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Whether it's skinny-dipping in Venetian canals or taking silly selfies at Holocaust victim memorials, sometimes just a few people can tarnish the image of all travelers.

At a time when international tourism is back to over 90% of its pre-pandemic levels, Reddit user Potato_Warrior420 got interested in which behaviors locals detest the most.

So they made a post on the platform, asking everyone to share the annoying things that visitors do in their country that they absolutely hate. Here are the most popular answers to the question.

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#1

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate In Finland we have thing called "jokamiehenoikeus" which means that everyone has a right to walk around any forest, no matter who owns the land, government or private people or company. We are allowed to swim in the lakes, collect berries, hiking, sleep in tent and so on without asking permission as long as we don't do any harm to the nature.

But there is a very big rule of "kotirauha", which means respecting other people homes. It is absolutely forbidden to go to anyone's yard or garden, pick apples or berries from garden, go to a beach which is part of someones yard and so on.

Nowdays quite lot of tourists know about jokamiehenoikeus, but they misinterpret it and may come to someone's yard, use their patio furniture, steal berries from garden and so on. And when tenants try to get them leave they start to argue.

Most absurd one I've heard is tourist coming to ask someone to move their sheep away from their own yard because they wanted their wedding photos taken in their yard and didn't want sheep in the background. They couldn't stop laughing and asked the happily wedded tourists to kindly to get the f*ck off.

We are happy if you want to enjoy our peaceful forests and swim in our lakes, but please respect people living here.

GeekyWandered , Luca Bravo / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Trillian
Trillian
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I cannot wrap my mind around people that don't understand that hiking in a forest and sitting on someone's patio are two completely different things.

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#2

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Litter

chasing-me , Brian Yurasits / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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#3

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Please stop trying to go hiking in the summer. They have to send the helicopters every time.

When it's 80F at *sunrise*, know that it is only going to get worse. We're not staying inside because we're lazy Americans, it's because the sun is a deadly laser.

Love, The Southwest.

Symnestra , Sébastien Goldberg / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Gordan Blažević
Gordan Blažević
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In my country of Croatia it happens all the time. Mountain range (high) next to coastline. Tourist start to climb in flip flops. They got stuck, dehydrated etc. We have a service to rescue them. It's free, for tourists, it's financed from state budget. Many locals think it's unfair and that rescued tourists should be charged for rescuing them with helicopters and specialized equipment, by people who put their lives at risk to save them. It's controversial topic here. They also start to swim between islands, that are apart enough that it takes for katamaran 90 minutes to reach from one to another...

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#4

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Cut lines. People aren't queueing up for the fun of it.

Monotonegent , David Clode / unsplash (nott the actual photo) Report

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Emma S
Emma S
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Definitely don't do this if you visit the UK. I've seen fights break out because someone 'pushed in.' We take our queueing very seriously. 😆

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#5

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Harass the queen’s guard. It’s s**t pay, they’re in a baking hot costume and some jackass wants to be “funny”. Just don’t do it.

Thatwierdhullcityfan , Lorena Kelly / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Emma S
Emma S
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They aren't there for decoration because someone thought it would be cute to put men in funny hats. They're trained soldiers and they will use force if they have to.

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#6

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Americans wanting to pay with $US, complaining about the exchange rate, angry that their change wasn't in $US.

djauralsects , Igal Ness / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Adrian
Adrian
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This! I'm from the UK, living in California. A coworker was going to London and asked me for some tips. When I mentioned taking some GBP she was shocked and asked why the don't take USD. Americans can be so insular sometimes.

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#7

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Asking or expecting people to fund their travels. Begpackers.

Dread-it-again , Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Simon Chen
Simon Chen
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh, that is bad. I have seen people doing this in cambodia. Cambodian people were giving them money because they had a small child. That was the most disgraceful thing i have seen there.

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#8

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Interact with wildlife. No, it's not safe to go up to the elk and take a selfie. It's not funny or safe to feed bears. You might not die, but the bear you habituated will, and we can only hope it's before it [ends] someone else.

Oishiio42 , Y S / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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DennyS (denzoren)
DennyS (denzoren)
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It always amazes me when people go up to animals like these or monkeys...do people realize how strong monkeys are...geez.

