The 25 Most Instagrammed Summer Vacation Spots

By Chris Wilson / Time.com and Time.com
June 07, 2016
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This story originally appeared on time.com

For many Americans, Memorial Day weekend is a chance to squeeze in a quick trip to the beach or soak up a little culture in the big city. Since the long weekend is the unofficial start of summer vacation, TIME decided to take a look at which places in the U.S. saw the most travel-related Instagram activity.

While thousands of users did flee for the coastline, a good many more flocked to major U.S. cities like New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles—though in the latter case, some beachgoers may have tagged themselves as being in L.A. while others were more specific with tagging themselves at Venice Beach or the like.

Curiously, in spite of the long flight, quite a bit of activity shows up across the major Hawaiian islands. Among continental beaches, those in driving distance to major cities saw the most activity, with spots like Miami Beach and Virginia Beach drawing large crowds. South Carolina and the Florida panhandle were also particularly popular.

Methodology

It’s not possible to know for sure that every tagged photo is from a person on vacation. To get the best results, TIME started by analyzing all geotagged photos in the U.S. with the tag “vacation,” then examined which other tags were commonly associated with them. That led us to “travel,” “travelgram,” “ocean” and “beach.”

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1 of 26

Central Park 

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Location: New York, NY

Count: 10,620

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2 of 26

Venice Beach 

Getty Images

Location: Los Angeles, CA 

Count: 4,990

3 of 26

Golden Gate Bridge

Location: San Francisco, CA

Count: 4,002

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4 of 26

South Beach, Miami

Getty Images

Location: Miami Beach, FL

Count: 3,079

5 of 26

Millennium Park

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Location: Chicago, IL

Count: 3,017

6 of 26

Las Vegas Strip 

Anna McKerrow

Location: Las Vegas, NV

Count: 3,010

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7 of 26

La Jolla Cove

Getty Images

Location: San Diego, CA

Count: 2,977

8 of 26

Waikiki Beach

Getty Images

Location: Honolulu, HI

Count: 2,774

9 of 26

Disney's Magic Kingdom

Getty Images

Location: Orlando, FL

Count: 2,235

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10 of 26

Santa Monica Pier

Getty Images

Location: Santa Monica, CA

Count: 1,864

11 of 26

The Gentleman's Club: The Office

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Location: Miami, FL

Count: 1,833

12 of 26

Lincoln Memorial 

Getty Images

Location: Washington, DC

Count: 1,540

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13 of 26

Pike Place Market

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Location: Seattle, WA

Count: 1,496

14 of 26

Point Dume Beach, Malibu, California 

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Location: Malibu, CA

Count: 1,355

15 of 26

The Boston Common 

Getty Images

Location: Boston, MA

Count: 1,141

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16 of 26

New Orleans French Quarter 

Shutterstock

Location: New Orleans, LA

Count: 987

17 of 26

International Rose Test Garden 

Getty Images

Location:  Portland, OR

Count: 947

18 of 26

Fort Lauderdale Beach

Slow Images

Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL

Count: 932

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19 of 26

Montage Laguna Beach 

Getty Images

Location: Laguna Beach, CA

Count: 928

20 of 26

Crystal Cove State Park 

Getty Images

Location: Newport Beach, CA

Count: 842

21 of 26

Kaanapali Beach 

Getty Images

Location: Lahaina, HI 

Count: 833

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22 of 26

Fort Zachary Beach, Key West

Getty Images

Location: Key West, FL

Count: 712

23 of 26

Virginia Beach Oceanfront/Boardwalk 

Getty Images

Location: Virginia Beach, VA

Count: 689

24 of 26

Huntington Dog Beach

Getty Images

Location: Huntington Beach, CA

Count: 680

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25 of 26

Philadelphia Museum of Art

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Location: Philadelphia, PA

Count: 673

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