Vacation spots your friends talked up but you hated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also thought Hawaii was just ok. for the amount of time it took to get there, I really wanted everything to be just over the top amazing, and while it was all really nice, I was a little underwhelmed.

+100. And the cost of everything! Outrageous. The Caribbean is way better, closer, more beautiful and less expensive.

I've been to Hawaii twice and I agree that while it's lovely, coming from the East coast it doesn't seem worth it vs. the Caribbean. The first time I went (to Maui) it was when I lived in LA. There, going to Hawaii is like going to FL from DC. Nice but not amazing. Only went the 2nd time, now that I live in DC, because DH really wanted to go. We had a great trip (the Big Island) but it's really not worth the travel time to me.

Does the Caribbean have hiking to match the hiking in Kauai, Maui or the Big Island?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:London.

Expensive and creepy. There were parts in London where I saw no sign English. Only Arabic. Women going around covered head to toes in black fabric (niqab). People were hostile (we were dressed Western-style). It was super expensive and the weather was depressing. Never again.

Agree completely. We used to love going to London. Not anymore.

I'm open minded and progressive and love to travel. I've been going to London regularly since the early 1980s and even lived there for a few years. London has changed so much especially in the last 10 years and not always for the better. It's just not English any more and that's the sad part. The current diversity has advantages and can be enjoyable and dining is much better, thankfully, but it's lost a lot of what made it unique and it's just another big international city. And it's so very odd to see heavily conservative Muslims wandering around London. And the flip side is that large parts of central London is effectively a ghetto not for the rich, but the very, very superrich. It used to be my favorite city but now I have little interest in seeing London beyond revisiting old friends and catching a show or exhibition.

THIS, completely. It's not the same city anymore, which is very sad.

Hopefully Britxit will help restore what 10 years of unrestricted immigration created.

+1
Though I fear the damage has already been done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I do. I never understand people who rave about NYC. Chicago? Sure. Boston? Yep. But NYC depresses the hell out of me.

NYC makes me feel claustrophobic. But, we'll be going for a couple days this summer because my teens want to see it. Saving grace is that I love Broadway shows. After a couple days there we'll head on to Boston, which I love.

I feel exactly the same way! We've taken the kids to NYC because there are some cool sights to see and of course we want them to experience it. Seeing shows is always great fun. But if it weren't for the kids, there's no way I'd spend any more time there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:London.

Expensive and creepy. There were parts in London where I saw no sign English. Only Arabic. Women going around covered head to toes in black fabric (niqab). People were hostile (we were dressed Western-style). It was super expensive and the weather was depressing. Never again.

Agree completely. We used to love going to London. Not anymore.

I'm open minded and progressive and love to travel. I've been going to London regularly since the early 1980s and even lived there for a few years. London has changed so much especially in the last 10 years and not always for the better. It's just not English any more and that's the sad part. The current diversity has advantages and can be enjoyable and dining is much better, thankfully, but it's lost a lot of what made it unique and it's just another big international city. And it's so very odd to see heavily conservative Muslims wandering around London. And the flip side is that large parts of central London is effectively a ghetto not for the rich, but the very, very superrich. It used to be my favorite city but now I have little interest in seeing London beyond revisiting old friends and catching a show or exhibition.

THIS, completely. It's not the same city anymore, which is very sad.

Hopefully Britxit will help restore what 10 years of unrestricted immigration created.

Wow, I’m surprised. It’s probably been 12 years since I’ve been there. I thought it would be a fun place for my kids first international trip. I guess not? This makes me sad. I had a great time visiting there, although food was overpriced and average at best when I was last there.

The last time we were there was 2012 and everything the PP said was true then. I lived in London as a child and it isn't even close to the same city, unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also thought Hawaii was just ok. for the amount of time it took to get there, I really wanted everything to be just over the top amazing, and while it was all really nice, I was a little underwhelmed.

+100. And the cost of everything! Outrageous. The Caribbean is way better, closer, more beautiful and less expensive.

I've been to Hawaii twice and I agree that while it's lovely, coming from the East coast it doesn't seem worth it vs. the Caribbean. The first time I went (to Maui) it was when I lived in LA. There, going to Hawaii is like going to FL from DC. Nice but not amazing. Only went the 2nd time, now that I live in DC, because DH really wanted to go. We had a great trip (the Big Island) but it's really not worth the travel time to me.

Does the Caribbean have hiking to match the hiking in Kauai, Maui or the Big Island?

The hiking may not be as steep or dramatic as Hawaii, but the Caribbean absolutely has some great hiking. And I agree with PP - Hawaii is not the end-all, be-all.
https://travel.usnews.com/features/6-top-caribbean-islands-for-outdoor-enthusiasts
https://www.caribjournal.com/2013/11/15/great-caribbean-hiking-destinations/#
https://www.islands.com/best-hikes-caribbean

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Captiva Island, specifically South Seas resort. It was just OK and it was also ALL white, no diversity. All of Sanibel/Captiva was. Never again.

