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Worst trip you've been on?

223 replies

everythinglooksbetterpaintedblack · 29/03/2024 21:26

Just returned from 3 nights in Lisbon and it was a truly awful trip.
Anyone else had a trip from hell they care to share?

OP posts:
Bananalanacake · 30/03/2024 23:29

Cheesewisely, your comment about driving to Miami from Orlando made me laugh. Only yesterday I did the exact opposite, we were supposed to fly to New York then to Orlando but a flight got cancelled due to no pilots, so dh had to rebook a flight to Miami, then we had to drive for 3 and a half hours to Cape Canaveral. Weirdly the security queue at Miami was empty, we got through in 5 minutes, but had to wait longer for luggage.

mjf981 · 31/03/2024 02:14

Bridlington. I was there for a week with work...never again. Run down, people quite strange and disheveled looking, freezing wind off the North Sea (and this was in June).

Prairies of Canada - endless wide open plains with grotty depressing little towns. I wasn't expecting much, but it didn't even really meet my expectations. Fly over country, unless you're really into big tractors.

Berlinlover · 31/03/2024 02:17

MrsKeats · 30/03/2024 20:11

Berlin.
So grey, depressing and because of WW2 it was basically flattened so lots of modern, boring office type buildings.
Food awful too.
People who don't like Venice and Paris are baffling me.

I love Berlin and absolutely detest Paris. I’ve never been to Venice.

coxesorangepippin · 31/03/2024 02:32

Faliraki

Mate was bulimic

Just an awful time.

LaPalmaLlama · 31/03/2024 09:30

mjf981 · 31/03/2024 02:14

Bridlington. I was there for a week with work...never again. Run down, people quite strange and disheveled looking, freezing wind off the North Sea (and this was in June).

Prairies of Canada - endless wide open plains with grotty depressing little towns. I wasn't expecting much, but it didn't even really meet my expectations. Fly over country, unless you're really into big tractors.

Yes I think there are quite a few places that are good to see like that. I once did a day flight from HK to Uk and had a window seat. It was a clear day and I spent hours watching all of Russia go below us. There wasn’t much to actually see apart from trees and tundra but the vastness of it was really captivating. Similarly I’ve travelled through india by train and between the cities I loved just watching the countryside go past.

TwirlyWhirlie · 31/03/2024 09:38

DD and I went to France with my mum to spend a couple of days with her then partner. Mum and ex- partner spent most of the time arguing and DD and I were trapped in our bedroom (partner had an apartment in Paris) listening to the screaming matches.

In the end, I ended up taking the RER with DD to Disneyland Paris for the day to get out of there where it rained all day, the main ride we wanted to go on broke down and DD sprained her ankle after she slipped in a puddle. Total disaster 😭 😭

BlowDryRat · 31/03/2024 15:27

It wasn't a holiday exactly but a solo work trip to Cairo. I went a couple of days early to spend the weekend sightseeing. It was fascinating to go inside the Great Pyramid, on a camel round the pyramids, up to the mosque overlooking the city, to the market and to the hanging chapel. But the men. My gosh, they were horrendous. Constant comments, following me around, pestering me constantly. One man literally picked me up and tried to put me on a donkey. I say tried because I'm, erm, substantial, and he couldn't quite manage. He then tried to charge me for a donkey ride! I've never been so glad to get back to my hotel and order room service.

That was my second time in Egypt with the same sort of experience. From hearing many similar stories, I'd never go back to the ME or North Africa as a tourist. I don't go on holiday to be harassed all-day.

Crikeyalmighty · 31/03/2024 16:18

@Berlinlover I love Berlin too- I guess that's why I take threads like this with a pinch of salt- I didn't like Venice either as was smelly when we went and everywhere was a rip off

DBSFstupid · 01/04/2024 08:12

SunshinDay · 30/03/2024 07:58

@User1979289 to be fair ladybirds are coming out at the moment and difficult to control I've seen them in lots of places recently

Yes they are and it can't be helped. They have been hibernating and the Hotel hopefully put them outside.

