Copenhagen. The people are incredibly unfriendly, to the point that you must NEVER EVER speak to them, even if you need them to slide over on the train so you can sit, it's considered rude. If you speak above a whisper or are wearing something with color on it, people stare at you. I'm not a loud person by nature (people constantly tell me I mumble) but I felt like I really stood out there, between my white coat and normal/quiet speaking voice.

Loved Paris though. I didn't find it dirty or crime-ridden. Went there a few years ago. I thought the people were very friendly, and everyone was patient with my attempts to speak French, which usually came out part Spanish part English part horribly pronounced French.

In India I loved the food, the temples, the decorative arts, and the markets. I also agree with the observation that it is exhausting to constantly fend off people trying to sell you something or take you shopping (as opposed to your desired destination).

The only place I really dislike is Arizona. In Phoenix, the food is horrible, there are strip malls everywhere, and there are no trees to hide anything unsightly. In Tuscon, the views are nice, but that pretty much where it ends. Add Joe Arpaio to that, and it's a pointless destination.

Key West. It as just gross.

Jamaica was also very disappointing outside of our resort. But I am much more of a latin America person than a carribean person.

Barcelona. It was beautiful, but I really didn't like the vibe. I much prefer Madrid.

Hoi An, Vietnam was a tourist trap, but I loved Hanoi, Halong Bay and Saigon. I went into it knowing some of the difficulties though and planned in advance. It is nowhere near as pleasant of a country to travel within as Thailand.

Amsterdam is amazing.

Oahu.

Maybe it was the contrast after being on Kauai for a week, but Honolulu/Waikiki was just too much city--it felt like we weren't on vacation any more. We should have done that part of the trip first. We went because I wanted to see Pearl Harbor and I'm glad we did the trip, but will stick with the other islands next time.

For the Paris posters--is this a recent thing? I loved it when I was there but it's been over a decade.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The San Francisco thread got me thinking. What other places have you travled that were disappointing? We traveled to Paris with friends recently and they were disgusted by the crime and filth there. They said it was nothing like they expected and would never go back. On edge the entire time thanks to crowds and agressive pick pockets.

I never heard of anyone being disappointed by Paris.

Have you actually been to Paris? I can see it not living up to the hype for some people. I love it, but to each their own.

Anonymous wrote:The San Francisco thread got me thinking. What other places have you travled that were disappointing? We traveled to Paris with friends recently and they were disgusted by the crime and filth there. They said it was nothing like they expected and would never go back. On edge the entire time thanks to crowds and agressive pick pockets.

I never heard of anyone being disappointed by Paris.

Lebanon and Israel in the 90s. Just not up to all the hype at all.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Much more disappointed in PR than in Grand Cayman.

PR feels more like a Latin American country than a "Caribbean island paradise." Lots of crowds, traffic, high rises, etc. Old San Juan is kind of charming, neat to spend a day there...but, otherwise, eh.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Vieques in PR!

Egypt.

I went there with my family just a few month before the Arab Spring. Was so disappointed by the pyramids - many of the painting have been 'restored' by essentially repainting them. Next to the pyramids they offer camel rides (for $50/person for a 10 min ride) with the saddest, abused camels you've ever seen. The airline (I think Egypt Air) tried to scam us when we arrived at the airport for a domestic flight by claiming they couldn't find our ticket - hinting that they were expecting a bribe - and when we were adamant that we had already paid and showed them our confirmation and receipt, refused to acknowledge it and made us buy new ticket for the next day (but still charged us for the original tickets). As a woman, I was completely ignored by taxi drivers, restaurant staff, etc. And EVERYWHERE we went we were asked for 'baksheesh' for the smallest thing - such as a security guard telling us 'American? President Obama,' and expecting a payment for knowing this fact.

Anonymous wrote:I enjoyed both India and Vietnam.

Food is great in both places. I find Indians to be very friendly towards Americans. Vietnamese were different. Not unfriendly just not sympathetic when you could not communicate with them. I am visiting their country so who can blame them.

While I enjoyed Curacao in many ways, the rocky beaches were a bit disappointing.

I didn't like how the Vietnamese would follow you down the street and sometimes grab your arm when you didn't want to buy something.

In neighboring countries they say 'okay, maybe later' as soon as you say 'no thanks'.

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.

Hilton Head Island

I enjoyed both India and Vietnam.

Food is great in both places. I find Indians to be very friendly towards Americans. Vietnamese were different. Not unfriendly just not sympathetic when you could not communicate with them. I am visiting their country so who can blame them.

While I enjoyed Curacao in many ways, the rocky beaches were a bit disappointing.

Rio. I think partly we just got unlucky with weather (so couldn't really appreciate the natural beauty) but it was smelly (can't imagine it in peak heat) and we encountered a lot of rude people and it was expensive. It wasn't all bad or anything, but I feel no need to ever go back and I liked pretty much everywhere else we went on that trip (other parts of Brazil and other S. American countries) better.