Which travel destination most surprised or disappointed you?

[Moksha]

Have you ever been somewhere that was a huge letdown? I mean places where reality didn’t live up to the promise?

For me it was Ireland. I spent ten days there and didn’t enjoy it at all.

- Low grey sky every single day. Didn’t see a glimpse of blue, let alone any sunshine. (To be fair, nowhere looks nice in that kind of weather.)

- Bleak, grey, windswept landscape (not helped by grey sky and drizzle).

- Only place I have ever felt disliked because of my nationality/accent. The vast majority of Irish people were friendly (much friendlier than they are here in Essex!), but there is definitely an undercurrent of dislike/hostility to the Brits. It’s not widespread, but it is there.

- Not much to do. I was very disappointed with Dublin. I much prefer London, Manchester and Edinburgh. In fact, I would rather visit Oxford, Cambridge, Bath or York than return to Dublin.

It baffles me that so many Brits have a thing about Ireland. I get it if your family are Irish. Other than that, it just doesn’t seem worth the effort. If I’m going to go through the hassle of airports and flying, it’s going to be somewhere warm and sunny. I already live on a grey island!

[SpectralOwls]

OMG the timing of this thread is hilarious!!! I just posted a rant in the "how are you feeling" thread about this very subject, as I am actually visiting here right now LOL.

I'll just write it in here: The United States.

Sure, the natural aspect is beautiful, but politically it's an abomination.

As soon as I landed here, yet another story of a massive school shooting goes up on the news. After the most recent one being in a grocery store. I don't know how international travelers can ever feel safe here? Even as an American Expat, it's scary. I had bad agoraphobia living here because it's so unsafe.

And then healthcare - what happens if you get hurt? You should have traveler's insurance, but what happens if the insurer tries to weasel out of paying? Scary thought having to deal with them.

Needlessly expensive. The only thing you'll find to be much cheaper is gas prices. Food, medicine, cell service, various other things, are very costly. I have noticed the difference in these costs and it's MAJOR - I don't know how people keep on going really?

To watch the steady decline in quality of life is really depressing honestly. I think there are much better places to travel to, and honestly I never want to come back to the states... Even though I have friends and family here.

[Dougella]

To be fair I think Irish people have a few reasons not to be too keen on us Brits.

[biscuits]

Ummmm. I’m not a well travelled person at all. Of the three other countries that I’ve visited none of them have disappointed me at all.

Spain was incredible. Portugal was incredible. France was too. I’d have a good time anywhere because of the experience of a different culture, cuisine, climate, landscape. Lots to see and do.

The only place that disappointed me was Stone Henge. It was £22 to get in. When we saw the price we left the car park!

I’d love to visit Ireland. Did you go at a bad time of year, weather-wise?

[Your Mum]

Originally Posted by Moksha

Have you ever been somewhere that was a huge letdown? I mean places where reality didn’t live up to the promise?

For me it was Ireland. I spent ten days there and didn’t enjoy it at all.

- Low grey sky every single day. Didn’t see a glimpse of blue, let alone any sunshine. (To be fair, nowhere looks nice in that kind of weather.)

- Bleak, grey, windswept landscape (not helped by grey sky and drizzle).

- Only place I have ever felt disliked because of my nationality/accent. The vast majority of Irish people were friendly (much friendlier than they are here in Essex!), but there is definitely an undercurrent of dislike/hostility to the Brits. It’s not widespread, but it is there.

- Not much to do. I was very disappointed with Dublin. I much prefer London, Manchester and Edinburgh. In fact, I would rather visit Oxford, Cambridge, Bath or York than return to Dublin.

It baffles me that so many Brits have a thing about Ireland. I get it if your family are Irish. Other than that, it just doesn’t seem worth the effort. If I’m going to go through the hassle of airports and flying, it’s going to be somewhere warm and sunny. I already live on a grey island!

Weather-wise, I'm not sure what you were expecting. It's a few hundred kilometres west of the UK, so it's never (barring the odd heatwave) going to compete with a Mediterranean holiday. And the landscape along the east of the country is (understandably) not dissimilar from that of the west of the UK, so I can imagine that being a disappointment for anyone expecting anything different.

Also, the place is full of Brits - at the time of the last census, there were over 100,000 of them. They're the second-largest non-Irish group (after the Poles) in the country - and that doesn't include all the Irish people, like my father, who were born in the UK. Genuine anti-English sentiment is extremely rare - and usually accompanied by a huge amount of hypocrisy, because the very same people almost always follow an English football team and watch British television channels.

With regard to Dublin - it's a small city, aesthetically not dissimilar to a similar-sized British city. There are loads of interesting things to do and see, but finding them involves effort. The best things are always off the beaten path. It's too easy to pick up a tourist brochure and visit Temple Bar, the National Gallery, the History Museum and (urgh) the fucking Guinness Storehouse. There's better, more unique, stuff out there, like the James Joyce Cultural Centre, the Irish-Jewish Museum, the Hugh Lane Gallery, the Ghost Bus Tour. Or if you've read Ulysses, visit all the locations featured in the book.


