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.

Another one to hate on... Bordeaux. Doesn't help my parents have a holiday home not far from it but that's the closest airport as flights from UK no longer go to La Rochelle (they used to). They nicknamed the airport the cattle truck due to the metal bars!

Whenever I go even on a day trip, in summer, it's as humid as hell and the migrants approach you and do not leave you alone no matter how many times you say no, go away. It's so spread out and has it's own tram system so you can be stuck on one to get somewhere. If I'm ever going for day trips there I much prefer La Rochelle (pretty marina town/city) or Saintes (Roman).

@pollyglot
Hilarious that your recommendations for enjoying Malta and Rome are to take a trip to somewhere else ! And I've not been to Sicily - but I am sure it's an Italian island, so not sure why you recommend speaking French .

This is the first one on this thread I have agreed with. I hated it!

For me, I would say

Paris
Barcelona
Gibraltar
Milan

BUT all were visited as day trips as part of a wider holiday and I would certainly revisit Paris and Barcelona as I'm quite sure there is a lot more to them. I think the disappointment for me was that what I saw didn't stand out for me in any way . So disappointed with Las Ramblas and yes, the streets in Paris were dirty and there seemed a lot of traffic pollution .

OTOH I've liked most other places I've been to in Spain (or at least appreciated why others would like them) and don't get people who write off entire countries .

Hawaii is one of my favourite places on the planet. The traffic is terrible in Honolulu but apart from that I love it there.

@quisensoucie
This thread is about overrated destinations . I've never went heard anyone rave about visiting Birmingham ! 'The Paris of the West Midlands ' 🤣

I’m surprised at people saying Amsterdam is lovely. I lived in the Netherlands for several years and every visit was a chore. Stinky, full of drug addicts, hellishly overcrowded and massively expensive. The red light district is a blight on the city. I haven’t seen anything of it that was pleasant. Any of the nice bits, aside the Rijk museum and Ann Frank house, you can see in eg Utrecht or Dordrecht without the dregs, drunks or crowds. 🤷‍♀️

Loved Amsterdam in 98.

@ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea Yes, granted it is about holiday destinations. But to someone not living in the UK, the Paris of the Midlands may well be a destination city!
And people do go to Liverpool for Beatles stuff! 😃

I don't think anyone abroad raves about hoe amazing Birmingham is🙈 Liverpool yeah probs but it's more football and Beatles rather than "How amazing city, you will love it, so beautiful" like about Paris etc

Dd and I had a wonderful time there going to classical musical festival in the Alps. It was in summer so we walked in the mountains during the day and went to concerts in the evening. There were amazing musicians - for example Yuja Wang - and they took place in small churches which gave them a lovely intimate feel.
We’re looking forward to returning.

I love Paris but I didn't until I went to stay with my friend who was living there, and we just ambled around.

@shearwater2
I remember the adverts for the Sun Centre at Rhyl and was also very disappointed with the reality ! Probably one of the few places in Wales I wouldn't go back to.

The energy, people and everything to do (in New York), I really like it!

Yes, that's what gets so many, though I was amazed to read that someone found the locals rude

I know the place well now, but the very first time I went I almost wanted someone to be thoroughly rude just to have "the NY experience", but they all seemed to have gone to charm school and it was a bit of a disappointment!

Guess there's always the odd one anywhere though ...

NYC was great. Service was so good. So many landmarks that I’d grown up seeing on TV. Had to rewatch Sex and The City when I got back!

And you can be snobby all you like about maccies in Paris, but it's the only one with white arches instead of yellow (or golden in the McD marketing parlance).

I loved NYC though not been for years, so must see if it has changed. I love noisy, busy, crowded cities though!

I would happily go to die in Harlech, it's just perfect. I'm English btw.

Offwiththecircus
Am frankly amazed that anyone would go on holiday to switzerland.
Why? We have had some of our best family holidays there. It's great for adventure holidays for families of all ages. The kids love mountain biking and skiing there. We've had some great times in the snow in winter and the hiking in the mountains in the spring and autumn is amazing. I even love the cities. My lads enjoyed going to CERN when we stayed in Geneva as they were both into Science when they were at school. My kids loved ice climbing in winter and white water rafting in summer. What's not to love about Switzerland

Why? It looks beautiful . We had a short holiday there just over 20 years ago . We stayed in Gstaad and I can recall a train trip to Gruyère - yes extremely touristy but that would just encourage a trip to a less touristy village . I'm hoping to do a trip on one of the railways.

@Offwiththecircus Switzerland is beautiful in summer or winter. Lakes and mountains, snow or hot sun.

Love Barbados but I can understand why people are underwhelmed. We stayed in a small hotel where staff were much more relaxed. The maitre’d invited us for tea at his home which was next to one of the Polo fields. We did visit to coincide with the test cricket each time we visited. Watched a lot of cricket both locally, inter-island and test cricket. The guys on the beach are a bit of a pain but once you make it clear you’re not buying they will still chat. DH is a big cricket fan so they loved him.
We found that if you didn’t treat them like they were invisible they would go out of their way to help you.
The island is a bit scruffy but the locals are so proud of their heritage and wherever we visited they were a wealth of knowledge. We happened to be there for a horse race meeting, had a great time.
I think people make the mistake of staying on the south coast which is a bit Costa del Sol in the Caribbean. The west coast is much better, with hotels spread out amongst villas and residential properties. It is a bit of a marmite destination.
We were there in 2004 and found ourselves in the department store when the West Indies team were singing autographs. My DS ( I was pregnant with him at the time) plays a lot of cricket and is a big fan is majorly impressed that we got Brian Lara’s autograph a few days before he broke a major cricket record.
I think holidays are about the memories you make rather than the places you visit. Most destinations are overhyped by the media and internet so often disappoint.
One of the most memorable holidays I had was island hopping in Greece in the early 80s when there were very few hotels on most islands. You were met by lots of little old ladies when you got off the ferries who would literally invite you to stay in their living rooms for peanuts while they lived in the shed for the summer.

@Angrymum22

One of the most memorable holidays I had was island hopping in Greece in the early 80s when there were very few hotels on most islands. You were met by lots of little old ladies when you got off the ferries who would literally invite you to stay in their living rooms for peanuts while they lived in the shed for the summer.

I wonder if this is the sort of thing that brings disappointment to people - because when they visit nowadays it isn't like that? Expectation v reality .

Agree! I didn't like Amsterdam either.

The Hague for the win!

It's classy, clean, has palaces, lovely shops, plenty of greenery and the beach is only 15 mins on a tram from the city centre.

But so terribly expensive.

You can have beauty, lakes and mountains in Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia and Northern Italy for a much cheaper price!