Tourist "traps" and Caching

January 31, 2015

Just wondering how many of you actually go for the caches near those places EVERY tourist goes? What has been your expirence with them...and the tourists as well. Thanks.

RwendyR [8D]

2.6k · February 1, 2015

Every year we used to do a walking tour of the French Quarter in N.O. bringing out of towners to find the caches....one year we had over 50 people and the large group actually hid the cache finding. If you are alone you will be " stealth " caching which is not fun for many. As a CO be prepared for lots of cache maint.

4.1k · February 1, 2015

For a long time I had a cache that was near two of the major tourist destinations in San Francisco - not to mention the cruise ship docks. It was in a location that I hoped would be fun for both tourists and locals. It had the most finds for any physical container in the state, but required a fair amount of maintenance. Some of the reasons for that might have been due to the amount of visits it got, but maintenance was a factor in my decision to let it go after my office moved across the bay.

I do not necessarily stop at places where every tourist visits, but it can be fun to find caches near areas where we are planning to visit - or that offer a certain kind of tourist kitsch. Virtuals are (or were) sometimes the best - like those on the DC mall, around the Temple in Utah, or Disneyland. But we have also cached at places like the Welcome to Forks sign on the Olympic Peninsula, where we stopped at the height of the Twilight phenomenon. We thought it was fun to look at the people and to ask ourselves about what Bella would think about everyone waiting to get their picture taken. In fact, we got our picture there, too, after finding the cache.

In the end, a cache at a popular tourist attraction is like any other cache that interests me - is there any reason I would want to stop there regardless of whether I am a tourist or local? If so, it's nice when the game offers one more reason to be there.

I used to think that at its best caching took me to spots that tourists should visit, but we might have otherwise missed. It can still do that, although it is often easier to use Roadside America and other sites to find those places first and then see if there is a nearby cache.

February 1, 2015

The town of Shediac New Brunswick calls itself the Lobster Capital of the world.

The town attracts tourists with its beaches and with the planet’s largest crustacean which sits happily at the entrance to the town for all admirers that travel from around Canada and the world to enjoy (about 500,000 people per year). The Lobster is 35 feet long, 16 feet high and weighs in at 50 tones of reinforced concrete and steel.

We placed a cache at that location over 7 years ago in this high muggle area.

http://coord.info/GC17V2B

So far it has 514 FOUND logs and there are dozens of photos posted. After a while the caretaker at the site became aware of the cache and helps cachers who have problems locating the tricky cache. Staff at a nearby boutique do the same. It had been magnetically attached under a phone booth but one day the phone booth was removed. We were unaware of the removal but it did not matter because the caretaker moved the cache to a similar spot a few feet away. We eventually found out about the change, went and thanked the caretaker, and changed the hint and coords.

7.5k · February 1, 2015

I'm not sure about tourist traps, but when we're traveling, we'll visit popular tourist areas, and if there's a cache there, I kinda feel duty bound to find it. Not to mention that might be my only chance to cache that day.

You really don't understand stealth in tourist areas until you've found some of the caches around the Smithsonian's National History Museum in DC. Not to be missed. Not only is there always going to be at least a hundred people watching you, the hides are ridiculously impossible to retrieve without looking suspicious.

February 1, 2015

I was on the tourist side of caching in the Bahamas. ALL of the locals knew where the caches were and knew exactly what we were doing! I don't know about "traps" but looking for the caches brought me to a couple of places that I might have overlooked otherwise, including a really neat cave on a beach. None of the other tourists (many many cruise ship passengers) seemed to care what we were doing--everyone was poking around and taking pictures so much we didn't stand out a bit.

3.6k · February 1, 2015

Vegas is one.

5.7k · February 1, 2015

The TB Hotels are always vacent, but the inventory shows to be full.

Edited February 1, 2015 by Manville Possum Hunters

3.7k · February 1, 2015

My cache with the most favorite points is a filming location for the Walking Dead show (Terminus). There's sort of an informal series of Walking Dead caches around town (two of which are mine) and folks will go on caching tours of these spots, no matter how "sketchy" the area is.

February 1, 2015

Vegas is one.

There was a traditional cache on the strip that I found a couple of years ago. It was archived due to maintenance issues.

