Where is the most overrated holiday destination you’ve been?

[phoanymoany]

Where have you been on holiday and thought “wow, that was a waste of my time and money”.

Mine was travelling to a fairly remote tropical island where people were supposed to be so friendly. Unfortunately we found the people we interacted with in the hotels and restaurants to be anything but nice. It piddled down with rain and then we almost got scammed.

I feel validated in my Parisian disappointment. Not only did dh do a good job of burning our kitchen down on the morning of our honeymoon to Paris, when we eventually got there it was raining, smelly, badly lit, weirdly oppressive, and just a real let down. That was the first night, and there wasn't much improvement after that.

Also Dublin is rubbish. Agreed. I only went there to have my first ever flight - the shortest possible from my home town - and couldn't wait to get home again.

Berlin, Prague, Oslo, Geneva, Copenhagen, Malmo, all lovely.

NYC!!!! We went in the summer, so it absolutely stank of putrid rubbish that was just thrown out on the street, it was filthy, food and drink was so expensive and really poor quality. Nothing like the movies 🤣

Don't people know that Dubai is all fake, modern consumerism before they go? It seems glaringly obvious from the outside.
I don't know why some posters bother going anywhere. What a waste of energy.
I've been to a fair few places and never hated anywhere, even if you don't 'like' it, it's interesting just to see / observe other places...
It's also kind of ironic that a lot of these places have been curated especially for tourists, and been ruined in the process.

I went with family, we stayed on the outskirts and traipsed all over Paris, not just the main tourist bits. I stand by my criticism. Spent half the time cleaning dog poo from our shoes. It wasn’t all bad, nice cafes and architecture but overall hugely overrated in my eyes.

I would guess people have similar criticisms of London (sans dog poo) but I don’t assume they are uncultured, have only eaten McDonalds on their trip, or are unimaginative as PP have so politely suggested. I am not sure why Paris brings out such defensive snobbery in people.

In what way? We love it. Amazing place x

@emmylousings - I saw Dubai referred to as a sweaty Canary Wharf the other day.

Paris
Tunisia
L.A.

@Sodullincomparison ha, we just went to Iguazu Falls last month and loved it. Didn’t go into town at all though, stayed at our hotel in the national park so really enjoyed the nature, the falls, without the seediness of the town. That said, probably wouldn’t return because there is so much of the world to see and it’s quite far out of the way!

I loved Paris, but generally though New York was overrated. The muesums and galleries were obviously world class, but outside of them, the City was so run down and the ever present poverty really jarring when you know it's one of the richest contries of the world. I didn't think the food scene was that much better than London's either.

I'm not a fan of travel, it makes me nervous and I like the routine of home. Having said that DH loves to travel and we have done quite a bit, with back packs before Children, a little less adventurous now. I've been to many of the places listed.

Your starting point probably makes a difference. If your expectations are unrealistically high to start, everything will be a disappointment. I expect to be sick, tired and anxious for the whole trip. So anything beyond that is a bonus!

For example I can see that you might be disappointed looking at the Grand Canyon because in all honesty you cant get a grip on the awesome scale of it from close up, the pictures, or a flight over gives it perspective. It was on my bucket list, but in the end the highlight of our trip was a few days in Yosemite because it was easier to grasp and more instantly beautiful. That said I still loved my trip to the Canyon, and I like to see it on the TV and think I've been there.

@Sd352 we did Iguazu on a back packing trip from both sides, it was amazing. Also loved the Pantanal in that part of the world.....so many Caiman!

I lived there in the 90s and it was like that then, but the scale.of it has increased. Back then the city was full of wealthy people who didn't care about the homeless/addiction problems, coz they can go home to their nice big houses and forget about it. This is what happens when the gap between rich and poor just grows and there's no welfare state.
We have been warned!!!

I recently went to Paris with young adult children after being a few times at least 10 years previous. I hadn't been looking forward to it especially (having been before) but actually fell in love with Pars all over again. We stayed in a different area from before and walked a lot which meant we saw a lot. I just love seeing cities with people going about their daily lives. I was also able to appreciate the measures put in place to make the city bike and pedestrian friendly. It was certainly less crowded, quieter and cleaner than London.

but in the end the highlight of our trip was a few days in Yosemite Yosemite for me was the opposite of what this thread is about. We stopped off on the drive from LA to San Francisco - stayed a night and OMG wished we'd had a week there! Nothing I'd seen or read about it could do justice to how beautiful it was - I'd like to go back in every season!

Why?

Thestruggler · Yesterday 20:31

Maderia is actually one of the better destinations in my opinion. Of course there are touristy things like anywhere but I would say this is one place you can definitely avoid them should you prefer to. It is very beautiful too and the climate is interesting (Atlantic)

Cape Verde. But this was a few years ago in 2009. Very boring, nothing to see or do. The sea was so rough and dangerous, so will never return!

I think some people must hear ‘Dubai’ so often that they think ‘we must go’ and have no idea what it’s like. It appears to be brash, bling, and boiling. Great if you love water parks, hot sun, tanning and Insta…. I assume. As it doesn’t appeal to me, I’ve never been, but even if I did go, I’d no doubt get what I was expecting and so wouldn’t be disappointed.

I went to NYC in 2000 and loved it. Though it was fucking freezing cold.

The older I get the more I am a fan of staycations.
Its ironic that UK holidays was all I had growing up and they were looked forward to with enormous excitement. Since then I have been on many many foreign holidays and trips and I can say very confidently that often with foreign travel the stress and hassle of getting there often outweighs the pleasure and novelty of being somewhere different.
Some of the best holidays had a smooth, seamless and not-too-lengthy journey there and a drama free travel process. You also get to spend the money you would otherwise spend on getting there on actually enjoying yourself and relaxing. Plenty of stunning and beautiful places in the UK if you know where to look.

This. Both Tenerife and Lanzarote didn't impress at first. In Tenerife we thought we were going to have a week on a slag heap, but the resort we stayed in at Holf del Sur has lovely landscaped gardens and pool. We had a car a drove up Mt Teide and were blown away. Going up the cable car to see Grand Canaria appear behind the edge of the caldera was a sight I'll never forget. Similarly in the volcanic fields of Lanzarote, eating a barbeque cooked over the volcano, touching the floor and realising it was hot from the volcano was mind blowing. A trip from Tenerife to La Gomera was superb. Then add the massive choice of restaurants and you have places I would happily go back to.

I lived in Dubai for a while and am baffled as to why anyone would go there for a summer holiday. You can't sit outside - even at night - in summer as it's far too hot and humid and you can't tan unless you want to lose your entire outer layer of skin. It's 50 degrees for most of summer, or near enough. I found it utterly draining just walking next door from my office to the shop to get lunch. It's quite nice in autumn/winter though, if you like shopping and drinking. The beaches are all private bar one, but you wouldn't go there to hang out. I tried once and then noticed that the man 'sunbathing' next to me was having a wank. Admittedly that was a good 15 years ago and it might be a bit different now...but I bet it's not THAT different.

I have wanted to go to Santorini for years- went as part of a cruise and was really disappointed. Maybe because we were only there for a day with like 3k other people, but just wasn't fussed.

We went t to Leeds first time last year and actually was pleasantly surprised .

Alcudia, Majorca. Other areas of Majorca are okay but I got bit to absolute bits by mosquitoes, had to get antibiotics when I got home.