Around The World In Cheesy Tourist Photos

These might be cliché tourist photos, but you have to admit, they’re fun to take!

Being a “typical tourist” is often frowned upon. I mean, traveling should be more about cultural experiences, right? Yes. However…

It’s ok to have fun and take funny tourist pictures!! We love to try different photo poses and it’s good to know we’re not the only ones. Below you’ll find a bunch of fun poses, all done by some of our favorite travel bloggers. Check them out and let us know which one is your favorite typical tourist shot!

Charles of McCool Travel

While exploring the University of Florida campus on a break from a Florida road trip, I could not just take a simple photo with the alligator statue. No, I had to be a clown and take a few shots of varying silliness. This is the picture that came out the best so you can just imagine the others.

Jub of Tiki Touring Kiwi

Having never visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa, discovering Malaysia had their own version of the tower, the Leaning Town of Teluk Intan was exciting. Located 90 minutes from Kuala Lumpur few tourists come to the tower making photos playing tricks with the tower trickier as a solo traveller. I decided to ask a local to take a photo of me. His English wasn’t great but I made it pretty clear what I wanted, the stereotypical photo pushing over the tower.

Having got in position with my worldly possessions and I waited for him to take some snaps after getting acknowledgement I was in the right position. When I got the phone back I took a few minutes before looking at the photos. Something got lost in translation it would appear. This was as good as it got! Brilliant.

Sharon of Where’s Sharon

I don’t think there’s a more clichéd silly tourist photo than that of holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy – and you definitely won’t be alone if you decide to attempt it! The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most recognized buildings in the world. Even our 3 and 5 year olds knew what it was when we visited Pisa. It’s part of a bigger site with many attractions worth visiting but the one that everyone is heading to is this famous tower.

There’s a lot of space around the Leaning Tower of Pisa so even when it’s super busy, it’s still easy to find a patch to pose for your own photo. You don’t even have to feel too ridiculous as everywhere we looked there were people with their hands out, feet up in the air (giving it a kick!) and other weird poses. In fact, if you don’t give into the temptation and take a silly shot, you may be the only person who doesn’t!

Shara of SKJ Travel

My husband and I were visiting an old Berber ksar complex (a village with attached houses, often built around a central courtyard) in Tataouine (yeah, like Star Wars), Tunisia — a great destination if you’re a Star Wars fan, as there are numerous places where footage was shot for both the original series and the prequel.

Part of this abandoned complex had been repaired and restored for tourists to be able to see what these villages looked like when they were actively lived in, and the other part remained in crumbling disrepair, a ruin. As visitors, we could walk freely around all parts.  We rounded a corner to find something profoundly unexpected — several huge plastic dinosaurs stashed in a courtyard. It was so random … one of the best surreal moments of travel! And the craziest thing is that one of them tried to eat me!!

Chris and Heather of A Brit and a Southerner

Arches National Park is home to many amazing yet peculiar looking geologic formations. Delicate Arch may be the most famous feature here but perhaps the most intriguing is Balanced Rock. It is essentially exactly how it sounds, a giant rock sitting on top of a tall spire, towering above the desert landscape. Standing at 128 feet tall, Balanced Rock is formed from the vibrant red sandstone rock that is present throughout this landscape in eastern Utah.

The tantalizing sight of Balanced Rock is the epitome of quirkiness but at the same time is a geological phenomenon that should be admired and appreciated by all visitors to Arches National Park. As you can see from Heather’s attempt to ensure this rock doesn’t fall, it’s the perfect landmark to grab a quick selfie to show off your strength to those not able to explore Arches.

Matilda of The Travel Sisters

This is a photo of me in front of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India when I visited several years ago. We saw a line of people taking turns standing on one of the benches and being photographed doing the same pose. Apparently, if you stand on a specific spot of this bench, raise your hand and position your fingers it looks like you are pinching or holding the top of the Taj Mahal. My husband immediately decided to pose for a photo and encouraged me to do the same. Yes I know it is a bit cheesy but I thought it would make a funny photo.

Jules of Don’t Forget To Move

While traveling in Italy we couldn’t miss the opportunity to visit Florence and the famous statue of David. This iconic masterpiece by the sculptor Michelangelo is not only a flawless piece of art, but it’s also a great opportunity to get a funny picture alongside the most famous penis in art history. As I was posing for the picture some people looked on confused, but when they lined up the shot they cracked a bit of a smile. I’m surely not the first person to do this, but I definitely inspired a few others to grab the same shot. Sorry David!

Lina and David of Divergent Travelers

We had been insisting that the guy take a nice photo of us in front of the pyramids with our camels. He didn’t seem to understand the concept of what we were asking for, instead he kept picking up a rock and holding it out in front of the camera. He kept telling us to keep our hands up and smile. We didn’t get what he was trying to do at the time but you can imagine my surprise when I was looking through my camera later to find this one! It was laughable considering he never did get a decent one of us in front of the pyramids.

John and Heather of Roaming Around the World

Set at the base of the Great Pyramids, you’ll find the classic photo op to give the appearance of kissing the Sphinx. This mysterious ancient sculpture, thought to be built in 2500 BC, is a must-see in Egypt.

Fun fact: contrary to popular belief that Napoleon cut off the Sphinx’s nose, archaeologists have proven that it was instead due to someone in the 11th-15th century.

In years past you would have to fight hundreds of camera-wielding tourists to get a goofy shot like this. Today it’s easy. Given a recent downturn in tourism throughout Egypt, there are few tourists to battle with. During our summer 2015 visit, we were the only ones there. In front of the Sphinx, there’s a raised platform right to walk on and line up your kiss pose to perfection. You can check out our Guide to Luxury Egypt on a Backpacker’s Budget here.

Gemma and Craig of Two Scots Abroad

Photography and travel lovers will adore Bolivia’s Salt Flats! The lack of horizon and miles of salt is a fun canvas for silly snaps. I’ve fallen into a tube of Pringles, been chased by a dinosaur, and spooked by a giant. Then as night falls and the sun disappears Salar de Uyuni is left with an incredible sunset for those romantic shots.

Raksha of Solo Passport

This picture was taken at the Australia Zoo in the state of Queensland in Australia. Australia Zoo is famous for Australia’s nature expert – Steve Irwin. Since Steve was known as ‘The Crocodile Hunter’, the zoo has many statues of crocodiles. My friend captured the moment when I was caught in between the snouts of a huge crocodile.

Vicky and Buddy

Ciudad Mitad del Mundo, also known as Middle of the World City, is considered the smallest city in Ecuador and is home to the iconic 30-meter high landmark that marks the line of the equator. As we walked up to the monument, we noticed people taking pictures while trying different funny poses. Instead of pushing or pinching, I decided I wanted to try and eat the whole world. I think it came out ok, don’t you?

So what do you think of these cheesy tourist photos? Have they given you any pose ideas for your next trip? We’d love to read your comments below!

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