‘Mediocre beaches’: American travel blogger describes trip to Australia as ‘bland’

An American travel blogger, who visited 11 countries in 2023, has described her trip to Australia as “bland” with “mediocre beaches”.

An American travel blogger who visited 11 countries in 2023 has described her trip to Australia as “bland”.

Grace Cheng, who promises not to sugar-coat her travels, visited Melbourne, the Gold Coast, Byron Bay and Sydney.

“If I’m being honest none of these cities really stood out to me,” she said in a TikTok, listing the reasons she didn’t like her trip to Australia.

“I know it was partly on me for not having the best travel itinerary, but if you’re comparing to world standards, the cities here aren’t that interesting.”

It appeared Byron Bay, a favourite among celebrities like Chris Hemsworth and Zac Efron, didn’t win her over either.

Ms Cheng said her trip “consisted of mediocre beaches and city life,” and she described Sydney as “underwhelming”.

“Australia is just also just so far away from everywhere else in the world,” she added. “Travelling time alone probably takes over 24 hours. It can be a little bit inconvenient and a hassle if you’re not getting the most out of this country.”

Grace Cheng said the beaches in Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast and Byron Bay were mediocre. Picture: Instagram / @graceccheng

The American travel blogger said Australia was also so far away. Picture: TikTok / @gracietravels

On a more positive note, Ms Cheng was impressed by all the restaurants she ate at and said it was “super easy” to get around because there was no language barrier.

“It’s not too big of a culture shock coming from the States either,” she said. “I will say the lingo is different and it was hard at some times to understand what the locals were saying.”

Ms Cheng said while her Australian travels did not live up to expectations, she couldn’t say she didn’t like the country as whole as she had missed out on “so many beautiful places”.

She plans to come back and asked fellow TikTok users to give her recommendations.

Ms Cheng wished she went to better places. Picture: Instagram / @graceccheng

Ms Cheng started her trip in Melbourne with her sisters. Picture: Instagram / @graceccheng

While some tourists, expats and Aussies agreed Australia’s cities were not as exciting to visit as other famous cities around the world, many argued it was a better place to live.

“Yeah, for a visit compared to NYC, London, Paris etc. it’s pretty bland. To live here is another matter all together. City [and] nature in one, better than most,” one person wrote.

“Great place to live but not very exciting place to visit by big city standards,” agreed another.

“As an Australian I very much agree with you. By comparison to other big world cities, especially for a seasoned traveller, we just DON’T compare,” said a third.

“Melbourne is an incredible city to live, but to visit honestly I have no idea what tourists do here haha. I totally get what you mean,” wrote another local.

Ms Cheng even said her sisters lived in Melbourne and loved it.

Other TikTok users couldn’t get past Ms Cheng describing the beaches as mediocre.

“Mediocre beaches … you’re kidding,” wrote one person, with another agreeing: “That threw me! Best beaches in the world.”

“Wow guess [you] didn’t really go to good beaches, Australia has a lot of the best beaches in the world. Interesting,” added a third.

“They have the best beaches in the world. Like you said, it’s on you to not go to the best places,” wrote someone else.