Tacky Tourist Photos

SUBMITTED BY: Ari Zackin   LOCATION: Dead Sea, Israel (2010) How much actual reading gets done in the Dead Sea is unknown, but posing with a magazine or newspaper to “prove” it won’t get wet is a classic Israeli (and Jordanian) photo-op! (Ari Zackin will do anything to model for Tacky Tourist Photos, even take a [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Salena Stinchcombe   LOCATION: Dead Sea, Jordan (2007) No one has ever died from a shark attack in the Dead Sea, making it the ideal place to bodysurf and yuk it up in the mud… The water is 35-percent salt, making it impossible to sink, but still very possible to drown. You don’t want [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Eugene Mirman   LOCATION: Moab, Utah (2011) On the right, Eugene’s horse is named Dalton. Katie’s horse is named Cisco. Years from now when they have grandchildren — Cisco and Dalton, not Eugene and Katie — they will be flipping through their photo album and reminiscing about their days working the trails at the [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Eugene Mirman & Katie Westfall-Tharp LOCATION: Moab, Utah (2011) In the majestic Utah desert, not far from where James Franco grimaced for his Oscar nomination in 127 Hours, comedian Eugene Mirman opted not to pretend to saw his arm off with a pocket knife. Splattered blood is a major turn-off for his girlfriend [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Lorie Zackin   LOCATION: Grand Canyon, Arizona  (1997) If you find exercising with Richard Simmons videos or the Wii Fit to be boring, stretching on the edge of the Grand Canyon can provide the ultimate adrenaline rush! Don’t try this at home (just in case the Grand Canyon is your home). (Tacky Tourist Disclaimer: [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Ilya Mirman   LOCATION: Budapest, Hungary (2008) Oh, like you haven’t converted all your armadillo torsos into guitars? (Ilya Mirman is the co-founder of Tacky Tourist Photos. He encourages you to send your fun flea market finds to tackytouristphotos@gmail.com)

SUBMITTED BY: Meg and Jack Keough    LOCATION: Sedona, Arizona (2003) Chances of this guy kissing the frog and meeting his prince? The body language says it all. (Meg Keough shares family vacation advice at Backpack to Buggy, a blog devoted to “Travel with the kids, not for the kids.” She’s extremely outspoken about the dangers [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Amanda Williams    LOCATION: New Zealand (2008) Fantasizing about cliffhanger life-or-death moments is not just confined to the Grand Canyon. “Lord of the Rings” fan Amanda Williams tracked down the very same cliff from the second movie, “The Two Towers,” where Aragorn seemingly plunged to his untimely death. “It’s a dangerous business, going out [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Lillie Marshall   LOCATION: Thailand (2010) PETA obviously doesn’t have a strong branch in Thailand. Lillie suspects these cats at the Tiger Temple are sedated with opiates, but even a chained lethargic tiger can rip you to shreds! File under “Gutsiest School Teacher Ever!” (Lillie Marshall is a Boston high school English teacher who [...]

SUBMITTED BY: John Lazik    LOCATION: Grand Canyon, Arizona (1998) John: “We found a spot where no one else was around and I noticed there was a significant amount of ground under the railing. The edge of the Canyon was a few feet away. We took a couple pictures until we had the shadows just [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Keithy Ro  LOCATION: Albay Province, the Philippines (2010) OK, so this volcano’s ash may not have shut down a month’s worth of international air travel, but it still must not feel good in your lungs. It appears that Keithy has some sort of volcano immunity! Tens of thousands of Filipinos chose to build [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Mark Z. LOCATION: Israel (2010) What do Israel and Uganda have in common? Both have slyly transformed invisible geographical concepts into tourist attractions. For Israel to brag about the Dead Sea being the “Lowest Place on Earth” (1378 feet below Sea Level), it set up Sea Level markers for comparison. You can see [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Ari Zackin    LOCATION: Somewhere in Israel (2010) Eeeeeewwwwwww!  This photo goes out to all those animal lovers who kiss their dogs. Who knows where this camel’s mouth has been? Take a closer look at the drippage: (Ari Zackin is a frequent contributor to Tacky Tourist Photos, most recently serving up an unprecedented Spider-Man [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Michael S.    LOCATION: Thailand (2010) A pun-inspired shoutout for marijuana legalization in Thailand, where the prisons are filled with tourists who “just” inhaled once. But good news for those who merely fantasize about pot. So far, there have been no reported cases of the authorities confiscating pretend marijuana.

SUBMITTED BY: Marcia Greene   LOCATION: Ein Gedi National Park, Israel (2010) King David hung out in the caves at this Judean Desert oasis.  The Moabites and Ammonites were fans of its waterfalls. And the nature reserve also gets a plug in King Solomon’s “Song of Songs.” But for Marcia’s friend Adi, the freshwater seaweed makes [...]