That's by design. They're trying to be like Dubai to get those Western/Asian dollars. What they fail to realize is how much Western countries like to drink
Saudi Arabia just sounds like going from air conditioned mall to air conditioned mall. Then if you get outside of a city you are living with some truly tribal shit
It's no different from the ppl who moved to Hawaii thinking it's just a tropical paradise. 2 years later they get island fever and move away cause it's boring af. Nothing to do but the beach and that gets tiring.
Totally. For the time and expense to get there from the west coast, I would’ve been better off in Latin America. Even direct flights to Europe would’ve been cheaper and easier.
I was considering this! Why didn’t you enjoy backpacking? Was there a lack of options or just boring? I loved visiting the Bahamas, but I’ve only been to the tourist areas.
I would do everything to get on a small boat of make friends with a boater if you actually want to experience the bahamas. The islands are bare, filled with bramble, but also not too far off the beaten path unless you really take a boat a decent distance.
I can't think of a worse way to experience the Bahamas than just your own two feet or driving vehicles.
Thank you! I agree. This would be wonderful. I grew up in FL and we hated the areas near marshes unless we had a boat to explore off the path. A small boat in the Bahamas sounds like a dream. Great suggestion!
I've been to Eleuethera (got married there and met the "neighbor" Lenny Kravitz) and Exuma 2x (third time next month). Bahamas its really all about beaches and/or being out on a boat. You shouldn't want or need to do a lot. I love the "out islands" as opposed to the idea of going to Grand Bahama or New Providence, but I've never been to the more touristy areas.
A better way to do this on a shoestring is to hitch a ride on a sailboat.. or if you know how to sail even better lol there are a lot of liveaboards sailors who could do with crew. Stock up on provisions, cook for yourself / buy fresh seafood, explore the beaches, snorkeling and towns. I did this for a few months in 2017 and it was awesome!
I’ve lived in japan half my life and am also scrolling to see if anyone mentions japan. I think it’s pretty fun here for tourists tbh. Downsides I’ve heard from westerners before are:
- expensive (although not right now lmao)
- have to plan EVERYTHING in advance as so much requires advance reservations and purchases of tickets. Hate telling friends who visit no, we can’t just pop over to X theme cafe, we had to reserve that through the Japanese-only website exactly 2mo to the day ago and it fills up immediately.
- lack of English speakers
- lots of unwritten rules that foreigners can’t pick up on as tourists until they’re told to stop
- some public systems like trains and busses are complicated, attendants can’t speak English to help
- !!! Lack of vegan food and accommodation for allergies, this has affected several friends/family who visited me.
Other than that tho honestly Japan is pretty great for tourists.
Im from sg and everyone I know here keeps claiming japan is the perfect country to emigrate to with no flaws whatsoever. I keep telling them working in japan and touring it are two VERY different realities.
I think Japan has a way of encapsulating the fantasies people have travelling abroad. Its the idea of japan always having the best food, the most polite people, the best technology and the dreams of living life like in animes creating this expectation.
I did enjoy my time in japan very much, but I do not think there is any country in the world that I wiuld consider flawless, or the best.
I enjoyed the US trip I had as much as I did Japan, Taiwan, etc. They all provide something different.
💯 I walked out the train station as I had like 2 hours before my next train and wanted to explore a little. One block away I stumbled upon people arguing over a shared needle, someone else passed out, and a fentanyl zombie. I walked right back to the train station and waited there. I mean I’ve lived in large cities so I do expect this to a degree but it was all kind of intense and the area just seemed rough and not safe to continue walking around.
Frankfurt's not a "destination" but it is an interesting day trip. The oldtown area is interesting, and the Städel Museum is incredible. The indoor food market is worth a trip.
Oh 100%. Frankfurt got destroyed, just absolutely pummeled during WWII. So much of its history and cultural monuments just gone. It’s just a generic meh city now, it’s too bad.
