Place that didn't live up to expectations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would be disappointed anywhere I was hunkered down in a resort. Blech.

So, Barbados. I didn’t feel safe there (and I felt safe in Egypt and China!). After a few horrid day trips we never left the (nice) hotel but it was boring.

What on earth are you saying? Barbados is super safe. We drove the whole island and had a grand time.

Any why wouldn’t you feel safe on Egypt or China? We loved both! What are you implying?!

How weird.

Lucky you. Barbados is full of very aggressive, catcalling men who don’t back off when you tell them to. Not fun. Perhaps you were traveling with men that backed them off. I have traveled all over the world without men, and only really felt like that in Barbados.

Lots of people feel that Egypt is not a safe destination. We loved it.

But Barbados was not fun. It is also very built up. Glad you and your burly escort liked it better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which is better for a beach vacation with kids: Puerto Rico, DR, Aruba, Bahamas, or Mexico? Talking about staying at a resort the whole time and really want nice sand and clear water.

I like Saint John. Make sure to rent a Jeep.

The problem with St. John is there really isn't a resort there to stay at the whole time. Caneel Bay is gone.

If the PP wants to hunker down at a resort the entire time AND wants clear water, then Aruba, Bahamas and Mexico are the best bets.

But:

Aruba is windy and the water has more waves (although gentle). Divi was calm, though.

Bahamas is crowded unless you go super high end (avoid atlantis unless you want to fight for lounge chairs).

Mexico is good if you stay upscale and avoid a mega resort. Mayakoba area is nice.

DR has crummy beaches; sand like dirt, water isn't clear; plus, bugs and weird plumbing issues.

We love PR, but we wouldn't hunker down at a resort unless it's something fabulous like Ritz Dorado. You should go to Old San Juan to eat and see the forts. Visit the rainforest. Explore beaches around the island. There are some lovely hotels like the Fairmont. Condos in the Isla Verde area. Wyndham. There are tons of threads on PR. You could stay at the Embassy Suites two blocks off Isla Verde beach for a very reasonable price.

How would PR be in August? Do you need covid testing?

[Anonymous]

I think the problem is that most tourist-worthy places these days have been literally overrun by tourists and have been "disneyfied" as a result. Social media has made this worse by creating hype around certain destinations which invariably disappoint tourists when they arrive and see hordes of other people trying to have the same "unique" experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the problem is that most tourist-worthy places these days have been literally overrun by tourists and have been "disneyfied" as a result. Social media has made this worse by creating hype around certain destinations which invariably disappoint tourists when they arrive and see hordes of other people trying to have the same "unique" experience.

This was Zion National Park to me. Beautiful spot, but EVERYBODY doing the same two hikes in the whole park to get their Instagram photos. I have traveled extensively out west in the past, but had never been to Zion. The crowds and “Disneyfied” experience took away from our enjoyment. Will have to try again in offseason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bali. Probably already mentioned a few times on this thread (I didn't read the first 15 or so pages). Very crowded, very commercialized. Did have some nice things about it but it's not the tropical paradise of travel promotional materials.

Places like Paris and London - I've been to both many times and as the years go by they lose more of their magic. A lot of changes in both cities since the 1980s. They're far less English/French and much more "international" and without wanting to get into politics it does mean these cities have lost much of what made them unique.

Cambodia. Went for the Angor Wat. It was nice enough. But I'd already seen many temple complexes and when you've seen one the rest tend to run into each other. There is a fascinating history at Angor Wat but Thailand is just a more enjoyable experience that I wouldn't go back to Cambodia. Food wasn't so interesting.

London has always been a melting pot. I grew up there in the 70's and me, and most of my friends, were from immigrant families. What's different now is that many of those immigrants now have brown skin. They are still Londoners.

[Anonymous]

Ring of Kerry. Had heard so much about it had some of the most beautiful coastal scenery in the world. Seemed rather blah to me. Probably didn't help that I had recently been to Norway (fjords were very impressive) and grew up in Monterey so had frequently traveled along Big Sur and other parts of the California coast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Great Barrier Reef. Washed out corals.

Oh no really?!?! I lived there for a year in 2001 and went on a 2 day snorkel trip off of Cairns. The reef was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen and I’ve been waiting until my kids are old enough to return. Am I too late?

It is hurting, for sure.

(NP) Awful! Had a similar experience as the PP. Snorkeled there as a teen (ahem, quite a while ago) and it was top three most amazing places I have even seen. Actually incomparable--in a category of its own.

[Anonymous]

San Diego and Seattle. Was expecting both to be awesome. A bit of a let down.

