Best/worst country to visit

[travelinterest]

AIBU to ask which countries/cities were the best or worst you have visited and why?

Iceland = best. It’s just so different, the landscape is stunning and the people are great

Belgium/Brussels = worst. Bloody boring

Belgium/Bruges = Absolutely fatastic. Beautiful, great food/chocolate/beer.

Other favourite cities = Lisbon, Rome, York, Lincoln, San Francisco (but that was in 1986 and I understand it has changed a lot since then)

Favourite country ever = Italy. Have been to many places in Italy and loved them all

Worst country = Tunisia. Dirty, smelly, too much hassle from the locals

Worst city = New Orleans. We never felt safe. People were trying to fleece us all the time and it was very expensive

This is brilliant. Amazing how two people have different perceptions of Belgium.

But have you been to Bruges? It is nothing like Brussels.

I like Brussels for business, but it's not my favourite place in the world. Love Washington DC - monuments, museums, food... Hate New Delhi - heat and hassle.

Re: Belgium. I LOVED Brussels. My companion at the time thought the same. Sitting the Grand Place at night outside one of the bars, drinking a glass or two, people watching, then the illuminated display. Ended up doing it every night of the stay. The musical instrument museum one of the best museums I've ever been in. The royal palace (open in the summer) makes Buck House look like a shed. We both thought Bruges dull and overrated. Go figure.

Agree with previous poster that best country is Italy.

I hated Canada (east and west coast) with a passion. I realise I am in the minority here though!

Best country for me would be South Africa or Italy.

Best - America. So many different things to do and see.

Worst - in all honesty I haven’t been anywhere I have disliked. But I wouldn’t go to Dubai based on what I’ve heard about the way foreign workers are treated and other things that happen there, so i’ll say UAE.

I did go to Bruges and it is lovely. I really disliked Brussels. It is fascinating how people have such different views of the same place. I loved New Orleans for example and always felt safe.

Re New Orleans - I absolutely loved it! So much fun, such beautiful architecture, I felt very safe there. The garden district is a must see with all the huge mansions there, Frenchman street which is full of jazz bars - I just loved it

Agree that Tunisia is a shithole

Italy - love love love, so beautiful. Apart from Venice which is a dump

Valencia - favourite city in Spain

We struck lucky on the day we had in Brussels. We had looked around the main square and walked up to the park. We noticed a sign outside the palace stating that it was open and entry was free (I believe it is only open a few weeks a year)

Looking around the palace was the icing on the cake. It was amazing.

Loved:
Iceland- friendly, clean, amazing scenery,
Morocco, Egypt- I love North Africa for its smells and sounds and atmosphere, spectacular food
and also thought Bruges was awesome!

Hated:
Japan- everyone else seems to LOVE it but I went and apart from having amazing skiing it just didn't seem that great. I think I got a bad impression because it was winter and I only went to a ski resort but it just seemed not my cup of tea. Everything was triple packaged, didn't like the food, the towns seemed unattractive. I sort of want to see Kyoto etc but am worried I will remain unexcited by them...

Loved - The Canadian Rockies, Ibiza (if you stay away from the 18-30 resorts it’s such a beautiful island), all the Greek islands I’ve been to and The Black Forest in Germany.

Hated - Poland wasn’t my cup of tea but maybe I just didn’t see the best of it. Didn’t like the food at all either. Also wasn’t keen on Gran Canaria

Best - Myanmar, so beautiful and everyone so friendly. Such a shame what’s happening there at the moment.

Worst - India. Some amazing scenery and beautiful buildings, plus obviously full of culture. But an absolute nightmare as a solo female traveller. Was assumed to be a prostitute everywhere I went, had continual harrassment, stalking, low level violence, nearly every single person I met tried to fleece me. Was there for 6 weeks and felt on edge the whole time. Appreciate it might be different for male travellers however.

Kraków or Marseille - best. So much to do in Kraków especially for a first time visitor, great value for money and lovely restaurants!

Worst - Hamburg, felt very industrial and not easy to navigate round.

The best for me is Koh Samui, Thailand. Beautiful and restful. The worst was Cebu, Philippines. The beach was really windy, too many people hassling us to buy stuff and homeless kids coming into places we ate to get money from us.

Conker I'm in Myanmar now!

Paris - culture, food and relaxation
Antigua - sun, sand, chilled times
Las Vegas - great party scene, fun times

Marbella - overrated
Estonia - can't put my finger on it but wouldn't rush back

@travelinterest I’ve never been to Paris but I hear love/hate reviews from everyone. Some of my friends adore it and go every year. Others hated it and would never return. Funny how different opinions can be about the same place

I have been to Paris 3 times and didn't love it.

Hated Tunisia
Loved Mauritius and Barbados but I also really love Spain (away from the very touristy bits)

I don't think I could pick a 'best' country. I love France, Italy, Spain, USA - all fabulous countries to visit with masses to see and do - but also grotty/dangerous or just plain frustrating elements to all. I was pick-pocketed in Paris, someone tried to mug me in Madrid (but failed), my DH had his watch stolen in Naples ... but I still love all those countries.

As for worst - I didn't like either Northern Ireland or the Republic. I found NI boring and grotty, and Dublin was run-down, dirty and tacky (but may well have changed now - that was in 2002).

Iceland is stunning but Reykjavik is a bore and so expensive.
Italy is amazing, just everywhere.
Seville in Spain is lovely, as is Madrid, Bilbao.
Sydney Australia was great.
Berlin Germany is one of my favourite places, Munich one of my least favourite
Florida, USA is awful, Boston is good.
Brussels is a massive no-no unless you like beer.
Amsterdam is a great and underrated city.
France varies a lot but I don't think much of Paris.
Lisbon has many good points but is bloody hard work.
Don't recommend Prague or Geneva.
Dubai is a very strange place. wouldn't go again.

Best:
Nuremberg, Salzburg, Munich, Vienna, Bordeaux, Stockholm, Lucca

Worst:
Dublin, Marrakesh, Florence, Naples

Of course none of the 'worst' places are rubbish - I just didn't enjoy my times there for various different reasons and wouldn't be keen to return.

Also agree with those who didn’t rate Dublin. I found it incredibly expensive and underwhelming