February 1, 2015

I may look for a cache in a tourist trap or high muggle spot if I happen to be in the area but I don't go looking for them, They often have an inordinately high favorites score that has nothing to do with reality.

In my area, we have an ammo can tossed under the back porch of a tourist trap along with the trash found under many back porches, it also has a high number of favorites solely because it is conveniently near where the cruise ships tie up.

February 1, 2015

We generally avoid tourist traps in cities (we avoid big cities anyway) both BC (before caching) and now. We do find ourselves in high-muggle areas such as national parks in the summer. It's nice to know that we can count on finding caches near/around any place WE are interested in, though. Here in Houston, we live about 2 miles from NASA/Johnson Spacecraft Center and there is a geoart-puzzle centered on the site.

February 1, 2015

Ma & Pa,

Your picture of the lobster reminds me of "Willie the Walleye" in Baudette, MN and its cache. We hope to be in NB/PEI area in August 2015 and we will have to look for the lobster!

February 1, 2015

Ma & Pa,

Your picture of the lobster reminds me of "Willie the Walleye" in Baudette, MN and its cache. We hope to be in NB/PEI area in August 2015 and we will have to look for the lobster!

And there is a MEGA around here this summer. http://coord.info/GC4W3TZ

Also, if you have the chance, stop and say hello

http://coord.info/GC1N26E

You may see this in the driveway

.

7.4k · February 2, 2015

Ottawa has lots of caches. The ones in the downtown core, near all the tourist attractions, tend to be puzzles, multis, or letterboxes with final placements some distance from downtown. Sometimes, people from out of town complain about the lack of easy grabs downtown, but it's just not a great idea to place geocaches near Parliament Hill.

When travelling, we generally work caching into our agenda, making finds when we have the opportunity. If that means grabbing one in a busy place, then that's what we do.

I don't really believe in "stealth." A cache should be placed with permission, and a cache in a busy area should be placed to facilitate reasonably easy retrieval. If your cache requires climbing, or opening things that ought not to be opened, or crawling under things, then you should expect that it will attract attention in a busy place, regardless of additional theatrics by the geocachers who find it.

It's always a better idea, in a really busy place, to create a multi-cache or letterbox hybrid with a final in a quieter location. It might not attract the same hordes that a traditional does, but it will won't get muggled as easily, it won't tick off local authorities, and it will attract better finders.

February 2, 2015

We haven't been caching for long, but do look for caches in tourist areas. There aren't many at all where we live unless you head to the tourist areas and so we mostly cache when we are visiting somewhere else - where we will inevitably visit the main attractions!

Having said that, we have enjoyed and get the most out of the caches that take us off the tourist trail to places we wouldn't have gone otherwise. It's doing this (non tourist trap ones) that keeps us wanting to do more.

2k · February 2, 2015

We do the tourist trap caches where we live, not that there are real tourist traps around :laughing: Whenever I'm on business in Copenhagen I check out the Nyhavn cache in front of my hotel for trackables or I drop some off. If I get in that area I also check out the Little Mermaid cache for the same reason.

14k · February 2, 2015

Vegas is one.

There was a traditional cache on the strip that I found a couple of years ago. It was archived due to maintenance issues.

There was a wonderful cache at times square in NYC which included a rolled up "I found it sign". It may have originally been an ALR because it asked people to hold up the sign in front of a web cam near the cache but in it's later life it wasn't mandatory. For those that haven't been there, Times Square is always extremely busy and is definitely a tourist destination when visiting Manhattan.

I did a cache in Barcelona that was at a spot where guided tours stopped. When I found it there was a group of 25-30 people about 15 feet away with a tour guide explaining the architecture of the building. I was able to locate the container fairly quickly and when the tour guide directed the groups attention away from the cache location I reached in and made the grab then walked away a bit to sign the log. I had to employ the same tactics to replace it.

I have generally found that it's easier to be stealthy when there are hundreds of people around then when it's just you and 1 or 2 other people.

February 2, 2015

I have generally found that it's easier to be stealthy when there are hundreds of people around then when it's just you and 1 or 2 other people.

