Most disappointing destination/holiday

[Forgottenmyphone]

For me, it was the Norwegian fjords. Not because they weren’t beautiful (what we saw of them, they were!) but because it was cold, rainy and foggy when we went. One town known for being very pretty was ridiculously busy and there was a cruise ship blocking the view from the restaurant we booked. We knew the prices were going to be high, but expected good quality… when you pay over £100 for a train ticket, you expect there to be toilet roll and soap in the toilets!

where have you been that was disappointing?

The one thing common to most of these places is that if they did not have tourists they would have nothing to replace them, no industry, jobs etc, no natural resources.

I've been twice, once over New Year and once in late Feb. Bloody love it! I like the way you come across lots of lovely little courtyards once you get off the beaten track.

Being there on New Year's Eve was amazing, they had a massive firework display somewhere over near Santa Maria della Salute, which made a wonderful backdrop, and the fireworks reflected in the water were just stunning.

Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Dublin, Monaco, Joburg and finally Amsterdam (but loved it 15 years ago! - went last year and it was awful).

Loved Rome, Milan, Cairo, and (runs for cover) Dubai. Took my 6 year old to Warner Brothers land (or whatever it’s called) stayed in the hotel there - as a single mum Ive never felt safer, so family friendly, amazing food and lovely weather (went in Feb). I’ve also had some of my best holidays in Centre Parks! So a real mix.

''@Dweetfidilove · Today 17:37
France was dull and the food left a lot to be desired ☹️.''

I find this type of comments really quite funny.

France is a big country and all the regions are so different that I find it bizarre that you would just dismiss it as 'dull'.

You will find beautiful architecture, museums, historical sites and amazing landscapes in so many places.

As for the food, France cuisine is one of the most famous in the world.

South of France. Paying a fortune for a smell of wee, not the cleanest beaches (sewage from boats), traffic jams and a fire threat.

Tenerife - Cockroaches everywhere! 🫣

I didn’t like Germany much and I wanted to ( lake Constance area) but I felt I didn’t fit in and they had rules for every thing. They seemed suspicious of us , but I guess it’s not the kind of place many English people seek out.
It was organized though and very pretty.

Please bring back the laughing emoji!!!

Barcelona but maybe that's because we were young and stayed in a dogey bit. My friend was mugged and there were a lot of drug dealers and prostitutes about.

Everyone I know who has been to Egypt has said its a disappointment.

Paris.

I know it gets mentioned a lot on these types of threads but it’s probably the only place I’ve ever found unwelcoming and disappointing.

I’ve been twice.

There’s some nice bits of course, but overall, I found it dirty, grey and unfriendly.

The first time I went to Paris was with friends, we were followed both evenings by packs of feral men hissing and barking at us. The metro wasn’t much better. I didn’t feel safe at all.

I loved San Francisco although my Dad did get propositioned by a prostitute, a 6'2" very well muscled one in a dress.

I agree with some others here about the worst places I've been:

Malta: Too much traffic, man made beach, not much to do in the area.

Turkey: Bitten to death by mozzies, hassled by people trying to get you into restaurants/bars etc, crude men shouting sexual things at you

Cape Verde. Barren, hassled on the beach by vendors, lots of litter you'd think if they wanted tourism they would clean up a little better. Flies and birds pecking at hotel food, nothing to do outside of the hotel.

Morocco. Squeezing every bit of money off you as they could. This could happen anywhere but noisy hotel couldn't sleep (meant to be 4 star).

Other places I have no desire to go back to: Bulgaria and Monaco (concrete mass, didn't see the attraction all).

It's a massive urinal and the Eiffel Tower is an eyesore.

Previously wasn’t blown away by Paris, but this time stayed in Latin quarter and spent nearly all my time exploring round Latin quarter/ St Germain area and really liked it this time. Also found the people reasonably friendly this time, tried my best to order in French which wasn’t that difficult with basic stuff + Google translate and I suspect that made a difference in terms of friendliness.

Malta for me. I did have a lot of pregnancy-related nausea so perhaps I can't judge very accurately but I didn't like the food at all. It seemed sort of like Italian but not as nice. I had a pasta dish which I could hardly eat, it had pasta parcels and then some kind of incredibly sweet pinkish red sauce. Reading up afterwards, this is apparently a traditional dish. I remember a lot of travelling around on very crowded buses. Perhaps we should have hired a car but driving there is supposed to be a bit hair-raising and parking very difficult in the city. Wouldn't hurry back.

Europe - it's all awful!

Not really though but it is amusing me that people are writing off whole countries and saying the food is awful possibly based on one experience.

I love many of the places mentioned here (Dublin, Venice, Barcelona) and some of the others (Tunisia, Dubai) I would not expect to like so would not find them disappointing. Maybe I would like them more than I think.

People who are saying places are ugly/nothing to do - I wonder where you do like and what you like to do.

I loved San Francisco many years ago but from what I have read about it recently, I think I would be disappointed if I visited again.

San Francisco. Just not what we expected. The Bart train was a revelation. Lots of homeless people and everything seemed so dated and dirty.

Most people go there precisely to see the massive skyscrapers/the crazy hyper capitalist built up living, that’s like half the point. 😄

You say French cuisine is world renowned … but I’d pick Italian or Lebanese or Cantonese or Mexican food over French any day of the week. I think French food is very overrated - not to say there are not fantastic restaurants, but the day to day experience is very meh.

Beautiful country though.

Interesting. I just used Google maps and found the metro as easy to navigate as the London tube. As for tickets I just bought the card thing and asked a woman to put 20 Euro on it which did me for about 10 single trips on the metro. Easy enough.

ooo couldn't disagree more with st lucia. yes we did lots of water sports, learned to sail, amazing diving and snorkelling, but we also toured the cocoa farms, did a Caribbean cooking course, hiking, the markets in Castries, live music nights, ziplining etc etc - and with direct flights from UK! love love loved it.

I grew up in Cape Town and actually moved away because of the damn wind! Constant galeforce wind through the whole of summer, it drove me crazy.

But if you ever go to SA again, there are other places in the Western Cape which are absolutely beautiful and safe (and without all the wind). Fly to Cape Town International, then fly from there to George Airport. From George you can explore the Garden Route - one of the most beautiful coastlines I've ever seen.

Go inland a bit and visit Montague - a small town with stunning mountain walks.

The Cederberg mountain range is a magical place and not touristy. It has hikes and crystal clear mountain rivers to cool off in. There is ancient rock art from the indigenous San people. You feel transported back to the beginning of time.

You'd need to hire a car though. And I don't want to be alarmist, but don't drive your hired car in Cape Town. The N2 is a highway that runs from the airport into Cape Town and one wrong turn and you can end up in some very dangerous areas. Just go straight to the rural, wilderness and coastal areas in the Western Cape. Peaceful and safe.

Barcelona and Las Vegas
NYC the first time I went, liked it more the more I went there

I’ve heard so many people say Paris was disappointing, everything you say plus smelly and dirty.

Mauritius -beggars, stray dogs, litter and rubbish dumps. Hotel chef kept clearing his throat and picking his nose 🤢
Grim