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?

We did a couple of cheap package holidays to Egypt and Id go back but not go off the resort again, even with a private guide it was awful, he was literally shouting "go away" "leave them alone!" to randoms as we walked through Luxor

Miami and LA for me. Hated the cities. Will never go back

For me it was Dubrovnik in Croatia, not because of the place but I couldn't cope with sheer amount of tourists there.
There were so many tour guides from different countries holding up their flag on a stick whilst taking groups of 30/40 people around. They took the place over, it was literally chest to chest with no space around you.
For the first time in my life I felt claustrophobic, you just couldn't appreciate the architecture or surroundings.
Didn't help that when we left to catch the bus there was a poor man vomiting all over the pavement, his wife was so distressed. Thank goodness I had a packet of tissues on me to give to her.
It just marred the experience for me....
BUT, the food in Croatia was amazing..

We went there about 20 years ago too and couldn’t wait to be on our way up to Luang Prabang, which was far nicer.
Vang Vieng was the name of the town

What about the Castle of Agios Georgios and the caves in Melissani or the caves in Drogorati? Where they underwhelming or just too crowded? As you can tell I have been considering going there.

Tunisia. It was dreadful - truly dreadful. If I won a holiday to Tunisia I’d give it back

Ah no, I loved Venice! It was one place that lived up to the hype for me. Just so incredibly beautiful and a pleasure to get lost in.

Stockholm, as expensive as hell. Felt ripped off everywhere. And for people saying "its the tax", I spent some time travelling round rural parts and prices were expensive but not astronomical.

I love the idea of Paris but find being there horrific.

I've travelled extensively and it's the place I've felt most unsafe. As a single woman in her 20s I had men approaching me every few minutes, often being very persistent and even grabbing me.

It also just feels really run down and hard to navigate compared to say London. The transportation systems desperately need updating and it's like you need to do some sort of course to understand how the ticket machines work.

@idolikealiein "My worst holiday was Malta. Absolutely hated it."

Oh god, mine too. I thought it would be similar in some ways to Italy but how wrong I was. It was dirty, dusty, barren and the people were at best indifferent. As for the food, it ranged from just about edible to diabolical. We took a day trip to Gozo and that was nicer. But personally I wouldn't go back, ever!

yes same I saw it 20 years ago, this year and would love to see it completed. I love Barcelona, have been many times and never get bored of it.

I agree that 'disappointment' is largely going to be influenced by what you were expecting, so it's perfectly normal to ask what someone was expecting vs what they got, when 'what they got' would be exactly what would be expected by others.

I see this is a bit difficult for some to comprehend though

I will never forget the birthday celebration involving a firework!

It's all down to your perspective. I love New York and went on several trips and eventually visited with my husband. He looked out of the taxi window and announced "it looks just like London." Could have killed him!

You are not supposed to stay in/on Male. It's the place your plane lands and then you LEAVE immediately on another plane or a boat to a nice island. I'm not surprised it was shit. I really enjoyed the Maldives.

I loathed Sharm el Sheikh. The hotel was okay (bit of a death trap here and there, not exacly built to european safety standards, but otherwise okay) but I didn't appreciate the slimy salesmen who would be let in each day to try to sell us boat trips etc, and hung around the sunbeds of western women, not respecting their personal space while they sunbathed in their bikinis. Just horrible. But it was the going out of the hotel was the real eye-opener. Urrgh. Never again. Egyptian men are vile. And yes, I was dressed reasonably modestly and with my husband, before you ask. God knows how bad it would have been had I been single and twenty years younger.

DH went to Cairo for five days on business and said it was all the things I hated about Sharm but ten times worse. Filthy as fuck, unfriendly menacing vibe, grabby hostile people, no women anywhere to be seen. Everyone trying to get you to spend your money so they could rip you off. The pyramids were surrounded by slum buildings and loads of litter, the desert was not the romantic Lawrence of Arabia type at all, more like an abandoned building site full of rubble and dead cats.

I loved Vietnam, but we swerved Hanoi because we'd heard from friends that it's not the nicest and running alive with rats.

My son went to various parts of Asia as a backpacker and loved most of them but said Phnom Penh in Cambodia was an absolute slum. I have similar feelings about Jakarta, Indonesia. Filthy, crowded, polluted, utterly charmless with a weird vibe about it.

My DD went to Brussels and absolutely HATED it. It was really dirty and she felt completely unsafe. This comes from a girl who lives in zone 2 London, so it's not that she's not used to a very urban environment. There were gangs of dodgy men hanging around on the streets everywhere they went. Open drug dealing. Dog shit and rubbish everywhere.

Phuket. Been all over Thailand and it’s a bit crap in comparison to most of it.

Were you pining for the fjords?

It must have changed a lot since 2001 then. Everything was about 5p. I'd guess that didn't help it attract the right kind of tourists.

It wasn't great even then and it was only the start of it taking off..I took a wrong turn and one street off the front was an eye opener.

Loved the Bulgarian mountains though.

it is but it's probably not a teenager's dream holiday.

I am really on the fence about Malta, the architecture looks lovely and I imagine as a long weekend where beaches are not the be all and end all, it might be fun. But I don't hear great things about the food at all, and that puts me right off. I looked at a Maltese cookery book recently, and it was odd and uninspiring to say the least. Everything seemed to be made with the same five ingredients and one of those was rabbit.

Bilbao

Hated it. Smelled of urine everywhere you walked.
Did the museum and left on the day, bailing out of my reservation.

@Fimofriend
You will enjoy melissani & drogarati caves & boat ride underground. There can be a long wait depending on the time of year you go & time of day, but it's amazing. We went September time and didn't have to wait long.
If you hire a car there is lots to do on the Island.
We have stayed in Fiskardo (north) and near Argostoli (where the airport is) and have had brilliant holidays.
There are mountains to climb in the car, with little mountain restaurants, towns to explore, we have never been bored. But, I am not the sort of person who just wants lay on a beach all day.
I hope if you decide to go you have a lovely holday.
Please DM me if you have any questions on where to stay

Should have gone anywhere on on South West or West of Ireland instead.

For me The Amalfi Coast, over crowded, unfriendly, terrible for parking, you're charged for literally everything

I loved New York the first time I went, less keen the second time, loved it again the third time, except when walking down Madison Avenue for what felt like forever, I suddenly felt walled in by the glass canyon effect and we had to stop - ended up in a really good, cheap traditional diner we'd never have found otherwise. I do love it, but it really makes me appreciate London so much, with its winding alleyways and small streets and endless pedestrian areas and tiny parks. New York's grid system does feel a bit harsh in comparison.

@SquallyShowersLater actually the best meals I had in Malta were a Singaporean one, an Italian one and a French one - all fab and very reasonable , food at the kempinski in Malta was great too, but not typically Maltese, just international