9 Destinations You Should Not Visit In 2024, According To Travel Experts

Last Updated 3 months ago

Knowing where not to go can be just as insightful as knowing where to go. It may not be as common to search for the worst places, but travelers will benefit all the same.

Fodor’s released their annual “No List” for 2024. We covered the same list for 2023 and my how things change!

For the record, this is not a hit piece. In fact, many travelers will still make their way to these destinations and may have the time of their lives.

Young woman photographing with digital tablet Parthenon temple in Acropolis

To compile the “No List”, Fodor’s focused on 3 key factors:

Overtourism
Trash production
Water quality and sufficiency

Let’s dive into why these travel experts believe you should avoid these 9 destinations in 2024:

Destinations To Avoid Due To Overtourism

Venice, Italy:

There’s simply no place quite like Venice (sorry Vegas!). Unfortunately, Venice has made headlines for a lot of the wrong reasons in recent years.

Like a bratty toddler at Christmas, Venice has now made the naughty list twice. In 2018, the one-of-a-kind city was featured in Fodor’s “No List” and hasn’t made enough improvements.

Whether it’s dolphins in the canals or extreme floods, ironically, this remarkable city is drowning with tourists to the point of being ineligible of becoming the next World Heritage Site.

Strategies are being set to combat the crowds, but will a $5 entry fee really make a difference?

Gondolas Traveling Through The Canals Of Venice, Italy

Athens, Greece:

One of the trendiest places in Europe this year was Greece. Many, at the very least, make Athens their first stopping point in the country.

Unfortunately, poor management of the influx of tourists is causing some big issues to their culture and the iconic Acropolis.

New protocols have been set in place to attempt to preserve the most historical landmark in the country.

Day trips have skyrocketed in popularity by cruise and the city just isn’t equipped to handle it. There are plenty of other amazing places in the Mediterranean waiting to be discovered while pushing the Acropolis further down on your bucket list.

Mount Fuji, Japan:

Mount Fuji has seen such a rush of travelers that Japan is publicly encouraging tourists to go more off-path.

Although its sheer beauty is a sight to behold, visitors are failing to recognize the danger in both the natural wonder’s longevity and the personal safety risks of climbing it.

It becomes even more of a potential nightmare as long lines of hikers become blockades to emergency situations. Locals have demanded new security measures from the government.

The highest point of Japan has seen irresponsible visitors leaving behind rubbish and not paying fees to help conservation – a double whammy.

Without proper management, it’s simply not worth the selfies and once-in-a-lifetime postcards you can receive at the top.

Destinations To Avoid Due To Trash Production

San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, California:

As the state that seems to take the most pride in being at the forefront of conservation and sustainability, you would think California would preserve natural sites better.

Apparently not. For a state with the goal of banning gasoline-powered cars by 2035, they’re off to a poor start making the world greener, at least with this destination.

Combining the number of visitors with the lack of environmental policies has made San Gabriel a dud for 2024.

8,000 pounds of garbage have been removed by volunteers, with the best solution now being to allow nature to heal from too many tourists and careless management.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam:

Beautiful Vietnam has seen a surge of tourists this year. If you’re one of the millions with plans to visit Ha Long Bay, you may want to reschedule or change destinations.

Tourism is affecting the local community negatively, and conservation policies have gone by the wayside.

The bay is full of garbage and diesel, hurting fishing communities and wildlife. Boat tours frequented by visitors don’t realize the ripple effects that end up harming this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Aerial view of boats parked at Halong Bay in Vietnam

Atacama Desert, Chile:

As the winner of the ‘most romantic’ destination of the World Travel Awards, they must’ve missed the part about the massive dump site in the desert.

And let’s be real- nobody dumps on dates. As gorgeous as the Atacama Desert may be with its natural wonders, such as geysers, it’s also home to a massive dump site for used textiles.

It’s not exactly a place that screams romance. Since Chile’s government doesn’t allow certain materials in landfills, the dump site has become so big you can see it from space!

This desert may be marketed as a top tourist attraction, but it’s not all it’s cracked up to be environmentally.

These Destinations Lack Water Quality And Sufficiency

Lake Superior:

The largest freshwater lake on the planet is facing a plethora of issues, largely due to overtourism and climate change.

Warming waters are seeing worrisome effects on the environment, including icky algae blooms. Invasive species are invading the waters and affecting the ecosystem, which affects local communities.

Visitors are leaving trash behind at campgrounds and stressing the environment to its limits. As beautiful as Lake Superior may be, it may be time to give it a break.

The Ganges River, India:

India is a mystical place full of wonders across the country, but the Ganges River should perhaps be skipped on your itinerary.

Issues are wide-ranging from pollution, endangered dolphins, and too many luxury cruise tourists. Pollution has been a major problem for years. Yet, the Hindu religion still sees this river as sacred even with an estimated 800 million gallons of untreated sewage poured into this body of water.

Even if you do decide to add the Ganges River to your itinerary, this is not the place to cross off “go swimming with dolphins”.

Koh Samui, Thailand:

Koh Samui is a popular island destination in Thailand, but it comes with underlying problems. Water shortages are plaguing the island as 70% of supplies are being consumed.

Just this summer, advisories were put in place that there were only 30 days of freshwater left. This has caused locals to have to pay out of pocket for bottled water for both personal and business use.

The hordes of tourists just simply aren’t helping, as more people equals more consumption. The water shortage began last December and is still ongoing today.

Locals believe fewer tourists will help the island to get back to where it needs to be to become a thriving destination once again.

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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com

Gary

Wednesday 15th of November 2023

Mexico? Really? With all of the drug peddlers, and people getting killed from the trouble going on there? Is it really a good idea going there? I think I would prefer going to Victoria BC, Canada. I've been there before and I liked it. I would love to go back someday

Lady Carolyne Montague

I did 5 continents in my 20s and since nearly 50 decades I can remember them as beautiful and what did we really know about garbage then ? The human race is the garbage !

Darush

Oooh

Kriss

@Lady Carolyne Montague, you are so on point

V Po

Having travelled for the past 50 years I totally agree with this article. Too many tourists cause major problems in great destinations all over the world to the point where they are made unliveable for locals. A limit on tourist numbers and a visitors tax to help solve issues such as pollution, water shortages and other environmental impacts should be introduced in many popular destinations.

Chopsticks

Tuesday 14th of November 2023

This may be the worst written travel article in history. The idea that you should not visit the Atacama desert because there is a trash dump there is insane. Do you know how large that desert is? This would be like not visiting Vegas, because there is a dump site somewhere in Nevada.

Karen

Fodors has it wrong. These cities are doing what they can. Over tourism is caused directly from large cruise companies. They dock in town and thousands descend on the city. These people don’t put money into The Local because they don’t eat in restaurants and jam up the cities sewers. Their sewage aren’t meant for a sudden barrage of tourists ! The local populations of these cities have to move out of the city because of tourists. Cruise ships pollute, cause waves, wear things down. No wonder the people are fed up with tourists. So why does Fodors blame local Governments for « not doing enough » to solve the problem ? They’re not looking at the whole issue. The problem of over tourism is only going to get worse. Pretty soon , Fodors will go out of business because no city will pass muster! The cruise ship companies are the major creators of over tourism.

Michele

@I went to Athens last January, absolutely fabulous,warm weather, not too crowded, would absolutely recommend Michele ,

Vincent Russo

@Karen,Agree totally. These monster cruise ships with a population of a small city need to be banned, period. They are floating garbage dumps which pollute along with using more food and water to support a Midwest town or city. It's all about the money.