Is there somewhere that you would not return to? And why?

[Mothership4two]

Just commented on a post asking for places you would go back to and why. Thought it would be interesting to find out places you would never go back and why not. Not trying to cause offence! I'm going to get flamed arent I?

Mine are:

Amsterdam. Just found it a big unfriendly city. Away from canals, the buildings are pretty ugly. Staff in shops/restaurants/etc had a couldnt care less attitude. Didn't help that it was a really cold few days and we werent interested in getting 'cake' from cafes or looking at the red light district. I find Dutch people usually lovely.

Dublin: found it drab and old-fashioned. People lovely though and good pubs

Florence: I love Italy but Florence is just a working city with islands of lovely buildings imo. We'd just come from Venice and it didn't compare.

North Wales: beautiful but unfriendly. Everywhere we went people switched from English to Welsh when they heard our English accents including a staff member in a tourist info office! We knew it happened but it just makes you feel meh. The fact if rained every single day didnt put it in a good light for us. Have visited many parts of the rest of Wales, all good. My lovely fil is from North Wales and my lovely sil and dn is also Welsh.

@captainpantbeard

Welsh people speak Welsh isn't a shocker (a lot of my relatives do) it was the deliberate switching that we found off-putting - and yes if was pretty obvious it was deliberate. Think we may just have had a bad few days there. All other times I have been to Wales we really enjoyed. The scenery in North Wales and other parts of Wales is stunning. Portmeirion on my bucket list.

I came back on to clarify after being called rude names or ppl explaining how I got it wrong.

I didn’t feel safe in Rio de Janeiro. We were told in no uncertain terms by the hotel manager not to walk about in the area around the hotel which was sad as it was so pretty, on a hill with Art Deco buildings and plants cascading over walls.
I think the best way of seeing a city is on foot so I was disappointed.

I also wasn’t too impressed by Ibiza though if I’d gone when I was younger I probably would’ve loved it.

I love Bulgaria and funnily enough don't expect the Bulgarians to speak English. If you choose to go the Blackpool of Bulgaria what do expect? The food in Varna is wonderful, the people charming and the beach stunning. Also it's incredibly well priced

The trick to doing over touristy city breaks is to do them lots and for a specific reason; warmth, shopping, food, cheap wine

Totally agree. We choose city breaks that have a great craft beer scene and choose an AirBnb as close to a craft bar as possible for late nights. We found La Rovira in Graçia just a few doors down from our apartment however even that won't make me return to Barca!

Milan and Dublin for me too and I love Italy.

Naples, because it stank and I didn’t feel safe. I’m in my 50s, enjoy travelling on my own, and Naples is the only place I wouldn’t go back to.

Dubai- fake as fake can get.

Dublin- expensive, dirty, run down and not much to do

Not read the whole thread...but

Just had a fab holiday in Wales (mid), it was so pretty, we had some great meals and everyone were so friendly. We were actually disappointed we didn’t hear anyone speak Welsh the kids really wanted to hear it.

Isn’t that part of the fun? Hearing people speak different languages???

I've been to lots of countries on here and enjoyed them all.

The only place I really disliked was Tunisia. It was just so much bloody hassle whenever we went anywhere. Took the joy out of it.

I really disliked Palmero (Sciliy) - just felt on edge the whole time, dirty, noisy and unfriendly.

Durban. We got held up at gunpoint despite having a local in the group to make sure we didn’t go anywhere or do anything daft.

I’m not going back. I can take a hint

Gili Meno island near Lombok - I got bitten by a fish!

TLDR....

Dubai - a small scratch beneath the surface reveals a horrible place. Truly awful

Saudi - if you need to ask.

Egypt - where I was was filthy, litter everywhere, and saw women being treated terribly

Boston - the airport was one of the worst travel experiences I have ever had. If you're making it that difficult to get in, I won't bother.

Marrakech - just far too touristy. There are many towns in Algeria that are much better to visit.

I loveD n Wales
Found the people very friendly
The fact they switched to their language didn’t bother me one iota as long as they were pleasant to me in mine

Interesting about Bali
My friend went there and loved it so much
Another friend went to Thailand, Phuket..again loved it.

Maubisson in France
Went about 25 years ago
Boring
Unless riding a bike through acres of pine forests is your thing
South beach Miami..once is quite enough..lovely though the buildings were
Just one street away from the main drag felt very frightening
Downtown Vegas ..again felt very scary at night when we got off the bus

Good lord cool

@Ginfordinner I saw people thrown out of St Mark’s basilica for taking photos and constantly being told off for sitting down on a step in St Mark’s square. In the past some tourists have been fined for this to the tune of hundreds of euros! I understand the heritage is to be preserved but it all seemed a bit much..

I’ve been wanting to take dh to Venice for years as he’s never been

Totally shocked at that

I don’t understand the comments about n Welsh talking to each other in their own language
In fact I rather like it
When we were in Gibraltar our taxi drivers spoke perfect English, barely an accent, but when they met up With other taxi drivers they chatted away in Spanish
It was fine

Paris. Horrid Place. Except Norte Dame.

I loved Bulgaria we stayed in Varna and had a beach, beautiful restaurants and culture. It was also very cheap. I didn't expect the Bulgarians to speak English same as they didn't expect me to speak Bulgarian but we managed. Wouldn't go back to Brugge! Totally overpriced and underwhelming

I wouldn't return to a Zombie thread.

I’m resurrecting this zombie to say Dubrovnik. Beautiful, but soulless and basically dead in every respect except as a tourist hotspot. Unbearably crowded, overpriced and overrated. Give me somewhere ugly but authentic over Dubrovnik any day. Such as Rotterdam, Roubaix, Bucharest, Belfast , Marseille ( although that is getting touristified fast).

I love Punta Cana the weather is fabulous from morning till night. The locals are lovely & the beaches are stunning.

I ventured out alone with just DS I felt safe at all times. The Canadians are lovely too they seem like real party people most people were from Canada in the hotel I stayed at.

@GaudyNight

Northern Ireland - apart from the odd area (Giant's Causeway etc.) the towns are a dump! Belfast is also very dull for a capital city! Can see why the suicide rate is quite high!

And you don't think that the fact that NI isn't glitzy enough for your tastes might have something to do with the fact that a violent civil war was being waged there until very recently?

Honestly, while I sympathise with anyone who had a disappointing holiday, half the issues on this thread stem from people not doing their research and thus having a completely baseless set of expectations of places. Yes, the Mediterranean will be hot in summer. New York is hot in summer, cold in winter, and is built on a grid system. Big cities will be crowded and very often have considerable numbers of visibly homeless people -- did you expect them to be tidied away for your arrival?

I agree. You have to really research and then what ever part your staying in read the reviews! I’ve never stayed in a dirty hotel. I’m aware I could get unlucky so I’m willing to pay more money and I never stay any where less than a 4 in the Caribbean it must be a 5 due to it being a 3rd world Country.

Some people sound so fussy they should just go camping.

Horses for courses, I liked N.I. as a place. Not a lot of “sights” as such but some beautiful countryside and a more laid back/ friendly vibe than a lot of places in England .