49 Travel Jokes: The 2013 “Let It Go & Harlem Shake” Edition

In 2013, travel became a stage for viral trends. You weren’t just visiting a monument; you were doing a 30-second dance for Vine, checking your Smartwatch for notifications you didn’t need, and realizing that Netflix “Binge-watching” was a much better hotel activity than actually going out.

The 2013 Top 10: The “Vine & Viral” Classics

1. The Harlem Shake: Why was the flight delayed for 40 minutes? Because the entire cabin crew and half of Row 14 had to wait for the “drop” to start dancing with a motorcycle helmet on.
2. The Selfie Word of the Year: Why did the tourist fall into the Trevi Fountain? Because he was trying to capture the perfect “Selfie” and forgot that gravity isn’t an Instagram filter.
3. The Frozen Effect: Why was the family trip to Norway so loud? Because the kids sang “Let It Go” for 12 hours straight, and the dad was ready to “let them go” at the next gas station.
4. The Vine App: Why was the traveler moving in 6-second bursts? Because he was obsessed with Vine and believed that any story longer than 7 seconds was a waste of his digital life.
5. The GTA V Launch: Why was the hotel lobby empty? Because every traveler stayed in their room to play Grand Theft Auto V, realizing that virtual Los Santos was more fun than actual Los Angeles.
6. The Smartwatch Debut: Why was the man staring at his wrist like a spy? Because he had a first-gen Galaxy Gear and was trying to take a blurry photo of his passport with his arm.
7. The Candy Crush Addiction: Why did the passenger miss his stop? Because he was one “Delicious!” away from Level 400 and the real world was just an obstacle to his sugar crush.
8. The Miley Cyrus Twerk: Why was the tourist acting so weird at the monument? Because after the VMAs, everyone thought “twerking” in front of the Eiffel Tower was a valid cultural exchange.
9. The Netflix Binge: Why did the traveler have red eyes? Not from the red-eye flight, but because he watched the entire first season of House of Cards in one sitting.
10. The Chromecast Launch: Why was the traveler fighting with the hotel TV? Because he bought a Chromecast and spent 4 hours trying to bypass the hotel firewall just to watch a YouTube video.

