What’s the most basic vacation destination in existence (for Americans)?

Las Vegas is the most basic vacation destination, followed by Miami.

Hawaii, definitely.

[quote] across the street from the tourist/hotel zone of PV there is a mall. At the front of this mall there is a Chili’s. The line for this Chili’s is out the door, into the parking lot… filled with all the Americans who “just want good Mexican food” during their vacation in Mexico.

Dammit,,, R3 was formatted incorrectly… in my haste to be R1, I rushed myself and fucked it all up

[quote] You know, the kind of place where soulless, vapid, empty, arrogant pricks with no imagination or intellect flock to every year

NOW read R3

Disney World.

For the poor basic bitches, Puerto V

For the rich basic bitches, Hawaii.

The Maul of America.

Vegas, Cancun, Orlando, Branson

Las Vegas is as soulless and trashy as it gets.

I don't really understand how world class cities with centuries of history and culture make the OP's list of "basic" destinations...really?

Any state university- starts Freshman year, ends four years later with someone living in a basement, in debt.

Anyone who can afford to take a family of four to Hawaii for a week is not basic. Unless the kids are in a suitcase and mom has 12 bags of heroin shoved up her ass.

r12 is right. You really think "basic" people are jet-setting off to Hawaii, London, or Paris all the time?

r1 has it. Las Vegas is super basic.

Anywhere in Florida

Myrtle Beach

The correct answer is Disney World. OP’s failure to include this deserves a FF.

I mean it’s so basic that “I’m going to Disney World” uttered after winning a sporting championship has been in the lexicon for what, four decades?

I think it's hilarious posters keep insisting that it is Walt Disney World and not Disneyland too--as if we all live in Los Angeles, so Disneyland cannot be a real vacation.

It is both Disney amusement parks, NOT just World Disney World.

Jesus Christ people go to Los Angeles and visit Disneyland for one day. People go to Disney World and stay there for a week. It’s not the same, you stupid cunt.

Some of the people who vote in this poll have no idea where the fuck Ibiza is! You want basic? You want vapid? You want garish, and gross? Las Vegas takes first prize. Then there's Palm Springs, FL or Seaside or Miami Beach, also in Florida. Then there's Palm Springs, CA. Then there's Baja California.

Florida and Disneyworld own this thread.

R10 Allow me to elaborate. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with London, or Paris, or Ibiza (or Barcelona), or Rome. What I mean is that when an American travels to Europe, there’s about a 99% chance it’s going to be one of these places, mostly because that’s where “everyone else goes” and it seems to go well with their Instagram accounts. I know one guy who went all the way to Paris just to have his picture taken in front of the stupid Louis Vuitton store. Talk about VAPID.

I seriously doubt that any of these basic bitches would be caught dead in a place like Krakow, or Constanța, or Vilnius. Do you think that any of their friends would even know where those places are?

OP - You seem to have so much anger and contempt for average, middle-class Americans. What's up with that?

Middle-class Americans go to Disney World, not Paris

Vegas

OP has asked basically two different questions:

“What’s the most basic vacation destination in existence (for Americans)?”

The answer to this is Walt Disney World. This is non-negotiable.

“You know, the kind of place where soulless, vapid, empty, arrogant pricks with no imagination or intellect flock to every year to either go shopping at Louis Vuitton or show off their designer bullshit and get laid with equally vapid people.”

This has nothing to do with American basicness. Nevertheless, The answer to this is Las Vegas or Miami.

And yet OP didn’t include any of those in his poll.

Can we please get him red tagged? I feel he doesn’t deserve posting privileges.

R21, it's true that there are many places that are not as popular for tourists. But if you're going to spend the money on a trip that most average Americans will only take a few times in their lives, you're going to go for the safest places that you already have some knowledge of.

[quote] I seriously doubt that any of these basic bitches would be caught dead in a place like Krakow, or Constanța, or Vilnius. Do you think that any of their friends would even know where those places are?

I was in Athens last month and heard a conversation between a mother and her ungrateful crotchfruit that I will paraphrase here:

Mom : “Why are t you enjoying yourself? We’re at the Acropolis!”

