What is the most overrated destination you have ever been?

[Meltinthemiddle]

Mine is Dubai l.

“Package holiday”. There’s your answer.

Turkey is a beautiful country, full of history and great food. A tourist resort is never going to be great. 🙄

Oh do piss off.

Paris and Dubai

Naples
Seattle

WTF? Whitest city ever?

Maldives - lovely for a few days then completely bored

Nice …. Awful place, such rude people!
New York … so, so - 2 nights were plenty.
Las Vegas … I quite like it, but then I like slot machines!
Grand Canyon … awesome
Dublin … Too crowded
Boston …. Ended up in Primemark - that’s says it all I think
Paphos …. Building site

Nice …. Awful place, such rude people

Agree

@helpplease01
Camden is good fun!

Ah- so you prefer cities where abortion is outlawed and books are banned, and they teach creationism in schools?

Dubai

Hmm I love LA and New York and Paris! Also enjoyed Venice…
I did not like Bucharest. So depressing. Or Marrakesh - the animals there made me so sad. Hated it.

Berlin is the LEAST White city in Germany! 1/4 million Turks, lots of people from Viêt Nam, India, Angola, etc etc. It’s a diversity magnet

Paris - full of French people and pickpockets
San Francisco- full of druggies and homeless
LA - fake and grimey

I’m assuming you yourself have not spent significant time as a racial minority in any country. If you’d ever had men follow you calling you racial epithets you’d probably understand this somewhat.

I can’t speak for everyone but generally, I will feel more comfortable in places that have at least a small amount of racial diversity. It’s not about not wanting to interact with white people. Living in the UK, even in London for example, it’s normal for most interactions to be with white people. It’s the comfort of knowing how you’re likely to be treated. Either the people you’re interacting with have enough exposure to other races so that you’re not likely to be note worthy or you have accounts from local people of colour who are not treated well and you can choose to swerve the destination.

Hurgada shit hole

Carcassonne. The castle is beautiful from afar. It's just when you get into it you realise it's full of tat shops and endless cafes serving overpriced cassoulet. It's the second most visited tourist destination in France and was thronged on the day we went.

@moresleepthanks does Bristol have any redeeming features? Non mainstream tourist stuff (no car)

Gretna Green -vibes of service station bus-trip commissioned drop off, poor food options, nasty expensive tourist tat- why anyone would consider this a fun or romantic wedding venue is beyond me- I've been twice, unfortunately, hopefully never again!

Have visited quite a few of the places being shamed here. And I liked them. Must be easily pleased. Prefer my home these days, though.

I can understand why people might not like Paris and Amsterdam depending on where you stayed and what you did. Both have become a lot seedier in the last 20 years. I used to love Amsterdam, but now much prefer say Leiden, or Rotterdam. Rome though! It's large, loud and busy - all of which you should have been prepared for - but it's like a walking museum. Everywhere you go there is something to see, and lovely food and it's easy to escape the madness in the evening. I think I posted already that I loved Naples. It's so vibrant. My dh didn't like it as much, mainly because of the Maradona worship I think.

Surprised to see Turkey on this thread, of course the tourist areas can cater to those that want their egg and chips etc. But get out and about and the scenery is stunning and the people are so nice, it’s clean and there is something for everyone. Love the East meets West aspect.

As for the UK, why are people saying places like Skegness!? No-one has ever rated it so it doesn’t disappoint. The most disappointing UK destination are The Cotswolds. What is the appeal? It is disappointing because it is hyped up as being a cut above but it just seems really dull to me, sort of average and uninspiring.

Paris

A lot of these places depend on the time you go, the areas you visit and whether you do any research and planning to ensure you visit the parts and do the activities YOU like the most.

All inclusive resorts can’t really be a review of a destination either. Most of the time the review is of the immediate resort unless you do extensive travel around.

I’ve been fortunate to go to a huge chunk of the places on this list. Many that are consistently listed as terrible in this thread I have loved visiting but I always do my research and would never go over peak holiday season unless I could really help it - and if I did, I’d certainly lower my expectations regarding crowds!

Maldives - don't judge the country based on one resort; there are local islands to explore in addition to the tourist ones. I've been twice and had two wonderful yet totally different trips.

Santorini - if you're looking for a beach vacation then don't go, it's beautiful but yes cruise ships do take over here and on Mykonos. Lovely and calm in the evenings though and so photogenic

Vegas - again do your planning, but it's a marmite destination and there are little natural wonders around without travelling so its not for everyone

Bali - don't judge the island if you only saw ubud/kuta/seminyak. If you want the old Bali try Sidemen - it's beautiful and full of rice paddies and not westernised at all

Cornwall - avoid any school holiday seasons and it's beautiful, but total luck of the draw with the weather as always

Delhi - we had low expectations and were pleasantly surprised. There is something for everyone for a brief pit stop there if you do your research. It's not a destination so much as a transit point

Cape Town - drive out and explore the surroundings especially penguin beach! More scenic than Johannesburg and safer too.

I've just been to cinque Terre and while a beautiful place was just too rammed to enjoy in august - wouldn't have been my choice of when to go. But still worth visiting while in Italy.

I could go on.. 😅

I am also bemused at the hatred for Barcelona. It's a fabulous city. Brilliant food, amazing architecture, the Boqueria, the beach etc etc. Though I suppose if you just walked down the Ramblas and got pick-pocketed....