As it seems everyone on this planet wants to explore the same destinations, I'm interested in what different travel decisions people are making to avoid the crowds. Travelling at different times of year? Going off the beaten track? I find it tough because I don't really like the crush of the crowds but when I'm visiting a new country I'd struggle to just leave off the most popular sights.
Tips to deal with overtourism?
As I like the outdoors, I find that if you go early in the day, you beat the crowds. And the viewpoint by the car park may be crowded, but most tourists don't like actually putting their boots on, so set off on a walk of more than half an hour and most of them disappear.
We experienced this at Lake Louise, probably the most overtouristed place I've been. Massive car park by the lake, and overflow car parks with shuttle buses in. We first arrived midafternoon and everything was full, so we gave up and carried on into Banff and filled the rest of that day with some quieter spots.
We returned to Lake Louise at about 7am. Hardly anyone there. Went on the Lake Agnes / Big Beehive walk, had it virtually to ourselves on the way up. On the return we were passing a steady flow of people on their way up, and appreciated the solitude of our early start. By the time we merged with the lakeshore path it was pure Disneyland.
Our other approach is low season. We went to Venice in November, because of a birthday. Got lucky with the weather and had a magical time.
I always avoid high season (Christmas as well as the summer months). I travel well out of season whenever I can, 'shoulder season' (the months either side of peak season) if I must. In Europe I always avoid the long school summer holidays, even in the UK.
If I'm visiting to see places/sights (almost always) I'm not fussed about the weather: I just check the forecast and pack appropriate clothing.
For a few hugely popular 'sights' with very limited availability (e.g. Hypogeum in Malta, Da Vinci's 'Last Supper' in Milan, the Alhambra) I've booked a ticket online well in advance ...always from the official site...and plan my day around that time slot. For most I either get there veryearly or, less often, very late. In Europe tour groups tend to arrive around 10am (so people can have breakfast first) and leave by about 4pm.
There can be huge benefits to visiting well out of season. I visited Pompeii at its opening time of 8am on a chilly February day. There were only a few others with me in the ticket queue and I spent 2 hours exploring the city without seeing another visitor. Then the tour groups arrived.....
To be honest, if I visit and see a place is consistently horrendously crowded I just don't bother. I don't 'tick boxes'. Crowds completely destroy the atmosphere at any site/sight and, for me, there's no point in visiting if I can't see a place properly (I'm 5ft!) and/or get a proper sense of it.
[ Edit: Edited on 23 Jul 2024, 06:04 GMT by leics2 ]
Of course, if I want to see something touristy, I go there. But not in high season. So we visited Venice in November and were almost alone on the streets. Or the italien Lakes district, which is overcrowded from Mai to October. So we go in March/April or Nov/Dec. visiting the christmas markets there. Same for USA/Canada/Chile/Argentina, what are our preferred destinations.
We're early birds so it's easy to avoid people until about 10 to 11 AM. We also like to get out into the countryside and you seldom see crowds in small villages unless they are famous for something.
We got back from a month in Paris recently and knew it would be a challenge but visited small, lesser-known museums and out-of-the-way places in town so it wasn't a problem. The only time we ran into crowds was when we visited the Orsay. They had a special exhibit on Impressionism that we really wanted to see and we knew it would be crowded so we decided we would just deal with it. It was crowded and not much fun fighting our way through, but we did get to see what we wanted to see and when we visited the several things we always visit, Rosa Bonheur and Millet, those rooms were virtually empty so it worked out just fine. We didn't even attempt the Louvre. We love the gardens and they are big enough that you can always find an uncrowded spot. The only down side to the visit was all the construction for the Olympics but we knew that would be there too. Not sure I'd want to be there during the games though . . . 
If you travel when things are cheaper, they are usually cheaper because no one wants to go there at that time. That's why it is cheaper. So as mentioned - the shoulder season.
If a museum says that I can't take photos, I will often not go. Other people being there doesn't bother me too much although I try to get shots without other people in them. But not being able to take photos does annoy me because I don't see any real reason for it. It isn't as though we have flash bulbs on cameras anymore, and people can just write down what they want to steal if that is their goal.
Being cheap has another advantage - if something is more expensive than I want to pay, I just don't go. There is an option in Key West to see the "Truman Whitehouse". This is where Truman stayed when he went there on vacation. When we lived in Key West, the Truman White House was an officer's quarters on the Naval Base. I thought it might be nice to see it now that it is open to the public. While we waited for the tour we saw the free 10 minute video tape extolling all possible virtues of Harry that you can see before the tour. I sat on the floor and watched it - there was no seating except in the handicapped area. When I read about the tour, I found that the house had been restored to the 40's styles. I can remember the 40s and it doesn't particularly interest me, and the tour would cost $10 each which is way too much. So we didn't go on the tour.
Between USA Thanksgiving and the start of Christmas vacation is usually less crowded. But stay away from the time about a week before Xmas and New Years.
When traveling with my grandchildren (age 12-14) I found that if I took them immediately after their school ended in May, there were some other people traveling but not very many. So I was able to get a reservation at the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone, for instance. Although I had to book it way ahead.
We did a lot of winter road trips - staying for a week in space available condos off season. So the outer banks in November, New Orleans in December, the Panama City beaches in January, Lodging was cheap because it was off season, and we had a kitchen. If it was a beach place, we could look at the beach or walk on it, but swimming wasn't an option - at least for Bob who won't swim unless the water is at leas 85 deg F. The only problem with doing this is that some restaurants and attractions close in the off season.
And being mobility challenged has some advantages. I went to revisit the Louvre in June and while there was a line up many people deep to look at the Mona Lisa, I just went ahead in the handicapped lane and didn't have to wait or have anyone in front of me. I wouldn't have asked for this but my guide insisted that I do it.
[ Edit: Edited on 25 Jul 2024, 22:52 GMT by greatgrandmaR ]