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#9

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Smuggle contaminated food in.


Biosecurity laws matter here! (Australia)

ImReadyToEndThings , Kyle Mackie / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Bernd Herbert
Bernd Herbert
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I went to New Zealand I thoroughly cleaned my hiking shoes to avoid bringing any pests. bio contamination is a thing, please respect local eco systems

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#10

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Call everything here by the location name in Lord of the Rings. It was decades ago folks, maybe come to NZ to learn our culture including Te Reo Maori. You're not climbing Mount Doom, it's called Ngauruhoe and it's immensely sacred to the local Iwi (tribe). You're in a UNESCO dual world heritage site and our oldest national Park. Appreciate the place for all the things it is, not just Peter Jackson's choice of film locations.

chullnz , Joshua Harris / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Squishy
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This just sounds a bit holier than thou to be honest, what's the harm in wanting to see something and pretending it's something different? I can understand if it's a respect thing but I don't understand how this is disrespectful. It's fun to get lost in a world that's not your own. Cant someone just respect them both?

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#11

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Whale watching is a huge tourist industry where I live, however we have strict laws and guide lines for whale viewing to keep from disturbing their transit and feeding habits, as well as to keep viewers safe.

Yes, the photos in ads and on websites show the best moments from other tours, but that does not mean [or entitle you to] having the same experience.

I hate tourists getting upset that the whales aren't jumping out of the water for them and in some cases getting angry or even ask for a refund when the whales don't put on a show.

If you want to have them do tricks for you then go to a country that allows the capture and abuse of marine animals and give them your money instead. If you want to see them undisturbed in their natural habitat, then you can either take a whale tour and hope for the best, or move to where the whales are and spend everyday on the water and accumulate experiences. I've been here for 15 years and on the water most of the summers, and have only seen whales breach a handful of times, but regardless of their activity it has always been a cool experience seeing them.

RoboftheNorth , Todd Cravens / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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LaserBrain
LaserBrain
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9 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Have to agree with you there. For chrissakes stop harassing the whales. Every boat that gets near them stresses them out.

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#12

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Tell me everything thats wrong about where I live and how much better it is where they live.

Capital_Dinner_3406 , Max Andrey / unsplash (not thw actual photo) Report

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Papa
Papa
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's not uncommon for people moving from one state to another in the US also. We had quite an influx in my state back in the 80's. It wasn't uncommon to see a bumper sticker that said "I don't care how you did it up north."

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#13

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate We get tons of tourists at the huge national parks in the west. Every year a couple of tourists wander off the established trails to explore...

These parks are larger than many countries. It takes a lot of time and resources and luck to find and rescue them.

varthalon , Alice Triquet / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Phoenix
Phoenix
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maybe if you stop rescuing them they'll either 1. learn to stay in designated areas, 2. learn to survive in the wild or 3. get eaten by bears. Either way, problem solved.

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#14

Chinese tourists try to touch my kids hair. She’s a cute little redhead with curly locks. Kinda like strawberry Shortcake. They do this all the damned time. I had to physically smack some of their grubby hands away and threaten to beat their asses. I’m not small either. 6’4” 230. If they don’t approach they take hundreds of pics. I’m in the US.

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#15

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Walk through the vineyards, past the signs saying please DO NOT ENTER OUR VINEYARDSs. in 4 different languages....

willmcl01 , Jumpei Mokudai / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Used to work in wineries in NorCal. it's even more dangerous of you decide to explore near a cannabis grow. They will shoot at you.

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#16

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Go swimming when they don't know how to swim and/or don't understand how rips work.

redditwossname , Ethan Elisara / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Rayne OfSalt
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Happens a lot here in Australia. The ocean is dangerous. Listen to the lifeguards. Also, if you're a backpacker from Germany, do NOT go for a swim in ANY body of water in north queensland. Crocodiles can and do eat you. Yes, this has been a problem specifically with German tourists.

