. Similar disappointment. And the bridge isn’t alone when it comes to not meeting everyone’s expectations.
Humorous blog IFL Science (www.iflscience.com) posted a column this year based on a dozen or so reviews on TripAdvisor by travelers who were deeply nonplussed by some of the world’s most impressive and beloved monuments, parks, events and geologic features.
One review of the Grand Canyon: “Very disappointing 5 hour drive for a hole in the ground (sic) expected to see the Colorado River and nothing.”
Even Machu Picchu took a hit: “I don’t see the big deal with these overpriced ruins. They are stone ruins on top of a hill.”
A reviewer of Yellowstone’s Old Faithful geyser seemed to be nurtured against nature: “Better off looking at a spout from your elementary school water fountain. When I was a kid, my dad found it boring and I found it boring. I had to go again as an adult to see that I still find it boring.”
And don’t even get reviewers started about not seeing the northern lights in Iceland. “You would think a big company like this could control the elements.”
Stonehenge, apparently, looks “dated.” Really.
A quick check on TripAdvisor found the Golden Gate Bridge isn’t for everyone: “There are so many unique and beautiful bridges in the world this is NOT one of them, functional commuter bridge nothing more. When I first saw it I could not believe how average it is.”
While the reviews that IFL Science picked out represent what most seasoned travelers would consider an extreme reaction, nearly every traveler has experienced places that failed to meet high expectations. Or even low ones.
There are some simple ways, however, to manage those expectations (and how they’re formed), as well as how to adjust your trip planning accordingly.
Research, but use more
than one source: Travel publishing has a tendency to sugarcoat news and stories about places. It comes from the mistaken belief (mostly by the marketing and PR profession) that the traveling public wants to be fed cotton candy. There are negative things about every place — find out what they are and factor them into your opinions and plans.
Don’t believe in “perfect”:
The word, which oozes out of nearly every mediocre travel story, has a fatal characteristic — it implies that the place is perfect for everyone. That place doesn’t exist. Figure out what’s going to be really good for you, not your friend at the bar. Also, according to W. Somerset Maugham, “Perfection has one grave defect. It is apt to be dull.”
Pay attention to physical
demands: If you’re not someone who lives for a nice long ramble through the countryside (and who barely leaves the couch at home), here’s a thought: Don’t take on a lengthy hike while on vacation. Feel free to challenge yourself, but remember it was your decision if you end up too tired to enjoy the journey. Also, figure out your effort-reward ratio. For instance, one day in Paris I walked 9.3 miles — through museums, quirky neighborhoods, along the Seine and into more than a couple bistros and bars. Walking the same distance down a dusty trail in Utah would not elicit the same, um, joy.
Seek out amateur opinions: While I believe crowdsourcing has had a catastrophic effect on the quality of travel storytelling, it never hurts to turn to sources where real strangers (preferably ones without an agenda) post enduring impressions about places.
Don’t believe photography: It was misleading enough in the old days when professional photos in magazines would promise perfectly exposed sunsets, pristine beaches with blue-green waters and craggy Southwestern canyons in their orange-and-ochre glory. Now every wannabe with a smartphone has filters and other e-tools to monkey with reality. If you’re not sure a place really looks that good, find video of it on YouTube — it’s more difficult (and more technical than the average user wants to deal with) to make over the scenery when it’s moving.
Turn a quest into a journey: If you’re traveling to witness one typically elusive thing — tigers in India, the queen in London, rhinos in Botswana, the pope in Rome — try to think more about the whole trip, not just the goal. If you don’t achieve the goal, you still have a journey full of other experiences to remember.
It’s not the place, it’s you: If you decide that you’re disappointed by (and feel you wasted your money on) a place you could have researched, remember that there’s a common denominator: you. Learn to adjust your entitlement level, because these great places don’t owe you anything. That said, the more effort you put into picking destinations, the more they’ll give you.