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?

Tunisia - the people are horrid.

@Everybodysinthehousetonighti was just about to mention Memphis. It’s the most unsafe I’ve ever felt on holiday and Beale Street is just like Blackpool but hotter and more dangerous. Luckily only stayed a couple of days and it was worth it for Gracelands.

Australia overall is very featureless almost everywhere you go. The ambience and lack of history or beauty lends itself to street after street of flat pack housing and zero culture. The exception being the Daintree forest.

Amsterdam - grubby, seedy and expensive. Full of Brits trying to get off their faces.

Los Angeles, stinks of cannabis and urine. I have never felt so unsafe anywhere as I did there. Even Hollywood boulevard is a dive. We left early as I couldn’t stick it. Will never return.

Krakow. Yes the city itself is beautiful but the people were so dour and unwelcoming even the ones who work in the tourist industry that you felt might be a bit more friendly to visitors.
It felt like a country still under communist rule.

They left me alone, but they probably thought I was out of their league.

Dubai, Tunisia, Egypt

Can't stand the Sagrada Familia; ever since I studied it for A Level art history. Everyone raves on about it but our whole class couldn't stand it 😬. Emperors new clothes. I mean I'm glad someone designed it, because it's different, but it gets over hyped.

Sorry. I feel better getting that out.

I must have spent close to two months in Florence and I love it, but unless one is really into art and wants to spend loads of time in galleries & churches then I think one will be disappointed. It is very crowded and touristy and whilst nice, there are definitely more beautiful cities with more interesting architecture in Italy & Tuscany.

Sicily. Palermo in particular. Filthy, graffiti ridden, black traffic fumes, loads of areas on the island a dump. And stuck in alot of traffic. Yes the nice bits were nice but the bad bits were awful.

The touristy areas of Barca and Rome were awful too. Just full of selfie sticks and people trying to flog stuff.

After enjoying some Easter breaks on Egypt's Red Sea coast, we booked a last minute trip there in August. Fabulous hotel, great snorkelling, but stupidly hot (btw 40 and 50 degrees every day). We all got upset stomachs because of the heat and spent most of the holiday in our rooms with the aircon set to 27 C because that felt pleasantly cool after being outside.

We also once booked a package holiday to Majorca. We shouldn't have done it. We are not package holiday/big resort types. Ending up hiring a car to find quieter places and gate crashing German small apt complexes with pools that weren't overcrowded where we could actually swim.

New York for me. Dirty, hectic, expensive, far too hot, nutters everywhere. To be fair to NY, I am not a city lover at the best of times and it was August which is probably not the best time to go. We were there three days and I couldn’t wait to leave.

My experience of Florence and Santorini were different to PPs though- I loved both. In both cases we went in October- I think I wouldn’t have liked them nearly as much in the height of summer.

Yes. Not being able to enjoy a walk in Sorrento was quite a disappointment.

Agree. I would avoid Santorini like the plague. My friend went and there were 3 cruise ships docked there. My idea of a nightmare.

That's such a shame. I went to Barcelona last year and absolutely loved it;utely loved it. Gaudi cathedral was jaw-droppingly beautiful - one of the best things I've ever seen in my life. Casa Battlo was like living inside a Studio Ghibli movie or a fairy tale, Casa Mila was like being in a crazy modernist hallucination, with a rooftop cocktail bar among the mosaic turrets. We loved wandering through the old town, stopping for tapas and beers, walking along the beach listening to musicians, watching the traditional dancing in the park.

I'd love to go to Egypt - seeing the pyramids is very high on my travel wish list.

People choose designations for all kinds of reasons - not the same ones as you or that are advertised. I have been to Malta and Gozo and it felt like a rock in the middle of the sea with limited activities, but the people were incredibly friendly and that made up for it. I liked the stripped back to basics types of places, but they aren’t for everyone. It’s okay to be educated about a place and still get there not like it!

Belgium is another - just what does it offer? The galleries were good but honestly so mindlessly dull and depressing.

Have you been recently, now all the stained glass is in and you can see it all
from the inside? I went earlier this year, it really is stunning.

I am from Krakow and believe it or not, we've came a long way since communism lol. But I do agree, every time I come back I am a bit taken aback by lack of politeness.

Love New York and Cannes though.

Keep trying to work out how soon I can go back to Cannes. We did it fairly cheaply too.

I came to say Lapland too! We hoped to see the northern lights but it was too cloudy and snowy

Go in winter. Take an architectural history guide book with you. Almost every street contains a building of global importance that made a lasting contribution by influencing what has been built elsewhere.

I like nearly everywhere, but will offer Dublin (just a bit grey and meh), Milan (no atmosphere, unlike most Italian cities), Cannes (similar), Monaco (just crammed with ugly tower blocks housing tax exiles and superyachts. Everybody seems to want to go, but I cannot fathom why).

Agree. I would avoid Santorini like the plague. My friend went and there were 3 cruise ships docked there. My idea of a nightmare.

You need to stay on a different part of the island. Evenings are much quieter as the day trippers leave.

Yes! We were in a full board resort hotel with European food cooked by people who clearly didn't know how it was supposed to taste. I was bored to death and ended up eating the same food for two weeks.