The Full 2013 Travel Jokes Archive

11. The Man of Steel: Why was the tourist looking for a phone booth? Because Superman returned, and the traveler realized that finding a working phone booth in 2013 was harder than fighting General Zod.
12. The Instagram Video: Why was the girl filming her latte for 15 seconds? Because Instagram added video, and 6-second Vines were suddenly for “old people.”
13. The Lorde “Royals”: Why did the backpacker feel like a king? Because the song told him he didn’t need “Grey Goose, cherry wine” to have a good time in a $10 hostel.
14. The PlayStation 4 Launch: Why was the suitcase so heavy? Because the traveler managed to get a PS4 on launch day and he wasn’t leaving it at home for any “nature walk.”
15. The Pharrell “Happy”: Why was the terminal so cheerful? Because that song was playing on a loop, making even the guy losing his luggage feel like a “room without a roof.”
16. The Iron Man 3: Why was the traveler’s tech so glitchy? Because he expected his phone to fly to him like Mark 42, but it just sat there on the charger.
17. The Flappy Bird: Why was the passenger screaming at his phone? Because he hit the 5th pipe and his 10-hour flight was about to become a 10-hour nightmare.
18. The Daft Punk “Get Lucky”: Why was the traveler “up all night”? Because he was waiting for a delayed flight, but at least the soundtrack was legendary.
19. The Despicable Me 2: Why were there yellow minions on every suitcase? Because the movie came out and “Minion-mania” became a legitimate travel hazard.
20. The Twitter IPO: Why was the traveler tweeting #Rich? Because he thought buying 10 shares of Twitter meant he owned the “Fail Whale.”
21. The Gravity Movie: Why was the passenger gripping his armrests? Because he watched the movie on the plane and was convinced the cabin was about to lose pressure and drift into orbit.
22. The What Does the Fox Say?: Why was the tourist making weird noises in the forest? Because the song was stuck in his head and he genuinely wanted to know the answer.
23. The 64-bit iPhone 5S: Why was the traveler so proud of his fingerprint? Because “Touch ID” launched and he spent the whole trip locking and unlocking his phone with his thumb.
24. The Wolf of Wall Street: Why was the businessman acting crazy? Because Leo made “selling this pen” look like a travel skill.
25. The iPad Air: Why did the traveler think his bag was empty? Because the iPad was so light he thought he’d left it at the security bin.
26. The Macklemore “Thrift Shop”: Why was the traveler wearing his granddad’s clothes? Because he had $20 in his pocket and he looked “incredible” at the airport.
27. The World War Z: Why was the traveler running to the gate? Because he saw the movie and thought a “slow boarding process” was actually a zombie trap.
28. The Vine Famous: Why was the teen crying? Because his 6-second video only got 4 “revines” and he thought his travel career was over.
29. The Google Glass: Why did the man look like he was from 2040? Because he was wearing the “Explorer Edition” and everyone thought he was recording them in the bathroom.
30. The Blurred Lines: Why was the flight so controversial? Because the song was everywhere and nobody could agree if it was “catchy” or just “creepy.”
31. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: Why was the family vacation so competitive? Because the kids started calling the hotel buffet “The Games” and fought over the last muffin.
32. The Selfie Stick Arrival: Why did the man have a long metal pole? Because he wanted to take a photo of himself from 3 feet away and look like a total tourist.
33. The 1D “Best Song Ever”: Why were the girls screaming in the duty-free? Because One Direction told them it was the best day ever, even if they were stuck in Newark.
34. The Thor: The Dark World: Why did the traveler bring a hammer? Because he wanted to see if he was “worthy” of an upgrade to First Class.
35. The Tinder Gold Rush: Why was the backpacker swiping in the dark? Because he arrived in Prague and realized that “matching” was the new “sightseeing.”
36. The Yahoo! Buys Tumblr: Why was the hipster traveler sad? Because he thought his “aesthetic” blog was now going to be full of banner ads for purple logos.
37. The 4K TV Hype: Why was the traveler unimpressed with the view? Because he’d seen a 4K TV and thought the real mountains didn’t have enough “contrast.”
38. The Bitstrip: Why did the traveler look like a cartoon? Because everyone was posting those weird “Bitstrip” comics of their vacation instead of real photos.
39. The Pacific Rim: Why was the tourist looking for giant monsters in the ocean? Because Guillermo del Toro made the beach look like a battleground for Jaegers.
40. The Windows 8.1: Why was the businessman relieved? Because the “Start” button came back, and he finally found his way back to his desktop.
41. The We’re the Millers: Why did the family look suspicious? Because they watched the movie and realized that “traveling in a camper” is the perfect cover for everything.
42. The Robin Thicke: Why was the traveler so “lost”? Because his “Lines” were blurred between his vacation time and his work emails.
43. The Instagram Direct: Why was the guy whispering to his phone? Because Instagram added private messaging and he could finally send “creepy” sunset photos to just one person.
44. The Great Gatsby: Why was the hotel party so fancy? Because Leo made 1922 look like a 2013 travel goal.
45. The Beyonce “Surprise Album”: Why did everyone at the airport freak out in December? Because Queen Bey dropped an album with no warning and the Wi-Fi crashed instantly.
46. The Xbox One Launch: Why was the traveler talking to his TV? Because he thought “Xbox, Go to London” would actually book him a flight.
47. The Candy Crush Level 65: Why was the man crying in the terminal? Because he’d been stuck on the same level since 2012 and the chocolate was winning.
48. The Vine Magic: Why was the guy “teleporting” in the airport? Because he was trying to film a magic trick and looked like he was having a glitch in the Matrix.
49. The Selfie in the Bathroom: Why was the mirror so crowded? Because 2013 was the year we decided that the bathroom of a nice hotel was the best place for a photoshoot.