Funny Vacation Photos That Prove That Vacations Aren’t Always Relaxing

If you’re the kind of person who prefers adventure over cocktails by the pool, you probably add at least one hike into your vacation plans. And there’s no doubt about the fact that hiking is a great way to immerse yourself in the local culture and experience wide-spanning views of the place you’re visiting. But sometimes, you can immerse yourself a little too much, and it seems as though this person did just that. 

While we know that this is a vacation fail, we can’t help but think that this should also be hung in the Louvre. After all, it’s a masterpiece! No matter how hard anyone tries, they’ll probably never be able to take a photo like this ever again. This was a convenient fluke and one that shows the infamous “fish lips” in a completely different light. And we absolutely love it. 

If you’re currently vacation planning, why not add Iceland to your bucket list? For many, this is the dream vacation – even if the price of the flights and the hotels will set you back a few more dollars than you’d like. When you get there, though, you might want to check your surroundings before you start taking what you think are beautiful photos. If you don’t, you might fall victim to the ultimate photobomb. 

There’s nothing better than checking out the local wildlife when you go on vacation, and we bet the animals who roam the streets of tourist traps are used to having people coming and going on a regular basis. But it seems as though animals suffer the same problems that we do, and this camel was just a little conscious of its breath. So, he wanted this tourist to have a whiff!

When vacation planning, you probably do tons of research. You might spend hours reading reviews of the hotel, as well as price-checking flights and researching the trips you could take while you’re there. These people did the exact same thing when they planned their dream vacation to Scotland, and after this “famous cave” came up as a recommendation time and time again, they knew they had to make the two-hour trek to see it for themselves. 

The phrase “gone up in flames” is normally reserved for hypothetical situations, but it seems as though this person’s dream vacation turned into a nightmare when they were dealt with this real-life situation on the very first day of their vacation. Yes, they had traveled hours to spend time in this 100-year-old family cabin, only to experience a large storm that ultimately caused the house to burn down. Thankfully, everyone escaped unscathed. 

Have you ever been to Amsterdam? Known for its beautiful canals, stunning tulip fields, historical architecture, and intriguing museums, we don’t blame this woman for being excited about her trip to Amsterdam. But it turns out that she was so excited about her romantic canal tour that she couldn’t sleep the night before – and that soon turned into a problem. It was nothing a good nap couldn’t fix, though.

For many people, the excitement of planning a vacation is sometimes bigger than the excitement they feel when they get there. And we can’t help but think that this couple experienced that when they planned their trip to Los Angeles. As they walked down the Venice Beach boardwalk, they had to deal with the fact that it was cold and rainy outside. But that wasn’t all they had to deal with. 

No dream vacation would be complete without taking a few photos on the beach. This is a rite of passage all tourists have to go through, and it seems as though these guys got the memo about that, too. And all was going so well until they were photobombed by a spider monkey who obviously didn’t like the fact that they were standing in that specific spot. It didn’t offer the best view of the ocean, after all. 

When you pay for flights to take you halfway across the world, you don’t want to spend all of your time in the hotel room. Instead, you need to make the most of your dream vacation. And this couple planned on doing just that – which is why they booked to go diving amongst the fishes and the coral. But while they wanted to take a photo of their underwater adventures, it seems as though this censor fish didn’t want bare skin in the photo. 

This is a public service announcement to anyone currently planning a vacation; remember your sunscreen! Even if you think you don’t need it, it’s always a good idea to pack some just in case. And we bet this guy regrets his decision to leave his sunscreen in his hotel room when he went kayaking for the day. The hot sun, coupled with the belly rolls caused by sitting up for hours on end, wasn’t a good combination.

Everyone has their own idea of what the perfect vacation is. For some, it’s two weeks on the beach with all-inclusive food and drink. For others, it’s an adventure vacation filled with 4×4 driving and bungee jumping. And then there are some who love the idea of a fishing vacation. This guy is one of them, and he even hiked to a 3,000-ft elevation to fish in a high alpine lake. 

No matter how much time you spend vacation planning, there’s always room for something to go wrong – especially at the airport. As soon as you check in and hand your luggage over to the airport workers, you have no idea if you’re ever going to get that suitcase back. And it seemed as though the owner of this suitcase was going to have a bad vacation before it had even properly started. 

