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You absolutely must get to them if you can. We have always found the scenery and parks in Nth America to be the greatest attraction for us. DH would love to return to see more of them. I said I cannot stand the long flight again but my resolve is already weakening.
It is true that the natural attractions and parks are among the great places to see in the United States. They are well-preserved and unique. Few people will ever get to see all of them.
It is true that the natural attractions and parks are among the great places to see in the United States. They are well-preserved and unique. Few people will ever get to see all of them.
The entrance fees can be annoying though.
We got a pass and it was only $60 or so. Money very well spent.
What we find stressful, not sure if annoying is the correct word, is tipping. We accept it and try to do the correct thing but it got pretty annoying when some of the service in Utah and in Yellowstone was really bad. The worst we have ever had in the US by far in our thirty weeks of touring over a number of trips. Then it gets annoying forking out the tips.
I think we were there too early in the season and they were having staffing problems in the hotels and other facilities.
We got a pass and it was only $60 or so. Money very well spent.
What we find stressful, not sure if annoying is the correct word, is tipping. We accept it and try to do the correct thing but it got pretty annoying when some of the service in Utah and in Yellowstone was really bad. The worst we have ever had in the US by far in our thirty weeks of touring over a number of trips. Then it gets annoying forking out the tips.
I think we were there too early in the season and they were having staffing problems in the hotels and other facilities.
I would imagine staffing problems exist on a wide scale. Private concessionaires often come down to cities near national parks and advertise summer jobs for youth. I suppose the major selling point is that a teenager gets to work all summer in a national park. Sometimes very primitive accommodations are provided as part of the job package. Nevertheless, I've heard plenty of complaints from people who have taken these jobs. They complain of long hours, mandatory overtime, and low base wage rates.
Today, though, things are changing. The economic boom in the USA is such that even high school teenagers can find a summer job if they want one close to home. The ability to find work close to home has to be affecting these concessionaires. I suspect most teenagers aren't interested in living in a bunk house all summer just to collect a similar wage to what they could be earning at Arby's or McDonald's.
From my personal life experience traveling through Europe, Americans have cornered the market on loutish behavior. As an American who has been traveling frequently to Europe for 50 years, it’s embarrassing to be lumped into that group. They generally outnumber the Chinese tourists 50:1. The Chinese are like the Japanese 30 years ago when most Japanese traveled in large groups. Pretty easy to avoid.
As far as over-tourism goes, I’m part of the problem. There are just too many affluent people in the world with the ability to travel. We all go to the cliche places at least once.
You must travel on a different planet with a different Europe than I do. Americans are no worse than average, probably a bit better than average. There are plenty of other groups who are more apt to jump the queue, travel in large, loud drunken packs or simply smell like a** in four day old clothing than Americans. Unless your heights of loutishness include white sneakers, over-tipping and asking for ice in their drink on a hot day, I’m going to have to disagree with you.
I've been here in Leipzig for a few weeks as part of my summer heat escape from Tucson, No hordes of tourists in this second tier city (compared to Berlin, Munich or Hamburg). My airbnb apartment is 2 km from the city center, in an old and somewhat gritty looking neighborhood. It is a low cost of living city with some amount of work opportunities, so it has attracted a lot of residents from other countries. I would guess that many second tier cities in Europe that are not a resort location or not a world famous destination (like Florence, Venice, Salzburg, etc) would be fairly tame in regards to masses of visitors.
There are 44 countries in Europe today, according to the United Nations. there are no crowd in area . all person do ther own work not interfering each other.
They complain of long hours, mandatory overtime, and low base wage rates
This would be the complaints of many summer low-skill temp jobs taken by young folks, it's hardly unique to Natl Parks. It isn't like working at the local Walgreens is paying high wages and catering to their desire to have Friday and Saturday nights off.
You must travel on a different planet with a different Europe than I do. Americans are no worse than average, probably a bit better than average. There are plenty of other groups who are more apt to jump the queue, travel in large, loud drunken packs or simply smell like a** in four day old clothing than Americans. Unless your heights of loutishness include white sneakers, over-tipping and asking for ice in their drink on a hot day, I’m going to have to disagree with you.
I agree with you. I've been all around the planet. Americans travelers are usually the least of your concerns. I find most of them rather quiet and well behaved. Tourists from other countries are much worse....much much worse.
Most Americans bathe daily, wear deodorant, don't get stupid drunk or belligerent, aren't overly loud etc. Yes many can have a bit of a superiority complex and ask for things a certain way but compared to other travelers, it's not a big thing.
I won't go into specifics but travelers from other countries make Americans look like angels.
If anything, people from other countries may initially dislike you just because you are American. That happens frequently. For instance, I was sitting on a beach in Koh Samui Thailand next to a young British lady and she looked over to me and muttered "oh god I f-ing HATE Americans." Couple of hours later, she had changed her mind.
Last edited by pete98146; 05-16-2019 at 04:23 PM..
Understandable. My client just completed "half the way around the world" trip and the one place he avoided? Europe and it was for this same reason. He just didn't want to fight the crowds....
a young British lady and she looked over to me and muttered "oh god I f-ing HATE Americans." Couple of hours later, she had changed her mind.
Did you kick her out of your room early the next morning?
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