Another vote for Bali here. We stayed in the mountains in Ubud but no matter we went, traffic was horrendous (and this was the “low” season) and everything was so, so touristy. Our hotel was nice but once leaving felt everything was very run down. Worst part were the lowlife burned out hippies that run rampant all over!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Outer Banks. SO BORING.

+1

That’s the whole point of going there - to do nothing. If you want nightlife, museums, or fine dining go somewhere else. The Outer Banks are for relaxation - hanging out on the beach with a good book, taking long walks, spending time with family. You don’t go there to “do stuff”, you go there so you don’t have to do anything!

Agree. That's why we love Hatteras, there isn't much to do. A little beach time, sea kayaking, some fishing, books, a drink on the deck watching the sunset...sounds good to me.

It makes me sad that Rome is on people's list. Rome is someplace I could live long-term.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bali, Indonesia. Some of it was very trashy. Amazingly trashy.

This is mine. I feel unbelievably privileged to be able to say it, like what a-hole complains about Bali?! FWIW I had lived in Asia for a long time (various parts) so this would be akin to taking a 5 day trip to FL from here, so that is part of the privilege I suppose.

And I didn't have a miserable time or anything, I was on holiday and it was fun and relaxing. I was all over the country, not just one part. It just ranked so low compared to a lot of other places in Asia. Bali is full of tourists who are either bad stereotypes of tourists to poorer but beautiful countries to party like Russian EDM-loving 20 year old d-bags OR tourists who think they are an "authentic traveller" and so much above and different than other (white) people visiting because #namaste, and the like. LOL. If you are into the surfing culture/ scene it can be pretty awesome.

Scenery is beautiful but not really unique to many other islands and areas of SE Asia.

I'm the one who posted about Bali that you responded to. To be fair, my experience was comparable to yours. I didn't have a bad time. We were living in Dubai and Bali is a cheap flight from Dubai. Parts of Bali (Kuta especially) was like the most trashy part of Ocean City on steroids with a large dose of prostitutes thrown in, all flirting with redneck Australians. Traffic was bad everywhere on the island. The Russians were peculiar, the women all dressed like cheap tarts and constantly posing in the most sexual way for photos by their boyfriends. There are no great beaches on Bali as it's almost all rocky. And I completely agree with you about the young hipster/hippy backpackers with their dreds and kaffir scarves and hand-rolled cigarettes who pretend they're "authentic travellers" But there were beautiful spots on Bali, glorious sunsets and the water itself is gorgeous and the food was pretty good. It just wasn't this paradise sold to you. We found other parts of SE Asia more enjoyable.

I have a feeling you and I would have made good expat buddies

NO matter where you go, you have to provide your own enjoyment. You have to choose to enjoy it for what it is.

no matter where you go, there you are.

Belgium.
Very boring, bad food, rude people.

Costa Brava
Beaches are meh

Phuket
Beach is meh there too

Los Angeles
The sprawl and not a pretty city at all

Disney world! I am an amusement park enthusiast and DW does not impress me. I expect crowds, heat, long lines, and bad food. That didn’t bother me. We took our girls when they were little and in princess mode. Thought it would have that Disney magical feel. It just didn’t. We had to wait in line for hours to meet princesses and other characters. The rides for little kids are just various round and round rides. We went again when the kids were older. Most of the rides are just...meh. Better rides by far at Cedar Fair parks. Fast passes helped with wait times but it makes for a very rushed and contrived experience. It is way too complicated and time consuming trying to make time to visit each park. I like Disneyland/California Adventure much better. They have versions of the best DW rides in a much smaller space. So much more charm.

San Antonio was another disappointment. We went over winter break so maybe I would have liked it better in the summer. The river walk was nice enough, but surprisingly lacked shopping and dining options along it. I was so sad to see that the Alamo is surrounded by tourist trash like Ripley’s and wax museum. We did an observation tower. It was crazy expensive and the view was underwhelming. There was a drive-through safari nearby that was fun though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rehoboth does have good food

We didn’t love Key West or any of the Keys really except maybe Longboat Key.

Did love France, Italy, Switzerland, Charleston SC. Disney was fine, did not love SF and did not love Seattle at all.

Key West was probably one of our worst couple vacations. There are no nice hotels, the beaches are terrible in comparison to the islands and mainland Florida and it's full of drunken boomers. There was 1-2 cute restaurants in town but overall it's pretty hokey.

We loved Key West! We stayed in a fabulous hotel and had great food. Lots to do if you are active and love to snorkel and kayak and several interesting museum type places. The beaches are not as nice. But I loved the people and the laid back atmosphere and would go back in a heartbeat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Outer Banks. SO BORING.

+1

That’s the whole point of going there - to do nothing. If you want nightlife, museums, or fine dining go somewhere else. The Outer Banks are for relaxation - hanging out on the beach with a good book, taking long walks, spending time with family. You don’t go there to “do stuff”, you go there so you don’t have to do anything!

Anonymous wrote:Rehoboth does have good food

We didn’t love Key West or any of the Keys really except maybe Longboat Key.

Did love France, Italy, Switzerland, Charleston SC. Disney was fine, did not love SF and did not love Seattle at all.

Longboat Key is a very nice area, however it is not by any measure one of THE Keys.
It’s almost 300 miles from Key Largo and almost 400 miles from Key West.

Anonymous wrote:Rehoboth does have good food

We didn’t love Key West or any of the Keys really except maybe Longboat Key.

Did love France, Italy, Switzerland, Charleston SC. Disney was fine, did not love SF and did not love Seattle at all.

Key West was probably one of our worst couple vacations. There are no nice hotels, the beaches are terrible in comparison to the islands and mainland Florida and it's full of drunken boomers. There was 1-2 cute restaurants in town but overall it's pretty hokey.

Anonymous wrote:South of the Border

Yeah, i too had high hopes for South of the Border. After all the billboards on I-95, it was such a let-down.

Hawaii..... utterly unremarkable. Visited Lanai and Kauai and it was all just meh. SE Asia has much nicer beaches, better hotels and far more interesting culture. The Caribbean is so much closer if all you’re looking for is a lovely beach.

South of the Border

Anonymous wrote:Sanibel Island.

+1. Such a dump.