It’s no secret that Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations around the world. From the culture to the food and the stunning hotels, there’s so much for people to see and do. But no trip to Paris would be complete without a trip up the Eiffel Tower, right? This guy knew that which is exactly why he made his way up to the top in order to see the view in all of its glory.

Although some people are able to pack for a vacation in half an hour, there are others out there who need at least a week to check they’ve packed everything they need. And when they’ve checked once, they’ll then go ahead and check twice! But we can only assume that this person didn’t get around to checking twice, which is why they accidentally mixed up their digestive aids and their laxatives.

We live in a world where technology reins supreme, and no vacation would be complete without taking countless photos of your adventures. This woman obviously got that memo, which is why she wanted to take a few snaps of herself in front of a waterfall. And while everything seemed to be going well, she soon realized that her beautiful photo wasn’t quite as beautiful as it seemed. In fact, she had a dinosaur in the background!

Some people book adventures for a little break away from their normal life, and this guy did exactly that. While in the midst of studying for his finals, he decided to take himself off on a weekend hike to embrace nature and the fresh air away from his books. Of course, what he didn’t anticipate was getting an allergic reaction during his hike, and coming back home looking like this.

If you’ve never heard of the accidental selfie before, let us enlighten you. In fact, it’s not a hard concept to grasp. This occurs when someone accidentally takes a selfie of themselves without meaning to, and that’s what happened to this man. He was asked by a couple on vacation to take a photo of them, and that’s what he tried to do. However, it’s safe to say that he didn’t succeed. 

We all know that the wheels on the bus go round and round, but what about the wheels of a car on someone’s first trip to Houston? Well, we don’t think they go anywhere at all. Especially as this guy parked up for all of half an hour before someone came along and stole his tires. We’re assuming they stole his tires, anyway. Perhaps they were performing some kind of NASCAR pit stop?

Many lost souls head into the woods to embrace nature and think about life, but this takes that notion to a whole new level. When this person decided to go on a huge hike in the middle of the forest, they weren’t a lost soul – but they did lose their sole! As they were halfway through their hike, the soles of their shoes fell off, leaving the bottom of their feet exposed to the elements. 

When you plan a vacation, what are you looking for? Something close to home but immersed in nature? A long flight to somewhere that looks like paradise? Or maybe a beautiful hotel with sea views? So many people want a sea view when they book a vacation, and that’s exactly what this person wanted. And while this Airbnb claimed to have a sea view, we can’t help but think that they stretched the truth slightly. 

Vacations come in all shapes and forms, and in the U.S., many people choose to drive for a staycation within the country. Of course, this can still be pretty exciting – but not when your car breaks down. This person felt that pain when their rental car broke down in the middle of their road trip, but their vacation fail got even worse when the tow truck that was supposed to save them also broke down!

When planning a vacation with kids, it’s hard to keep track of everything – especially when it comes to hotels. When you’re away from home, you have to be on hand to deal with all of the sleeping arrangements, and this is also the case when you have to pull out a sofa bed for the kids. But let this be a public service announcement to all parents out there: make sure there are no phones in the hinges of the sofa bed!

To some people, there’s nothing better than waking up in the morning on vacation and heading out on a hike. You get out before the sun gets too hot, and you get to see the beauty of the local area before it gets too busy. But, on the other hand, there’s nothing more annoying than waking up, going for a hike, reaching the top, and then realizing that the fog is restricting your view!

Nowadays, so many people plan their dream vacations around popular Instagram spots – like this colorful road! And when this person saw it online, they instantly booked their flights, chose their hotel, and hopped on over to see it in person. But we guess that what you see online isn’t the same as what you see in real life, as they were severely disappointed when they spotted this colorless road instead. 

Dear readers, let’s play a game. What do you think this guy is pointing to? A beach? A beautiful hotel? A historic monument? Well, it’s actually a castle! This man traveled all the way to Germany to see the famous Neuschwanstein Castle from what is normally a great viewpoint – but it seems as though he just wasn’t very lucky with the weather. That’s a great view of some clouds, though. 

