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.

LOVED:
Nepal and Kerala - the most beautiful countries with friendly people who are proud that people want to visit.

Blasket Isles (off the SW coast of ireland) - in two weeks of rain we had one gloriously sunny day on these islands, swimming with seals, dozing in the sun with bunnies.

Gairloch - even in the cold weather was wonderful, glorious remote walks, fabulous food, tiny newborn lambs to coo over.

Gran Canaria - against all expectations was fantastic - stayed in the mountains (not on the coast) and hiked across the island. Lovely small hotel, memorable NYE with locals.

Dublin - loved it and fabulous food.

HATED:
Vegas - hated the Redneck/Frat Boy sexist, insular vibe. Encapsulates the worst of the USA.
Llyn Peninsula - beautiful place but awful, unfriendly locals. Why would you not be proud and happy that people want to visit and admire your home county? Pembrokeshire on the other hand was wonderful.

Japan -If you have the confidence to go, just do it. (Europe is much more expensive thanks to the Brexit vote!) Amazing country, so polite, friendly, incredible culture and extremely child friendly. Disneyland Tokyo is the best I've been to and its the place to introduce your children to real working robots!

Any package holiday destination - Not really my top choice, much cheaper and more fun to plan your holiday yourself - good experience to let your children play with the local children and there are amazing bargains to be on on Airbnb, anwhere in the world.

Carcassonne in South of France was great. The Cite is a wonderful place to visit.The only downside is the queues to get into the castle, so go early in the morning. You can also go cruising or hire bikes to ride along the canal. Plenty of places to eat at reasonable prices. Loads of cheap wine too. You have to try the local dish of cassoulet at least once. It's not too far to get to the coast for a day either.

Oh! I'm hoping to go there next year!
Any tips or stuff to do with kids?

Rowenag, 'Person worried about Copenhagen now, I found it very fun and cool and perfect for a city break.'

That was me! Thanks so much. I'm sure it'll be nice really; everyone just has different experiences. I only want to go to cafes, check out a gallery/museum or two and walk in the parks a bit, TBH, so surely it can't let me down on those grounds?

We found Carcassone OK for a couple of days but no longer, the Cite is amazing to see, especially from a distance and lit up at night but it is a bit commercialised for me. The pay-access to the walls and castle isn't worth it not much else to see.

In Carcassonne there's a jousting exhibition in the Cite most afternoons, I believe it's quite good (we didn't go - we were on our own). If you are going self- catering there is a large Lidl supermarket in Carcassonne. There is usually some display in the square Gambetta, but it changes with the seasons. Last year there was a big carousel, several statues and a load of little fountains that kids could play in, it will probably be completely different next year.

If your kids are interested in history then Carcassonne is great. You need to use your imagination when you go round the castle and maybe read up a bit of its history beforehand so you can tell them about it.

I have had loads of fab holidays and a couple of truly memorable (awful ones).

FAB and could recommend:

Kenya - safari (although the poverty in Mombasa was awful. We took the night train from Nairobi to Mombasa; it was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had).

Ivory Coast - Africa. Visiting then BF. Extraordinarily lovely people and amazing beaches, but again, noticeable poverty outside the cities. Really worth a visit in the mid '90s. Not sure about now though.

Eastern Algarve, Portugal. Not many Brits go here apparently but we found it quiet, unspoilt and got a taste of the real Portugal. Would def. go back. Food fantastic too and the most beautiful beach I've personally ever been to (Tavira beach).

FRANCE
Paris - Love, love, love. Always have, but I do speak French which seems to help with the unfriendliness aspect.

Provence - one of my most memorable holidays ever. Breathtakingly beautiful. Esp. Avignon and also enjoyed Aix-en-Provence. Love Nice, didn't think much of Cannes.

ITALY
Venice - loved it but best to go outside of the hot summer months. Equally loved Lucca (fab city with beautiful medieval walls and great to cycle around).

Going to Amalfi Coast next week for our honeymoon. Anyone recommend any places that must not be missed? We are staying in Amalfi and had planned a day trip to Capri, so a bit concerned that there's not a lot of love on here for Capri!!

SICILY - adored Sicily (stayed on northern coast near Cefalu). Again, helps to speak a bit of the lingo and when I did, people were amazingly friendly). Very beautiful, although didn't eat much ground-breaking food tbh.

NEW YORK - just fabulous.

HATED:
Tunisia - with a vengeance. Felt unsafe, watched/stared at by the men and ripped off. Hotels we stayed in were horrible, got bitten to death by bugs and got very bad food poisoning which lasted until the end of the holiday, so spent most of the holiday in the bathroom! Very unlikely to go again.

TURKEY - been twice. First time to Olu Deniz which was near perfect to be fair. But second time stayed in a huge hotel - all-in board with very mediocre food near Dalyan. Got badly stung by a sea creature and had to have emergency steroids pumped into my backside. Was out of action fro a few days with enormous blisters all over my leg. Then got food poisoning (again!!). Couldn't wait to get home...

TENERIFE - Been twice - dull as ditchwater. Absoultely nothing to do of any interest whatsoever!

I liked Copenhagen - great cafes (takes it's sandwiches and cakes very seriously ), took the train to Elsinore which was ace. Hotel was a dump though.