The only destination that disappointed me was London, because I simply didn't book a long enough trip to fully appreciate it and see all the things I wanted to. It was all very rushed. A return trip is on my to-do list, now that the pandemic is hopefully over.

[limey123]

Originally Posted by SpectralOwls

I'll just write it in here: The United States.

Having lived there for quite many years, I'll second this. Defo not the promised land (not for me, anyway).

[Jen.]

Poland, Slovakia and Czechia were probably the worst due to experiences of racism. I did consider possibly giving Poland another chance in the future since my local airport goes to quite a few places there, but have decided not to bother. There are too many other places to see for the first time and I don't think I'd miss much by never going there again, there was nothing that really interested me about it anyway. Slovakia was the worst of those three, I've never felt such a hostile environment as there and couldn't wait to leave.

Portugal. I've been three times now and while it is okay for the first couple of days, it is quite a run-down and depressing place in general and for me their cuisine is probably one of the worst on the planet (even more so than the three places listed above, even worse than British). I know they're probably sick of living in Spain's shadow, but when your one neighbour is far more enjoyable and interesting to visit I don't think many people can help thinking of them in that way, so it doesn't change anything.

Australia - kind of nothingy, with a really weird and difficult to describe atmosphere. Almost like they have Stockholm syndrome or something, or are living in the village from The Prisoner, as if everyone knows it's awful but just don't want to admit it, or occasionally fiercely defend it. I know it's quite a diverse place, but it's the only diverse place I've ever been where conformity seems to be expected. I don't know why so many British people seem to have an obsession with visiting there or moving there. I was expecting it to be disappointing, but not quite to that extent.

I probably dislike London most of all, but that isn't really a "travel destination" since I go there a few times a year to visit my sister and I went there quite a bit as a teenager since I lived just outside it. I know people say it's more like lots of cities combined or whatever and to not judge the whole thing based on certain areas, but I've never been to a part that I didn't dislike. It's probably mostly the number of people, but I've been to places that are even more densely populated that weren't anywhere near as annoying to be in.

[genovese]

Originally Posted by Moksha

- Only place I have ever felt disliked because of my nationality/accent.

You lucky lucky

[neilm]

Originally Posted by Moksha

Have you ever been somewhere that was a huge letdown? I mean places where reality didn’t live up to the promise?

For me it was Ireland. I spent ten days there and didn’t enjoy it at all.

- Low grey sky every single day. Didn’t see a glimpse of blue, let alone any sunshine. (To be fair, nowhere looks nice in that kind of weather.)

- Bleak, grey, windswept landscape (not helped by grey sky and drizzle).

- Only place I have ever felt disliked because of my nationality/accent. The vast majority of Irish people were friendly (much friendlier than they are here in Essex!), but there is definitely an undercurrent of dislike/hostility to the Brits. It’s not widespread, but it is there.

- Not much to do. I was very disappointed with Dublin. I much prefer London, Manchester and Edinburgh. In fact, I would rather visit Oxford, Cambridge, Bath or York than return to Dublin.

It baffles me that so many Brits have a thing about Ireland. I get it if your family are Irish. Other than that, it just doesn’t seem worth the effort. If I’m going to go through the hassle of airports and flying, it’s going to be somewhere warm and sunny. I already live on a grey island!

Interesting, I spent a couple of weeks in Dublin and the surrounding area. and it was better than I expected. Found most folk there were friendly, probably more so than where I live. A couple of local (rather small) teenagers did make a half hearted attempt at mugging me one night, but I gave them some Scots 'Verbals' and raised my fists and they walked away! It was so pathetic it was actually funny. But apart from that everything was fine

Need to point out though that the weather was great, mostly sunny (and only 1 wet day out the 14). Very un Irish like weather really.

I personally think that decent weather pretty much makes or breaks a holiday. Doesnt need to be hot, but as long as its mild/reasonably warm and doesnt rain much, then thats what matters for me.

There again probably anywhere on earth gets milder summers than Aberdeen (where I live) so thats not too difficult to find!!

[Sunrise]

Originally Posted by Lee S

Anyone else never been out of the UK?

I've never been out of the UK, although I've been to all of the Channel Islands which are French-ish. Apart from that I've only been to England and Wales (have lived in both). Furthest north I've been is Blackpool. I've only been to London once and the only cities I've visited more than a handful of times are Leicester and Coventry.

I'm not sure what place disappointed me the most. Most of the places I haven't liked I had very low expectations of to being with. I've always found interesting stuff to do in cities. Blackpool was probably the biggest disappointment actually, not my cup of tea at all and the most exciting part of the trip was seeing a few fairy lights.

[Tembo]

I’ve been lucky to travel around a large part of Europe. I’ve been impressed with everywhere I’ve been. It’s been a really positive learning experience. There are a lot of things in continental Europe which we could really learn from (there are definitely things the UK do better than the continent, but largely I think the quality of life is better there in my opinion).