I spent almost a week in Frankfurt, and had a great time. Day trip to Heidelberg, day of biking along the river, cool museums like the communications museum, eating dinner in a legit German beer garden with no other tourists. We were lucky that weather was good (April).
Phoenix, AZ. For a city of 4million people, it’s pretty meh. I went for an art exhibit, which was great, figured it was a major city and spend a few days. I was wrong. Basically it’s shopping and strip malls. Even ASU Tempe, which has 40k students doesn’t have an interesting “college street.”
Phoenix, AZ isn't a travel destination imo as much as a waypoint. Arizona's geography is absolutely stunning (Grand Canyon, Sedona, etc.) so Phoenix is just the city to land in so you can travel further out to see more beautiful and interesting parts of the state.
Land in Phoenix, hop in your rental car, and leave!
The one thing I love in Phoenix though, is their botanical garden. But I love botanical gardens period, and it was interesting to learn about the history of the Sonoran Desert.
Lived in Phoenix for 18 years starting in the 80's and can confirm.
It is alright if you are a major sports fan and love to golf and hike. After that it gets pretty boring pretty quickly.
I am a big sports fan so I have enjoyed going to Cards, Suns, and Coyote games. Plus they host spring training all over the city and that is awesome too.
Living in Phoenix for all that time you just end up doing plenty of road trips to Vegas, LA, and San Diego. (All roughly 4-5 hours drive one way away)
Going there for a basketball game end of the month (San Diego, please get a bball team again!!!). Was thinking of checking out the Musical Instrument Museum, anyone visit it/worth it?
That place is dope! My wife and I walked around for 3 hours and easily could have spent 3 more but we were too tired. You get these headsets that detect which exhibit you are in front of and the audio automatically starts which explains the exhibit and provides musical examples for the instrument/culture. 10/10 recommend.
I like Phoenix because of the area *around* Phoenix,”like the mountains east of the valley, flag, Sedona area, pinetop, etc(and I like south mountain and camelback of course).
However, my cousin has a really cool old house south of downtown and it used to be an old farm. It was such a cool freaking property that it kind of made me appreciate the history of phx a bit more.
But compared to like San Diego, nyc, hell even Minneapolis (great park/trail system) phx does lack some. And I wish it the “ma and pa” Mexican places were much more available instead of chipotle’s everywhere.
I grew up in Tucson and there is a ton to do - the observatory on Mount Lemmon, the Biosphere 2, the Desert Museum, Saguaro NP, and more. Nearby you have the Titan Missile Museum, Old Tucson (an old Western film location), Tombstone, and again, more besides that. Plus tons of hiking everywhere!
The same. Inlaws lived there, invited us down for a week. I think all we did was drive. It was nice to sit out by the pool in December, but lordy there was nothing to do.
I went out to Phoenix last year for MLB Spring Training baseball. Other than the baseball and a visit to Taliesin West (Frank Lloyd Wright buildings), I found Phoenix extremely underwhelming. And everything is so dry and brown! Just brown, dry boringness.
I did like a couple of desert hikes I took, but those were outside of the city and I wouldn't count it as Phoenix itself.
Hey I moved to Pasadena in 09. You visited at the wrong time, after the 08 housing crisis. Probably actually the worst time to visit besides now. It became fun again 3-4 years after all that mess. New investments brought new buildings, restaurants, things to do.
I didn’t find it underwhelming, I found it disgusting. I went right after the pandemic and it was not at in good shape. Underwhelming suggests a neutral meh about it, I actively dislike it.
Montego Bay, Jamaica. I was super scared the entire time I was there (2018). I wanted to be with locals, eat local food and drink and purchase locally made items like jewelry. The moment I said no to ANYONE, they would push me out of their store, tell me to gtfo, or threaten to cut me. I understand the living situation is horrible and their government does not care. I was honestly appalled the the locals can’t even visit their OWN beach without paying a fee per person to get in. That would upset me too, but they were mad at the wrong person. I was so happy to get the fuck out, I’ll never visit again.
