Most overrated destination you’ve visited?

[Rnm62]

Just that really..

It's a shame when you plan a sunny holiday and rain spoils it - but I can't see how anyone could describe the whole of Majorca as 'hideous'! Particular towns/resorts may not be what you expected or hoped - but no way is the whole island hideous .

OK many of the places people hate I loved. Dunedin (and the Otago peninsula); Vegas - mad and tacky but great fun; San Francisco; Mallorca; Algarve; Disney World; Barcelona; Basel…

I’d agree Snowdon is a bit of a let down - too many people. Go to Cadair Idris instead. Lands End is also horrible, but walk 100m down the coastal path and it’s fabulous. Niagara town is hideous but the falls, and the paths along the gorge, are breathtaking.

Florida Keys/Key west...I had high expectations I guess and it just fell short in most ways for me!

Oh and France.

Just generally underwhelming especially in respect of everything it's meant to be great for and overwhelming in respect of what it's purported to be shit at.

(IME Germany was the reverse).

Surprised - absolutely love the Keys.

One of my favourite destinations.

Italy - overrated? 😱

The Pyramids. Awful place.

Bali

London - dirty, expensive, crowded, rude people.

What about it fell short?

The Keys are honestly one of the only places in FL I really want to go. Would love your opinion on it.

We live on the West Coast so I've been putting off FL trips until we know whether we're moving back to the UK/Europe or the East Coast in a few years (as flights are sometimes cheaper from the UK than from here).

Positano: it’s pretty but that’s about it? Literally no history etc to it. Much preferred Amalfi and Sorrento (not been to Capri though) but my goodness Americans rave about Positano ever so much!

Agra / Taj Mahal: it’s fine? It’s not that old and it’s fairly pretty but the town itself is an absolute dump.

Santorini: absolutely stunning views, unmatched anywhere else I have been, but just how tourist heavy it was made it a bit unpleasant (although we had fantastic accommodation which made up for it)

Istanbul: only time in my life I have cut a trip short. I was 23 or 24 and travelling solo and felt so threatened and on edge the whole time. Shame, because the food is great, the confluence of Roman, Christian and Islamic art and architecture is incredible but my goodness the men were scumbags! Got groped multiple times, stared at, the whole lot. And then I victim blamed myself for wearing short skirts and dresses when sightseeing in the august heat. But you know what, it wasn’t me, it was them.

cancun: oh god. Horrible built up mess. Chain restaurants and all inclusive resorts and almost nothing else. I hoped the town itself would be better — it wasn’t. Granted, I was also a university student on a spring break but had hoped for something better. Much prefer Tulum.

Not overrated for me:

I love New York and Paris. Both fantastic cities with incredible food, museums, art, so diverse and vibrant. Yes, they are crowded and busy and hectic, but my goodness, they are living cities of nearly 10 million. They will be! Just like London. In fairness, I have spent more time in both cities as not a tourist than as a tourist.

Venice: loved the art and architecture. And the aperitivi and sfizzi. Restaurants on the whole felt meh. People were unfriendly but it was understandable. My husband says it is overrated, I am not so sure. I think the setting, art, architecture make it worth it.

Bali: we had been warned to avoid Kuta, so we did. Seminyak was ok but not a tropical paradise. Uluwatu and Ubud weee lovely though, especially the former. Enjoyed the hike up the volcano as well (Mt Batur?)
The Aussies on spring break vibe was a bit off putting but they weren’t everywhere.

