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Last Updated on March 10, 2020 by haveclotheswilltravel

Usually, when we see travel photos, it’s of idyllic locations with clear blue skies, zero crowds and healthy, smiling people. However, anyone who has ever gone on any sort of a trip knows, that is NOT always the reality of traveling. You’re going to have days where it rains, sometimes you’re going to get sick and most of the time, there will be TONS of people at a tourist destination.

It can’t always be perfect – and hey, that’s ok! The fun of traveling is learning to roll with the changes and laugh at the mishaps!

Recently, I was in Brazil, where many aspects of the trip did NOT go according to plan. This was mainly because it rained every single gosh darn day – and I was in Brazil for 10 days!

The day I went to see Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro it started raining like crazy right as I boarded the train to the top of the mountain. I could barely see Christ the Redeemer, even though I was standing right in front of the 125-foot statue!

“Expectation vs Reality” – My Christ the Redeemer Experience!

After I returned to my hotel that night, I posted the set of photos above to my favorite travel group, Girls LOVE Travel®, with the caption “Expectations vs reality. Not every adventure can be filled with sunshine! What are some of your adventures that didn’t go according to plan?” And the photos responses I received from fellow travelers were amazing! They are too funny and just too good not to share!

Many of the photos are the result of less than perfect weather too, and some were due to massive crowds or renovations. So, this isn’t to say that these places are not every bit as magical as their “expectation” photos… they were likely just having a bad day. (This post isn’t meant to discourage anyone from visiting these places!)

I hope these photos make you laugh as hard as they made me laugh when I saw them! I would also love to hear which set of photos made you laugh the hardest in the comments section at the end of the post. Enjoy!

“Expectation vs Reality” – 30 Funny Travel Photos

1.) Golden Gate Bridge – “Expectation”

Reality…

Photo above and drawing by Monica Sauer of @m.lee.s. She wanted to make sure she captured the experience!

2.) Machu Picchu “Expectation”

Reality…

Reality photo by Charolette G taken April 2019. She said she, “Hiked all the way on the Inca trail only to be greeted by this view!” The Inca trail is typically a 4-day hike that is very difficult due to the altitude.

Expectation photo by me. Click here for tips on visiting Machu Picchu.

3.) Disneyland Cinderalla Castle “Expectation”

Reality…

“The first and only time I’ve been to Disneyland!” Photo of above by Francesca Vigna of @francescavigna.

4.) Mount Rushmore “Expectation”

Reality…

“Mount Rushmore at its finest.” Photo by Sarah Bellis and Jesse Liddington.

5.) Taj Mahal “Expectation”

Reality…

“Taj Mahal. Promise.” Photo by Anna Lindström of @annlin. She visited on December 28, 2019.

6.) The Great Wall of China “Expectation”

Reality…

Photo above taken by Scott Marni Carpenter.

7.) Rio Celeste in Costa Rica “Expectation”

Reality…(after a rainfall)

“The Rio Celeste in Costa Rica turns brown after a day of rain.” Photo above taken by Cassie Salvo from @cassiesalvo.

8.) Aveiro, Portugal “Expectation”

Reality…

“When my bf took me to ‘Portugal’s Venice’. Romantic!” – Photo by Emma Björk of @emmabjork88.

9.) Mona Lisa – “Expectation”

Reality…

“That one time I wanted to take a selfie with the Mona Lisa… This was as close as I could get. #stilldreaming. P.S. I’m 5’3”. So my only chance at seeing the Mona Lisa was putting my phone up to take a photo. Then looking at it through the photo on my phone.” Photo and caption by Joanna Marie Zapanta of @_lovejz.

10.) Poás Volcano in Costa Rica – “Expectation (sort of…haha) vs Reality”

“These are some pictures of the Poas Volcano in Costa Rica. We hiked all the way to the top to see a beautiful emerald lake inside but all we got were clouds. Oh well… at least we got a picture in front of the billboard! Haha.” Photos by Jessica Myers.