'had to have emergency steroids pumped into my backside'

I can well imagine that dampening your holiday enjoyment somewhat!

Loved the Bekaa Valley

So do I.

LaBruja - only going for a couple of days before heading onto the much maligned Majorca! Some great tips, will see what we can squeeze in!

Going to Amalfi Coast next week for our honeymoon. Anyone recommend any places that must not be missed? We are staying in Amalfi and had planned a day trip to Capri, so a bit concerned that there's not a lot of love on here for Capri

Its not really one of those places where you say Oh you must see this, or you must go there? The reality is that you drive along the coast and you see all there is to see.

Re Capri - I was there in May for a week and even then it was heaving with tourists and I was glad our holiday villa was a good 10 minute walk uphill oncee you get off the funicular. It was a different world to the one in the main square and surrounding areas. So for a bit of peace I'd say leave the main square and just head out of town on foot. You wont get lost and along the way you'll see some beautiful sights.

MitzyLeFrouf Yes, looking back it was an alarming experience, but a good story. I'm still laughing about that holiday now - 20 years on!! Apparently I was going into 'shutdown' and could well have ended my days in Turkey had it not been for the sweet doctor who exclaimed 'Welcome to Turkey' once the injection had been administered...

Ohdearme - thank you :)

It strikes me this thread might be worth moving out of Chat. There are tons of holiday ideas here which I'm sure people would love to refer back to.

Ibiza - the worst holiday I have ever been on, I didn't like the people, the music, got my purse stolen from the hotel and got my bank card copied. The only decent thing about it was the day we went scuba diving.

Scotland - Loved it, I spent most of the time driving, but it was amazing. Me and DP had a fantastic time. The best holiday I had tied only with Center Parcs.

Inadays - do your homework for Capri and head out on foot towards Faraglioni. Its well worth it.

Turkey. We were supposed to be going to Egypt but Thomsons cancelled all holidays to Egypt that year because the country wasn't considered safe, and got us to choose somewhere else. The first night we arrived there, my dad was poisoned and spent the whole holiday feeling unwell and the safe in our room was broken into. Everything was taken, money, return plane tickets, traveller's cheques. We learned later that the manager of the hotel, a local taxi driver and the owner of a restaurant nearby were in league together. The hotel manager would suggest this restaurant and offer to call a taxi to meet you outside. She'd call up to the room to let you know when it was here (therefore knowing that you wouldn't be in the room), the restaurant manager would recognise this specific taxi and slip something in your food to make you feel ill (presumably so when you got home you'd go straight to bed and wouldn't want to put anything in your safe/notice anything strange). While you were gone the hotel manager would use a master key to enter your room and reset your safe so she could get in and take everything, then they would split the money. She'd been charged several times before for theft etc but the police were useless, they absolutely didn't care (we were the tourists and she was the local, they took her side). It was an awful holiday, my mum phoned my gran in tears and my gran had to send us emergency cash so we could eat (the holiday was 2 weeks in a B&B), we had complete insurance and we still never got much back. The only plus of the holiday was that I got to go scuba diving.

A surprisingly good one was when we went to Gran Canaria. We got there late at night after a long delay, we were tired and hungry and completely fed up. The hotel, surroundings, everything about it did NOT look good. But it was actually one of my favourite holidays to date. The food was lovely, the beach was amazing (the sea was spectacularly clear), it was a perfect holiday. The only downside was that my parents and I were staying in a one bed apartment - the bedroom had their double bed and I had a sofa bed in the living room. The maid kept taking the bedding off my sofa bed (I assume she thought only two people were in there and that my mum had kicked my dad out of bed or something ) but it meant that every afternoon of the holiday I had to go down to reception and ask for more bedding

theeternal - which resort in gran canaria? we are going there soon and i've been reading some negative comments on here

we have liked brittany, paris, barcelona, the coast on outskirts of dublin, pembrokeshire, dorset, bath, lanzarote, majorca

disliked central dublin not sure why maybe it was just boring, majorca (different resort to above) bad weather grubby beach bad food maccdonalds and loud nasty people (brittish), vendee so many bungalows and no character

Love Singapore - beautiful, clean, safe, interesting.
Love the Amalfi coast - utter gorgeousness, to die for food.
Love Tel Aviv - amazing beaches, superb food and nightlife. Also surprisingly safe.
LOVE south Florida and the Keys. Best. Place. On. Earth.
Love Paris - because why wouldn't you?

Meh about Hong Kong, Barcelona and Rome.
Monaco - so boring.
Ambivalent about Thailand - loved Bangkok, the islands not so much.

loved turkey (but this was 30 years ago when waiters asked you what u had eaten when giving u the bill) though it was far too hot; indonesia (again 30 years ago), maritius though didn't like the cockroaches, greece both islands and mainland and have worked out now that you get one 18-30 resort on most islands and u just steer clear of that

disliked Isle of Wight - like a time warp but in a bad way, crap food, crap service and bad weather - enjoyed the expensive crossing but that was it

Someone else said 'Rome (dirty and hot; once is enough)'. Each to their own etc. etc. but YOU'RE WRONG!

Not that I'd visit Rome (or any Italian city) in the height of summer.