Holiday destinations that were unexpectedly lovely OR awful.

Having said that I loved Florence, it was also the destination of one of my worst holidays. I took 2yo DS to visit friends there in July when I was 6m pregnant. It was hotter than the surface of the sun, there was nothing to do with DS, the playgrounds were downright dangerous, I took him to the Boboli gardens in search of some cool shade and it was the one day of the month that they were closed, he refused to eat anything except ice cream and plates of tomatoes and chips, we ended up doing the tourist bus circles just to get some cool breeze on the upper deck and I cried from relief when the aeroplane doors were sealed on take-off on the flight home. I have never been so thankful to see grey clouds when landing in the UK.

So, Florence is fabulous as an adult in the cooler months (recommend May and September - October) but awful for small children.

Unexpectedly loved the Isle of Wight. Like going back in time - in a quaint sort of way -and truly stunning scenery in places.
Also loved the Cotswolds and the Gower Coast.
Never really been disappointed by anywhere in the UK . Think London is great.

Egypt was horrendous.
Couldn't walk more than 5 steps without Mahmoud the counterfeit clothing salesman who was always outside our hotel touching my blonde hair .
The pyramids are filthy. Crisp packets, empty plastic bottles, dirty nappies etc flying around in the wind is a sure way to ruin the experience.
There were poverty stricken children everywhere begging for money/trying to sell stuff, poor kids just mobbed the tourists
I got the shits within about 6 hours of the plane landing.
Was not my idea of a nice sight-seeing holiday.

Could not wait to get home from Geneva. The dullest place on the planet.

I was very pleasantly surprised by LA - far more cultured than I imagined. I liked California generally much more than I had expected.

Slovenia was also an accidental destination which surprised me with its wonderfulness.

I thought Capri was awful - we stayed there for a week so no daytripper bias. Boring, snooty and not even very attractive.

A place I never expected to love but do, is Essex, which I think is very underrated.

Unexpectedly loved Las Vegas, Ibiza Town, Malta, Dorset and Cologne

Loved Barcelona, New York and New Zealand - but had high hopes for each of them so I suppose it doesn't really count

Not hated many places. I disliked Tenerife because we stayed in a cheap & nasty hotel in a crap resort. Wasn't a fan of the beach resorts in Turkey either, lots of hassle from people selling things etc.

Returning to Blackpool was also disappointing, I have fond memories of childhood trips to see the illuminations and it didn't seem quite the same as an adult.

I don't like crowded places or busy cities, but I love London so much!
I was there twice last year, just for a few hours attending an appointment and I was worried beforehand because I was on my own and had a lot of navigating to do. Do you know what, I had the best time. I spent the whole day laughing and chatting to people, it was so friendly. Loads of people helped me find my way. One teenager got up and gave me his seat on the tube and a big smile, and my need was not greater than his, he just did it to be nice.
What a brilliant place, great vibe and a beautiful city. I loved it.

London: takes ages to get anywhere , felt very smoggy and dirty.
Paris: daughter had gone on a school trip hated it so I did not expect to like it, I loved it! beautiful city something magical in all the beautiful buildings She has since returned as an adult and fell in love with it too.
Amalfi coast: stunning views just breathtaking.
Granada: lovely place where you get food (tapas) every time you order a drink!

Unexpectedly nice:

Lanzarote, loved the bleak volcanic landscape, the Cesar Manrique art and architecture. We stayed in a soulless hotel but loved the island itself. I fancy going back with the kids.

Cairo - 15 years ago, loved the feel of the place, the pyramids, the museum, the Nile, one of DH's favourite ever holidays (and he is very unadventurous)

Tofino, Vancouver Island - I went to Uni on the island but had never been to Tofino, couldn't see the point, but DH and I love it for a family holiday. Cool laid back vibe, great food, gorgeous beaches, very hippyish. Fab.

San Diego - again I like that laid back West Coast vibe. A million times better than LA!

Disappointing-

the Algarve - NOTHING to do when it rains, we won't go back but I know others who love it. We found it golf-obsessed and a bit up itself!

Marbella - It's all about the money money money....

Places I've liked that others seem to disagree on - Barbados is good for winter sun, Mallorca was lovely in parts, ditto Menorca, ditto Santorini.

I love Paris and Venice, quite liked Florence but agree too many Vespas!

Strasbourg. Went there for a revision course. In November. Absolutely loved it.

UK-wise I'm fond of Berwick-upon-Tweed. We've seriously considered buying a house there.

I disliked Utrecht. Went to a conference with work. Supposed 5 hotel was awful.* Especially the supposedly fantastic food. You had to have a huge breakfast to offset the horrible food served for lunch/dinner.

Agree Krakow is a beautiful and fascinating city. Also much preferred Kerala to Goa.

Disagree with Delhi tho, but that's prob cos I went there at the end of a 4 month trip around India and Delhi was like Paris compared to some of the places I'd visited!

W.Australia without a doubt. I saved for ages to go and stay with my bf at the time. So excited only to discover it was horribly racist and sexist.
Never been so disappointed.
The town he lived in had a terrible drug problem which I didn't expect.
Realised I could never live there, which had always been my dream.