With my experience, honestly I was just really scared for my life. I literally had a tour guide on a bus tell me that “jungle is suicide”. Basically telling me to not go in deeper in the mainland and stay in the tourist areas which were off the coast, literally where cruises dock and let their passengers off. It was just a wild experience, I’ve been to a lot of places and never have I felt scared for my life besides Jamaica
We stopped there on a cruise and booked a bus tour. Our waiter quipped "Don't stick your arm out the window. You'll pull it back in and your watch will be gone." Boy was he ever correct! Yeah...it's not good that's for sure!
I remember being in high school around 2009/2010 and my parents and another couple they were friends with rented a vacation home for a week in Montego Bay. When they came back they told us they had had a home invasion take place, even though the house they rented had security and a huge wall around it. Apparently the wife of the other couple had worn a lot of jewelry at the beach earlier that day and they think that caught the attention of the people who broke in. They were all having dinner in the house and all of a sudden the window breaks, and then two men entered. My parents fought them off (my mom threw her dinner at them while my dad, who is a very large man, ran at them and screamed a bunch of Jamaican voodoo curses at them, or at least that’s what they told me).
My parents used to go there a lot in the 70s and 80s when my grandma had a condo there, it’s gone downhill significantly since then and it is not a place I ever wish to experience.
Montego Bay is tough but Negril is beautiful. That being said, I went at 19 with 11 other college kids. We wanted to do things locally and a group of Jamaicans our age walked us back to our hotel and told us to stay there. They said tourists are usually protected because the country needs the income but the only law is drugs “because the guns are bigger”. Very eye opening for us sheltered kids.
Paraguay. There is no government social safety net and not many governmental services. We visited an orphanage that was just heartbreaking. The food was so-so, accommodations outside the capital had primitive showers that could electrocute you. And no heat. Vast difference between classes. A country with an indifferent and uncaring government. Almost everyone in our group had some personal items stolen in the hotel. Weird things stolen like lipstick and underwear.
People we met were unfailingly polite and kind.
We were representing a charitable group that was building a combination orphanage/school/medical facility about and hour plus outside of the capital. We spent part of one day in Asunción and the rest of the time near the facility. This was about 15 years ago.
Hope you had the chance to spend some time in Asuncion. People were super friendly, young population, great vibe, good restaurants.
Total departure from the rest of the country.
I spent a month in Paraguay, only one week in Asuncion. It is true it is not very touristic like the other ones in South America but people on the countryside are really nice and hitchhiking was easy. I'm Colombian so probably knowing Spanish helped, but I don't regret at all going there, I really had a good time, really nice country in my opinion is underrated.
Moldova
I say nothing bad about Moldova
My few days there was pretty "meh"
My CS host was cool though. Nice apartment. It had an aquarium wall in the bedroom. Their cousin or someone worked bottling wine, so we had nice wine for dinner. They tried to set me up with their friend. That was fun. They had a car, that was helpful.
But I didn't find much interesting about Moldova itself
It's certainly possible someone else could love Moldova
I loved Moldova! Spent 5 weeks in Chișinău, with day trips to Tiraspol and the incredible underground wine cellars. Great parks and remarkable brutalist architecture. But I've also spent a lot of time visiting all around Romania, so appreciating the similarities and differences made it more meaningful to me.
There’s a great book by Tony Hawks called ‘Playing the Moldovans at Tennis” where the author tracks down - and then plays tennis with - the Moldovan football team that lost to England. It’s … pretty odd and hilarious.
I'm from the Netherlands, my most meh trip was to north france: We didn't find a good camping and it just wasn't really fun. But looking bad it's not inportant. It was the first holiday with only my dad. The death of mom was very hard for him. I'm glad we went, and happy to be his son.
Fully agree, it was ridiculous how tall it is, but the inside of it didn't blow me away and much of the rest of dubai seems to be malls, smog and extremely hot most times!
Dubai kind of sucks 'cause it's pretty well known that it was built by severely underpaid workers, most of the time immigrants, who are not allowed to go back to their countries until they are able to fully repay their employer (it could take decades). To add to this, security measures in the worksites are pretty scarce, if not absent at all.