[Anonymous]

Agree on Paris. Dirty, dull, occasional moment/vista, but just so overrated. Liked pretty much everywhere else in France (even Nice) more, e.g. Brittany is one of my favorites of all time.

Dubrovnik. Absolutely spectacular looking, but basically an outdoor museum. Totally lifeless (and I say this as a DC native )

Singapore, least interesting spot in that whole neck of the woods. Hong Kong (but perhaps unfair, because not sure anyone really claims Hong Kong is a visitor's mecca??).

Hilton Head. Man, disliked. Basically a big gated community plopped on an island. You could only see your tiny sliver of beach.

I actually enjoyed Athens and all of Greece except perhaps (I am almost embarrassed to admit), Delos. Yeah, it's a UNESCO site and all, but after a day, I was like I never want to see another Greek ruin in my life, just no.

(OK, sorry in advance) but Glacier National Park. Sure, pretty, nice hiking. But there are so many spectacular national parks, and this took like 8 hours+ of air/other travel to get to.

Everywhere on the Jersey shore.

[Anonymous]

Miami… New Orleans… Disney… asheville

[Anonymous]

Anything Disney
Charleston - I was shocked at how rude the people were
Madrid - but loved the rest of Spain
Toronto - definitely the low point of our trips to Canada - very dull compared to Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Vancouver, and the countryside in Quebec and the Maritime provinces
Cities in Switzerland - very boring and sterile - countryside is gorgeous, though
Watkins Glen
Mackinac Island - everyone in Michigan raves about this place, but it is a big nothing. I would rather be in Flint
Costa Rica - Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil are far more interesting countries if you want to head south
Seattle - cold, unfriendly people and mediocre food
Austin, TX - so-called "music scene" is vastly overrated; traffic is horrible; it's not as liberal as people think it is
Aruba - absolutely nothing to do there once you want to do something other than lie on the beach

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Istanbul, Turkey. I had a 11-12 hour layover at the new Istanbul airport in my way to Accra, Ghana. Never left the airport. I walked around for my over an hour trying to find one of the lounges that’s I could pay my way into. I asked several staff workers for assistance but they were dismissive, rude, unprofessional, aggressive, simply couldn’t be bothered to even look at me. Felt definite racial overtones (I’m AA). I will return to Washington in about 2 weeks via IST. Thinking about actually venturing out into both the European and Asian sides of Istanbul, but after the airport fiasco, I’m afraid that my experience could be worse in a less-controlled environment.

Omg Istanbul is one of the most amazing cities in the world! Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar. Turkish culture is very brusque overall but they have good hospitality. Sorry for your experience but don’t miss it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've gotten into TikTok (I know, I know) and I see a lot of travel videos. For some reason, I see so many comments that say that Paris did not live up to expectations. Apparently, there's even a term for this - Paris syndrome. Personally, I cannot relate. My worst day in Paris is better than my best day here, lol. I imagine it's because it's many people's first experiences abroad and/or in a big city and that might be shocking to some?

But it did get me thinking about places that did not live up to expectations and why. Do you have any experiences like that?

Tel Aviv, around 1982. It was very shabby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anything Disney
Charleston - I was shocked at how rude the people were
Madrid - but loved the rest of Spain
Toronto - definitely the low point of our trips to Canada - very dull compared to Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Vancouver, and the countryside in Quebec and the Maritime provinces
Cities in Switzerland - very boring and sterile - countryside is gorgeous, though
Watkins Glen
Mackinac Island - everyone in Michigan raves about this place, but it is a big nothing. I would rather be in Flint
Costa Rica - Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil are far more interesting countries if you want to head south
Seattle - cold, unfriendly people and mediocre food
Austin, TX - so-called "music scene" is vastly overrated; traffic is horrible; it's not as liberal as people think it is
Aruba - absolutely nothing to do there once you want to do something other than lie on the beach

Austin is liberal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anything Disney
Charleston - I was shocked at how rude the people were
Madrid - but loved the rest of Spain
Toronto - definitely the low point of our trips to Canada - very dull compared to Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Vancouver, and the countryside in Quebec and the Maritime provinces
Cities in Switzerland - very boring and sterile - countryside is gorgeous, though
Watkins Glen
Mackinac Island - everyone in Michigan raves about this place, but it is a big nothing. I would rather be in Flint
Costa Rica - Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil are far more interesting countries if you want to head south
Seattle - cold, unfriendly people and mediocre food
Austin, TX - so-called "music scene" is vastly overrated; traffic is horrible; it's not as liberal as people think it is
Aruba - absolutely nothing to do there once you want to do something other than lie on the beach

You sound fun.