CF: “I don’t even know anything about this place! Why are we here?!”

Mom: “Because we couldn’t get a flight to Rome!”

They don’t call it Revenge Tourism for nothing….

I’m pretty sure it’s the Jersey Shore.

Why don't you parade your Eurotrash sensibilities somewhere fun, like a little farther up your ass? At least that way you'll get laid.

Las Vegas wins hands down.

I don't know how anything thinks it impresses anyone that you're going there these days.

OP/ R21 you're not a member of the elite jetset just because you've chosen to go to some third-tier European cities instead of Branson. The people who start "Americans are soooo stupid" threads always turn out to be pretentious, petit bougois losers.

Growing up in the South 40 years ago, Pensacola was *the* summer vacation spot. The other kids were so jealous when we went back to school and I told them where I went.

Hawaii is a shithole full of the worst people imaginable.

Why anyone would choose to subject themselves to that kind off bullshit is inexplicable, unless one is trolling for military cock.

Florida, in general - Disney World, Miami Beach - for the college kids, Fort Lauderdale or whatever place is big for spring break nowadays

Minkeypox is errywhere now, why would you want to go

R28, THANK YOU. That is INDISPUTABLY the sole answer!

Sheesh. "Paris." "Puerto Vallarta." "Las Vegas." " Disney World." They're the Paid Cable Channel Plus versions of vacations.

But AC? Ventnor, Manasquan, Asbury Park? If you're SNOOKIE.

I like the salsa at Chili’s 🌶

Florida . It is a vapid godforsaken shithole. White trash towns,places filled with Fascist New Yorkers...yuck! Sink holes and hurricanes...a disgustingly banal place.

I'd say Hawaii. Yes it's beautiful, but boring. And lots of ghetto, trashy areas inland away from the tourist spots.

Ibiza is a destination for basic *British* tourists. Most Americans are unfamiliar with it. London, Paris, and Rome are places anybody must visit to be considered remotely well-traveled. "Basic Americans" are not well-traveled, and don't even have passports.

Stupid poll.

Benidorm!

OP, bitter much? Might be why you're single.

R40 From what I can tell from Hollyoaks it’s Alicante, there must be direct flights multiple times a day from the village to there as they run off and visit at the drop of a hat. And everyone knows the McQueens are about as basic as you can get.

If my choice of Rome over Krakow is “basic”, then just pass me my spiced pumpkin latte now because I’ll take it.

I thought London would get higher votes on this. Been there once won't be back again

I saw a hawt guy once in London.

But then I died.

R40 is right. The real choice on this poll should be:

Disneyland

Disneyworld

OuterBanks, NC

Ocean City, MD

Anywhere, FL

Rehoboth Beach, DE

THAT is basic.

Perhaps you may quibble that it is not a "destination", but Viking Cruises need to be on the list.

London, Paris and Rome are basic?

Wow, Hawaii winning is crazy. It has the most culture, and Hawaiians will happily celebrate it with you.

I voted London because it seems…stale..

I’m planning my first trip to Hawaii next year. So I guess I’m “basic”. Thanks for depressing me.

Yeah, one can have a great meaningful vacation in Hawaii studying the history, visiting the offices of the separatist movement, meet native people there who take you to genuine native music venues, etc.

Certainly not basic or boring. Why are most Americans so vapid?

Hawaiians are uneducated, aggressive, rude as fuck, violent, and cruel to animals

^^ that's horse shit. It's clear you don't know any native people.

Yeah, ok

I don’t think most Americans who go to London, Paris or Rome are doing so for Louis Vuitton (is this 2000?) or easy sex. Ibiza is primarily a destination for Northern Europeans; as so many here have noted, we have Florida…

The Outer Banks are basic? They sound lovely.

I always assumed it was Six Flags.

Theme parks are for minorities these days.

Apparently Americans are flooding Europe because the Euro is on par with the dollar now.

Dollarino paritino

Dirty Myrtle. Top trash.

