Page 28 | Most overrated destination you’ve visited?

bruffin · 22/05/2023 07:22

BarrelOfOtters · 22/05/2023 07:07

See I would never go the Maldives as I know I’d be bored out my skull. But fair play to those who like that kind of thing. Love snorkelling but it needs to be in a mix of other things for me….I don’t like sit and read holidays by a beach for more than a day or two.

To be fair, it wouldnt be the holiday for me now. But when we did spend a long time on the beach, but we also went to the capital Male and went to it's tiny museum and got a helicopter and boat to another island, where they cooked us a picnic of fish caught on the way there, also did some night fishing

SoCalLiving · 22/05/2023 07:24

BarrelOfOtters · 22/05/2023 07:07

See I would never go the Maldives as I know I’d be bored out my skull. But fair play to those who like that kind of thing. Love snorkelling but it needs to be in a mix of other things for me….I don’t like sit and read holidays by a beach for more than a day or two.

This is why we loved Hawaii, especially Oahu. There's obviously beautiful beaches to be at, great snorkelling/diving spots, but also a lot of hiking and also museums. These are some of our favorite vacation activities and we really thought the Hawaiian Islands has it all, whilst also being a very relaxing place. We're trying to maximize our trips there right now whilst we live conceivably 'close' by (California).

SoCalLiving · 22/05/2023 07:29

OMGyoucantbeserious · 21/05/2023 23:29

Just driving back from Santa Monica. CA. Never again. Overcast. Overrated.

See I understand the LA hate on this thread but not the Santa Monica hate! It's our favorite place in this city (we live here) and like the one place I recommend visitors to come to!

wistfullyfocused · 22/05/2023 07:30

Scalottia · 22/05/2023 06:37

So you are saying that the entire state of Colorado is overrated because your bed was uncomfortable?

Mine is also Paris. Hated it, other parts of France are so much better.

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I’m taking the piss. I’d have slept on boulders and enjoyed it. FWIW our bed was like a hammock. We put the mattress on the floor and that sorted that. Would thoroughly recommend.

I think people are negative. I once did a 10 hour drive across a desert once. It did seem a long drive. I call this type of experience category B fun. On reflection it was great, at the time I was tired and had enough!

SoCalLiving · 22/05/2023 07:32

@wistfullyfocused Ooo I like this idea of 'category B' fun. We did a train trip a few months ago (funnily enough it was to Colorado) and it was great but also exhausting, we were so tired all the time because trains were late + we had to get up early for things. I'm glad we did it but wasn't 'relaxing' per se!

girlswillbegirls · 22/05/2023 07:40

RedToothBrush · 21/05/2023 22:53

Reading this thread I tend to wonder why some people go places, they seem to want everywhere to be like home.

I think there is a definite mismatch between expectation and reality and people not really knowing enough about where they are going before they get there. And there's definitely something about what people like to do on holiday, especially whilst abroad.

I think you really do need to make sure you do your homework and work out where to go. Experience has taught me if you have only a few days somewhere, working out the very best places to go before you go really makes a huge difference to how you enjoy it.

One of the top grips on this thread is definitely the locals being rude - that smacks of just finding somewhere to eat whilst out, in a tourist trap. Knowing where to eat and which streets to avoid makes a world of difference. It definitely can ruin a holiday.

Rome is the one I can relate to most on this. I enjoyed going there - but we got ripped off by a taxi driver on a simple scam. Its the only place we've had that and it does leave a bad taste. It was also easy to see how it could be a massive disappointment - the restuarants we checked reviews for / had recommendations for were a whole world away from the ones we just rocked up to.

Its so worth realising taking a step backward to go to the next street over or walk a block or two more to the less touristy places makes a HUGE difference.

Or finding out what local events might be on.

The other interesting grip is the one about it being different on tv and how places with a sanitised makeover seem to be lowest in people's opinions. The US cities mentioned are particularly telling. As is Bali. Its the PR thing versus Reality. There's an instagram lesson to be learnt there.

@RedToothBrush well said. 100 per cent with you.

Barbadossunset · 22/05/2023 07:42

Mothership4two · Today 03:47
Agree @Boredwitholdname about Singapore it had a Truman Show feel to it.

Thats made me want to go there😁

Batalax · 22/05/2023 08:20

I definitely think expectation and hype play a part. People raved so much about the Grand Canyon, that I was expecting something spectacular too. It was nice, particularly at sunset, but I think it had been built up so much in my mind by other people, that I was expecting something much more. Perhaps if my first look had been at sunset, my first impression would have been better.

Ahardyfool · 22/05/2023 08:22

Lincolnshire.

BarrelOfOtters · 22/05/2023 08:25

I’ve been to the Grand Canyon twice now, once camped and trekked in it, and once staying overnight and hiking a reasonable way down….and back. I love it. I think if I’d just drive there from vegas and stopped for an hour and gone back…I’d be thinking…’nice…but?’

Sd352 · 22/05/2023 08:59

Same. Geneva tainted all of Switzerland for me, I am afraid, and it would take a lot to persuade me to go back.

Miriam101 · 22/05/2023 09:17

I think the conclusion of this thread is that some people should never leave their houses and that would make the world a lot more pleasant for those of us who like to travel with an open mind

adriftabroad · 22/05/2023 09:53

Hippobot · 22/05/2023 01:32

Dublin - nothing interesting/nice to look at. Unfriendly locals. Very expensive and a lot of crime.
Anywhere in mainland Spain. Cannot understand the appeal of that country at all. Too hot in summer. Barren countryside. Rude people. Shit food. Everything takes forever and the bureaucracy is ridiculous. Cities stink and are full of dog piss and honking drains. Lots of thieves.

