To the overworked and over-stressed, nothing sounds better than a vacation. After all, lounging at the free continental breakfast always beats rushing out the door—protein bar in hand—to make the first of many meetings at the office…right?
But anyone who has ever booked a little rest and relaxation knows that not every vacation melts away life-induced exhaustion. In fact, the travelers that took these 20 hilariously bad vacation photos might forgo their next trip for a far less stressful staycation in the backyard…
1. As this family discovered, Disneyland is only the Happiest Place on Earth if you love long lines, anthropomorphic mice, and over-priced fair-quality food. You’d find more thrills at a lunch-time board meeting.
2. World travel lets you explore different cultures in thrilling ways. On this vacation, for instance, these young women learned that, in stingray culture, photobombs aren’t just allowed—they’re required.
3. Photocopiers and water coolers look like world wonders when compared to the sight of your tent blowing away, looking like a UFO. Remember the stakes next time, pal.
4. Roughing it, as indicated by its name, never offers the luxuries of an air-conditioned home. Flipping burgers required a little creativity from these campers, who at least found a purpose for cheap beer.
5. Unlike your cubicle, vacations often require balance, or, at the very least, the rare ability not to teeter over a knee-high rail. But hey, at least the Koi fish saw something exciting.
6. Life’s too short to let death, destruction, and boardwalk-incinerating fires ruin your vacation. But all that smoke certainly gets in the way of a good tan…
7. In any of the highly trafficked sun-baked states, locals play a game called spot the tourist. It’s pretty simple. All you have to do is look for someone who forgot that sunscreen is a thing.
8. Surely, years later, these two brothers looked back on their adolescent camping trip and laughed and laughed at the time they faced off against a deadly bear and dad ran for the camera.
9. You never know what you might see when exploring dense jungles in faraway countries, but some sights have a way of etching themselves more permanently into your memory.
10. You know you should’ve saved your PTO when, in the process of documenting a beach stroll with a powdered doughnut, a seagull pries the pastry from your fingers.
11. In other bird news, burying yourself neck deep in the sand is all fun and games…until the seagulls show up. Hopefully, this guy devised an excavation-escape plan. And had a hot shower ready.
12. Imagine dropping a few hundred dollars on a trip to the beautiful Niagara Falls, only for one kid to pull her rain poncho so tight she misses out on actually seeing the falls. Save the money for a college fund.
13. Even the kiddos get a little reprieve from the school life when on vacation. But with a vacation comes a sense of adventure, and with a sense of adventure comes dirt and death-defying climbs. Stick to homework, kids!
14. No one told these brilliant boaters about docking ramps. Rumor has it they’re still stuck at the beach to this day, feebly spinning the truck’s tires and kicking up sand as they dream of their offices’ ergonomic chairs.
15. Hoping to get a little work done on your vacay? Better stay in the hotel room, then, and refrain from posing for artsy beach-and-work pictures. Ocean waves don’t care about your $2,000 laptop.
16. Hotel pools provide opportunities for people of all ages to relax in a comfortable, monitored environment. But something tells us the lady in the background won’t be feeling too happy about her visit to the pool.
17. Pose in front of the waves, they said, make memories that are sure to last a lifetime, they said. Oh sure, it was all great in theory, the only problem was nobody told the ocean to say cheese!
18. Somehow, the subway station turnstile hooked his luggage by the handle. The only way to get it unstuck? Pay another $2.75. This was on his way to the airport, too. What an amazing start to a vacation!
19. Before taking a dream vacation, make sure you check that there aren’t any deadly diseases or infections terrorizing the locals. Or else you might end up like this lady, wearing a mask at a Cancun happy hour to avoid swine flu.
20. Crowded beaches? Who needs ’em! This guy shirked traditional vacations for a staycation in a beach-themed room, and he appears to be having the time of his life.
These vacationers and day-trippers might think twice before leaving their backyard next time they get the itch to travel. As the saying goes, sometimes you need a vacation from the vacation!
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