Also, all-inclusive resorts = trash.

OP really is a dumb ass shit for leaving off Florida.

State Fair and Rodeo

R53 This lard ass is upset with Hawaii and is posting hate about it all over Datalounge because it went there and never got lei’d. A big Hawaiian should drop you in a volcano.

Americans obsessed with the BRF are some of the most vile people on the planet . London it is!

How could the OP leave Vegas and Disney World off his list???

That said, the true winner is Branson, MO.

It’s funny thinking Paris is low on the list because it isn’t trashy!

After a night of being fisted at Keller those bucketfannies are only interested in taking their leaking princess asses to Disneyland Paris!

R65 = fat Polynesian

R69 If I was I’d throw your fat ass in a volcano.

Ho Ho ho!

R67 Also LA.

Yoo hoo, gays!

R38 - Went to Miami once and is still upset no one hot would fuck him.

Are we in pre-production for The White Lotus, season two, dear?

R57 The entire population of Pittsburgh decamps there every summer and destroys whatever loveliness it may have.

Vegas and the Disney parks retooled themselves to target foreign tourism ages ago. Formerly quintessential destinations like Niagara Falls and Hollywood would have died ages ago without their popularity with foreign tourists and Miami Beach never would have revived without them. Gatlinburg is probably the one remaining "American" destination that's also pretty basic.

Lot of shirtless hawties in Gatlinburg.

Disney and cruises are the correct answer.

Any local beach type of place (DE shore, Outer Banks, Jersey) is going to draw both local trash who come for the day or stay at the motels and local gentry with second homes there.

OP sounds like an over-educated ass-hat who probably makes less than $100k per year and has to contribute to his vacation fund to afford his exotic safari adventures in Botswana.

For those in the tri-state area, the basic, heterosexual vacation was (and to some extent, still is) Lake George. For years, it was the Catskills and as someone mentioned, Niagara Falls. For the elder set too weak or ambivalent about flying to Vegas but seeking a trashy and glitzy semblance of excitement, there's Atlantic City. For the boys, dare we add Montauk, the Hamptons, Fire Island, the Jersey Shore, or P-Town. Can't believe no one mentioned Puerto Rico or the DR in any of these threads. Basic and unimaginative as it gets and useful only for those seeking to get laid and trashed.

Personally, I'd take London, Paris, Rome, or Berlin over the former any day of the week.

P.S. Perhaps, the unique seekers should try Las Islas Canarias (birthplace of the slut pox!)

I mean, London, Paris and Rome are some of the world's greatest cities, with a cornucopia of cultural attractions, no matter how many American tourists go there. Sorry they're not obscure enough for hipster OP.

Worst poll ever.

The basic places for Americans would be--

New Orleans Disney World Atlantic City Las Vegs DC NYC Los Angeles Chicago

Places on our continent. Places you can drive to or take a few hours flight to reach. Then, places in the Caribbean and around the coasts of Mexico.

You can not group the Outer Banks with Ocean City, Jersey shore, etc. The Outer Banks in not a party town, has no trashy board walk and no amusement parks. The vast majority of renters are from the mid west.

Wouldn’t Myrtle Beach be the Jersey Shore equivalent?

Yes the basic hoi polloi holiday in Rome where they shop at the Louis Vuitton boutique.

DA FUQ?

OP have you ever been to America? Or Europe? The only people buying Louis Vuitton are Asians and Arabs.

R88 is accurate, OP.

I thought Ibiza was where boring trashy Brits went.

R90 Correction: trashy DRUGGY Brits

My answer is the same as R14.

Hawaiians don't want you either!

The Louis Vuitton thing is stupid and ruins the premise, so I’m ignoring it.

The most basic travel experience for any nationality is to go to an interchangeable beach destination with no especially defining cultural aspect. Skin cancer, all you can eat shrimp buffets, and lime in beer kind of places. Second place would be most basic cruises on a floating city where the actual destinations are random or inconsequential for most participants. Your towel animal on your bed made by an exploited worker is the high point of the day!

