s/o Ever traveled somewhere and been disappointed by it?

[Anonymous]

Paris. Geographically pretty, but mediocre food (other than the croissants and cheese), and human shit in the streets. Seriously, I'm from NYC and I was shocked at the amount of dog and human (yes, human) poo on the streets. I spent several weeks there at different times as I almost married a Parisian.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Budapest - Not much to do. Grand Cayman - very crowded, not as scenic as I expected.

Thanks for this and the thoughts about St Lucia. I've only been to the Caribbean once and we're starting to think about a trip there for our 10th anniversary.

Leaning towards PR. Easy to get to, easy to explore, lots of lodging options.

We love Grand Cayman. Have been twice. Gorgeous. Easy. Clean.

Agree with that, but also expensive and sterile.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Corolla, Outer Banks.

Just nothing to recommend it. Blah beach, drab houses.

I agree. What is the appeal?

+2
Never understood it.

+1000

What a dump!

Oh my yes - and horribly boring. Please, everyone, stay away!

I see you're trying to be clever (or something), but no need. I would never go back. Wretched place is overpriced with nothing to really recommend it. If you've travelled a lot, this isn't for you. If you haven't, then...well, I'm sure it's lovely. (cough, cough)

Hmm. Well, I'm multi-lingual and have traveled extensively, and I like Corolla quite a bit. It feels upscale, comfortable and safe, and the beaches are beautiful. But it's not a place to go if you only get off on going to exotic places. You could spend six hours in the car and then run into your next-door neighbors the first day, and that spoils it for people who want to brag about having gone to some place others have never heard of.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Niagra Falls. Didn't like it. U.S. Side. Once you saw it there was nothing else. Yawn.

Canada side is better, I think.

Maybe a little. Overrated place.

Was just there. The falls are beautiful (we were on the Canada side). The boat trip was cool. But the area around the falls is a gigantic tourist trap, and it's basically like being in the worst of America - the bad chain restaurants and the over commercialism. That said, I enjoyed myself because the kids enjoyed themselves, and we did some of the silly tourist things that they wanted to do.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I have to go to Vietnam every year to see the in-laws. I'm always shocked when any American says they enjoyed it -- they must have been on a tour group or stayed somewhere upscale like Six Senses. I've been going for a long time, and I've never really enjoyed it (and no, it's not because of the ILs, they are lovely).

People are very aggressive there, it's very dirty and disorganized, and many of its natural treasures are trashed with plastic garbage and toxic chemicals, or by catering to casino-loving Chinese tourists who act like there's no tomorrow, and they don't seem to give a crap about keeping things clean, or customer service. The air pollution in the cities is just intolerable.

It's a big country, though, and like I said, I suspect anyone who enjoyed it did very touristy things. It'd be helpful to say "The resort I stayed in at Phu Quoc was nice" or "The beach in Da Nang was underwhelming" if you're a Vietnam-liking PP.

As a one of the Vietnam loving PPs, we were not on a tour group or stay anywhere super upscale. We stayed in mid range places in Hanoi and Saigon. Took day trips to Halong Bay, Mekong River, Chu Chi tunnels, etc. I guess that's fairly touristy but we were not insulated from the locals. There were a few girls who stood on the streets incessantly trying to sell foot massages, but otherwise I didn't find the people overly aggressive.* In fact, I thought that people all over Asia were some much more mild mannered and polite than Americans, it was refreshing. And the food was universally outstanding.

*We did not drive in Vietnam, which would have terrified me if we had tried to do so. Yes, they are definitely aggressive drivers.

I was one of the Vietnam lovers. I stayed with an expat living in Ho Chi Minh city. He did live in a very nice part of town. I spent a lot of time walking around the city alone and felt totally safe. I love the shopping, the cheap spas.
I enjoyed Ben Thanh market but I am glad I didn't go there alone. I am not a haggler.