Definitely! Logging one recently outside Oxford Circus tube station in the centre of London with hundreds of people around was much easier than one on a residential street with curtains twitching :lol:

4.4k · February 2, 2015

I usually ignore tourist magnets and the caches (or more likely, containerless "caches") that go with them. Local cachers know much cooler spots than the tourism authorities. So in Hong Kong for example, I'm visiting jungle waterfalls and deserted beaches instead of crowded places on somebody's must-do list. And I only visited one must-see site at all to help out a TB; I figured somebody on a half-day layover would take it to the airport. And they did.

Really, this game is better than any guidebook. And it takes you to quite different places. (Feel free to browse the pix on my profile for examples; scroll down the main page.)

Oh, and tourist-center caches get a disproportionate amount of favorite points. Even flawed ones, like a virtual I can think of with messed-up coords...

3.6k · February 2, 2015

I labeled this one as a tourist trap.

7.3k · February 2, 2015

Vegas is one.

There was a traditional cache on the strip that I found a couple of years ago. It was archived due to maintenance issues.

There was a wonderful cache at times square in NYC which included a rolled up "I found it sign". It may have originally been an ALR because it asked people to hold up the sign in front of a web cam near the cache but in it's later life it wasn't mandatory. For those that haven't been there, Times Square is always extremely busy and is definitely a tourist destination when visiting Manhattan.

I did a cache in Barcelona that was at a spot where guided tours stopped. When I found it there was a group of 25-30 people about 15 feet away with a tour guide explaining the architecture of the building. I was able to locate the container fairly quickly and when the tour guide directed the groups attention away from the cache location I reached in and made the grab then walked away a bit to sign the log. I had to employ the same tactics to replace it.

I have generally found that it's easier to be stealthy when there are hundreds of people around then when it's just you and 1 or 2 other people.

Ah, but people in New York don't care one whit when you're doing something weird right in front of them. :laughing: We found that out while doing the Times Square webcam.

February 3, 2015

I live in the city center of Amsterdam, not too far from the Anne Frank House so it means there are loads of people in our neighborhood! On the one hand, it's really nice because it means then we get lots of geocachers passing through to find the caches! On the other, it also means they go missing a bit more quickly than ones further outside the city... most people I know will also disable and remove their caches a few days near King's Day, April 27, when each year hundreds of thousands of people descend upon the city in the biggest party no one's ever heard of outside the Netherlands. If it doesn't get lost on April 27 it inevitably will when the cleanup crews diligently remove party debris in the days after.

14k · February 3, 2015

Vegas is one.

There was a traditional cache on the strip that I found a couple of years ago. It was archived due to maintenance issues.

There was a wonderful cache at times square in NYC which included a rolled up "I found it sign". It may have originally been an ALR because it asked people to hold up the sign in front of a web cam near the cache but in it's later life it wasn't mandatory. For those that haven't been there, Times Square is always extremely busy and is definitely a tourist destination when visiting Manhattan.

I did a cache in Barcelona that was at a spot where guided tours stopped. When I found it there was a group of 25-30 people about 15 feet away with a tour guide explaining the architecture of the building. I was able to locate the container fairly quickly and when the tour guide directed the groups attention away from the cache location I reached in and made the grab then walked away a bit to sign the log. I had to employ the same tactics to replace it.

I have generally found that it's easier to be stealthy when there are hundreds of people around then when it's just you and 1 or 2 other people.

Ah, but people in New York don't care one whit when you're doing something weird right in front of them. We found that out while doing the Times Square webcam.

NYC has had that reputation but based on my last few visits I've noticed quite a difference in how people in NYC interact with others. People in general seem a lot friendlier. In any case, many if not most of of the people in Times Square are probably not NYC natives.

7.3k · February 4, 2015

Vegas is one.

There was a traditional cache on the strip that I found a couple of years ago. It was archived due to maintenance issues.

There was a wonderful cache at times square in NYC which included a rolled up "I found it sign". It may have originally been an ALR because it asked people to hold up the sign in front of a web cam near the cache but in it's later life it wasn't mandatory. For those that haven't been there, Times Square is always extremely busy and is definitely a tourist destination when visiting Manhattan.

I did a cache in Barcelona that was at a spot where guided tours stopped. When I found it there was a group of 25-30 people about 15 feet away with a tour guide explaining the architecture of the building. I was able to locate the container fairly quickly and when the tour guide directed the groups attention away from the cache location I reached in and made the grab then walked away a bit to sign the log. I had to employ the same tactics to replace it.

