Vacation spots your friends talked up but you hated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Amelia Island
Key West
Smoky Mountains, Tenn.
St. Lucia

Wouldn't say I hated them, but was underwhelmed. Ditto for Kiawah even though it was lovely. Just not a match for our family.

Smoky Mts must do: Cades Cove, The Lost Sea, River Tubing, Horseback riding. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are not exactly my cup of tea. If you like amusement parks then Dollywood is nice even on a hot summer's day.

[Anonymous]

NYC. I hate the place. It has really great museums and that is it. Even the restaurants are highly overrated and shopping is a nightmare and better done online. Forget using the subway if you care about your health or safety. I lived within 50 miles of NYC for ten years and did everything in my power to never go in the city if I didn't have to. I love to travel and I am not scared of big cities but I just hate everything about NYC. Why people com from Europe and spend days in NYC is a mystery to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I was underwhelmed by:
Nashville
Mystic, CT
Cape Cod
San Diego
Florence
Dublin (but loved the rest of Ireland)
Key West
Atlantis

Can you tell me what underwhelmed you about San Diego? So many friends have recommended I visit there, but when I look at pictures and videos, I just don't see what all the hype is about. Nice looking place but seems boring as hell for a vacation.

Do you like beer, great food, surfing, the ocean, one of the top 3 horse tracks in the US, great golf, the mountains, the beach, no bugs, I could go on but SD has it all. I'm of course speaking of the SD area including Coronado, La Jolla, Del Mar, Escondido, etc. Oh yeah, and the baseball stadium is pretty cool.

The city of San Diego is completely aesthetically unattractive as a city, but for the reasons you state (and others), totally worth visiting. Especially the beer and food and beaches.

How is the beer in San Diego different than anywhere else?

But Light is the same everywhere but craft beer varies quite a bit by locality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NYC. I hate the place. It has really great museums and that is it. Even the restaurants are highly overrated and shopping is a nightmare and better done online. Forget using the subway if you care about your health or safety. I lived within 50 miles of NYC for ten years and did everything in my power to never go in the city if I didn't have to. I love to travel and I am not scared of big cities but I just hate everything about NYC. Why people com from Europe and spend days in NYC is a mystery to me.

I just don't get this.

[Anonymous]

London and Barcelona. Neither did anything for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was underwhelmed by:
Nashville
Mystic, CT
Cape Cod
San Diego
Florence
Dublin (but loved the rest of Ireland)
Key West
Atlantis

Can you tell me what underwhelmed you about San Diego? So many friends have recommended I visit there, but when I look at pictures and videos, I just don't see what all the hype is about. Nice looking place but seems boring as hell for a vacation.

Do you like beer, great food, surfing, the ocean, one of the top 3 horse tracks in the US, great golf, the mountains, the beach, no bugs, I could go on but SD has it all. I'm of course speaking of the SD area including Coronado, La Jolla, Del Mar, Escondido, etc. Oh yeah, and the baseball stadium is pretty cool.

Agree on Dublin. Felt/looked soooo much like Boston. N Ireland was amazing though.

[Anonymous]

Miami. A freakshow of cartoonish looking people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NYC. I hate the place. It has really great museums and that is it. Even the restaurants are highly overrated and shopping is a nightmare and better done online. Forget using the subway if you care about your health or safety. I lived within 50 miles of NYC for ten years and did everything in my power to never go in the city if I didn't have to. I love to travel and I am not scared of big cities but I just hate everything about NYC. Why people com from Europe and spend days in NYC is a mystery to me.

I went to NYC for a job interview and a pigeon shit on my head on the way in. I think it soured me on the whole city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Rehobeth/Delaware beaches. Seriously, the only thing going for it is location and proximity to DC.

Florence- was really bored by all the same, religious art in the famous museums.

+1

NJ beaches are a comparable distance and a million times nicer.

+totally agree with this. NJ beaches are so much nicer.

Favorite NJ beach?

Ocean City, NJ and Avalon are lovely. We never go to the DE/MD beaches anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lanai, Hawaii
Anguilla
Atlantis

You hated Anguilla? REALLY? WHY? Was your hotel bad?

I stayed at Cap Juluca and it was amazing.

NP. I was not expecting to see Anguilla on this list either! Anguilla was one of my favorite vacations ever, and I definitely don't have the $$ to stay at Cap Juluca.

+1 I adored Anguilla. One of the most beautiful, immaculate white beaches I've ever seen. Not overdeveloped, but some fantastic small restaurants and cafes. We're dying to return.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Cape Cod
Martha's Vineyard
Savannah
Boston
Jamaica
Belgium

They are all underwhelming

Cape cod? Martha’s Vineyard? Boston? You weren’t going to the right places in those locations.

I agree with Cape Cod and MV.

You should have taken the extra effort to go to Nantucket. An altogether different experience.

Only if you rent farther out on Nantucket. Trying to get to the overcrowded, overpriced town center is a misery of enormous SUVs barreling down tiny roads. It used to be so lovely, remote, and low key, now is overcrowded and much more like the Hamptons socially.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Las Vegas
Savannah, Ga
Myrtle Beach
Bali-Is a tourist trap.

Oh no, Bali! That was on my bucket list...

the pp is probably referring to Kuta beach. The entire island isn't like that.

[Anonymous]

For those underwhelmed by Key West, why didn't you like it?

[Anonymous]

NYC, expensive and crowded. no trees.

[Anonymous]

Another Hawaii disappointment.

Everything is so ... manufactured. The culture, activities, etc. it’s like a big Disneyland that’s just a little prettier. The nature was pretty, but not as incredible as I expected with a few notable exceptions. Too many tourists, too many resorts, and I always look for places off the beaten path.

Compared to places with stunning marine life (Fiji, Galapagos, Polynesia) it places with nice beaches or views (Zanzibar, Pemba island, Maldives, certain parts of Thailand), or compared to places with culture (Italy, France, Bangkok) or history (siem reap, Vietnam, most anywhere in Europe) or nice cities (Paris, Rome, Capetown, Quito, etc) it seemed like it it was short in all dimensions.