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#17

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Ride bikes. People come to Amsterdam and rent a bike even though they haven’t been on a bike for years, or have never biked through busy city traffic, and then they go biking through our busiest streets during rush hour. It’s horrible.

sprknl , Murillo de Paula / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'd fit right in. I haven't driven a car in 20 years. Been almost two since I was even in a car. I bike every day in a major city. I'd be fine.

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#18

Everything. I'm in Tromsø and especially the asian tourists. They lay down in the streets to get a glimpse of the Northern lights. Everyone knows to let the people off the bus before entering it, but not the tourists. They just push themselves on, stand in the middle so that nobody can get off or get ro a free seat. Europeans, the italians and spanish call friends etc with facetime and use speaker. That annoys the hell out of me. Also we dont have a single store in the city centre, everything is tourist shops that sell trolls and other stupid s**t.

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#19

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate I dont hate this per se but some visitors making plans to visit several states during a weeklong vacation not realizing the size of the united states its make me laugh mostly 

Noclassydrops , Joey Csunyo / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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My O My
My O My
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

On the other side of the big water we europeans laugh at the americans/australians that plan to go on a complete tour of Europe in two weeks

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#20

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate In Albania , the British and Australian tourists are always drunk and annoying. And sometimes they start fights. It’s always the brits and Australians.

Harmalin , ibuki Tsubo / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Pizza Lover
Pizza Lover
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Brits cause quite a mess in Portugal too. It's. Always. The. Brits.

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#21

Say how cheap it is as we experience massive inflation and a cost of living crisis. Easy to say when you earn 3x or 5x local salary and stay for a week.

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Pizza Lover
Pizza Lover
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"PORTUGAL IS SO CHEAP OH MY GOSH" It's cheap for you because your country has higher salaries, but loads of locals struggle with rent

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#22

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate I’m in DC. People get in the water like it’s a water park at the monuments and memorials. Especially the WWII Memorial. This is not allowed. There are signs. But it’s not enforced.

No_Tradition6695 , Mayer Tawfik / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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#23

Feed the seagulls

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Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You can't trust the seagulls, they lie. They lie and lie and lie. When a seagull tells you to do something DON'T DO IT! Especially if it turns up in the middle of the night when you're suffering from sleep paralysis. Don't trust the seagulls.

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#24

Rudely shove you out of the way to get pictures of literally everything

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Nimues Child
Nimues Child
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And the selfie sticks....how dare you object to them bapping you with them while they take their "perfect shot"?

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#25

They pet the wildlife

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#26

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Just the Brits, they can't drink with moderation, and have no shame about everything that comes with that.

SkinnyObelix , Isabella Mendes / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

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Emma S
Emma S
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Come on, it's not just Brits at all. I agree that lots of Brits act like drunken idiots abroad, I've seen plenty of Dutch, German and Polish people do the same.

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#27

Decide they like it so much they want to stay and gentrify entire neighborhoods and displace thousands, just so that they can have their eternal vacation.

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Fembot
Fembot
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are parts of Spain that are entirely inhabited by English and Dutch ‘expats’. Ironically, often they’ve moved because they disagree with ‘all the immigrants’ coming into their country

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#28

Act like its a giant amusement park. I will never forget this lady loudly screaming ‘OMG LOOK AT ME I’M SUCH A LOCAALL’ while almost hitting three actual locals on bicycles because she barely knew how to cycle and was zigzagging over the bicycle lane.

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cerinamroth
cerinamroth
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh my, especially coming from Scotland... The amount of Americans just treating it like an amusement park because they once had one ancestor a few hundred years ago from Scotland and arrive in the country fitted out head to toe in tartan but with no idea what Irn Bru is... ;-)

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#29

Here in Nebraska, at a tourist welcome center, some Chinese visitors were disappointed that Kearny was no longer a fort and there were no Indians out hunting buffalo for them to take pictures of to show people when they got home.

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Phoenix
Phoenix
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9 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maybe explain to them that while that was still an active culture, Chinese people were building railroads and were not allowed out after sunset because they were deemed savages. Then see if they still want to go back in time.

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#30

"Harass The Queen's Guard": 30 Things Tourists Do That The Locals Absolutely Hate Just watch an episode of Bondi Rescue and try not to punch your screen

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