I have generally found that it's easier to be stealthy when there are hundreds of people around then when it's just you and 1 or 2 other people.

Ah, but people in New York don't care one whit when you're doing something weird right in front of them. We found that out while doing the Times Square webcam.

NYC has had that reputation but based on my last few visits I've noticed quite a difference in how people in NYC interact with others. People in general seem a lot friendlier. In any case, many if not most of of the people in Times Square are probably not NYC natives.

Oh, I agree with you, based off of my last couple visits, as well. We have found the people in NYC to be some of the friendliest and helpful people we've seen in our travels around the US.

But, when we found the webcam in Times Square (granted, this was in 2002), they didn't notice us. Not that they were unfriendly, just not curious at all. I've mentioned this in the forums before - it was one of my most bizarre experiences, because we had to stand on the sidewalk and wave up into the overhang for a long while (had to make sure my MIL captured the image, which took a few webcam cycles). People just flowed around us, never looked, even though we were acting really weird. It's like we weren't even there. Made me laugh.

3.6k · February 4, 2015

I do live close to a tourist traps area. Its the Oregon Coast. Many of those caches get 100's of finds. Many of those cachers arent from around here. Of what I see, some of them get replaced often.

Another tourist trap is GS HQ. :laughing:

3.6k · February 4, 2015

Some of mine in SF are not so much in the Tourist Traps but they do get visited a lot because they are in quietier areas. Think some cachers like it that way as to not find caches when its crowded. For me to search for them I try to hit them early in the morning when there is less people.

February 4, 2015

Some of mine in SF are not so much in the Tourist Traps but they do get visited a lot because they are in quietier areas. Think some cachers like it that way as to not find caches when its crowded. For me to search for them I try to hit them early in the morning when there is less people.

We may get some of those next month when visiting our new grandson in SF

February 4, 2015

Just wondering how many of you actually go for the caches near those places EVERY tourist goes? What has been your expirence with them...and the tourists as well. Thanks.

RwendyR [8D]

LOVE 'EM!

I drive from Springfield, Missouri to Erie, Pennsylvania and back fairly often (new home to old home!) and since it's a fourteen hour drive, I like to find interesting things to pull over and check out along the way. I often hop on Trip Advisor to see what neat features are in the area I'm going to or through, then see if there is a cache nearby - takes the sting out of a DNF if you at least get to see something cool! I also really like seeing what sort of landmarks that particular city or town has chosen to be their big attraction, and especially since I tend to cache and travel alone, it feels a lot safer going to these tourist traps and caching than going down some country road I'm not familiar with. Also a great way to get some more state badges - wish I'd known about geocaching years ago when I did more travelling!

13.7k · February 4, 2015

I also really like seeing what sort of landmarks that particular city or town has chosen to be their big attraction, and especially since I tend to cache and travel alone, it feels a lot safer going to these tourist traps and caching than going down some country road I'm not familiar with. Also a great way to get some more state badges - wish I'd known about geocaching years ago when I did more travelling!

+1

Who'd stop at San Antonio and not visit the Alamo?

- But I'd really want to visit Barney Smith's.

14k · February 4, 2015

I also really like seeing what sort of landmarks that particular city or town has chosen to be their big attraction, and especially since I tend to cache and travel alone, it feels a lot safer going to these tourist traps and caching than going down some country road I'm not familiar with. Also a great way to get some more state badges - wish I'd known about geocaching years ago when I did more travelling!

+1

Who'd stop at San Antonio and not visit the Alamo?

I spent a short amount of time at the Alamo (but didn't go in) when I had a overnight layover there. There's only a webcam out front so stealth isn't an issue.

3.3k · February 5, 2015

I'm not sure about tourist traps, but when we're traveling, we'll visit popular tourist areas, and if there's a cache there, I kinda feel duty bound to find it. Not to mention that might be my only chance to cache that day.

You really don't understand stealth in tourist areas until you've found some of the caches around the Smithsonian's National History Museum in DC. Not to be missed. Not only is there always going to be at least a hundred people watching you, the hides are ridiculously impossible to retrieve without looking suspicious.

That is why I did the virtual at the Jefferson Monument instead.

Tourist "traps" and Caching

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