I live in Spain (18years) and have a Spanish DD and totally agree.

You forgot Xenophobia and misogyny and cockroaches which fly into the coast each summer.

FergalforPM · 22/05/2023 09:57

Iwasafool · 21/05/2023 21:25

My funny moment was a family of Americans queuing to get into The Vatican, it was really hot and they were complaining about why they hadn't installed air conditioning when they built them.

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My funny (not funny) experience was working with Americans in Paris. They spent all day every day moaning about French food. One colleague ordered Pizza Hut delivery and topped it off with a can of squirty liquid orange stuff she claimed was "cheese" that she had brought from Texas. Arrrghhhhh.

Iwasafool · 22/05/2023 10:02

CatAndHisKit · 22/05/2023 01:45

Venice smells in August due to heat and water algae, possibly part of July. So it's not about other people (who like it) not noticing the smell - just avoid those months!

I went in June and it was hot but no smell. It does tend to be expensive but we found a little restaurant that was busy with local working people at lunch time, had a school canteen feel to it but on a smaller scale and the food was hot, fresh, delicious and quite cheap. We could have a 3 course meal for not much more than a coffee in St Mark's Square. Loved the secret tour of the Doge Palace and just riding around on the vaporetto.

Scalottia · 22/05/2023 10:02

wistfullyfocused · 22/05/2023 07:22

My comment was a joke 😂… just to illustrate the lunacy of some of these comments.

The Lake District - grey and wet. Er where do you think the lakes come from, bottles?

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Haha oh crap, that will teach me to post right when I have woken up! 😆

55balloons · 22/05/2023 10:03

Rome, found the locals extremely unfriendly especially around the collesseum.

Scalottia · 22/05/2023 10:05

Sd352 · 22/05/2023 08:59

Same. Geneva tainted all of Switzerland for me, I am afraid, and it would take a lot to persuade me to go back.

I live in Switzerland and I don't like Geneva! There are other nice parts I promise!

Sd352 · 22/05/2023 10:59

Sad to see Rome mentioned so frequently :(

It is such an amazing city! I have been a half dozen odd times and never experienced scammers? Would steer clear of the Vatican area though — some stunning art horribly marred by mass tourism and a very herd-like approach to tourists. The Capitoline Museums were incredible. I love the Roman history and early Christianity bits in Rome, and there is SO much history everywhere! The food is incredible too (if you don’t end up in a shocking tourist trap, particularly prevalent around the Vatican).

Sd352 · 22/05/2023 11:02

@Scalottia I believe you. I just had the most miserable 5 months of my life in Geneva and the only thing that made it better was leaving it for for the weekend! I also don’t ski which made living there in the winter months hard from a socialising perspective.

Still, it is very picturesque, the Swiss wine was surprisingly delicious and the trains and buses are very efficient. I had built both it and working at UN up too much in my head all my life and that was why I ended up disappointed.

Loobieloogold · 22/05/2023 11:12

New York. Went years ago and it was the worst rain they had had in a million years. Typical. I'm from Scotland and this was terrible. Central Park was closed and flights kept getting delayed or cancelled due to heavy rain.

However! It wasn't because of the weather - it just didn't seem to be as amazing as you think.

Ninjama1 · 22/05/2023 11:20

Angelinadarling · 22/05/2023 01:12

Maldives… hundreds of tiny (boring) islands in beautiful ocean - polluted by ‘rubbish island’. Absolutely sod all to do on each island except swim, £££jet ski, £££snorkel (swim), £££canoe, £££scuba (swim) and repeat - day in day out. Absolutely NO shops on each island bar one crappy souvenir stall. Nothing to do in the evenings. Nowhere to walk to : 5 mins to walk the length of each island. Yawn, yawn, yawn. An extortionently expensive utter disappointment. After 5 days Couldn’t wait to get home. Glad we only booked for a week. Oh, it took 23 hours and 3 flights to get there.

Come on...did you really not read up about it before? No shops 😁

BarrelOfOtters · 22/05/2023 11:35

I feel sad to see Rome so often too....we walked miles though and spent very little time round the Trevi fountain and colliseum area and were staying in an apartment a bit away from all of that with a brilliant local restaurant next door.

We did end up falling out of the Vatican absolutely parched and made the fatal mistake of ordering 2 beers in a place with no menu and sitting on a table outside...most expensive beers ever, but we kind of both knew that was likely to happen at some point.

FergalforPM · 22/05/2023 11:36

Ninjama1 · 22/05/2023 11:20

Come on...did you really not read up about it before? No shops 😁

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I also quickly tired of the Maldives, but not due to the lack of shopping.

Namechange9625 · 22/05/2023 11:56

The problem with Rome is that it is a place, like Paris and London, that people spend years building up in their heads that they want to visit. The reality is it's disgustingly filthy, over run with street hawkers and homeless people and they don't celebrate their history or show off their "story" in the way other cities do. It's just accepted that you go, it's there, we'll take your money now can you kindly clear off again. I think we are spoiled in the UK with how we share our heritage and that may impact the view of Rome. But for me it really was so abundantly clear how much Rome fails it's migrant population and how little they care about their city.

I really wanted to love it, carefully planned my trip, budget, read up on the city, I'm not a stranger to Italy so knew about their delightful hidden taxes, I walked round, stayed in a lovely hotel outside of the centre, used a tour bus to take it all in etc. Sadly I came away with an overwhelming feeling of I do not want to return.