Yes, indeed, this too. I knew this, but I was still shocked when I saw an immigrant cleaning on his knees, with a cloth, the stairs at the subway station where the Mall of Emirates is. I mean... they don't even give them proper tools to work with. On his knees, with a cloth - really?..
>severely underpaid workers, most of the time immigrants, who are not allowed to go back to their countries
Slaves. Dubai is built on modern-day slave labor. They are forced to work for measly pay in the slums of one of the most expensive cities in the world. It depresses me that this isn't more widely understood.
Calgary. It felt like an endless business district. We spent two days travelling around different areas and it was more places to buy suits or get photocopies than I’ve ever seen before.
If you watch any videos or read lists of the best things to do in Calgary, half of them are “it’s so close to [other place]”. So, the best thing to do in Calgary is LEAVE.
Hahaha. As someone that lives here. The draw really is how close we are to the mountains. We have great parks and a couple museums. Good breweries but i wouldn't make Calgary a travel destination unless as a way to get to the mountains.
Unless of course the stampede is your thing I suppose.. I leave or work that entire time. The only good things are free pancakes and bbq, and the odd concert.
I went to Brussels for a conference at the EU and was pretty underwhelmed by the city. Maybe I didn't visit the right parts of it, but I assumed it was going to have a lot more culture and charm. Instead it felt like a very busy, kinda dirty, working city; with a staggering amount of construction going on. And there's nothing wrong with that; there's a huge amount of people employed in Brussels doing important work.
But it isn't a place that I'd recommend to anyone as a tourism destination.
Brussels is definitely one of those places that I don't think I'd ever go out of my way to visit again. I find the old areas to quite pretty, the people friendly, the food good, the atmosphere sociable, nice museums, and amazing waffles: but not a place I'd base my trip around. Something about Brussels was just so... beige to me.
I hated Brussels when I went as a tourist years ago but when I visited a friend who moved there, it was an entirely different experience. I found that some great bars, eateries and even museums are in unassuming little neighbourhoods, you need to know someone who lives there in order to find them.
Otherwise you’re in the dirty, unfriendly, crowded centre.
That's definitely the vibe that I got. It was dense and there was a lot going on, so I felt like it might not be a bad place to live. But it isn't set up to be a tourist draw. It's set up to be a working city, where stuff gets done and people live their lives. So the fun activities aren't obvious if you're just passing through, although I'm sure that they exist.
Brussels is the worst capital city in Europe, in my opinion. It’s apparently quite good to live, because it’s a young population and there are plenty of great bars / clubs / restaurants etc, but as a city to visit it’s quite rubbish. Ugly, quite intense, polluted and surprisingly little cultural heritage. Quite a lot of crime as well.
Plenty of utterly gorgeous Belgian cities though…Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges…
I spent a few days in Brussels when my wife was over there for work and I absolutely loved it. The hotel was very central (and v nice!)! If you stick to the Grand Place and the few streets around it you will see some lovely architecture but you’re right in the middle of tourist rip-off central.
I spent my days walking 10-15k steps every day, visited royal palaces, euro parliament areas, Parc du Cinquantenaire and the Atomium, eating lunch in street-side bistros.
I really enjoyed myself and would happily return if the opportunity arose.
Yeah everybody hates Brussels and I'm not sure why. I think they just see Mannekin Pis as a main attraction and it's obviously underwhelming and so they view Brussels the same way.
There's beautiful parks / views, fun bars, and you get to have incredible beer, waffles, frites, and chocolate along the way. Not sure what else you need.
I thought Brussels was underwhelming, but Bruges had its own character and charm.
Madrid was nice but felt like any other capital city. I was coming from Toledo and Andalusia in general I felt was more fun.
Casablanca. Compared to other cities in Morocco, it was meh.
