Holiday destinations that were unexpectedly lovely OR awful.

Pockets of Corfu are divine - the far northeast tip for example, around Kalami and Ag Stefanos NE. The clearest sea for snorkelling, chichi tavernas, geezers selling melons. Bliss.

I find a hire car vastly improves most places!

We lived in Melbourne for a couple of years - it's a nice place to hang out, not sure there's much to see - if you like big sights but the food and coffee are fantastic. We had some amazing holidays when we lived there but they all involved hiking - we aren't very keen on beach holidays and Australian cities lack depth and interest - even Sydney, they are all a bit same, small towns are often pretty grim. We kept Tasmania till last and we were not impressed, we expected it to be similar to New Zealand but it was dull, cold and rather uninspiring - unfortunately we stayed there for 2 weeks!
New Zealand stole my heart, stunningly lush, dramatic and while accepting that Queenstown is pretty awful, we loved Wanaka. It's a bit old fashioned and friendly - laid back.

I wasn't defending racism actually. I have seen horrible racism here as I have in other countries including the uk. I am just tired of the knee jerk description of Australia as racist when there are so many levels and nuances and changes and people here fighting inequality and discrimination. It is a meaningless generalisation like the previous posters saying 'I don't like the weather in Australia' and 'I don't like the sea in Australia.'

Tangiers, Morocco is the worst place I've ever been. Hygiene in the hotel (5 star) was virtually non existent and we all ended up with a week long D&V bug. Add to that being jostled to buy things in the street & then sworn at when you decline and you have somewhere I wouldn't return to in a hurry!

Ditto Cairo.

I'm glad you said that Ami - I was poised to reply, but yours is much more articulate than mine would have been.

Saffronwblue - your defence of Australia's racist rep as just 'depending on who you hang out with' reminds me of white people saying #AllLivesMatter when confronted with the #blacklivesmatter movement. By minimising real experiences of racism you are in fact participating in perpetuating racism. The country, though beautiful and full of lovely people, is saturated in racist attitudes.

The past & current treatment of its indigenous population. Adam Goodes. Nuaru. Bumper stickers and t-shirts saying 'Fuck Off We're Full'. Golly's being sold in QLD and everyone getting their knickers in a huffy twist when some tourist points out that they are in fact pretty racist.

Just because you feel you aren't racist and your nice friends aren't, doesn't mean that all the other racist bullshit doesn't happen or matter.

amaica - our hotel was stunning, but it just wasn't safe to wander around outside. We did venture into Montego Bay (DH is an ex rugby prop, and can look intimidating if he wants) and it's the only time I have felt physically scared. We were heckled and jostled by local youths with large knives tucked casually into their back pockets. Horrible

I have a cruise booked at the end of the month. The itinerary was changed and one of our stops is now Montego Bay. I'm so concerned that I've not booked any shore excursions even though I've been on other cruises in the area and enjoyed them.

I loved Orlando too. A relative and I took my children there to do the Disney thing and I was looking forward to it but kind of thinking I would endure Disney and the other theme parks rather than enjoy them. I absolutely loved every minute of i

Me too. My brother and his wife took me a few years ago after the breakdown of my then 36 year marriage. I went because my adult children said - just go mum. So I did, and I loved it. So much so that I've since been back with them 3 times and we're off again in 4 weeks. Im counting sleeps. 😍

Recently discovered - The Hague in December. Full of charm.
Love Tallinn, Helsinki, Stockholm, Hanoi and Capetown.
Budapest grim and open loathing of tourists.

Find Bangkok pretty grotty and soulless.

Interested in the thoughts and huge generalisations about Australia (I live in Melbourne). I think there is a well worn and probably tedious trail of drunken British backpackers tourist sights. Sydney has so many more magical and beautiful beaches than Bondi, for example.
My personal experience is that racism is not as pervasive as others seem to think. I guess it depends who you hang out with.

When posters say they hate Mexico, what part do you mean.
It's a big country.

Hated:
Mexico - filthy and the poverty was terrible and the people were all about wanting money- understandable when you saw the poverty- and it didn't feel safe at times
Greece but mainly because DH got bitten on a bollock by an insect and we spent most of the holiday trapped in a beach hut with his unfeasibly large testicle and a tube of ointment . Had only been together a couple of months.

Meh
Dublin - been several times and it is ok but has lost its charm I think over the last 15 years.

Unexpectedly Lovely:
Charentes in France. Very rural, lovely coast as well, big sleepy river that meanders through little medieval towns. We love it and have been 4 times now for long holidays - are there as I type. It is bliss.