Huh- I was just considering this for Spring Break? Details?

Lol, I just booked this for spring break after reading reviews here and elsewhere. And we’re AA—lucky us.

I’ve been to Captiva (though not Seven Seas) and it beautiful. I am white but liberal and did not encounter any rude or openly racist vacationers. In fact, most were from Wisconsin or Minnesota or other midwestern cold places and they couldn’t have been nicer.

My extended family is white, southern, and fairly conservative. We're also friendly, non-racist vacationers who go to Sanibel/Captiva---we're pretty nice, too!

[Anonymous]

I think a PP is accurate when she says it is all about research/expectations. If a friend came back raving about a trip, ask specifically what they liked and then do some research to determine if it matches your interests/needs. So many of these bad trips could’ve been avoided by reading a travel forum like TripAdvisor for 10 minutes. Click the bad reviews first and see if you can overlook those issues or if they are deal breakers for you.

Also, as someone who has traveled extensively since i was a child (I’m in my mid-40s now with my own children), there is a night and day difference between traveling when you are broke vs when you have a lot of money. As a child, if we went to Disney, we stayed in a Days Inn and ate at Shoneys because kids ate free on certain nights. Thus, I hated Disney. Now, very thankfully, our family has the means to stay in 5 star hotels and eat at the best restaurants in the world. Which is not to say you have to spend a fortune to have a nice time - a beautiful sunset is free anywhere in the world! But if you are picking hotels and restaurants based upon cheapness, then yes, they will likely be awful.

[Anonymous]

I was in London in 2015 and could not disagree more with the other posters — it is diverse, yes, but I feel like it’s been diverse for decades. It still felt like the London I knew and loved in 2004. You can still go to a pub and drink with friendly locals, they still serve Pimms cups, the museums and cathedrals and architecture are all unchanged. Maybe there are certain areas that aren’t as Londony, but I certainly didn’t encounter any of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was in London in 2015 and could not disagree more with the other posters — it is diverse, yes, but I feel like it’s been diverse for decades. It still felt like the London I knew and loved in 2004. You can still go to a pub and drink with friendly locals, they still serve Pimms cups, the museums and cathedrals and architecture are all unchanged. Maybe there are certain areas that aren’t as Londony, but I certainly didn’t encounter any of them.

The wealthy areas have become playgrounds for the mega super rich. Knightsbridge/Belgravia for example is all Arab and Russian oligarchs. It does not feel English.

[Anonymous]

I cannot believe all that hate for London on this thread! I went for the first time last year and loved it. It is actually my favorite city now.

[Anonymous]

I've been going to London regularly since the early 1980s and even lived there for a few years. London has changed so much especially in the last 10 years and not always for the better. It's just not English any more and that's the sad part

Posts like this that long for the good old days of anyplace raise an eyebrow. What exactly does it mean to be English and what about London isn't English anymore?

[Anonymous]

I was in London in 2015. It was my first time so my comments have nothing to do with “how it’s changed”...just more so the fact I wasn’t “wow-ed” by it like I was many other places and cities in Europe (Paris, pretty much all of Spain, Austria etc.) Don’t get me wrong, I had a pleasant time but of all the places I could go to in Europe again...London would be at the bottom of the list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I've been going to London regularly since the early 1980s and even lived there for a few years. London has changed so much especially in the last 10 years and not always for the better. It's just not English any more and that's the sad part

Posts like this that long for the good old days of anyplace raise an eyebrow. What exactly does it mean to be English and what about London isn't English anymore?

They don't want to see any People of Color.

When I lived there in the late 90s through early 00s it was a very diverse, international city as it has been for hundreds of years.

[Anonymous]

Hated Hawaii. Went to Kona with DH's family so no choice in destination or hotels. Had to drive 30 minutes to get to a beach, which didn't have parking available most days. I didn't quite understand that we were traveling thousands of miles to go to Hawaii and I'd get to stick my toes in the ocean once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Captiva Island, specifically South Seas resort. It was just OK and it was also ALL white, no diversity. All of Sanibel/Captiva was. Never again.

Huh- I was just considering this for Spring Break? Details?

Lol, I just booked this for spring break after reading reviews here and elsewhere. And we’re AA—lucky us.

I’ve been to Captiva (though not Seven Seas) and it beautiful. I am white but liberal and did not encounter any rude or openly racist vacationers. In fact, most were from Wisconsin or Minnesota or other midwestern cold places and they couldn’t have been nicer.

My extended family is white, southern, and fairly conservative. We're also friendly, non-racist vacationers who go to Sanibel/Captiva---we're pretty nice, too!

+1