Cambodia. I hated it. So much poverty and so dirty and gritty. Seems like a place people either love or hate. After having lived in Southeast Asia I can't see why you would choose anywhere in Cambodia over say, Vietnam, Thailand or Malaysia.

+1 on Disney. Why.

I did love Hawaii - went to the Big Island. So cool. I find that the less specific expectations I create around a place or visit, the better and less disappointing a visit is. I also love any place hot so yea.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i bet the people saying Hawaii didn't go to Kauai.

Kauai is gorgeous and has some very chill areas, but it isn’t exactly traffic jam free. Getting from one end of the island to the other with only one road is kind of a nightmare. And if you’ve come all that way, who doesn’t want to see both Hanalei and Waimea canyon.

We wert to Kauai and Lanai and both were just fine, but no great. The 4S on Lanai was nice but nothing special. We did the helicopter charter on Kauai and toured most of the island and again it was nice but for a few hours more air travel I could have been in Southeast Asia which is just so much nicer and culturally more interesting. The beaches were fine but for a lot shorter flight I could have just as easily gone to one my favorite islands in the carribean.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i bet the people saying Hawaii didn't go to Kauai.

Kauai is gorgeous and has some very chill areas, but it isn’t exactly traffic jam free. Getting from one end of the island to the other with only one road is kind of a nightmare. And if you’ve come all that way, who doesn’t want to see both Hanalei and Waimea canyon.

I found the Napali Coast and Waimea Canyon kind of magical. I loved Kauai.

I loved savannah, probably a favorite city of the ones I visited in the US.

I was expecting to like Charleston better after visiting Savannah, based on all the reviews. I felt underwhelmed.

Can’t think of a whole city or country that didn’t live up to my expectations. But can think of 2 specific sites that I was very disappointed with: the Mona Lisa, I was expecting a uuuuuuge painting, so was shocked at how tiny it was. And the coliseum, I thought it was better preserved like the outer walls, so it was very disappointing to enter and see that there is really nothing preserved on the inside.

Can you limit this to cities or neighborhoods? PP that didn’t like Costa Rica, you have to be specific!

I wasn’t impressed with Asheville but I didn’t say I don’t like the US.

Punta Cana... We had miserable, monsoon-type weather and the humidity was overwhelming. There were sickly cats everywhere and I had a difficult time escaping my privilege guilt.

Martha’s Vineyard. I can see the appeal if you grew up going there but I just thought it was overrated. It was chilly (late June), the beaches aren’t particularly nice, and there was lots of driving and traffic. There are some cute towns with shopping and restaurants but most vacation spots have that. On a positive note, the people were super nice.

Disney World
San Diego- scooters all over the sidewalks… homeless people everywhere
La Jolla is nicer… but not worth flying out to the west coast.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I loved Savannah, New Orleans, and Paris. Another city people are often let down by that I loved was Venice.

Places that didn't live up to expectations include Rome, Bali, Varanasi, and Chicago.

I've been to and loved all these places except Savannah (never been).

I agree with PP who said Greece. Athens was so gritty and dirty.

People who don't like Athens have no soul.

I’d say the same about those who don’t like New Orleans.

I can understand the sentiment if they never left the French Quarter, but then again I can't understand being such a rube you'd take a trip somewhere and never leave the tiny tourist area.

The only place I can really think of is New Orleans, nowhere ear lived up to my preconceptions. Although I did love the garden district.

It’s more fun to talk about places you had 0 expectations of that ended up being really fun. But there’s already been threads on that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's informative how many people are saying Savannah. I haven't been since I was a kid and we were thinking of doing a short trip there but now I'm thinking no.

I loved it but I'm Southern and I like the spooky Southern Gothic thing. Plus the food was amazing!

Savannah was my go to during Covid. We found an awesome hotel with a rooftop pool and stayed there 4 times when everyone else was hiding out in their homes and having groceries delivered. I loved it. Maybe when everything gets back to normal I won't appreciate it as much?

The last time I went to Savannah was a couple of years before COVID and I was incredibly surprised to find that it was basically a ghost town. Like literally nobody on the streets, nobody in the bars, just nobody anywhere. I did go in the off season but it wasn't the dead of winter or anything, still t shirt weather. It was so weird, every bar I went to there was either nobody or just one or two other people there. I've never seen anywhere so empty, especially not a supposed tourist town.

Anonymous wrote:i bet the people saying Hawaii didn't go to Kauai.

Kauai is gorgeous and has some very chill areas, but it isn’t exactly traffic jam free. Getting from one end of the island to the other with only one road is kind of a nightmare. And if you’ve come all that way, who doesn’t want to see both Hanalei and Waimea canyon.

I can’t say I loved the Outer Banks. It’s such a popular vacation spot in this area but I was surprised at how dirty and run down it felt. Was also expecting better restaurant options—nothing fancy, just better quality. By the end of the week I was bored and ready to go home. I can see it I guess if you really love just sitting on the beach all day and cooking at your rental.

I've enjoyed and easily found much to love and appreciate pretty much everywhere I have gone, including places on this list such as Pittsburgh, Savannah, Charleston, New Orleans, Key West, etc. I haven't traveled much out of the country, and feel like some traveling has been wasted on people who don't know how to do it.

My take on Paris syndrome (I haven't been to Paris), is that these people expected a Disney version of Paris.

I don't hate Disney, but not dying to go back and wouldn't want to spend limited money on that. The one travel experience I really hated was a cruise. Can't even tell you where it went (some Caribbean destinations), the whole experience was horrible.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's informative how many people are saying Savannah. I haven't been since I was a kid and we were thinking of doing a short trip there but now I'm thinking no.

I loved it but I'm Southern and I like the spooky Southern Gothic thing. Plus the food was amazing!

Savannah was my go to during Covid. We found an awesome hotel with a rooftop pool and stayed there 4 times when everyone else was hiding out in their homes and having groceries delivered. I loved it. Maybe when everything gets back to normal I won't appreciate it as much?