Loved:
Paris - very romantic
New York- everything I wanted it to be and more, every time we have been
Rome - it was like a 1950s film with Audrey Hepburn

Seychelles and Disney Paris were awful
Cornwall and Disney Florida were nice
Other trips are probably outdated but the Serengeti plain is awesome

I had a work trip to Chicago - I'd only previously been through the airport and thought it would be industrial and boring. I loved it - amazing architecture, loads of culture, friendly, and lovely lakeside to get away to.

Liverpool was also a pleasant surprise as others have said.

Nice.... urgh. Expected a glamorous fun city. We stayed in cheap accommodation out in the suburbs and it was grim. Escaped for a while to Aix en Provence which was bliss in comparison.

I want to give Lanzarote a go now!

Oh and agreed with above - Blackpool I thought would be fun for a night.... 3 daytime hours was enough & we left whilst we could it was bloody awful.

Love love loved Hong Kong didn't expect so many open spaces and beautiful beaches

Hated Corfu- usually love Greece but it was awful lacked any charm and full of shouty Brits. We were apparently in 'a nice bit' too

I was a bit unsure what to expect but I absolutely loved Bosnia.

Mistakenly thought Blackpool would be fun for the DC for a couple of days to see the lights. We lasted a day , the most vile place we have ever been- we escaped to Liverpool which we were very taken with and had a fab time there.

Oh! I forgot to mention Warsaw (and today of all days). Went for work and was expecting a grim grey Brutalist city. But it's fantastic. The restoration of the old town is amazing. Loved it.

I feel like I'm in a parallel universe... Or perhaps just easily pleased but I loved so many places that people have hated -

Paris, Barcelona, New York, Copenhagen, Valencia... I generally find people pretty friendly too and even in places that were hard work or intimidating I was often backpacking so just moved on to somewhere nicer. I think if I was stuck somewhere for two weeks and didn't like it I might feel more strongly. I think it's partly down to expectations too - some places are so iconic that they have a lot to live up to. And for some places it's easy to get stuck in all of the touristy places, feel hassled and ripped off and miss out on what's wonderful.

Forgot to mention Granada which I also really enjoyed and Edinburgh which was also great. Did not like Glasgow but I was very young so maybe it's not what I remember, which is pretty grim.

I've enjoyed a few city breaks in places that are getting fairly slated here. In particular I've had a good time in
Paris (several visits, loved them all)
Lisbon
Madrid
Barcelona
Hong Kong

I also really enjoyed holidays in
New York (one of my favourite places to go hands down, you'd never be bored whatever way you like to spend your time, unless it's sun worshipping I suppose)
Las Vegas
New Zealand (if it wasn't so far away I'd visit all the time)
Mozel Valley in Germany
Ghent and Antwerp
Amsterdam
Maastricht
Kilkenny, Galway, Cork, Kerry, Sligo & Donegal
Kraków & Warsaw

Places I've been but wouldn't bother going back to
Brussels (just not as interesting or scenic as other parts of Belgium)
Ditto Brugge (too chocolate box & soul less)
Turkey (hated every minute - to be fair we were in a tourist resort but sleazy men and rip off merchants seemed to be everywhere and I just didn't feel at all comfortable)
Malta (have been twice, enjoyed the first time but by the second I'd felt I'd seen all the most interesting & scenic parts)

CharlieSierra
Someone mentioned Seville, which I did find nice but a lot of it was built for the expo so it didn't feel real. I preferred Granada, quite gritty but it has the Alhambra which is one of the most incredible things I've seen. Did you miss the Cathedral, Santa Cruz, calle sierpes and all the rest of the city that isn't the expo? There is so much more than the expo site, which is only a tiny bit and has bugger all in it these days.
www.adventurouskate.com/sevilla-the-most-beautiful-city-in-spain/

Disappointed by Prague and New York.
Love the bits of Australia I have visited. Been three times and would go again if we could afford it. We have only visited (parts of) Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

Love:
Tofino. Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. Would move in an instant. Actually, loved all of B.C.
Chicago. Lots to do. Fab food.
Northumberland coast. Stunning.
Pembrokeshire. Lovely place and lovely locals.
Taba Egypt. Great resort holiday with very friendly locals.

Hated:
Cornwall. Beautiful place but people not so nice.

Honeymoon cruise went to a good fee places but hated Egypt with a passion. Felt unsafe. Had an armed person with us and a man named Abdullah scared he shit out of us at the Spyhnx, asked for our tickets then cornered us for money, bloody terrifying.
Israel on the other hand was my favourite destination ever. Everyone was so friendly, the country is beautiful and so much to see