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?

Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham all grim, full of stag parties and grey.

Brighton was so boring, very overrated.

Oxford was terrible too.

Only towns/Cities I've enjoyed visiting here are Bath and York.

I’ve only been to Sydney, there for 9 days for work.
i was completely underwhelmed by everything except opera house and art museum.
frankly the bridge is overhyped tourist money scam- come to Runcorn and see it 🤣🤣🤣🤣
i think part of issue is it’s a young persons city who like sun and sea … not young, get BCC so can’t go in sun, and not a good swimmer etc…

id certainly not go on long haul flight to spend any time holidaying in Sydney itself.

Depressing thread. I've been to over 50 countries and lived in 5. I LOVE exploring new places. There is something to love about nearly everywhere. If I have a bad experience a lot of time that is down to bad planning or awareness. Santorini for instance yes is well known to be packed with American tourists in high season but I had quite a different experience off season and it was beautiful and very enjoyable.

I had not such a good time in Malta but I went there as a student on a massive budget.

Also had a wonderful time. Went backpacking solo there for 10 days and had no bad experiences at all. Stayed in some sweet women-owned b+bs in Tunis and Sousse. Took public transport everywhere around the country. Met lots of lovely people, saw some incredibly well preserved Roman ruins and mosaics, and ate delicious home cooked meals. I’m sure people do have negative experiences; but it was one of my favourite trips ever.

New York - hated it! Concrete jungle, we stayed in a hotel on the 36th floor and couldn't even see the streets. Loud people, food was very salty, very expensive, very busy. I didn't get it and would never go back. It was mid Nov though and very cold too, so perhaps summer would make a difference but don't think it's for me. Don't like America in general, especially now with Trump in power.

I find it quite odd that people are complaining about the food in Italy - I've had some of the best food ever in agritourismos there where they just bring you course after course of amazing food.

I guess there are good and bad parts to everywhere but to tarnish whole countries or some of the most beautiful cities in the world seems odd. I do think of you hated Rome, Paris or Barcelona, you weren't trying hard enough!

The Dominican Republic and Egypt - places where basically you are locked into a compound surrounded by poverty

Wow, I’m surprised at that.

i went to Japan a lot as lone women with work. Landed in Osaka and then up to Kobe where I was based .

First time I ever went I was told to take bus form airport to Kobe, I was very nervous navigating by myself not knowing nay thing other than few basic words. Usually hosts would send taxi in most countries. But people were lovely, a lot of sign language and I was fine and get very safe . Ok, that was earlier 2000s.

japan is such a different culture, one of few places, aside form china, I went to with work that actually felt different than just working in uk but with not being able to sleep in my own bed

it one of few places I’d go to on long haul flight now. I’ve not been airplane sinceI retired 5 years ago! So it’s saying something!

Oh no 😟 I loved it but then again I was there in April so beautiful weather

Oh no!
we’re going to Agadir in September!

Morocco/Casablanca… nothing like the Bogart movie! Absolute dump and didn’t feel safe.

Turkey!
Lara beach area!
hotel was over run with out of control kids who’s parents let them run riot!
Our hotel had a private beach which was a 5/10 minute walk away or you could get the free mini bus that was full of screaming kids!!!

Amsterdam for me, definitely. The streets are full of huge bags of rubbish and bins overflowing. Not sure if we went when there was a bin strike? It just stinks of weed and just has a horrible vibe.

I’m sure there are other lovely areas in the Netherlands but Amsterdam is just awful.

@HerVagestyTheQueef I enjoyed Marrakech too and had some terrific meals there - yes there is hassle but it was nothing like the hassle we had in Egypt - not threatening, just a bit annoying -

Bath and York are the only pretty cities in England. The rest are dire at best.

English countryside is much nicer than the cities.

Actually I need to correct myself: Liverpool is amazing.

Amsterdam for me - it just felt incredibly seedy.

Agree with people who said Memphis felt unsafe as well. It’s about the only city in the US I wouldn’t go back to.

Casablanca, was held hostage in a carpet shop for 4 hours, truly terrifying. Only bit worth seeing was the Mosque which was breathtaking. The poverty was horrific but expected.

I loved Venice, spent a week there in late May, it wasn't horrendously busy and the weather was perfect. I stayed in an apartment in a venetian palace, It was magical. I either walked for hours, stopping and little bars abd cafes hidden up alleyways. Took the boats all over the islands to Burano and Murano, never once felt unsafe.

Verona much nicer than Milan in my opinion.

Paris feels menacing, didnt enjoy it.

I've done Turkey since the late 80's when it was so cheap you couldn't give your money away but took jeep safaris up into the mountains, picked olives with local villagers and tried to see more than just beaches and sprawling hotels.

St Lucia, enjoyed the fantastic hotel, private hiring a boat with driver for an all day round the island tour was amazing but the Capital, Castries isnt pleasant.

Sorry - it was dreamworks we went to :) and legoland (I’d forgotten all about legoland though!)

I choose to believe this is satire 💆🏻‍♀️

Exactly! We went for a weekend and planned a day by the hotel pool but it never materialised as we were too busy.

Museums, ancients archaeological sites, a couple of hikes, a tip to Gozo. We never stopped!

I hated Dubai and Vegas though. Not my thing at all.

Ok, massive sweeping statement but I’d not visit ANY USA city…scenery yep, some spectacular parts…but cities and towns are dire.

and I say that as someone who had to travel all over USA with work into cities and towns . I’m sure there are some nice towns or cities…I’ve never found them. Some cities were ok in parts, but other parts dire and felt massively unsafe a lone female traveller a lot of the time. Food is mostly crap too - everything sweet, with cheese and so much frying …I had one good quality meal in my entire 30 years of visiting…but it was a European chef 🤣

but I worked with American colleagues for 35 years and never did get the American dream and the culture and general mindset of my colleagues.( mid west based before you protest too much which is pretty Trumpy Christian , rep thinking..)

you’d have to pay me to go to USA now. And that was even before trump started his random arrest of foreigners 🙄🤣

Marseille felt very unsafe 40 years ago. The harbour was great but everywhere else felt very seedy - this wasn't a destination just somewhere we unfortunately ended up

Egypt and Vietnam. Most people seem to love them. I’ve traveled quite extensively but always have felt vulnerable in these 2 countries.

😂😂

Always baffled by the Paris hate on these threads. It’s awesome and absolutely beautiful. Also who the hell is bored in Rome?

Cairo is an absolute shithole full of grim perverts. I would strongly advise any young woman to give it a wide berth. Far and away the worst place I’ve ever visited.