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 wandered over the border last week and it has the most aggressive drivers I've seen anywhere. Le Locle, so not a big tourist area by the look of it, unless you like abandoned factories.

I will defend Naples to the hilt, like a gladiator atop a volcano. I swear half the people who hate it barely get past the train station, which is in the arse end of town.

Ooh that's good - I'm going in March 😊

I have been before but yes, only to the station as we then got a cab to and from the ports.

Looking forward to seeing actual Naples this time round.

I'm just back from Naples and I totally agree. Yes, the area around Stazione Garibaldi is well dodgy, but that's not untypical for train stations.

Naples is rough and ready, but that's its charm. It's the real deal, not a showpiece for tourists like Florence or Venice. It's filthy and chaotic, but there's history around every corner and the people are wonderful.

And the pizza, of course, is the best in the world!

Yup. Dog shit absolutely everywhere including the supposedly "posh" bits.

Nope, no effort.
I went 10 days ago.
Streets covered in dog shit (as everyone has said), metro stations filthy and smelly, countless escalators and lifts out of order (which is going to be great when paris hosts the olympics... not!)

I'm fluent

I loved Naples!

Naples is fantastic, yes it's a bit rough around the edges but it's full of energy, has fantastic good and some amazing historical sights. Hell of a lot cheaper then Rome, Florence, Venice etc.

And yes the pizzas are spectacular.

I've been to quite a few of the places on this thread and liked them.

I loved Barcelona, although it was years and years ago, and I don't remember feeling unsafe - if that's what it's like now, I can understand that it'd be off-putting. Still, I loved all the Gaudi places we visited, loved that it was on the coast, loved the food. I'd like to go back and would be very careful with my belongings, I guess.

I also quite liked Naples - not somewhere I'd go back to, necessarily, but interesting enough and of course the pizza!

I'm trying to work out why I hate Paris quite so much. I think it's because there are so many wonderful things in Paris - it makes me even more cross about the shit (literally). It's a beautiful and amazing city, and yet people leave their stupid dogs' shit everywhere and the authorities apparently don't care about keeping it clean and well maintained... seems like such a waste. When we went really recently, the metro broke down and we were stuck there for ages before being evacuated, then later that day there was a minor protest and lots of streets closed and buses came to a standstill... we were very unlucky and it's not like that all the time, of course, but I was cursing the city as we had to walk back to our apartment dodging dog shit as we went!
At one point I tried to take my kids to a play area but all the gates were locked, despite us being there within opening hours (there were signs). No way of climbing over the railings safely. It just feels as if no one with any power over the place gives a shit about people being able to enjoy it!

I blame instagram for a lot of this.
Encouraging people to visit these places. Posting highly edited photos, where the hoards of people have been magically removed. Where the sky is a perfect blue and everything looks perfect. In reality it’s a packed out tourist magnet made even worse by annoying instagrammers lounging in front of tourist attractions trying to get all the other tourists out of the way, so that they can get a perfect photo. Then posting that online saying “Come and visit here, it’s fabulous, look at it!”

Holidayhell I agree! Nowhere is perfect and when I go on holiday there’s always something that isn’t quite what I wanted or expected - but surely that’s real life? Even Nepal, which was the most wonderful, once in a lifetime trip, had parts which were difficult - I suffered a bit with the altitude, the food was basically chillis and rice and the accommodation basic. Would I go back? In a heartbeat.

What would you say is overpriced in Rome? Were you possibly going to "tourist traps"? If so couldn't you go where the roman's go?

We were quite pleasantly surprised by the prices in Italy - eating out a damn sight cheaper than southern England

But not in February!

What happens to the colour of sea and sand in feb in greece? I have seen white and blue in southern italy in feb.

Wales.

No wow factor as we crossed the border (I thought it would be a bit like Cornwall), we were looking for motorway services but ended up in Asda in Merthyr Tydfil in the rain. Very strange place, desperately needing investment. It felt really bleak.

Lanzarote. Only went because it was meant to be warm. If was cold, wet and windy, food was awful and it cost thousands.

@PinkEasterbunny
I'm not sure that Merthyr Tydfil is representative of everything that Wales has to offer !
Not sure what you mean by expecting a wow factor as you crossed the border though. The majority of the time along the English/Welsh border it's not clear which country you are in and there must be at least one village which is split in half .

We had fantastic, interesting food in Lanzarote!

Naples is mental. If you want picture postcard this isn't the place to go. Its loud, a bit shabby, but its full of life and so many places to go and see. Every day crossing the road was an adventure in itself.
Lisbon I actually like, but we have family there so get to see the good bits, had some amazing meals there and having some passable Portuguese really helps.

I think most capitals are a bit loud and grubby on the whole.

Would people recommend Naples as a solo female traveller ?

I was there last week as a solo female traveller and had no problems at all. So yes!

Mind you, I'm middle aged so maybe not so much of a target for the ragazzi! I also speak Italian, having lived in Italy for a few years so probably come off as a bit more assured than a first time visitor. That said, I think the era of Italian men chasing foreign women belongs to the past. Or maybe younger women would disagree?

Not quite sure how you managed to cross the border and not find a service station umtil you got to Asda in Merthyr Tydfil (which is admittedly in a very depressing area especially in the rain). This though is jiust 10 minutes from that very spot. Shame you didn't do your research before you arrived.

Which airport?
Hurghada Airport has very high security