I traveled alone through Vietnam at age 30, stayed in local guest houses, and loved it. It was difficult being unable to communicate but I found the people lovely.

[Anonymous]

-Disappointed by Marco Island- have heard great things but just found it ok
-Smoky Mountains was awful (National Park was gorgeous but I would not spend time outside of the park). Unbelievably bad traffic and filled with tourist traps.
-San Francisco- I was surprised at how dirty it was- overflowing garbage cans, piles on the street, lots of homeless people everywhere. Physically beautiful though, I loved Marin and Sausolito, Big Sur were all great!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Asheville, heard many great things but was disappointed. Dirty with lots of seedy looking characters milling around.

oh no. We're going there in a couple of weeks

I LOVE Asheville. The restaurants are great - the hiking is beautiful. The Biltmore is lovely. There are street musicians in downtown - that may be what PP is referring to - think Austin, Burlington - any college town really - you get the hippy-dippy types that don't bathe sitting outside the local fair trade shop. But the bookstores - go to Malaprop's - awesome bookstore. There's a bookstore that is also a Champagne Bar - lovely. Brewpubs - Green Man.

[Anonymous]

Venice - I'd had such fond memories from visiting as a child. Of course it's amazing in many ways but my God it's just a huge tourist trap and was so so crowded. They even have cruise ships that dock there now. We did find a few more authentic places and incredible food towards the end of our stay but overall it was chaotic and unfriendly.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Agree with the poster who mentioned Hilton Head.

Isn't anyone going to mention Germany? I liked Nuremberg and Heidelberg Castle, but otherwise, no.

I loved Germany, especially the food. I just think it's soooo beautiful

I would go back to Munich in a heartbeat. Beautiful city.

[Anonymous]

I've never been disappointed and I've travelled quite a bit. I don't understand people listing entire countries. You know they're very diverse, right?

For instance, one person complaining about tourists in Italy. You have to know where to go! We usually go to the places that Italians vacation at and then off season!

Research a little bit when Europeans travel, when is summer break for schools and so on and you find lovely places!

Same for Germany. I've lived there most of my life. Don't go to two cities and judge the entire country by it. I mean, Munich is probably the worst place to go.... just saying.

[Anonymous]

I feel like any foreign country (except maybe Canada, lol) you are constantly on alert for being ripped off.

It's not a reason not to visit this places, but it's hardly a vacation when you are constantly on edge. When wer travelled to France, it seemed like every time we took a cab, the fare would read one thing when we stopped, the the driver would hit a button and the fare would magically increase by 5-8 euros. Wth? We basically just didn't tip them after that and took the metro as often as possible.

And twice now we've had Carribbean rental car companies try to tell us we damaged their rental cars when we did not.

Who wants to deal with that constantly on vacation?

[Anonymous]

to answer the question: Berlin

Probably because I went during a particularly brutal cold snap in a February. Coldest I have ever been. Weather can affect one's opinion of a place.

[Anonymous]

I've been to many places. One of the worst, was Belize City. Small dirty town, the cab driver picked up two extra people and we seriously thought they were going to leave us for dead on the side of a dirt road. Not a good experience at all. However, we then jumped on a flight to Ambergris Caye; and that was really nice. The people were very friendly, the restaurants while all very low key and local were fantastic. We had a nice relaxing week there.

[Anonymous]

I did not like Madrid -- Other than a few museums, I found it very bland and boring.

I also did not get a good vibe in Copenhagen for some reason. I totally expected to love it. I'm sure some of my negativity is related to the weather, and the fact that everything is so expensive.

I loved Paris. I don't recall seeing any dog poop there. Now Blois, that was another story.

[Anonymous]

I absolutely hated Casablanca. Trash in the streets, like just piles with razor blades and lettuce (I'll never forget it) men eyeing me up and down like I was a whore (I was covered neck to toe in the summer), taxi drivers trying to take advantage. I went pre 9-11 and I'm tall and blonde so that might have worked against me with misogynists.