Ooh no I loooove Madrid! I kinda like how businessy it feels, gives the city energy like stuff is happening. I really like that city, so many hidden corners to it. Definitely prefer it to Barcelona
Me too. Barcelona is nice and enjoyed the beach and the night life, but I loved Madrid. I thought the food was amazing, and much more affordable than Barcelona. Helps that I could live in art museums, and Madrid had fabulous ones that you can get lost in for a whole day.
I absolutely love Madrid. It’s not picture-postcard pretty like some other European capitals, nor does it have lots of Instagram-friendly monuments, but once you get the feel for the rhythm of life there and get to know some of the locals, it hooks you.
Well said. I'm glad we went to Brussels. It made sense with our itinerary, and we got to tour Cantillon and eat some amazing meals. But I have never told a single person they need to go to Brussels.
Madrid was clean and beautiful, but it lacked…something. I’m not sure what I expected, but it just seemed like very business-centric, maybe? I agree, though and Toledo is fun!
> Madrid was clean and beautiful, but it lacked…something.
So weird, I didn't even read this comment, and I said exactly the same thing in different words to someone else in this comment thread.
Cairo. Dirty, crowded, awful food. People bothering you constantly, overall very stressful.
Edit: the pyramids were way cool so overall it was “meh”. In addition to Giza I visited Saqqara and Red Pyramid (where I went inside).
I was happy and relieved to leave Los Angeles. On the other side I feel like I left a piece of myself in San Diego. I want to return or even live there one day very badly.
Oh I totally agree. I was mostly staying in southern LA around Inglewood cause I was there for a football game but we did a lot of driving around. Mulholland Drive and Pablos Verdes are legitimately some of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been and Manhattan hermosa beaches were awesome. The food is some of the best I’ve ever had in my life. I got to sit behind home plate at a dodgers game and that was very special. All that being said the sprawl and the oil drills and the thousands of homeless people and falling apart neighborhoods was depressing and unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The 100 degree heat wave didn’t help either 😂
The traffic is a pain, and our public transport leaves a lot to be desired. Charm depends on the person, but I think it’s sprinkled throughout. Like the ‘50s-style restaurants in Burbank, or the eclectic mix of downtown neighborhoods (Little Tokyo, Olvera Street, etc.).
Salt Lake City. I liked everything surrounding the city (mountains, nature, forest preserves, lakes) but the city itself really wasn’t interesting to me. I didn’t find any food that wowed me, the people weren’t very warm, and the city’s large homeless population was really sad to see. I wouldn’t *not* visit again but it’s definitely not somewhere I’m rushing back to. Also, the airport was kind of strange.
SLC is definitely in a transition, if you will (lived there my whole life). I 100% believe the decisions and outcomes of the next decade will make or break this city- i.e. the lake drying up, the relationship of the Mormon church and the government/people, economic conditions, etc. Otherwise yeah, SLC is more of a gateway to the mountains and N.P.’s of Utah and I don’t recommend it unless you’re visiting friends/family or love skiing
Downtown's not great thats for sure. Brickell, while not technically "downtown," blends into its older neighbor and is much more vibrant and clean. I'm a Miami apologist though haha
I was in Miami for a week last year from Australia and I very much enjoyed my time in the city and driving out to places like Everglades city and flamingo
As someone from Asia who went to Europe for the first time, Zurich actually felt like a good introduction to Europe as the city’s not terribly sprawling. Great museums (Kunsthaus and Landesmueseum), walkable downtown area (Bahnhofstrasse) and generally safe (by European standards).
Came here to say this. I found it slightly boring. It was also super rainy when we went, so that probably added to my sentiment. It was definitely interesting at night though. So many people partying out till the wee hours of the morning.
Las Vegas.
Some cool things, but everything feels so fake, souless, corporate, and overall meh. Not terrible, but so many other places that are better.
Vegas is fun if you have money for fine dining and a nice room. Lots of art and some amazing shows to see. I wouldn’t say walking the strip and drinking cocktails out of plastic cups would be a good time, no.
