Most overrated international destination?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kyoto

Copenhagen

I suppose no one really glamorizes cities in India, but Delhi is a special kind of awful. Mumbai and Kolkata are interesting and have their charms, but Delhi... gah

South Africa. Absolutely beautiful country. But you can't move once the sun goes down. Even in Cape Town.

The American South Pacific. All of it. From Guam to FSM to the Marshalls. Walmart on an island. Depressing.

Tahiti. French Walmart on an island. Trashy place.

Agree- India can't really be overrated since people must know they are traveling to a developing country and there is a lot of poverty and infrastructure issues. I found Mumbai not charming at all and Delhi quite exceeding expectations though!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kyoto

Copenhagen

I suppose no one really glamorizes cities in India, but Delhi is a special kind of awful. Mumbai and Kolkata are interesting and have their charms, but Delhi... gah

South Africa. Absolutely beautiful country. But you can't move once the sun goes down. Even in Cape Town.

The American South Pacific. All of it. From Guam to FSM to the Marshalls. Walmart on an island. Depressing.

Tahiti. French Walmart on an island. Trashy place.

Can you elaborate on Kyoto?

Because it's not really an authentic place anymore. The temples and the old town are lovely architecturally, but what you tend to see are Japanese women cosplaying in their kimonos. Lots of couples doing their pictures. It's extremely touristy. It's a very manured place. Like a Japanese Disneyland. You go for the pictures and a few hours in pretend-land. The rest of Kyoto is pretty drab. You're going to have a more "real" experience in Osaka or Tokyo. The bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto is very cool though.

Hah. Meant manicured

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Italy

Where did you go?

Rome and Naples. Total dumps

Probably the two worst cities on the country. Go to Florence, Tuscany, the Amalfi coast and then update us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kyoto

Copenhagen

I suppose no one really glamorizes cities in India, but Delhi is a special kind of awful. Mumbai and Kolkata are interesting and have their charms, but Delhi... gah

South Africa. Absolutely beautiful country. But you can't move once the sun goes down. Even in Cape Town.

The American South Pacific. All of it. From Guam to FSM to the Marshalls. Walmart on an island. Depressing.

Tahiti. French Walmart on an island. Trashy place.

Can you elaborate on Kyoto?

Because it's not really an authentic place anymore. The temples and the old town are lovely architecturally, but what you tend to see are Japanese women cosplaying in their kimonos. Lots of couples doing their pictures. It's extremely touristy. It's a very manured place. Like a Japanese Disneyland. You go for the pictures and a few hours in pretend-land. The rest of Kyoto is pretty drab. You're going to have a more "real" experience in Osaka or Tokyo. The bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto is very cool though.

And I'm sure other tourists would complain if they went all the way to Kyoto and didn't see a single person in traditional kimonos like they expected to. Or the place was 'so authentic' that none of the locals understood English.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Paris. Filthy city, frequent public urination and even defecation, and some of the major tourist attractions like the Louvre are overrated. I had a great time and would certainly go again but I’ve enjoyed other European cities more.

The Louvre is not overrated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Zanzibar. Another resort town, despite the presence of Stone town.

Absolutely. No way would I ever suggest anyone to travel to Zanzibar on its own, but it was a nice break after a long (and overrated) safari. It’s great for that.

PP. that’s exactly the reason why we visited Zanzibar. I have to say our safari experience was amazing. We wish we had spent more time in mainland Tanzania, instead of Zanzibar.

No. Which safaris did you go on

Headed to Tanzania in December…

We had the trip of a lifetime on safari in Tanzania (in November). We stayed at Sayari Camp in the Serengeti near the Mara, at at The Highlands near Ngorongoro. Both are Asilia properties. We booked through Mary Keet at Go2Africa -- highly recommend her (found her in the Condé Nast list of the best TAs).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Italy

Where did you go?

Rome and Naples. Total dumps

Probably the two worst cities on the country. Go to Florence, Tuscany, the Amalfi coast and then update us.

I love *love* Rome and Naples. Florence and the Amalfi coasts have been almost (not quite but almost) ruined by mass tourism. Naples has soul. And I say this as someone who is skeptical when people talk about a place with soul. Naples really is unique and has fabulous food, possibly the best in Italy. And wonderful art and museums. And hasn't become an overly sanitized tourist ghetto.

[Anonymous]

Costa Rica. Disgusting.

[Anonymous]

Amsterdam. Gross food. Angry cyclists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Verona, Italy

Everywhere, Costa Rica

Amsterdam, Netherlands

+1 I was going g to write Costa Rica as well. Baffles me why so many people spend so much money to go there .

You must not have done anything interesting. Costa Rica was a fabulous family trip. We stayed at a hotel with hot springs overlooking the Arenal volcano, we went zip lining 650 feet over the rainforest, we went on an ATV ride, we hiked and saw the most incredible birds, butterflies, snakes, monkeys, flowers, insects, spiders, and frogs. We then stayed in a small 5 star resort about an hour away from the volcano with incredible food, a huge room with an outdoor shower, and an awesome pool. If you wasted your trip going to the beach instead of the rainforest, too bad for you!

I have done all of the above. I felt like cattle hoarded from one tourist activity to another. I did not want to be stuck in a resort. We tried to discover the country and understand the life of the locals, and were disappointed: no culture/history, simple cuisine, poverty and crime. We also got robbed, and the police weren’t interested in helping. You really need to have a very curated experience to enjoy Costa Rica, but then you are experiencing an amusement park not the country.

Well, yeah, Costa Rica is like Central American Disney. I thought everyone knew this.

Add to that the horrible infrastructure /bad customer service— though they charge you 10% for doing nothing other than bringing you your food.
But yes, no culture/no identity in CR

[Anonymous]

OP, you definitely flushed out all the American tourists that are a$$holes. People should just stay home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, you definitely flushed out all the American tourists that are a$$holes. People should just stay home.

Lol as of foreigners dont complain about the USA and say things like -which cities/states are overrated? Get real

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kyoto

Copenhagen

I suppose no one really glamorizes cities in India, but Delhi is a special kind of awful. Mumbai and Kolkata are interesting and have their charms, but Delhi... gah

South Africa. Absolutely beautiful country. But you can't move once the sun goes down. Even in Cape Town.

The American South Pacific. All of it. From Guam to FSM to the Marshalls. Walmart on an island. Depressing.

Tahiti. French Walmart on an island. Trashy place.

Funny - I loved Kyoto, and I like Delhi much better than most of the other Indian cities I’ve visited. My parents are from Kolkata, so I grew up visiting regularly, and I think it is basically hell on earth.

[Anonymous]

Agree with those saying Costa Rica. We stayed 2 weeks, in 5 different locations, and they all felt way overpriced for what they were. I'd rather go to Hawaii any day. Better beaches, better food, same adventure opportunities but safer/cleaner.

Everyone was nice, but I definitely have no desire to return. The rainforest/jungles in Peru were way better IMO, and the beaches are better just about everywhere in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Italy

Where did you go?

Rome and Naples. Total dumps

Probably the two worst cities on the country. Go to Florence, Tuscany, the Amalfi coast and then update us.

I love *love* Rome and Naples. Florence and the Amalfi coasts have been almost (not quite but almost) ruined by mass tourism. Naples has soul. And I say this as someone who is skeptical when people talk about a place with soul. Naples really is unique and has fabulous food, possibly the best in Italy. And wonderful art and museums. And hasn't become an overly sanitized tourist ghetto.

But it smells and looks like garage. Literal garbage (everywhere)