Despite how annoying they can sometimes be, any American who ventures farther than US/Canada/Mexico/Caribbean is miles ahead of the others by default, so most of the choices in the poll don’t make sense. It’s also about perspective and distance. An American would be a novelty somewhere like the Canary Islands which is a basic and unimaginative package holiday destination for many Europeans.

I'll agree with R94. A fat frau I used to work with was a typical boring American, terrified of travelling out of her comfort zone, and wouldn't step foot outside the US. Her most exciting destinations were no further east of Biloxi and no further north than Vegas. She spent most of her vacations in Lake Charles gambling. Mexico was out of the question. Spanish speaking brown people, you know. Ironic thing is we are in Houston which has a sizable population of Spanish speaking brown people.

Orlando is basic as basic gets.

R93

Isn’t that a problem pretty much at every major area?

"The man who is tired of London...."

Now, admittedly I did all my flying in the 20th C., but I could never imagine the great cities of Europe (been to them ALL [but for Berlin and Barcelona]) as "basic."

As for Rehoboth Beach: I've been twice. I thought the Northern section with its clean and less-visited shoreline was lovely; Rehoboth's main town section charming with boutique stores and an old-timey bandshell; and the restaurants excellent. Nothing "basic."

I'm defining "basic" as tacky, cheap-appearing, abounding in loudness (human or otherwise), not offering many "amenities," as it were.

But "basic" could also be fun!

This thread reminds me of a a former English bf I had. Wherever we traveled to he had to find a British pub. That got old real quick.

R94 So true about Americans of a certain age (35 or older). The younger ones are making their way around and are improving on the Ugly American stereotypes their grandparents and to a lesser degree parents bestowed upon them.

On a side note, I love when you discuss travel with a basic traveler, and they'll say something like "I went there in high school." Because, yes, you can truly appreciate the significance of place once and for all at that age. That's as basic as you can get.

No one should travel abroad until they can appreciate the cultures and their differences. I have a cousin who was pissed when they took their 12 year old son with them overseas and all he wanted to do was hang out in the hotels on his lap top gaming.

I'm feeling lazy and assuming it's been said, but Disneyworld.

Seriously though, Epcot is the closest to a 'world tour' as most of its visitors get.

This is confusing. I think OP is talking about rich people who follow trends and have no imagination. But most of us don't know very many people who are THAT rich. Or if we do, we kind of really want to hang out with them and would love to travel with them.

So then there's a group of posters who are talking about upper middle class Americans and where they vacation. My mom recently shamed me for going to Disney, but I like it there. Plus, you get a hell of a lot of exercise there. I'm pretty sure I lost weight. My problem is fear of flying (complicated issue), so I can't get to Europe unless I take months off and go on a ship. So it's all East Coast places. Plenty of museums, Williamsburg, VA. There are normal people who do fly who go on vacations. I think the "basic" people who just want to impress others go to beaches in the Caribbean. Vegas is a total different animal. It's for people who want to just let go of everything.

Then there are lower middle class and poor people. They might go stay with friends or go to less expensive locations, but they usually can't afford any of this.

OP types jealous with sour grapes clenched tight in her ass. Rome, London, and Paris are basic?

The answer should be OP's trailer park.

Dollywood!

You can't get more basic than Myrtle Beach. Well, except for Panama City, FL.

Dollywood, I suppose, is basic for breeders but if you're gay it's FABULOUS!!!

We always shop at the Louis Vuitton at Bombay Beach!

When I think of basic European destinations for Americans, I instantly think of the Rick Steves crowd and the places they flock to: the Cinque Terre, Bruges, the Rue Cler in Paris, etc. AKA the aging hippie trail.

This thread and its posters = basic

For all of you people saying Vegas, I would like to remind you of the existence of Reno. I was a travel agent in the 90s, and several times received calls from people wanting to book a slot in the RV park at Circus Circus in Reno. Fortunately, they didn't work with travel agents, as they were too cheap to pay commission (not that the commission would have been anything.)

