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Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Places that were a let down

666 replies

DarcyDear · 15/08/2025 14:07

Have you ever been anywhere on holiday and felt it wasn’t what you thought it would be? My friend is just back from New York and absolutely hated it. I’ve never been let down by a holiday but I remember being really taken aback at the levels of poverty and homelessness when I visited Los Angeles in my youth.

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glittereyelash · 16/08/2025 06:56

Bulgaria. Lovely hotels but really unsafe at night.

DanceMumTaxi · 16/08/2025 06:59

Cornwall, just don’t get the fuss. Been a few times now and think there are much nicer parts of the UK.

ProfessionalPirate · 16/08/2025 06:59

Ladedahlia · 15/08/2025 23:06

Kalymnos is another place. Unattractive beaches, hard to find tavernas which were good. Quite an ugly island.

I find the ageans generally to be a bit barren and unattractive. I like Corfu for the opposite reason - lush, green and beautiful beaches. Some of the most beautiful beaches I can get to on a short haul flight imo.

Titasaducksarse · 16/08/2025 07:02

@OhMaria2 We unfortunately got to Carcassonne having been in Portugal and Spain camping in quiet places. After not hearing many Brits for 2 weeks, the loud braying pastel wearing Brits from Chelsea and the Cotswolds were too in our faces.
Also the worst food I've had in France.

I really had to think about awful places as I do try to find the positives. However Playa Del Ingles in Gran Canaria is a dump. It's like a scooby doo cartoon with dodgy spooky empty shopping malls and just concrete eveywhere.
Gambia..went in 2008. Constant harassment and the sex working is awful. It was gross seeing old white males and females with young black members of the opposite sex eveywhere.
Food was good though.

I also love Corfu and who said Tenby? Honestly Tenby is my happy place and I'd buy a place there is i won the lottery in a heartbeat, however I go off high season as ill admit July and August it's like a different place.

PrioritisePleasure24 · 16/08/2025 07:06

wimonnzy · 15/08/2025 21:24

Choose destinations wisely. For example Dublin - I found it lovely and friendly and lots to see, BUT I didn't go near Temple Bar or anywhere in rip off land. I don't recall paying 15 for a pint or a drink either, but like any city you will pay for the privilege of being a tourist!

I am lucky enough to have travelled a lot and can honestly say that I took something positive from every place I've been. Yes some of them were not great but still. Having paid a whack to get there, I made sure not to moan too much and find something nice. LA is a case in point. Legged it to Redondo Beach on the bus lol, and took the greyhound bus to Anaheim and Disney with zero intentions of doing so at the start. All to get out of LA itself. It is a shithole no doubt about it.

All places that I didn't like were tourist traps, places where no one cared one bit whether they provided good services or not, and were rather blase and sometimes angry with mass tourism, but the money was coming in anyway!

Worst place was definitely LA, closely followed by San Fransisco, but made it out to Carmel and the wine country across the GGBridge so avoided the horrible sad mess that is the homeless and drug addicted streets.

Am glad to be able to travel, so should you 😊

This is me, i research everywhere we go, read reviews and guides and also watch vlogs these days. You can physically see where you are going. I love to plan and visit new places and explore.

its really interesting to see people’s opinions of places i love and i just don’t recognise what they are saying 😂👀

Its fine, different strokes for different folks.

Only places come to mind are Naples, was only there a day trip form somewhere else though. Pizza was good!

Bath was a bit meh. it has a pretty, historical side but also a scruffy average British town side.

R0ckandHardPlace · 16/08/2025 07:12

I was disappointed with Dublin and Madrid, there wasn’t much to do.

Almost every iconic tourist landmark/sight I’ve ever visited has been a bit soulless. You spend years anticipating it, but when you get there it’s bedlam, usually boiling hot, and you just take a quick picture and run. It’s just like “Oh yeah, there’s the Colosseum/Mona Lisa/Stonehenge/Leaning Tower of Pisa. Can we go now?” It’s always a letdown. Maybe that’s just me because I’m really uncomfortable in crowds.

ThatCyanCat · 16/08/2025 07:14

Zanatdy · 16/08/2025 05:48

Dubai. A couple of incidents occurred which showed us how the local workers are treated like second class citizens. There’s a terrible undercurrent of this going on, and once you start to see it and talk to the staff, you can’t unsee it. I see people’s posts about Dubai and how amazing it is and I want to shout open your eyes. I know the same can be said about anywhere, but this was just like 2 different worlds.

I hate Dubai. A poster a few weeks ago lost an argument and tried to compensate by boasting about going to Dubai to make us jealous. I wouldn't go back to that horrible place for anything.

Paris is a total letdown. Just dirty and full of men pissing up walls.

MrsDoubtfire1 · 16/08/2025 07:15

jeaux90 · 15/08/2025 16:42

athens what a shithole

Yes I was surprised at the fact that there were virtually no trees and it was built over from horizon to horizon with white buildings.

Ladedahlia · 16/08/2025 07:15

ProfessionalPirate · 16/08/2025 06:59

I find the ageans generally to be a bit barren and unattractive. I like Corfu for the opposite reason - lush, green and beautiful beaches. Some of the most beautiful beaches I can get to on a short haul flight imo.

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Which area in Corfu did you go to ? Maybe I need to give it another try.

MyDeftDuck · 16/08/2025 07:18

Las Vegas

R0ckandHardPlace · 16/08/2025 07:18

OhMaria2 · 16/08/2025 01:03

What was Carcassone like? I was going to suggest going there to my husband, I assumed it was a medieval city too.

