Movies about trips gone wrong are as old as Hollywood. Some of the funniest, scariest, or most stressful films come from this sub-genre and we are here to celebrate those movies with this list. Whether it’s a classic comedy like City Slickers or an action/horror movie like Deliverance, these are our favorite movies about vacations that ended up a total nightmare.
National Lampoon’s Vacation
You can’t have this list without the all-time classic road trip disaster that is National Lampoon’s Vacation. Everyone has been on a family road trip; it’s a rite of passage in the United States. Thankfully, most don’t go as bad as this Griswold’s Chicago-to-California trip to WallyWorld. It’s such a classic that it launched a mini-franchise.
Deliverance
There is no movie ever made about a camping trip that goes as bad as Deliverance. The Burt Reynolds-led classic from 1972 has become a cliche for a nightmare of a canoe trip (or really any trip into “the hills.” All the guys wanted to do was canoe a river one last time before it was dammed up. The locals had a different idea entirely.
The Great Outdoors
Chet Ripley (John Candy) just wanted to have a classic summer vacation in the woods with his family. Unfortunately, like so many dads before him and after him, the trip went a completely different direction once his obnoxious brother-in-law, played by Dan Aykroyd showed up uninvited with his family. At least Aykroyd has some classic John Hughes quotes in the movie.
The Hangover
It’s not usual for a bachelor party in Vegas to go a little sideways, but we sure hope none have gone quite as disastrous as Doug’s party in Vegas the night before he got married. What started as a quick shot on the roof of Caesar’s Palace in The Hangover, ended with Doug missing, a stolen police car, a surprise wedding, and more. At least almost all of Alan’s quotes in The Hangover (by actor Zach Galifianakis) are hilarious.
The Beach
Imagine finding paradise in Thailand while trying to find yourself as a young college-age kid, and then imagine that dream spot becoming a total nightmare. That’s what happens in The Beach. Richard (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his friends manage to find the mysterious, beautiful beach, and everything is idyllic—until the community (and its leader) go to extreme lengths to keep the beach a secret.
Home Alone
Home Alone isn’t about the vacation itself, it’s about the kid left behind as the rest of his family heads to Paris. Things go pretty well for Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) at home as he triumphantly defeats the Wet Bandits, but for the family on vacation, especially Kevin’s mom (Catherine O’Hara), it is pretty much a nightmare as she (and they) try to get home to him.
The Cabin In The Woods
There is nothing better as a college kid than finding an out-of-the-way place, like a cabin in the woods, to spend some time partying with your best buds. That is, unless, you’re one of the kids in The Cabin In The Woods where everything about your trip is being messed with by some crazy scientists trying to conduct a psychotic “experiment” with cabin… and the kids.
Anyone But You
Imagine finding yourself at a destination wedding with a one-night stand who you detest after things went sour quickly. For Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell), it’s a Shakespeare play come to life. They secretly still really like each other, but neither can let the other know and the idyllic vacation/wedding is anything but. At least at first.
City Slickers
Dude ranches were all the range in the 1990s and the Billy Crystal classic City Slickers is a big reason why they were so popular. It’s strange that people had any interest in spending their vacation time at one, given how horrible the trip goes in the movie.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Murder mystery parties are a nightmare even when they go perfectly, or at least they are for some people. Other people seem to like them. Even those people wouldn’t love them much if they went the way the party goes in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Old friends turn enemies in this disaster of a trip that is manipulated by their mysterious, rich friend.
Bad Trip
Eric André and Lil Rel Howery star in Bad Trip and the name pretty much says it all. It’s a classic road trip-gone-bad movie as the two stars try to make it from Florida to New York. It’s an underrated comedy that had a bunch of problems upon its release and as a result, not enough people have seen it.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
To be clear, pretty much everything that goes wrong in the horror flick I Know What You Did Last Summer is the fault of the selfish college kids on the vacations. We’re meant to like them, of course, but it’s hard to like any of them after everything they do.
Get Out
Meeting your significant other’s parents is always a little stressful. For Chris (Daniel Kaluuya) in Get Out, it starts out actually pretty well. His white girlfriend’s parents are perfectly fine, it seems with their daughter dating a Black man, something he was worried about. Of course, things turn into a nightmare when he finds out what is really going on and why her parents are so “cool” about things.
Weekend At Bernie’s
Is Weekend at Bernie’s really a vacation movie? Well, kind of, right? After Larry (Andrew McCarthy) and Richard (Jonathan Silverman) expose company fraud to their company’s owner, Bernie, the boss invites them out to his place in the Hamptons for the weekend. Well, we all know what happens next and while Bernie never intended for it to be a vacation for our heroes, things go from bad to worse when Bernie dies.
Summer Rental
John Candy found his way into quite a few vacation disaster movies. Summer Rental might not be the best-remembered one, but boy is it a disaster. What was supposed to be a nice 5-week vacation in Florida meant to reduce stress turns into the most stressful beach vacation you can ever imagine as literally everything goes wrong.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
There is no worse nightmare than trying to escape to paradise for a while to forget your ex-girlfriend only to find out she’s at the same resort with her new, extremely obnoxious boyfriend. That’s exactly what happens to Peter (Jason Segel) as he tries to leave his heartache behind in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. At least he meets Rachel (Mila Kunis) who is way cooler than Sarah (Kristin Bell).
