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 Malta, really polluted, loads of litter, huge numbers of stray cats in a dreadful state. Also hated Tunisia. Expected to love Budapest but it was a bit meh. Very built up and dirty.

Absolutely adore Capri - you have to climb up out of the town and see the views. Love the south of France except Cannes is hideous and St Tropez is dull unless you have a yacht. Utterly adore Rome. Saw it properly this year and wow!

Love these posts

Loved:

Newcastle upon Tyne - As soon as I got off the train, loved the place. Beautiful buildings, loads to do and fantastic people. I was there with work but we had such a great time!

New Quay, Wales - best fish and chips, eaten on the harbour whilst watching the dolphins - what's not to like?

Woolacombe - many a childhood holiday spent here and just love it.

Southend on Sea - again something about this place that I loved. Lovely cafes on the front and reminded me of the seaside of my childhood. I was there midweek so can't say how things pan out when it's at capacity!

Expected to hate:

Tenerife - Right up until we flew out, I was wondering if it would be the holiday for us, checking TA every twelve seconds - great food, lovely people, sunshine and our boys got spoilt rotten everywhere we went. Everyone was sad when the airport transfer turned up.

Traumatised by:

Great Yarmouth - Loved this place as a child and thought our boys would love it too. Bigged it up to OH so we booked a long weekend there...first stop the town centre...let's just say that it wasn't quite how I remembered.

Monaco and Riviera in summer...terrible...St Tropez nice out of season and Cap ferret too...in season forget it !
Mykonos ...absolutely hideous...most expensive spoilt greek island ever
Kefalonia...sweet and cheap...Argostoli the unvisited capital is charming at night in the square and the beaches in the south nearby lovely. Fiskardo more expensive but beautiful and assos too
Lefkas...yayy club vassiliki and get your teens windsurfing...happy healthy holiday...lots of empty stunning places in the north too
alps in summer can be really surprisingly chilled family holidays.
New York now horrible gone downhill
Miami now clean gone uphill and v safe.
Mauritius gone downhill and Caribbean
Dubai v polluted and expensive

I also loved Las Vegas, even though I was not too excited about going there in the first place. It is one of my favorite places EVER, I had so much fun, so much to do, the food was AMAZING, the hotels were amazing as well and not expensive at all for the quality (we stayed in 3 different hotels). I am definitely going back.

Los Angeles. I never felt so unsafe in my life, even avoiding the dangerous neighbourhoods.

pseudonymph
Like you I far preferred Capri to Ischia.
We were a week on each.

Paris - mainly because the people are so incredibly rude and unhelpful even when I attempted to communicate with my limited French. In contrast I really like Brussels.
Australia - can't think of anything nice to say so won't say anything.
Majorca - not for me.
Dublin - disappointed

Switzerland - thought would be boring - loved it
Mauritius - no idea what to expect - had a great holiday
Venice - is both my most loved and hated - hated in summer, my favourite place in winter.

Super thread!

Favourites -

Japan, beautiful authentic safe and such lovely people.

Hong Kong- loved it! The hustle bustle the street markets, the food!

Rome & the Amalfi coast- Could walk around Rome all day, such beauty everywhere, and the food OMG. Amalfi coast, particularly Positano just incredible

Disliked-

Dubai, soulless, undercurrent of uneasiness.

Disney Paris, never again!!!

France in general is beautiful but ruined by the rudeness we always experience there.

LA for all the reasons already stated.

Disappointing: Croatia.

Every single person we told we were going absolutely cooed about it. The LOVELIEST place. GORGEOUS. You'll LOVE it.

It was... fine. Quite pretty, but not prettier than the nice bits of Greece, Italy, Portugal or any other Mediteranean country you care to name. The food was also fine. The prices were on the expensive side compared to other locations. The locals were fine, but I could name plenty of other countries where they're more hospitable.

By all means go, but it's really not that amazing.

Not keen on Munich.
Or Jeju in South Korea.

Did like the Maldives, Japan, China, the Baltic States.

Dartmouth - only went because it was cheap out of season - was absolutely beautiful.

Glencoe - DH wanted to go there because it's one of his favourite places. It was August, drizzly, cold and full of midges and dull grey scenery. No thanks.

Malta is brilliant, we've been going on and off for 30 years. We met there, as my parents.

Paris...well, ok. Very samey architecture, the Metro's a public toilet and doesn't go far enough out. The beggars and scammers are unreal, as is the brutality of the police towards them. Very good food if you put the effort in and try to speak French.

The Rheinpfalz. Beautiful countryside that hardly ever sees foreign tourists. Rock climbing, wine, really friendly.

Newquay. A hellhole full of rich twatty teenagers and drug dealers. Also Padstow: let's shuffle slowly about looking in restaurants we can't afford. Watergate Bay was great though.

Iceland: its veneer of Scandinavian cool hides a country that's as mad as fuck. They can't drive, they can't hold their drink, they grow bananas in midwinter. They built a revolving restaurant, and spun it so fast the guests fell over. We loved it.