Before travelling to Eastern Europe, I was a bit nervous. Pretty much all I’d heard of Eastern Europe was negative things probably originating from the Daily Mail. But I’ve been really impressed, and felt far more safer than in cities of the UK (and, statistically speaking, Eastern Europe is far safer than Western Europe). People have been genuinely really friendly. Far more development than I imagined too (as a teenager, I thought of Eastern Europe as very poor, full of criminals, and everyone miserable - of course, that’s utter rubbish, largely). I really enjoyed Poland, Czechia, Bulgaria and Romania (ok, Poland and Czechia are Central Europe). I’ve also been to all three Baltic states, which were also really impressive.

Serbia was also a surprise. Despite all the bomb damage from the NATO bombings in 1999 still evident, it’s really more developed than I thought and some of it felt like Shoreditch Reading about Serbia, it’s a bit of a dodgy country, but there’s certainly a element of their society which rejects that.

The only place I’ve actually hated and felt incredibly unsafe was Paris. I genuinely couldn’t wait to leave. Around almost every corner was someone trying to con me, mug me, or just want to harass me. Trying to leave Metro stations, people were literally grabbing me trying to get something, in broad daylight. I’ve never really experienced that anywhere in my other travels (ok, well part from a gang in a park in Leipzig, Germany). I’d advise anyone just not to go to Paris - go to somewhere else in France!
I’ve grown up near London, and visited the city hundreds of times including the apparently “dodgy” parts, but I’ve never experienced anything there like I have in Paris.

[neilm]

Originally Posted by Tembo

The only place I’ve actually hated and felt incredibly unsafe was Paris. I genuinely couldn’t wait to leave. Around almost every corner was someone trying to con me, mug me, or just want to harass me. Trying to leave Metro stations, people were literally grabbing me trying to get something, in broad daylight. I’ve never really experienced that anywhere in my other travels (ok, well part from a gang in a park in Leipzig, Germany). I’d advise anyone just not to go to Paris - go to somewhere else in France!
I’ve grown up near London, and visited the city hundreds of times including the apparently “dodgy” parts, but I’ve never experienced anything there like I have in Paris.

I found Paris to be the opposite, very safe and not at all threatening.

One area I visited was a bit seedy though (Pigalle). Too many Pimps pestering me asking if 'I wanted a girl?' that sort of thing. Didnt expect that in such a busy, touristy part of town, and found it rather annoying.

Aside from that one area though, it felt as safe as anywhere Ive visited. Of course I was only within the city boundaries, and didnt venture into the massive sprawl beyond the Ring Road, which is known to be a little rough.

[SpectralOwls]

I always hear a lot of people say how disappointing Paris had been for them. I think it's very romanticized by the media, but like any major city it has those scary and gross elements to it that are overlooked. I actually haven't been there myself, and would only visit it as a travel hub really. It seems more pleasant to go out of the city and travel in my opinion.

@Nanuq - Scotland sounds so nice. I actually really want to go there soon. In the distant future me and my husband want to go on cross-country camping trips with a little camper. I feel like Scotland would be amazing to go through.

[anxiouslondoner]

^ there's actually a recognised mental condition which describes the shock, disappointment and sadness that some people experience when visiting Paris. I believe it particularly affects Japanese tourists.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_syndrome

[SpectralOwls]

^ Haha! I actually heard of this and I get such a kick out of it.

Knowing how clean and organized Japan is, I imagine it must be a complete shock to Japanese tourists when they see it in person. Oof.

[Bored]

Recently I have been watching these Paris videos

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kMZRtZXNTEY

[Tonkin]

The first time I went to Australia was a bit disappointing as I had high hopes due to all the hype it gets. But it seemed like a weird imitation of how I assume England was in the 70s. It was very underpopulated too and felt a bit eerie.

Seeing the aboriginal people was pretty disturbing too.

The second time I went was much better though as I was staying with friends who lived there so it was more fun and got to see day to day life a bit more, which was much better than visiting as a tourist.

The portions are massive so that is good though.

[Dougella]

^ Why was seeing the Aboriginal people disturbing?

[Bored]

Originally Posted by Dougella

^ Why was seeing the Aboriginal people disturbing?

Maybe because of the way they are treated?

[Tonkin]

Just seeing them all pissed and rolling about on the streets in the middle of the day while all the non-aboriginal people just carry on about their business. They weren't integrated into any part of society that I could see.

I'm not judging them for living like that. More that it's obviously a sign that something has gone deeply wrong over there.

It's like when you go to London and black people are the only people doing the shit jobs (fast food, cleaning, etc) but 10x worse because they don't even get to do the shitty jobs over there. Not saying they should do the shitty jobs, but they're not able to participate in society even at that low level.

That was about 10 years ago so it's probably all sorted out now.

[Dougella]

^ I think the history was that they were not allowed to be integrated as equal, they were treated appallingly and that's lead to long term trauma and addictions to things like alcohol. Very similar to Native Americans and the First Nations people in Canada.

It probably depends where you go in Australia I expect, but I hope things have improved somewhat too.

[Tonkin]

Yeah, I'm not blaming them for not being integrated!

Yes, I know they mostly live in the cities but I didn't see the same issues in all cities that I went to, so who knows...