DBSFstupid · 01/04/2024 08:18

DopeyS · 30/03/2024 08:17

@User1979289 strange, I stayed at a Champneys hotel for work late last year and there were ladybirds. Turned my light on in the morning and got a ladybird dive bomb my face. Pulled back the curtains and there was a huddle of hundreds of them. Also came back to the room after breakfast and the rain was dripping through the boxed bit above the window.

They were about to Hibernate.

SunshinDay · 01/04/2024 08:40

@Crikeyalmighty what does salty mean.

PinkPondQueen · 01/04/2024 09:15

I've loved every trip i've ever been on but British Columbia was a bit of a disaster. Firstly BA lost our luggage which we didn't get back until we arrived back in London. And then we got stuck driving a tiny Toyota Yaris in the dark in the moubtains of Vancouver Island in an absolutely horrific snowstorm. I genuinely believed we would die that night!

Pollyannamex · 01/04/2024 11:10

EasterFox · 30/03/2024 20:31

That’s fantastic, did they genuinely think no one in earshot understood Italian or just not care?

I don’t think they care 😂

Pollyannamex · 01/04/2024 11:11

Monkeybutt1 · 30/03/2024 23:06

It's amazing honestly, so many gorgeous hotels, Tulum ruins and turtle beach both fantastic, if you get the chance to swim in a cenote definitely do it. We had the best time, my son still raves about it.

@Therealjudgejudy you’ll love it, Mexico is beautiful and the people are so friendly.

some people just need to stay at centre parcs and accept their limits…for others the world awaits :)

Therealjudgejudy · 01/04/2024 14:57

@Pollyannamex well said! 😂😂

whoputallofthatthere · 01/04/2024 15:22

Worst was a holiday to Prague, a good few years ago now. Prague itself was great but we very nearly didn't get there as the coach we were travelling with got stuck at the Czech border and we sat there for 8 hours! Finally got to our hotel in Prague around midnight. Then the tour company constantly rushed us around places and didn't leave enough time to look at anything before we had to dash back to the coach. I'd love to go back to Prague one day and do it properly.

BlowDryRat · 01/04/2024 22:40

Sashamalia · 29/03/2024 23:13

Mexico. It was the worst place that I have ever been to.

I think they advise people no to travel to Mexico at all anymore because its so violent.

Haha! We're in Mexico now (not for the first time). So far, everyone we've met has been courteous, helpful and kind and we're having a great time. I know the FCDO advises against travelling some some states where there's a high likelihood of getting caught up in violence. We're exploring the Yucatán peninsula. It's chock full of tourists and thousands of very serious-looking police to look after us all.

Orangello · 02/04/2024 05:15

Then the tour company constantly rushed us around places and didn't leave enough time to look at anything before we had to dash back to the coach.

Ooh this reminds me of my first trip to Italy. Same - we were just rushing from one place to another so fast that I couldn't even tell you which cities we visited. 'See, here, Vatican - let's go!' Company didn't want to hire official guides where it was required, so they were sneaking us around, pretending they know nothing. Were taken to eat at the cheapest crappiest places, I still remember (and not fondly) this one Chinese buffet, all you can eat for 5 eur.
Have been to Italy many times since and love the place.

TheDuck2018 · 02/04/2024 09:17

Genuinely amazed at some of the comments here....do people not do research about a place before they visit?
We visited Venice last August and loved it, we knew it was going to be hot and crowded so we visited the main tourist spots early morning.....at 7.30am we were the only people in St Marks Square apart from the vendors, and it was the same on the Rialto Bridge.
Loved Barcelona, San Francisco (apart from Tenderloin....avoid at all costs!) and Rome too, such fabulous places.
Agree about Los Angeles though, apart from the Observatory, the view from there was great.

VenusClapTrap · 02/04/2024 10:10

As former cabin crew, I concur about LAX. One memorable time I was asked by the immigration officer which airline I would be travelling back with. I was standing there, in my uniform, with the rest of my crew, in the line dedicated to crew and diplomats. I was sorely, sorely tempted to say “Oh I’m planning to change jobs in the 24hrs I’m here and work for Virgin on the way home.”