Belfast is one of my favourite cities. Had zero expectations for it (if I had any, they weren't great...) and I loved it. People are warm and incredibly friendly, food is great, loads of live music, culture, things to do and see. Black taxi tour was fascinating, Queens Quarter and Cathedral Quarter are gorgeous... I could go on!

Like- Florida, Celebration, Clearwater, Sarasota, Rotunda, Hudson

Caribbean, Grand Cayman (favourite), St Lucia, Antigua, St Kitts and Nevis, Roatan Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico although it was about 3000 degrees whilst walking round the Mayan ruins

Ibiza didn't think I would but fell in love with Cala Llonga, Santa Eulalia and Ibiza town

Cyprus- Protarus. We were right at the top bordering Paralimi and it was lovely and so quiet. Downside we only discovered the actual town of Protarus on our last night. We just assumed the bit we'd walked to was it. Would've been better for me cos there was a Pizza Hut and I literally survived on chips for a week ( vegetarian at the time)

Canary Islands- Tenerife, Lanzarote

Closer to home- Durham, Scotland just beautiful, Skipton, Harrogate, york and didn't think I would but I really liked Liverpool and Chester. Peak District and the Lakes. Blackpool although didn't have the same appeal as it did 25 years ago. Lincoln

Not keen on Barbados but we did get hassled every 5 mins
Majorca Magaluf hotel was shit. It was right on top of cardiac hill so the bus couldn't get to it which meant we had to drag heavy suitcases up a wapping great night hill, then the hotel was situated up loads of stairs. Coming home I wrapped everything breakable up in towels and clothes and lobbed it down the bloody stairs , food was shit, swimming pool you had to cross the road to get to it and it was colder than the Antarctica. My arms legs and lips were blue when I got out. Only decent thing was the AI bar. Last night of an already shit holiday was marred by me and my friend getting locked in a room by some of the staff there. Thankfully some other holiday makers managed to get us out. Flight out delayed by 20 hours due to technical fault on the Plane. They tried for hours to fix it in the end had to Fly another Plane to us. In hindsight it saved us 15 hours less in that dump anyway

Great thread everyone! I'm enjoying the vicarious travel!

Paris: A week in December '97. Stayed at a youth hostel of sorts, and spent ALL DAY walking around. Loved it. Entranced. A few days in warmer weather in a different location in 201?- smelt like a urinal.

Sicily: hired a car (MISTAKE) and thought I was going to die everytime we were on the road. Run-down; litter; traffic. Underwhelming (and I like a Roman ruin as much as the next person). Wanted to leave.

Australia: Blue Mountains; Great Ocean Road; the desert; the rainforest; the endless sandy beach; the vivid blue sky; the eucalyptus smell in the air; the Manly ferry ride; cities that are empty of people; dedication to eating good food; lack of judgement of "class", generally. I hate the spiders; it is too hot in summer; tropical rain fall even in Sydney; threat of bushfires prevents travel; it isn't the Lake District!

Lake District National PArk: there is always a place without other people.Gorgeous. All seasons. A panacea for all of lifes troubles.

Iceland: loved the countryside. 2 weeks camping with a small-group tour, and had a great time. Went back in spring- a different kind of pretty.

Las Vegas: 3 days in August. OVEN HOT. Everything is fake; everything is for sale. Nothing to do. The purple sky at sunset was the best thing about the place. You cannot escape the piped music- when you walk down the road; or sit by the pool (which you cant as it is too hot)-it blares out at you. They are frightened of silence. American service industry people will be nice to you as they live on tips and fear a bad review. NONE of my postcards sent from the hotel(I hate you Caesars Palace- smelly crowded desperate second rate) arrived. So never criticise a place/hotel on a postcard!

London is great. More varied architecture than Paris. Depth of history. Always something to look at. Hectic though. Hate the Tube crowds.

Barcelona. Have been 3 times for various occasions, and it does not get any better. Shabby, overhyped, ridden with pickpockets. A tapas? Small plates of leftovers more like it. Tedious place.

Rome- 2 weeks. Saw loads. Immensely impressed. Didnt feel threatened

Ireland. Wet. I want to see more of the countryside but will bring my gortex and thermals next time! My god do the Irish chat! You cant be in a hurry!

Grenada, Carribean. 1 week was enough. The air smelt gloriously spiced. If you do watersports, then you would get more out of it than me.

Went to Transylvania expecting to be (unreasonably) petrified, loved the place.. so so beautiful to walk around and lots to do especially visit "Dracula's castle".
Poland, been to Gdansk, Lublin, kraken- all amazing places
France- stayed in a cottage in the middle of nowhere for a week. About 20 minutes drive to Disneyland so absolutely perfect after the craziness of the place
Iceland- beautiful but very very expensive
Alaska- cold but very beautiful

Hated - ummmm nowhere really. Russia got a bit hairy at times but not enough to make me hate it