Let’s be honest; your honeymoon is your chance to go wild. You can choose your ultimate dream vacation and plan it into reality, and that’s exactly what this couple did. They knew that they wanted to go to Greece, and they booked everything from the flights to the hotel down to a T. However, that didn’t stop this husband from having an unplanned accident while riding a scooter at 10mph.

So many people plan a trip based on the attractions they want to see in a certain place, and we don’t blame them. The world is full of so many amazing historical attractions that it would be a shame to miss them. But it turns out that even if you go with the intention of seeing these things, it doesn’t mean that you will actually see them! They might be covered in scaffolding, instead. 

Is anyone else covering their eyes with their hands right now? This is our worst nightmare, especially as it happens to so many people. And while you could spend hours trying to ensure that your cosmetics and face creams are going to survive the flight, nothing is guaranteed. And this person realized that for themselves when they opened up their bag and realized that the whole thing had sprung a leak. 

Hands up if you’ve ever seen the Liberty Bell? For many Americans and non-Americans alike, a visit to the Liberty Bell is something that’s always been on their bucket list, and that’s why so many people like to take photos of themselves in front of it. And while this mom wanted to take that same photo of her child and husband, it didn’t quite work out the way she hoped. 

While there’s no doubt about the fact that we have a real fear of getting on the wrong train, and while we do agree that this guy’s experience was a true vacation fail – we can’t help but think that, actually, he’s the one who is wrong! Yes, he is on a bullet train, but we have a feeling that the bullet train is probably going in the exact direction it should be going. 

There’s nothing quite like putting your feet in the sand and dipping your toes in the water when you’re on vacation. If you plan a vacation to the beach, you need to enjoy the beach! And it seems as though these guys wanted to do just that – and we guess they didn’t want their car to be left out. But everyone knows what happens when you mix a beach with a car, right?

For many motorcycle lovers, a road trip is the ultimate dream vacation. They hope on their bikes, ride off into the sunset and plan their trip as they go. However, this guy has proven that this can be pretty stressful. And when he tried to ride from Colorado Springs to Las Vegas, he thought that riding south to avoid the snow would be a good idea. Until he then got snowed in…

We’ve heard of the phrase ‘putting your foot in it,’ but is there another phrase for when you break your foot in Cancun on the first day of your honeymoon? If anyone knows what it is, they should send it to this person! After months of vacation planning and the hopes of a dream vacation in the back of their minds, this newlywed couple had to spend their first few hours sitting in a Mexican hospital. 

We all know that you can’t bake a cake without any flour, and the same can be said without electronic items and batteries. But anyone who has a drone will know just how easy it is to accidentally leave the batteries behind. And while this is fine when you’ve only just left the house, it’s pretty annoying when you realize you’ve left your batteries at home when you’ve just traveled to another country and scaled a mountain!

While planning a vacation in your car is a great way to give yourself freedom of movement, it does mean that you have to rely on your car being in working order. In most cases, that’s absolutely fine. But in extreme cases, like this one, that’s not fine at all! Just two days into this person’s vacation and while they were around 1,000 miles away from their home, this happened to their car. 

Sure, this may look like a normal photo of an airport. But this photo actually sums up one of the worst vacation fails anyone has ever experienced. That’s because this photo was taken by someone who was supposed to be going on a family cruise trip before their flights got delayed three times. But to make matters even worse, their flight was then canceled – meaning they missed the cruise altogether. 

When the British are having a good time, they often say that they’re having a “smashing” time. But we can’t help but think that this person wasn’t having a smashing time when they finally got into their hotel room after a long flight. All they wanted to do was wash the airplane smell of them, but instead they had to deal with the smash and crash of their shower screen!

When you go on vacation, you should always be the one in charge of your own snacks. And even when someone else says that they’ll take care of the snacks, pack yourself some extra just in case! These people didn’t, and they soon realized that they shouldn’t have put their trust in someone else. After all, they were incredibly hungry after their Half Dome Hike at Yosemite National Park, but this was all they got. 

When it comes to vacation, there’s very much a debate between those who love the heat and those who love the cold. And if you’re someone who loves the cold, you might plan your dream vacations around skiing or seeing beautiful landscapes in the snow. That’s what this person did! After taking the photo on the left, they decided to return again in the snow to see it in all of its magical glory.