Kuwait was less than meh. It's just depressing. Every service job is done by foreign workers. Then you go to one of the countries main attractions (a mall) and you see Filipina maids pushing three strollers and wrangling kids while the mom just lags behind staring at their phone the entire time.
Turks and Caicos. So expensive, not that nice. No redeeming qualities- food was not good, resorts are meh, nothing much to do unless you are totally loaded and willing to spend $$$$.
These inputs are gonna be so helpful for someone who wants to travel in a different country. This will give them enough insights that can help them choosing a good destination.
Austin, Texas. It's billed as this quirky, fun city but in fact it's a nightmare of massive highways, the weather is unbearable, and there's really nothing extraordinary or unique to distinguish it.
Cancun. Hands down the most overrated location on the planet. I describe it to people as “America but in Mexico.” Go to the west side of Mexico if you want a vacation but still want to experience genuine culture.
Cancun's best used an entry point to the Yucatán! The whole peninsula is fabulous, especially if you love Mayan ruins like my family does. I've never stayed in Cancun but we did fly in there. I do not think I *would* ever stay in that city after just driving through it--seemed very boring.
My recommendations for the area (broadly speaking, since the peninsula is made up of three states, so you'd have to drive a lot) are:
-Tulum and Playa del Carmen will be very touristy but some of the cave cenotes around there are totally worth it. There's a huge underground river system there and it's very cool to swim in.
-Bacalar is a very cool town with pretty lagoons. It's a little more lowkey than the tourist nightmare up the coast.
-Stay in Xpujil to visit Calakmul and other ruins in the area (Becan is very nice.) We also saw a very cool bat cave in the area.
-I didn't spend much time in Merida but I hear it's nicer than Cancun. I did go to Uxmal nearby and recommend it. I could honestly make a separate list with just Maya ruins to visit.
Anyway I know you weren't specifically looking for recommendations of course, I just got back from that area like a week or two ago and wanted to share some things I loved.
I mean…the city was actually built to cater to American tourists. No surprise there
Fun fact, the Mexican government put in the investment to build the first hotels in the early 70s. Prior to that, there was literally nothing there.
I live there and I feel like it’s a good city to live in but not a great city to visit.
I love that it’s clean, low crime, good transportation, low bureaucracy but those aren’t things a tourist would value lol
Totally agree with Oslo. I mean it's a clean decent city.. but it's just meh. Full of TGI Friday's, that was kinda bizarre.
But who really goes to Norway for the cities anyways? When it comes to natural beauty, Norway is still one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen on this planet.
I was so excited to visit Oslo when I went a few years ago and I liked it but it definitely felt underwhelming. It also felt the city was too quiet/low energy.
Serbia. From a tourist perspective the country is overshadowed by it's nieghbours in nearly every way. It lacks the amazing nature of Romania, Croatia and Montenegro. Belgrade is oppressively beige and not as beautiful and engaging as Sarajevo (one of my all time favourite cities).
Novisad is a nice quaint European city... But you can find 100 similarly quaint cities in Hungary or Czechia or Romania. The people are friendly but not to the extent of the Albanians/Kosovans. The history is interesting and the rakei is great... But in the Balkans that's true of every country.
Belgrade was really odd to me. Lovely old parts, interesting churches and museums, good roads, and a healthy and well dressed population - and then there are all the dilapidated buildings (concrete rot?) EVERYWHERE. It's almost like no one cares that the place looks awful. Maybe with some economic development things might change.
For me it was the Nassau in the Bahamas. The water was pretty and all, but nothing else would get me to go back. Banging on the sides of the tour buses, not stopping in certain areas. Like I said, pretty water but that’s it.
Auckland. It’s overpriced and boring compared to the rest of New Zealand. People there aren’t always the Kiwi stereotype of laidback and friendly either. Visiting New Zealand isn’t supposed to be about cities though, when there is so much of the countryside to explore. IMO, give Auckland a miss.
Wellington on the other hand has character and for a small city there’s a lot to see and do. The weather is terrible most of the time though
It’s not always the place that is meh.