Reno is worse than Atlantic City. Oh, I hated the Atlantic City calls. We worked with a company called Fabulous Tours who offered AC packages. Every time you called, you would hear this message in a nasal Jersey Accent:

Thank you foah cawlling Fabulous Tooahs. Atlantic City's leading tooah operatah. Please howld, and a representative will be with you shawtly. They were walkin' and tawkin' at Fabulous Tooahs.

Fortunately, I moved onto international travel, and then ticketing/IATA management, before moving into telecom.

For California types: Big Bear (in the summer), Morro Bay, Clear Lake, Temecula, Desert Hot Springs, Lake Havasu, Laughlin

R110 As a recovering Rick Steeves follower, almost spit out my coffee at that one. I'd read those books and wonder, "who they hell is this 'walking tour' supposed to interest? You finally answered that question.

On that note, you may as well add Rome and Paris to your list. The basic honeymoon, "so romantic," "City of Lights," "almost got scammed by a gypsy," Eat Pray Love crowd is basic for sure.

And they should know better if they have the resources and wherewithal to actually get a passport and use it.

R113 You can add Monterey to that list. It's sad how trashy the place has become. Carmel is the non-basic option.

[quote] CF: “I don’t even know anything about this place! Why are we here?!”

[quote]Mom: “Because we couldn’t get a flight to Rome!”

This never happened. It defies basic logic.

That’s hilarious, r112!

Rome will never be basic, even if places within Rome are.

Inès de La Fressange had my boyfriend and I for the holidays in Megève. They go way back to their modeling days. Well, my best friend from grad school was coming to Europe and invited me down to Rome for Christmas. Hadn't seen him in 10 years but I was like, Rome?! I'm sorry, basic bitch!

Niagara Falls

Cancun

[quote]Inès de La Fressange had my boyfriend and I

Oh, dear.

The poll options are a total failure since none are basic or cheap.

The correct answer is that basic Americans will vacation in the closest available location to their home or drive to a national park.

Those that can afford to spend more with kids go to Orlando and visit the theme parks and those who want to let go travel to Las Vegas.

That’s the list.

And a big fuck you to the troll shitting on Hawaii.

R110, Anyone who would knock Bruges and its visitors is an ignorant philistine; is, in fact, BASIC.

[quotge]I don't really understand how world class cities with centuries of history and culture make the OP's list of "basic" destinations...really?

Agree with R10 and others. With a very few possible exceptions, it's only destinations created solely for tourists that draw ire on their own (lack of) merit: Disney-anything, Branson Missouri, Las Vegas, Puerto Vallarta (with a modest history from the late 19thC, a banana boom, and then tourism from the 1960s), Atlantis Bahamas and lots of Caribbean destinations...

'Basic' seems more a style of travel than destination once you exclude the places that were developed exclusively/largely to be a tourist magnet. You can find 'basic' tourists lost in some splendid places...it's not so much a reflection on the place.

Honeymoon Hotel in Gatlinburg. Smoked damaged suites 50% off.

I know a gay couple who, I kid you not, went to Euro Disney for their honeymoon. And it's not even that they are not what we'd consider "basic" in some social status sense - both of them had well paid management jobs at Johnson & Johnson.

Tampa

Fort Lauderdale

Hilton Head

Reno is nothing special, but is better than Las Vegas because it's not as hot and it's only an hour drive from Lake Tahoe, which is a nice vacation destination.

I don't believe anyone thinks of either Temecula or Desert Hot Springs as an actual vacation destination.

It's all Elizabeth's fault!

Since we are knocking AC, Reno and Vegas can someone tell us anything about Lake Tahoe? Some years ago they were really shilling it as a destination wedding locale.

Yes, Disneyland (any location), Disney World (Orlando), and ... cruises.

Las Vegas, basic.

[quote] Reno is nothing special, but is better than Las Vegas because it's not as hot and it's only an hour drive from Lake Tahoe, which is a nice vacation destination.

What's the big deal about Lake Tahoe? I kind of regret not going when I was in Reno. Reno is very lackluster compared to Las Vegas and I'm not a huge fan of LV.