11.) Casa del Arbor in Ecuador “Expectation”

Reality…

Photo above by Anabelle Devarez-Moreira taken in the month of May.

12.) Hiking Trolltunga in Norway “Expectation”

Reality…

“Hiking Trolltunga in Norway lol. Still got a shot sitting out there, but really missed out on the view.” Photo by Cait Eichhorn from @cait_eich.

13.) Grand Canyon “Expectation”

Reality…

“For your viewing pleasure – the Grand Canyon!” Photo above + caption by Stephanie Wolter.

14.) Big Ben in London “Expectation”

Reality…

This photo of Big Ben was taken in February 2020 by Karen Weed.

15.) Haleakala Volcano, Maui “Expectation”

Reality…

“Behind all the fog is Haleakala volcano… Maui, Hawaii (May 2019).” Above photo by Veronica Campoverde Arce from @kreysi2407.

16.) Three Sisters, Blue Mountains – Sydney, Australia “Expectation”



Reality…

Reality photo taken by Kristina McGalliard from @_Kristina_mac.

Expectation photo by me. Click here for tips on visiting the Blue Mountains.

16.) Sacre Coeur in Paris “Expectation vs reality”

“Visiting Sacre Coeur in Paris. Not quite as expected.” Photo by Gail Dyer of Gail Force Traveler.

17.) Mount Batur in Bali, Indonesia “Expectation”

Reality…

“Set off at 2 am to climb Mount Batur in Bali for sunrise… and this was the view!” Photo by Tasha Plumb of @tashaplumb.

18.) Escadaria Selarón, Rio de Janeiro “Expectation”

Reality…

Photo by me. Not to keep knocking my Brazil trip, but I did think this was funny too! To be fair, I knew Escadaria Selarón was going to have tons of people going into this… so, I wasn’t shocked.

19.) Neuschwanstein Castle “Expectation vs Reality”

“The Inspo for the Disney castle, but the weather made it look more like a haunted house.” Photo by Cassie Negrete of @noregretes.

20.) Rainbow Mountain, Peru – “Expectation”

Reality…

“Apparently there’s a whole valley of rainbow mountains back there. I’ll never know!” Photo above by Stephanie Crider of @stephosaurus_steph.

Expectation photo taken by me. Click here for tips on hiking Rainbow Mountain.

21.) Sintra, Portugal “Expectation”

“Sintra, Portugal! Can you spot the castle? I couldn’t…” Photo taken by Ashley Chaya Birman of @ashley_chaya. 22.) Cliffs of Moher “Expectation” Reality… Photo by Melissa Hughes of @mellamarie93 I also have to say out of this whole thread – the Cliffs of Moher had the most “reality” photos like this! Eeek… I’m heading there next week!

23.) Place Vendôme in Paris, France – “Expectation”

Reality… “The main structure of Place de Vandome was still under construction when I first visited Paris in 2015.” Photo by Helen KS. 24.) Golden Bridge in Vietnam – “Expectation vs Reality” “It almost made me cry!” Agnieszka Sobieraj of @agnieszkapaulinawiktoria

28.) Ring of Kerry in Ireland – “Expectation”

Reality… “My road trip to see the beautiful Ring of Kerry in Ireland. It was so foggy I could barely see to drive. I still stopped at the gorgeous Kerry Cliffs to document the journey.” Photo taken by Wendy Marie.

29.) One More Poás Volcano, Costa Rica “Expectation vs Reality”

Photo by Lisa Manting from @lisa_manting.

30.) Cappadocia, Turkey “Expectation”

Reality…

Photos by me. Don’t get me wrong…Cappadocia was beautiful! But taking hot air balloon photos in the morning was a bloodbath! You can read more about that here if you’re interested. This was also the post that kick-started sharing “expectations vs. reality travel photos” on my blog, so it felt fair to end on this note!

Which photo did you enjoy the most? (I honestly can’t choose – it was hard enough to narrow this post down to 30!) Let me know in the comments!

I appreciate each & every share. Thank you!

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