The Sure Thing
The Sure Thing has some of John Cusack’s most iconic quotes. Of course, that’s because he’s trying to make the most of a cross-country road trip that turns into a total disaster. Everything goes wrong as he tries to deal with a travel partner who he hates and who hates him. It’s also a wonder rom-com as they end up falling in love after bonding over how bad the trip is.
Jurassic Park
Not everyone on the trip to Jurassic Park in Jurassic Park are there for a vacation, but the two kids, Lex and Tim, are there for one. Boy oh boy does it going bad for them! All they thought they were doing is seeing their grandfathers amazing new bio-park. Instead, they are almost eaten again and again!
National Lampoon’s European Vacation
The Griswolds returned for their second vacation in National Lampoon’s European Vacation. Unfortunately for Clark (Chevy Chase) and his family, things go as bad as they did when they drove to WallyWorld. They aren’t in the car as much, but when they are, it’s maybe worse when they drive by Big Ben and Parliament for hours.
Couples Retreat
Most couples look forward to a weekend away together. Other couples use time away as a chance to rekindle their relationship and get things back on a good track. The latter is what is happening in Couple’s Retreat, but with “vacations” like that, who needs the stresses of home to ruin marriages?
Gotcha!
It was supposed to be a dream summer trip for a college kid exploring Europe in too-often forgotten Gotcha! starring Anthony Edwards. It turns into a Cold War nightmare when Jonathan (Edwards) meets an exotic woman named Sasha (Linda Fiorentino), who turns out to be a spy.
One Crazy Summer
As summer jobs and vacations go, things could be a lot worse than what happens to Hoop (John Cusack) in One Crazy Summer. He finds love with Cassandra (Demi Moore) and makes some life-long friends. But it all comes with some serious challenges along the way that Hoop and his friends must overcome.
A Very Brady Sequel
Taken straight from the classic show, A Very Brady Sequel sees the whole family traveling to Hawaii to rescue Carol from an unscrupulous con man who has kidnapped her. That might not sound like a vacation, but the family still manages to make the most of their time on the islands, but even that goes wrong.
What About Bob?
Psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfuss) takes his family on their annual vacation to Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. It’s going as planned until a borderline psychopath patient of Leo’s named Bob Wiley (Bill Murray) shows up and does his best to ruin Leo’s life and vacation.
Brokedown Palace
You know those announcements at the airport that tell you not to accept things from strangers to take on the plane with you? It seems like common sense, but Darlene (Kate Beckinsale) and Alice (Claire Danes) don’t heed that warning and unknowingly smuggle drugs into Thailand and their dream vacation turns into a prison nightmare quickly.
Spider-Man: Far From Home
When you think about movies about bad vacations, superhero stories may not stand out, but Tom Holland/MCU Spider-Man movies break that. Spider-Man: Far From Home starts as an amazing school trip to Venice, but is interrupted in a violent fashion when the Water Elemental attacks the city. It’s not what you expect from a school trip, that’s for sure. It’s far from the final twist in the movie though.
Us
Director Jordan Peele followed up one vacation nightmare movie (Get Out) with another one, Us. Us is an equally disturbing vacation movie, based on a more traditional beach vacation. What makes it worse is that Addy (Lupita Nyong’o) saw it coming. She knew what was up.
Vegas Vacation
Once again the Griswolds, led by Clark, set out to have a good, fun, family vacation, this time in Sin City. Vegas Vacation, like the two previous (actual) vacations in the series, turns into a total disaster for almost everyone except Cousin Eddy. Clark loses all his money gambling, the kids get into all kinds of trouble, and Ellen (Beverly D’Angelo) almost gets seduced by Wayne Newton.
EuroTrip
Things start badly for Scotty (Scott Mechlowicz) when he gets dumped in the most brutal fashion after graduating high school. They get worse when he is cut off from his German pen pal. To save things, he decides to head to Europe to meet her in person. The trip, of course, is a total disaster, at least until the very end, when it gets much better. It takes a lot to get there, though.
Thelma And Louise
People forget that Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) were just planning a weekend getaway up to the mountains to escape life for a bit. Instead, their quick jaunt turns into a run from the law after Louise shoots a man assaulting Thelma after a night in a bar. It’s an amazing adventure, but it doesn’t end the way you want your vacations to end, that’s for sure.
Midsommar
Dani (Florence Pugh) has had a rough year after the death of her sister and an increasingly hostile boyfriend. She decides to take up a friend’s offer to travel to a midsummer festival that only happens once every 90 years in rural Sweden. Instead of a festival celebrating rebirth and life, it turns out the commune where it is being held is nothing short of a hedonistic nightmare.
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York
In the first Home Alone, the vacationing family are the ones having the real disastrous trip. In the second installment, the trip starts off as a nightmare for Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) but once again really affects his family much worse than it does for him, even though he’s the one that has to meet a certain future politician in the movie. Things always seem to work out for Kevin.
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