Do I just go home?

[DoIgohome]

I've been on holiday for 2 days. I hate where I am (European city).

A lot of issues.
I can't find any good places to eat in a walkable distance.
My hotel is pretty grotty (not dirty, just old).
Hotel in a dodgy area and I don't feel safe going outside early morn or into the evening.
Weather is temperamental.
The city is grotty and definitely not one I like.

I've talked to holiday provider about at least moving hotels but they've refused. I've spoken to 2 different people.

Do I just give this up as a bad job, lose about £1500 and get a flight home? I can't afford another holiday anytime soon.

I'm not much of a crier but I cried tonight. I've travelled alone before so I'm usually a very confident traveller.

Surely just getting an uber or equivalent out for a couple of hours a day to somewhere is worth more than losing your money and going home

do you feel safe in your hotel? That would be the decider for me

😂

I admire your mind-reading capacities! You've no idea why OP's being so cagey.

BTW, from Eurostat regarding the increased sexual violence: The increased number of police-recorded sexual violence offences are closely connected to raising awareness in the society and might impact reporting rates.

Which was my first thought, tbh. Unlike yours, clearly.

Immigration to the EU happens in waves, driven by events overseas. The graph you linked to shows sex-related crime statistics have increased steadily, not in waves.

ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Crime_statistics#The_number_of_sexual_violence_offences_increased_during_2014-2024

No, don't go home, stay where you are.

It sounds like a city which may have hop on hop off buses. Find one tomorrow and go round on it, getting off at every stop.

Yes - rising 10% year on year because of “greater awareness” and “higher reporting” of course - nothing to do with hundreds of thousands of violent men from violent countries at all. How silly of me.

Hi , so the best advice I can give you on your holiday in a mystery city, is to move from your dodgy mystery neighbourhood and find a hotel in this lovely mystery better neighbourhood. There are some lovely mystery restaurants and shops nearby, and the mystery train station is five minutes away from the new mystery location. I can recommend a lovely mystery hotel in the new mystery location if you like?
I can also recommend a few cool mystery must do things and I also have a few mystery sights seeing tips for you.
Hope that helps xxx.

Or you could listen to winter2020 and start seeing anything in colour as mildly threatening to extremely threatening depending on how deep the shade is! After all there are "violent countries" goodness whole countries being violent, every single person in that country violent.....where on earth is this dystopia? Or could it just be in the fantasy mind of @winter2020? 🤔🤣🤣

Adding some more Naples love to the thread!
I adored the vibrancy, history, chaos and I can’t wait to go back!

Would you go on a mini break to Syria, Sudan or Afghanistan? Assuming the answer is no perhaps give a little thought to why that might be the case. And (as you and I both know) a person’s skin colour has absolutely nothing to do with it does it.

@Crunched
Frankfurt is fine and safe, but the area around the Hauptbahnhof has never been that wonderful.However, this is the same for most big cities, London, anyone?

Personally I’d just try and make the best of it, as long as my hotel room was safe.

Otherwise if it’s that awful and making you miserable yes, go home.

That source says that 256 302 rapes and sexual assaults were reported to the police in 2024, in the whole of Europe. That is 0.06% of the population. Add to that the fact that most rapes and sexual assaults happen in relationships/by people we know, so ‘random attacks on the street in any given European city’ are even less likely. Agree it’s troubling that it’s doubled, but it’s still very unlikely.

Up to you, but I won’t be letting that stop me living my life. Not everyone is the bogeyman out to get you, you know.

This is the sunk cost fallacy. In other words, the money is already spent on the holiday and whatever you do next won't change that. So if you really feel unsafe and miserable, then go somewhere else, or go home; theres nothing wrong in that. Its your holiday. Do what will help you rest and recharge. If uou go home or if uou stay, make sure you pursue a formal complaint with the holiday company, take photos as evidence, and include the reps details. You could try talking to the hotel staff re their tips on staying safe, this was very helpful to me in Naples. And engage with other people. In Paris last week 2 girls tried to pickpocket me on the Metro but the other passengers stopped them! And then made sure I was OK. It was an object lesson to me about how I should behave if I see something happening like that myself. I hope you sort something out. Its rare that I find myself in a city I don't like but hotels can be a real disappointment.

Um… because they’re war zones. I’ve been to lots of Muslim countries including Syria before the war. The problem is not Muslims. It’s your ignorance.

Course it is. My ignorance is ruining European cities. That is the problem. Sorry OP.

Bot/shill

Wow, you’re hard to please! Naples is full of character, Malaga was such a surprise - lovely old town. Northern France depressing? It has so much to offer.

I hated Naples. We had an overnight there before travelling down to the stunning Ravello!

Naples is like an ugly shanty town!

Yes everyone you agree with is human. Everyone you disagree with is a bot.

Prague?

If you would say where you are then people might help with pointing you to nicer areas of the city or things to do. Mumsnetters are tremendously well travelled and can be very helpful and informative.

One of the MUSTS for solo travel is researching beforehand the area where you will be staying. I used to plan like a military operation.

Yeah it’s got to be Paris.

Why not say where you are

Malaga is lovely