Nope.
I met 100s I can name and possibly 1000s I was involved with. I’ve known some of them for over 25 years, had dinner in their homes, met their kids, dogs , been to social events with them, worked with them during fun times and some truely grim times

American cultural norms, politics and attitudes are, imho, something to behold and be very afraid of. Seriously odd attitudes to your average European. which I am. Nowt wrong with people I met to an average American, just a wide gapping cultural gap between Europeans and Americans.

yep, you can meet quite a few American who, on face of it, are more outward and enlightened thinking- but scrape below surface and they still have USA centric thinking in their core.
a cultural history that sort of starts, for most Americans, a few hundred years ago, coupled with a very inward looking nation, where a lot of everyday standard wage Americans barely travel outside their own state, let alone their country. To travel outside their state is a journey equivalence to us going to Europe or beyond, but we get immersed in countries with different cultures, history, language and norms, they just get more of same but different scenery . They swear allegiance to their flag fgs 🤦‍♀️

I’ve been east, west, north and south ( well as far down as south Georgia, as far north as Maine, and east, west coast and good ole Bible Belt middle and old “ Indian territory “ states like Dakota ( apologies I know the people are First Nations, but that’s my point about attitude).

cities and towns have no real historic centre, just swamped by a mass of post war commercialism with many cities listed ing identikit and sounding ideentikit with those bloody long train horns going off all night for 15 mins whilst the train chugs through the centre, and police car sirens going very half an hour. The towns/ cities Are not people or even public transport friendly outside of the major cities like NY. Even sport, which is massive part of their lives from school and family events, they treat student uni teams like they’re some Olympic hero’s . Vast swathes of central country is a mass homogenous wasteland of mono culture on a frightening scale.

the only redeeming feature is some truely spectacular landscapes in some places- grant you that. But not a big enough sell for me to be ever go there again.

each to their own

Paris.
Dog poops everywhere
Rude people
Effiel tower was decidedly underwhelming

And it smells of piss.

Was in Albufeira and Faro. I just didn't take to them. Found the people rude and so many drunks and rowdy people about. Just didn't do anything for me.

Well said. People who can't be bothered to do any research, and as you said, one thing which doesn't go their way makes them hate the place.

Also, visiting a place and complaining about the number of tourists

The term "whinging poms" springs to mind.

We are going to San Francisco next week. This thread has made me feel 😢

@Kathyshome l loved San Francisco when l went! I want to have some amazing Chinese food and go to Alcatraz. I’m sure you’ll have the best time

I can go in your place and you can cover my commitments. Bad news is l have 6 week old twins and they are sleeping so badly!

According to many on MN the locals should actually be doing their best to entertain them while they are on holiday in their town/city/whatever. How dare they go about their normals lives instead of going all out to please them!

I’m surprised about people’s dislike for Bali. I found it beautiful in a natural way. Didn’t encounter huge crowds or instagrammers. But also went everywhere but Kuta.

New York- somewhat agree- if you’re there for a handful of days the initial impression could be of a stinky dirty place. I moved there without visiting first so it grew on me and I made some great memories over time. However I do remember the feeling of underwhelm the first week or so.

another place I can think of that I was underwhelmed is Milan - for a fashion capital I expected it to be glamorous and interesting. Instead I found it bland and boring with barely anything to do.

I don’t like cities in general, but I’d love to revisit San Francisco. You’ll have a great time. We even saw dolphins from the beach just past the Golden Gate Bridge.

@EL8888 Congratulations, how absolutely wonderful 💐. I hope you manage to get some sleep soon . xx

We are taking DS (17) to the US for the first time, hopefully it will be good 🤞.

Paris didn't do anything for me, but perhaps we went to the wrong bits.

Prague - very pretty but I found it too commercialised. Some nice restaurants but bored me in comparison to other destinations.

Rome is my heart city.

Another vote for Bali. Dirty, tired, 100% agree with it being like Magaluf for Australians. The Gili Islands on the other hand were pure bliss… but this was 10+ years ago and I’ve heard they’re headed the same way now too 😢

Also New York. We’d been there 2 hours and someone tried to mug me, felt scared and anxious the rest of the stay. Also it’s just another city…. Anything worth seeing is horrible expensive and overcrowded, it’s so hyped up but was such a let down.

A close friend went to Japan for 2 weeks. Hated it…can’t understand why anyone would want to go there. I lived there for some years and just nod and smile. My experience was so different.

dublin is my don’t really get it place, had a couple of nice evenings there with friends….but the place doesn’t float my boat.

mallorca I love, the scenery is stunning.