PlumpHobbit · 02/04/2024 10:18

Probably Sri Lanka

The hotel was lovely, the staff in it lovely (couldn't do enough for you), some of the tour things we did were good too, the view from the hotel which was right on the gorgeous sandy beach, lovely

However outside the hotel really shocked me.

It looked really dirty, street dogs absolutely everywhere some looked like they needed to be put out of their misery. Didn't look safe to go for a stroll

We went for a stroll the day after we arrived to the local shop to pick up a couple of bits, as we usually do. Immediately on stepping outside the hotel we were accosted by a Tuk Tuk driver, who proceeded to walk with us to the shop, trying to sell a tuk tuk ride to us. He then proceeded to wait outside the shop while we were in it and followed us the whole way back to the hotel. I left DH talking to him and walked behind them so I could keep an eye. He didn't do anything but to be effectively followed for so long gave me the creeps, and made me not want to go on the tuk tuk!! Also made us not want to leave the hotel unless on a tour

You'd go to the beach, and immediately be accosted by people trying to sell things

Youd go on a guided tour, and people would try and sell things at any given opportunity

We stopped at a tea plantation for the view, having just done a tour. This woman shoved a load of tea leaves into DH hands (just picked couldn't do anything with them as they hadn't been processed) he tried to hand them back, she wouldn't take them and insisted on money! For a bunch of leaves!

Even on the tours, went to a moonstone mine, then into their shop. Now I like a piece of jewellery, so wanted to have a browse and considering buying something. Again immediately they're following you round the shop, trying to put necklaces etc round your neck etc. Now Jewellery is very personal taste, I wanted to take my time looking. Ended up buying a loose stone just to get something (as I had wanted to). Went to another gem place on another stop and was constantly pestered there to the point we left. Annoying as probably would have preferred the pieces there but couldn't look properly without them trying to put necklaces on that weren't even to my taste

I started off by feeling really sorry for the people as know the country has been hit badly by the tsunami but in the end I just felt like telling anyone who pestered me to fuck off - it made me less inclined to buy stuff - I like a souvenir but want to choose things not have them forced upon me

It took ages to get anywhere (although their roads were in brilliant condition, didn't see any pot holes the UK could learn from them). The actual traffic was terrifying, there seemed to be no road rules, overtaking on bends, tuk tuks appearing from nowhere, going 3 abreast into a corner. Id be gripping the seat at times, fortunately we had a driver (they seem to do private tours rather than all piling into a coach, I liked that!) but we saw multiple near misses, including our driver at one point

Spent the last day fretting about the flight home as DH had food poisoning (thank fuck I slept through when it was bad in the night as I'm emetophobic of people being sick!)

Obviously not the country's fault, but it was topped off by the flight home from hell - 10 hour flight having to listen to a toddler playing an iPad game, without headphones. "Let's do that again" or "it's too high we might fall down" are phrases I never want to hear again. Fortunately there was inflight films but each time you took the headphones off to try and nap, the iPad echoed around. It was topped off by the iPad, still emitting the annoying phrases, being rammed into my back while waiting to get off the plane, saying oww seemed to have no effect as it followed us, still emitting that god awful game, all the way to baggage reclaim where I took refuge in going for a wee! I don't think I could do long haul again.

I will end by saying parts of Sri Lanka were gorgeous, but just being harassed constantly got mega annoying, even DH got annoyed by it and he's way more tolerant than me.

MrsTerryPratchett · 02/04/2024 14:40

VenusClapTrap · 02/04/2024 10:10

As former cabin crew, I concur about LAX. One memorable time I was asked by the immigration officer which airline I would be travelling back with. I was standing there, in my uniform, with the rest of my crew, in the line dedicated to crew and diplomats. I was sorely, sorely tempted to say “Oh I’m planning to change jobs in the 24hrs I’m here and work for Virgin on the way home.”

I wish you had! Although IME, humour is frowned upon. You'd probably still be in prison.

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