R131, Tahoe is absolutely beautiful - consequently, it’s being loved to death. Traffic is a nightmare, lodging is scarce, and its water quality is suffering from the effects of overdevelopment as well as constant wildfires in the region.

Might as well visit now before it gets even worse.

There isn't a "big deal" about Lake Tahoe. But it's a year-round vacation destination, although only really for skiing in the winter. Sadly it is overbuilt and in many places overcrowded, so it's lost some of its original quality. There are still areas of beauty. Reno is nothing. But I would still take Reno, Lake Tahoe and the rest of the Sierra Nevada any day over Las Vegas.

OK, I think I'd go to Lake Tahoe in the winter, if anything.

R127 said Johnson

Heh heh heh

Lake Mead

How the hell can London, Paris, and Rome be basic. Paris would only be basic if you went there and only went to Paris Disneyland and only ate at McDonald's.

My frau former friend took her kids to Tokyo and was trying to discuss with me how many days they should spend at Tokyo Disneyland. I said "one day." That wasn't an option.

The Japs have their own Disneyland ?

London, Paris, and Rome be basic if 1) you are basic 2) your purpose for going there is basic 3) your experience there is basic.

There are literally thousands of basic Americans and non-Americans who crowd these cities with their basic lives, reasons for travelling, and the things they do there.

Why is that hard to understand?

P..S. Just because one can afford a trip out to these places does not excuse one from being basic. Thousands of new money Chinese and Russians make their way out into popular destinations these days. BASIC. They are catching up to their American counterparts. (Like the one example of the Johnson & Johnson gays who went to Eurodisney for their honeymoon, although I suspect they may not have been that wealthy and were probably in HR or Marketing - execs would not be doing that sort of thing; neither would the Sales Reps who deal with doctors every day).

r139=Cotton Hill

R53 they learned it pretty well from their colonizers; because, when has being nice to visitors ever benefited someone?

Lake Havasu is a good one. I can only imagine how much MAGA trash hangs out there with their jetskis decked out in Trump flags. Leather-skinned OC bitches like Vicki Gunvalson whooping it up everywhere.

I know nothing of the Redneck Riviera, but the name suggests it would also be a worthy candidate.

[quote]There are literally thousands of basic Americans and non-Americans who crowd these cities with their basic lives, reasons for travelling, and the things they do there.

[quote]Why is that hard to understand?

Use a word ten times to make it yours!

What don't you understand, R140 "basic" people and "basic" places are not a perfect intersect. Millions of people live interesting, richly developed lives in London, Paris, and Rome, busy with work, with friendships and family life, with cultural events and leisure that have fuck all to do with these "basic" tourists who bother you so, or for that matter basic property investors from China and Russia hedging their bets and buying a home in those cities.

[quote] I know nothing of the Redneck Riviera, but the name suggests it would also be a worthy candidate.

Destin, FL, is the Redneck Riviera.

Destin is a good pick!

I remember obnoxious American brats moaning in the McDonald’s on Las Ramblas how they had to wait “three fucking hours” for their Big Macs.

They were like the slackers in The Rules of Attraction touring “Europe” to score drugs.

They’re basic, not the place .

Never been to Destin but I heard the sand is beautiful. White and a texture like talcum powder.

Hawaii definitely because it's tropical but still America. Paris and Rome come close 2nd because they are "romantic"; London comes in 3rd. Ibiza is a newer party destination spot for American basically following Europe's lead. Never hear anyone pining to go the last one; it should be replaced with Cancun, Spring Break destination of dreams.

[quote] Middle-class Americans go to Disney World, not Paris

They go to Epcot, same thing.

Sandusky, Ohio

R149, The OP is using "basic" not as in "elemental" or "essential." He is using its connotation of "pathetic, for losers only."

Like, a trip to the Holy Land might be basic, but a visit to the Ark Encounter would be "basic."

[quote]I know nothing of the Redneck Riviera, but the name suggests it would also be a worthy candidate.

All you need to know is that Matt Gaetz is their Congressman (at least for part of it.)

