Alternatives to disappointing destinations

[Forgottenmyphone]

In response to my thread about disappointing destinations, where would you suggest as alternatives for:
Barcelona
Phuket
Paris
New York
Las Vegas
Bali
Venice
Egypt
Marrakesh
Maldives

I think Washington DC or San Francisco are good alternatives to NY and Bilbao or Valencia are good alternatives for Barcelona. Lombok would be a good alternative to Bali.

What are you looking for in terms of scenery, weather, hospitality, modernity, attractions?

Also what did you expect from these destinations that didn't deliver?

People often have unrealistic expectations - it will nearly always be busy, there will be queues, there will be problems, it will not be what you've seen on insta.

Britain has everything other than reliable weather imo.

Zaragoza is a fantastic Spanish city - incredible food and architecture! Only seems to be known in the UK for its football though, which is a big loss to everyone who should visit!

It’s quite hard to suggest alternatives to some of these without knowing how they disappointed. I mean Egypt for example. Amazing ancient history, just incredible. I can’t see how that could disappoint anyone. So what do we need an alternative to? The heat? The busyness? The tourist pestering? The food? It’s no use without context.

Personally I would say Formentera rather than the Maldives 🤷🏼‍♂️ the beaches are completely stunning and it's only a two hour flight.

I think it depends on why people didn't like it. If it was too hot/busy go at a different time.
If you like the idea of a French city, maybe Bordeaux or Strasbourg would work.
Seville (not in summer) could be an alternative to Barcelona.
There's really only one Venice. And Egypt? Is it beaches/diving or pyramids you are after?

As an alternative to Barcelona, try Seville (preferably in spring or autumn). Fabulous architecture, delicious tapas.

As an alternative to Phuket, try Sri Lanka. Gorgeous beaches, wonderful people, delicious food, loads of culture (temples and ruins rather than museums and galleries) and things to do.

As an alternative to Venice, try Verona (for Italian culture, architecture and food) Bruges or Delft (for picturesque canals).

As an alternative to Bali or the Maldives, try Costa Rica. Fabulous snorkelling, boat trips and wildlife. Turtles hatching on the beach and amazing sunsets. Try to see both the Caribbean side and the Pacific side if you can.

I can't think of alternatives to Paris and New York that aren't Paris and New York. Personally I'd give Paris a second chance but do less touristy things.

Oh Seville is a great shout, especially in Spring!

I’m in st Elm in Mallorca at moment - the lovely universal beach hotel -enjoyed it far more than Maldives or Antigua -

That really depends on why these destinations are being written off as disappointing.

Is Egypt being written off because you didn't like its boat safety record? Because its beaches weren't to your liking? Because you hate history and even visiting the pyramids didn't change that?

Here are a couple of pics taken earlier

I much prefer Palma to Barcelona- Malaga is great too as is lovely Seville

I'd have to know why they were disappointing. I thought New York was amazing. As was Venice.

A lot depends on what you enjoy doing on holiday. Florence comes up a lot as a disappointing destination - it's a brilliant destination but you have to like looking at art. Mainly religious art. If you'd rather be on the beach, you'll hate it.

I’d recommend Lombok over Bali, or Sri Lanka. Mauritius over the Maldives.

Well quite.
if you hated Venice because it was hot and too full, go in maybe February or March.
We watched the relevant sections of this
https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/the-guide-to-essential-italy-the-great-courses-plus

before going to Florence - transformed it from nice and quite interesting to really interesting. Similar sorts of background viewing/reading beforehand can make a big difference to ‘cultural’ destinations.

Not a direct alternative to anything, but I was in the Swiss Alps (Thun/Interlaken etc) in June and I was gobsmacked at how STUNNING it was.

I absolutely love Mallorca but it’s a totally different vibe from the Caribbean. I don’t think the two are comparable. So I adore English Harbour Town in Antigua too, but for completely different reasons.

I like Marrakech, but Fez is much better in my opinion. There are some beautiful Riads to stay at in both cities but Fez is quieter and somehow more romantic. It’s easier to get to Chefchauen from Fez too which is well worth a visit. Morocco is generally a beautiful country….Taghazout or Essauoira for beaches (Agadir is awful). The toubkhal mountain region is stunning….and Ait Benhaddou is beautiful

I can't think of any way in which San Francisco is better than new york. Its still an ugly modern city with a massive homeless problem and the food isn't that great (although I live in Paris away from the tourist areas so my standards are high). I don't understand why anyone would fly 9h to get there. Just go to Manchester. The only thing really going for it are the Redwoods and easy drive to some fantastic scenary.

Jordan is a fabulous country and has a lot in common with Egypt in terms of incredible ancient sites (e.g. Petra, Jerash), desert (Wadi Rum), and snorkelling in the Red Sea.

I haven't been to Egypt but I know sometimes people find the sales culture a bit much. Jordan is the complete opposite . People are incredibly kind and helpful and they are hardly ever trying to sell you anything. In fact our daughter was given a lot of small gifts with no expectation of anything in return.

Also, the food is uniformly delicious.

It's one of my absolute favourite countries.

Malaysia is also a terrific country and potentially an alternative to Phuket. Again, I haven't been to Phuket so I can't compare directly.

Malaysia has many beautiful islands which are less developed than I hear parts of Thailand are, while still being a very easy and safe place to travel. The food is knockout. People are so kind and friendly. English is very widely spoken.

While you're in Malaysia you can also enjoy Kuala Lumpur which is a fantastic large city, perhaps the Cameron Highlands tea growing area, Penang for food and some lovely architecture, and of course lots of wildlife either in the national park on the mainland (Taman Negara), the islands (including great snorkelling and diving) or in Borneo.

Totally agree about Zaragoza. I used to live there and never understood why it had no foreign tourists. It doesn’t have beaches, but neither does Madrid, Seville etc.

I’ve just got back from Kotor, Montenegro and it’s absolutely stunning and I did not think it was too busy although there are tourists of course. I would consider it as an alternative to Venice or Barcelona although not so many iconic sights as those. FWIW I loved Venice even in August. I would go back in Autumn.

Random interesting alternatives:

France: Lyon - wonderful food, lovely architecture. Bordeaux, Strasbourg
Spain: Segovia, Salamanca is gorgeous, Seville, Cadiz, Granada
Venice is Venice, but Treviso, or Utrecht in NL.
Austin, Texas.
For far flung white sandy beaches and turquoise sea - Sardinia, Corsica

Barcelona - Valencia
New York - Chicago

Egypt - Jordan (but also "Egypt" is so vague - I would probably suggest an entirely different region to the place that disappointed)
Marrakesh - Granada or Tangier
Maldives - Seychelles

I didn't read all the posts, but I got the impression that people who didn't like "Egypt" didn't like the AI resorts by the Red Sea. I'm sure I'd hate them which is why I'll never visit them.
However, there is no alternative to the sites alongside the Nile. They are unique.