Holiday destinations that were unexpectedly lovely OR awful.

[NickiFury]

Torremolinos - ex booked it and I really didn't want to go. It was beautiful, amazing food, beach, perfect for kids, been back loads since.

Thailand - I hated it from the moment I left Bangkok airport, Krabi down by the coast was ok but the rest of the time was awful, I actually cried with relief when we touched down at Heathrow.

Hated, hated Turkey. Sleazy place and felt very unsafe.

Loved New York, Maldives

I don't know because I've not been to Aus but I think the problem it has is that the racism is a. institutionalised (look what has come out in recent days about what's going on in youth detention centres) and b. socially acceptable in a way that it generally isn't in the UK.

But like I say I've never been so I'm only going on what I've read

Dublin really is getting a bashing. I just thought it was me who didn't really get it. And I have been all over the city and the county. Love Ireland in general though, just not keen on Dublin

BitOut - I agree with your comments about institutionalising racism

Yeah Dublin was a bit of a let down for me too, and I have been toured about by a local so I have apparently seen the best bits! I just found it a bit stuffy & staid. However I LOVED Galway and around Connemara. That is a beautiful part of the world.

Benidorm. Been a couple of times in march due to a sporting activity. It is lovely that time of year.

I am bemused by the hate for Dublin. Yes, parts of it are like a shamrock-and-leprechaun theme park, but there are some amazing things to do there too. The Chester Beatty library is incredible and worth the trip alone. Kilmainham Gaol too (I seem to have developed a tendency to see prisons on vacations )

Found Vegas a bit depressing - all those old people spending all day gambling away their pensions was just very sad.
Dublin - is good for people watching but it has become a victim of tourism. Cork is much more charming and has better food! My best holidays in Ireland have involved jumping in a car, armed with the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide and driving around the coast staying in random towns, our best discovery was Kenmare - no tackiness, beautiful looking town, fantastic restaurants. Mary Ann's in Castletownsend County Cork - was a great discovery too. Very sleepy town - showing no sign of life until we opened the door to that pub/restaurant - it was incredible! Came across a crazy old witch who had her own museum, professed to have dinosaur dung samples, among other teasures - best museum I have ever visited!

Dh fancies Vegas for our 50th birthdays im really not keen the thought of slot machines chinging away all day leaves me cold i got bored in the amuesment arcade on holiday was only in it an hour

Likes: New Zealand: gob smackingly beautiful. The most beautiful vista I've ever seen was on the west coast: snow capped mountains falling into ranforests overlooking black lava beaches. Amazing.

Nepal: amazing lunar landscapes high up in the mountains. It felt so remote and otherworldly.

Tioman island in Malaysia had the most beautiful turquoise sea.

Iceland.

Dislikes: Australia. It felt bland. I really didn't like Sydney. I know it's in a beautiful location, great food, sun etc but I just felt an irrational dislike of the place.

Puglia: really disappointing.

Lille: felt hostile and gloomy.

Ugh. Forgot Tangiers. The worst place I've ever been. Dirty, smelly, children sniffing petrol. It felt really overwhelming. Couldn't wait to get out. I was with my husband and got so much hassle. Travelling on my own to Marrakech on the other hand was a dream. Loved Marrakech.

I meant the place was dirty and smelly. Not the children!

My PILs hated New Zealand.

They did insist on going in the winter and then complained it wasn't warm .

They usually go on those Kuoni tours of SE Asia. I think they were disappointed that a NZ tour didn't offer them the same kind of Orientalist fantasies tbh.

Jordan stunned me. Particularly the Wadi Rum and Petra. Wonderful. 10 years ago, I don't think I'd go now unfortunately.
Gibraltar was better than I expected. But my expectations were very low!
Istanbul was wonderful, but I expected it to be so that doesn't really meet the criteria of the thread!
Singapore left me completely cold but I was only on a 24 hour stop over en route elsewhere and was jet lagged and not very well so that's probably not fair.
I also didn't get the fuss about Dublin. I didn't hate it by any means, but people rave about it and I felt like I was in Leeds, in about 1994. I am keen to explore Ireland more though, both Northern and Republic. Years ago I went on a work trip to the mountains on Mourne (Sp?) and was utterly blown away. Would love to see that area again and explore Belfast more.

Stately

My Love of Ireland started with 'jumping in a car' like yourself and exploring....have been exploring the West Coast each year now for holidays, and always find a different gem off the beaten track. I never want to come back. It's addictive.

Love the place

Loved
Marrakech
Sydney
Peru
Bolivia
Brittany
Gozo
St Lucia
Kathmandu
Jaipur and Varanasi

Meh
Vendee
Malta
Singapore
Miami
Agra and Delhi

saffron - can you say what you liked about Portland, Oregon pls? My DC are nearing teenagerdom and we are pondering West Coast for a holiday in a few years time. Not LA, Grand Canyon etc as used to live there, but fancied Portland, Seattle and poss SFO.

There just wasn't enough to do in Dublin. It wasn't the fact that we went to the tourist bits, we were not interested in hanging around in bars. Look at the tourist buses that go around Dublin. These are the bits most tourists see. And it is fairly dull and lacks charm.

Loved Cuba. We travelled around by bus and found it really interesting. Also Eastern Turkey. Interesting with friendly people and great public transport. I loved Zagreb! We were going to only stay one night but instead stayed for 3. Would definitely go back.

I'm loving all the praise for Lanzarote. It's so beautiful. I love playa blanca, it's quiet but still has lovely cocktail bars and beautiful restaurants. You're able to get the boat over to fueteventura for the day which is lovely too. The Princesa yaiza hotel is amazing, pricy but amazing.

Also loved Montana and New York. Was looking forward to the Maine Coast but was disappointed. Made me realise how lucky we are in that there are footpath s along the coast. In Maine you're lucky if you catch glimpses of the sea between the mansions. Same goes for the coast North of Savannah and Charlston, built up with minimum sensitivity.

lulu couldn't help laughing at your dh's unfeasibly large testicle, sorry. .

Reminds me of the let-down of Kyoto. Squandered the last of my money on a bullet train trip there (from Tokyo), only to be bitten on the arse by some very hungry insect.

I didn't even get to see Mt Fuji as shrouded in mist, and returned home nursing a very itchy, swollen arse.

Liked:
Rome - amazing architecture, full of history, lots to do

Amsterdam - clean, friendly, good atmosphere, felt safe

Lake Garda - breathtaking views, relaxing

Disliked:

Paris - dirty, felt unsafe as we were lone women and were stared at and shouted at on the streets. An aggressively persistent street vendor grabbed my arm when I walked past and when I pulled away and told him to get lost, he began screaming at me in front of everyone, calling me a f*ing bitch etc. Would never return.

Salou - pretty but dull. Full of British chavs shouting and getting drunk every day. Maybe it was just the hotel I stayed in though!

Absolutelynotfabulous -

Lanzarote is like a moon scape and quite ugly imo!
Cairo was scary and crazy.
Vegas was like a theme park. and slightly odd.
San Francisco was awful, loads of spaced out weirdos tramps and so much rubbish.
In fact I found the whole of USA rude, dirty with such ignorant people.

Canada - the complete opposite, beautiful people and manners!

Australia Bloody love it! Have travelled extensively round it and much prefere it to NZ.