The Wisconsin Dells

Pennsylvania Dutch Country (Lancaster Co.)

Hahaha, r154! I plan to buy a ticket tomorrow morning for a concert in Lancaster! Say vunst naw!

Just so you guys know, the Lancaster, PA are is FILLED with antique malls. I freakin' love it there. Yes, we live in NJ and stare at the Amish people. Yes, we shop at outlets. Yes, we eat junk food out there. But it's FILLED WITH ANTIQUES!!!!

Some time (over ten years ago), we were staying in a Westgate that I think we booked through Priceline. I can't swim so my little son and I went down to the hot tub and were in there with some nice Christian men. One was a young guy and one was middle aged. I think they were in town for one of the religious amusement parks or theaters, but they weren't creepy, and I was still slim and a cute (female) 40 at the time. (I used to make fun of hot tubs and say they were only for swingers, but we had a totally wholesome time.) So there's nothing wrong with the Lancaster area, and there's nothing wrong with wholesome Christians!

Omg

There's something...comforting, grounding, real in encountering a horse and buggy driven by an Amish man, all three entities in black. Living history.

Okay, I'm going to take exception with the idea that Hawaii is "basic". Sure, there are basic parts to Hawaii, and the people that go just to fry themselves on Waikiki beach, and then get hammered at the nearby bars and hotel luaus, could fairly be called "basic".

But there's so much more to the Hawiian islands! Is someone who goes to hike the Grand Canyon of Kauai basic, to climb the dry part of the tallest mountain in the world, or a scuba diver who wants to explore shark reefs and underwater lava tubes? Screw that, I'm going next month to poke around a live volcano, and live volcanoes may be a lot of things but they sure aren't basic!

Just so you know, and that someday your children will know, most of those “Amish” they are passing off on you in those tours are the Mennonites. The Amish don’t want to have any fucking thing to do with you.

I agree with OP. The majority of people will go to London, Paris and Rome to “do” London, Paris and Rome and eat in the same tourist trap restaurants, hike around to the same sites and shop at the same stores.

The Redneck Riviera is the coast of the Florida panhandle. Panama City, Florida could be considered typical of it.

MAGA basics - definitely Florida and Vegas with a stop at a huge hole in the earth called The Grand Canyon

Rich basics - Hawaii, Cabo and Bahamas type islands

Someone upthread had it just right

Why the hell are people still posting in this thread?

R164 Edits to your insightful list:

MAGA basics - CANCUN (think Ted Cruz)

Rich basic - TULUM (half of NY and LA)

And they're only an hour an apart.

R163, I just bought a book on the accidents and fatalities in Grand Canyon N.P.

Man, some people are mortally stupid!

I visited once, back in the day. My reaction was as r163's. I much preferred Yellowstone.

Fraus and bachelorettes keep trying to make Nashville happen.

There are similar books about Yosemite and Yellowstone. I think the Grand Canyon book (Over the Edge) and the Yosemite book (Off the Wall) are by the same author. There is even a book about a single incident at Yosemite (Shattered Air).

I find these books fascinating, although somewhat morbid, still fascinating studies of human behavior. Once my Mom and I were at Glacier Point in Yosemite, and a guy about 18 went out on the famous Overhanging Rock that you see people on in those antique photos. Despite all the warning signs he had to go there and pose. I had to look away because I was sure the next gust of wind would easily blow him off and send him 3,200 feet straight down to his death. Somehow that didn't happen.

Maybe on an "If It's Tuesday..." tour, r161, but otherwise you have no idea where tourists might shop or eat.

Now, if you are so pretentious as to suggest that visiting the major sites of a capital city is simply too declasse for words, well, as we like to say here, smell you!

"The Louvre? Oh, my little chickens! Not after that execrable 'Da Vinci Code'! Mais non. WE will be visiting the atelier of THE hottest painter in all of gay Paree! A droite, s'il vous plait!"

Mar-A-Lago

This is what happens when you start a parody thread about something DLers hold dear to their hearts, OP

I can one-up you on Las Vegas. Anyone who's ever been POOR in Los Angeles County knows that Laughlin is even more basic, sad, and ghetto than Vegas. It's the POOR Vegas and it smells.