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Carcassonne is an ordinary city with a medieval citadel in the middle of it. It’s really weird. It looks like a pretend place, like a theme park. I kept tapping on rocks because I expected them to be like those plastic/fibre glass fake ones! It’s full of gift shops and restaurants, but not much else and even the gifts shop sell things you’d expect to buy in a theme park gift shop. It’s great and very pretty, but really bizarre.

Ladedahlia · 16/08/2025 07:19

Taormina and Sorrento are other places I don’t like much. Overcrowded and nothing to write home about.

Verydemure · 16/08/2025 07:19

CinnamonCinnabar · 15/08/2025 21:49

I love your twinning of LA and Cumbernauld but have you genuinely been around the entire continent of Australia & hated ALL of it? Even the swimming pool underneath part of the Sydney Harbour bridge?

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Didn’t see the pool under harbour bridge to be fair, so maybe I’ve judged too harshly. 😄

I think the problem is I had such high hopes. I’d always assumed it would be my place and thought I’d live there…great weather, outdoor and sporty lifestyle etc.

the reality was having to lather up in SPF50 constantly, always covering up ( I am v. Pale). Felt like Sydney was just another city. Beaches were nice there, but further up the coast you couldn’t go in the water because of tiger sharks in one place, hammerheads in another, and crocs further north. The towns and cities were all a bit dull ( especially Perth)

barrier reef big disappointment.

it made me realise why there’s so many Aussies in London

I know it sounds ridiculous, but in my defence, I love Paris ( never noticed the dirt), NYC, and Venice

yogpot · 16/08/2025 07:21

Niagara Falls.

Falls are beautiful, the area around it like Blackpool but much worse as Blackpool has its charms. Not to my taste at all.

Ladedahlia · 16/08/2025 07:21

Places I did love : Rome and Paris. Venice is fascinating if you don’t go between April and end of September. Even the end of March is manic.

Shewasafaireh · 16/08/2025 07:30

Dublin.

I suspect it might be good for a night out, but other than that found it very bland and just generally lacking an identity. Most capitals are pretty recognisable, Dublin was just… there. I was very surprised.

Bbq1 · 16/08/2025 07:32

Lifelover16 · 15/08/2025 17:16

Agree LA is horrible in every respect, such a let down.
Paphos in Cyprus

We Absolutely love LA. Here right now!

JohnBetjeman · 16/08/2025 07:34

Slough

Shewasafaireh · 16/08/2025 07:34

In contrast, I loved Paris after not expecting much, as my happy place is in the Alps and I was never really bothered about stopping in Paris.

I love it - people are nice, funny, helpful and there’s tons to do and see. I honestly don’t get where the bad rep comes from.

Verydemure · 16/08/2025 07:35

Shewasafaireh · 16/08/2025 07:30

Dublin.

I suspect it might be good for a night out, but other than that found it very bland and just generally lacking an identity. Most capitals are pretty recognisable, Dublin was just… there. I was very surprised.

I think there are some cities that are better for tourists, and others that are better to live in.

I wonder if Dublin is a great city to live in which is why there’s such a hype?

I’ve only been there for work and as a tourist, so don’t know. Wasn’t bowled over by it, didn’t hate it either

Flamingoknees · 16/08/2025 07:36

San Francisco - constantly shouted at/approached / followed by weirdos. That was in daylight hours and "safe" areas. I was young (30 ish) and with another 30's female - maybe it would be different now that I have the invisibility cloak of being in my 50's, but I don't think I'd choose to return.

Clearinguptheclutter · 16/08/2025 07:36

DarcyDear · 15/08/2025 14:07

Have you ever been anywhere on holiday and felt it wasn’t what you thought it would be? My friend is just back from New York and absolutely hated it. I’ve never been let down by a holiday but I remember being really taken aback at the levels of poverty and homelessness when I visited Los Angeles in my youth.

Bahamas
nice beaches but so dull. Loads of really brash and noisy and obese (sorry) Americans spoiled where we were staying. I remember they were doing weddings in the pagoda by the pool and it was so tacky. It was literally a conveyor belt with a lady with a clipboard shouting “next!” Every 10 minutes. Urgh.

Clearinguptheclutter · 16/08/2025 07:38

For those hating Dublin I am not surprised at all but I will say I went to the west coast of Ireland recently for the first time and it was a total delight

Hoolihan · 16/08/2025 07:39

I'm in Split at the moment and it definitely doesn't smell of sewage! It's absolutely beautiful, however it's also so insanely busy that it's not massively enjoyable.

This trip to Croatia has actually made me feel properly conflicted/guilty about tourism for the first time - lots of the places we've visited have felt hollowed out, like there's nothing real left, just a historical theme park.

Not sure what the answer is realistically.

Verydemure · 16/08/2025 07:39

Shewasafaireh · 16/08/2025 07:34

In contrast, I loved Paris after not expecting much, as my happy place is in the Alps and I was never really bothered about stopping in Paris.

I love it - people are nice, funny, helpful and there’s tons to do and see. I honestly don’t get where the bad rep comes from.

I’m with you on this. Love Paris!

But I hadn’t hyped it up in my head. I think the secret with all places is to go with no expectations. The big ticket sights always seem to be a let down.

Egypt is a good example. Pyramids always on my bucket list. Was glad to see them but a bit underwhelmed. On the other hand, Luxor and Larnak temple blew my mind!