I liked Paris, but they don't really cater for vegetarians, mind you neither did New York when we we went there and I loved NY.

Survived on chips for about a week in both places!

Venice - couldn't see the appeal, went home early
Standing stones outside Carnac - standing stones in the woods were magical
Arles - incredible Roman ruins

On the the whole we do our research so dont get surprised often

Unexpectedly loved:

• Florence. I lived there for a year, had no particular expectations but I loved that I could read a history book and then go and see the actual building and it was still the same. There are some hideously touristy restaurants that sell awful food but lots of nice places too and the bus service is excellent. Fiesole up in the hills is also well worth a day trip.

• Andorra in the summer. Reading up on it I had expected it to be effectively closed until the ski season started but I had one of my best holidays there. The walking, mountain biking, running, climbing and water sports were fantastic, the whole country was beautiful and the people were friendly and relaxed. Loads of British expats so if you're not comfortable with speaking Catalan/French it's really not a problem.

• Poznan in Poland. I went on a work trip and had expected Soviet grey concrete. The city centre is gorgeous, the people were lovely and the culture is superb. I'm planning to take the kids at some point.

• Shanghai. A perfect place to take children. So much to do and see and the scale is fairly awe-inspiring.

• Stockholm. Beautiful city, loads to do, can be cheap if you know where to go.

• Utah. Fabulous hikes in Zion National Park, the caves at the top of Mount Timpanogos were amazing, lots for the kids and the history in Salt Lake City is fascinating.

Disappointments:

• Pisa. There is nothing to do once you've seen the leaning tower and the food is dire.

Also, didn't expect to like Amsterdam as much as I did but again we stayed out the centre near where a friend's apartment was. He'd been living there for a year so we went to good local places mixed with the better tourist things. I would have hated it I suspect if we had gone with no local knowledge and stayed centrally.

Totally underwhelmed by Barbados, thought it was a dump. No idea why so many zelebs (think Simon Cowell) go time after time, staying at Sandy Lane. You walk out the front door and there is absolutely nothing there but a grotty street and the beach isn't all that. The only good thing about Barbados is The Cliff restaurant.

Absolutely loved Santorini, Bali, our favourite destination is the Maldives, will never forget swimming with Manta Rays. We did massive research for our holidays there, it can be a minefield. Loved Paris and Barcelona. In fact we have had loved everywhere we've been except Barbados. We still laugh about how shit it was.

Happy to see the Benalmedena love. We're going later this year, really wasn't sure what to expect.

Mumma totally agree. Really didn't like Kuala Lumpur, but love love Langkawi too! Wasn't there long enough but want to go back.

Loved Ibiza. Went to the old town and it was lovely. Hired a car and loved the little villages and beaches. Despite staying in a truly terrible hotel would def go back, just not to that hotel.

Loved South Africa safari but hated the second part of the holiday when we went to Cape Town. We were right next to a shanty town in a gated community which was soulless. Couldn't venture out as felt very dangerous and felt so wrong being within that level of wealth next to people living in cardboard houses. Found it hard to deal with.

Hated Miami, too build up and fake. Beaches nice but too spread out and didn't feel safe. There was a shooting on the beach outside our hotel! Over priced shops and no culture.

Belize- thought I d love it but hated it. Was trying to do on shoestring budget and thought would do as a traveller which actually wasn't really us. It did not stop raining, no sleep as pissed up travellers in hostels. Dogs with rabies everywhere and saw someone get bitten. Town we were in was not pretty and heard so many horror stories about the tourist attractions I didn't feel safe. We left early.

Geneva. Had a couple of hours to kill at the airport so went into the city, it's a gorgeous place.

I love Dorset, most of it. Mudeford, Sandbanks, Poole, the Jurassic coast, Swanage, and the beautiful Studland Bay .. what's not to like... I've spent lots of time there and have many happy memories.

Love Stockholm too but its eye wateringly expensive. Beautiful city, I've stayed at a friend's house who lives there so didn't feel like a tourist.

Hated Tangiers. Thankfully wasn't there long as it was filthy and didn't feel safe there.

I loved the history in Istanbul, but I travelled there with a female friend and we did get harassed constantly by men, and it became very wearying.

I expected to hate Ibiza (as was expecting to just be full of 18-30 holiday types). It was actually beautiful, and very family friendly.

I also loved Disney (have been to both Paris and Florida parks now) and I was originally dubious that I would.

Was really disappointed by Kuala Lumpur. Only went for a few days on a dual centre holiday for our honeymoon. Langkawi was glorious after that.

Didn't know what to expect from Vancouver and British Columbia generally but absolutely loved it to the point it was difficult to get back in the plane after 2 weeks. Helped we were staying in an apartment so got a less touristy experience. Could definitely live there.

I like Paris but don't like the hordes of hawkers around all the tourist highlights. Much more intrusive than London.

Dominican Republic.

Absolutely beautiful hotel. Couldn't fault it. Apart from the food. We specifically booked an English hotel and didn't get it. The food was inedible and had birds walking all over it. What was served at lunchtime was reserved at tea time and sometimes even the next day.

We was supposed to be in an all inclusive hotel and yet spent a fortune on food eating out because no way was we going to touch it