R168, I live fairly close to Yosemity, and I've been going regularly since I was a kid, mostly to the high country and not the valley.

But on every single fucking time I've visited Glacier Point, there's some idiot out on the Hanging Rock, usually several, and not one has fallen to their deaths. I hope that when the wind is high or the rain is icy they close the overlook or post a ranger to keep people off the rock, because obviously a person could die there. But mostly, they don't.

Why would anyone go to Yo, Semite?

Hawai'i is not basic. It's expensive and out of reach for most Americans. Mexico is way cheaper and more basic.

For those that do go to Hawai'i, you can be basic if you stay *only* in Waikiki, or like to stay in Kailua-Kona. Hell, Kailua-Kona feels like Florida + Vegas smashed into some awful melange that costs 3x the price and calls itself Polynesian. But those are for upper middle-income basics.

I should say Kailua-Kona is like Florida + PHOENIX, not Vegas.

Lake Havasu has strong merit for basic vacation. As you approach the hastily constructed condos will take on the familiar yet iconic modern big box malls and gas stations aesthetic. All this unique taste will be found to be surrounded by the beautiful sun blasted Mohave desert. One will find the retired locals hiding in motor home villages. Don't despair you have been sold a silk purse for a sows ear though. The main attraction is the amazing London bridge, a bridge lovingly purchased disassembled, then miraculously reassembled, every stone in place like the original. It once crossed the Thames river in old London, but is now reconstructed for your sensory enthrallment over a specially constructed arm of the beautiful, namesake of this unique location, Lake Havasu. The lake itself also known as a reservoir by afficianados, a camouflaged arm of the declining Colorado river is a wonder of engineering and old man fishing refuge. The reservoir itself a first rate desert depository of sewage water and dead body juice from generations of Vegas mob revenge killings. This place is hard to beat. One can hardly do better. Don't miss it.

R176 It’s a volcanic island what did you expect beached whale?

During the pandemic the cast of Floribama Shore went to Lake Havasu and stayed at a nearly deserted resort. That's about as basic as you can get.

I have never been to Lake Mead and would never go, but one day I found myself reading all the poor reviews of the houseboats for rent on TripAdvisor.

Clusterfuck! And they all have hundreds of spiders!

Omg

R178 - have you BEEN to the Big Island? The Hilo side is miles above the Kona side, and I consider Kilauea as Hilo side.

And even on the Kona “side,” the Kohala coast and places like Havi - or seeing the Pu’uhokola Haiau - are worlds more interesting than desert wasteland Kailua-Kona and its worse upstart Waikoloa.

Volcanic island doesn’t mean a desert wasteland full of old white retirees.

The London Bridge in Lake Havasu City is interesting... for 3 minutes. Then, it's like... "well, what else is there?"

Parker Dam, the world's deepest dam, south of Lake Havasu, is more interesting to visit, and the "Parker Strip," sort of like a micro-size Grand Canyon lined with dilapidated boating resorts, is more scenic than Lake Havasu City.

Branson

"Basic"

Surprised no one, even I, mentioned the OPEN SEAS

The ocean is too deep.

R160, The horse-and-buggy people are likely Amish.

Yes, R188. And the Mennonites and Amish don't look alike at all the same beyond being "old-fashioned."

We were at Yosemite National Park once and there were hundreds of them that day. At every stop, every viewpoint, every waterfall, there were dozens. All the women were wearing the same granny dresses, or whatever they are called. They were all pretty quiet. When we got home I told my neighbor, who is from Amish country, "The park was completely filled with Amish people!" I described them and he said, "They were probably Mennonites."

The Vineyard and Nantucket, perhaps?

Onacock, VA for the eldergheys

Dumb bitch OP’s poll finally got crossed out, a week late.

No, r191.

R183 - I've always wondered if Lake Havasu City took advantage of London Bridge being there to become a little British town in the US. Are there lots of British stores there?