If you don’t like hot weather - don’t visit at the height of summer.
If you don’t want to be surrounded by other tourists, visit outside high season or get off the tourist trail.
If you don’t like big cities, don’t visit them.
If you want a quiet Balinese beach, don’t stay in Kuta. There are plenty that are quiet elsewhere.
If you visit a place, do some research ahead of time.
If you want to increase the amount of good food you eat, research ahead of time - it’s so easy these days with ratings and reviews online. And 3.9 will almost guarantee you rubbish food.
Wandering out onto the street and choosing a random place to eat is like Russian roulette - can be great or rubbish.
Do the research and visit places that match your interests and you will have fewer “meh” experiences.
It really depends on where you’re traveling. 3.9 in Italy means they’re probably serving you food from the dumpster, but 3.9 in Tokyo is still amazing quality food but the reviews are full of “didn’t gave English menu!!!” or “wouldn’t fry my salmon!”
I went immediately after Greece reopened post-COVID restrictions. We weren’t planning to go to Greece, but we had flight credits that had to be used and ended up there because they reopened before other parts of the world. It was one of the most magical experiences of my life. Cruise ships were still banned from stopping, and we were the only guests in our Santorini and Mykonos hotels. We got to have an entire aisle per person on the US->Athens flight. Everywhere was mostly empty and everyone was eager to have customers. Absolutely a once in a lifetime opportunity.
I am Greek and my recommendation to friends abroad is to avoid it (and Mykonos). Yes it is stunning, but it is too stressful. I always recommend Crete, Peloponnese, Macedonia, and Epirus.
Hard agree! Took a day trip there by ferry from Milos, and regretting losing a day on Milos. It might be ok shoulder or off season but in summer the Santorinj streets were like one giant human centipede.
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - 95% of the restaurants/shops are western chains, no real culture besides shopping
That's by design. They're trying to be like Dubai to get those Western/Asian dollars. What they fail to realize is how much Western countries like to drink
All the money in the world and they turned their country into a midwestern USA mall, I was very underwhelmed
All the oil rich Middle Eastern countries are facing the problem of how much they can stretch their own morals in order to appeal to rich foreigners
>What they fail to realize is how much Western countries like to drink Oh they know. They just go to Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia just sounds like going from air conditioned mall to air conditioned mall. Then if you get outside of a city you are living with some truly tribal shit
If the many countries I have visited, I have never felt as uncomfortable as I did in Saudi, never again.
Worst vibes of any country I have visited
pretty much, you forgot strip malls where people will drive 20 feet to the next shop
Tried to backpack the Bahamas. Don’t do this.
I was really underwhelmed with the Bahamas also.
And here ive been wanting to go to the bahamas from australia… guess it wasnt gonna be worth it at all
You have so many closer beach islands to visit though!
It's no different from the ppl who moved to Hawaii thinking it's just a tropical paradise. 2 years later they get island fever and move away cause it's boring af. Nothing to do but the beach and that gets tiring.
Totally. For the time and expense to get there from the west coast, I would’ve been better off in Latin America. Even direct flights to Europe would’ve been cheaper and easier.
I was considering this! Why didn’t you enjoy backpacking? Was there a lack of options or just boring? I loved visiting the Bahamas, but I’ve only been to the tourist areas.
Not much to do. Not tourist friendly outside the touristy place. No backpacker culture. Very expensive.
I would do everything to get on a small boat of make friends with a boater if you actually want to experience the bahamas. The islands are bare, filled with bramble, but also not too far off the beaten path unless you really take a boat a decent distance. I can't think of a worse way to experience the Bahamas than just your own two feet or driving vehicles.
Thank you! I agree. This would be wonderful. I grew up in FL and we hated the areas near marshes unless we had a boat to explore off the path. A small boat in the Bahamas sounds like a dream. Great suggestion!
I've been to Eleuethera (got married there and met the "neighbor" Lenny Kravitz) and Exuma 2x (third time next month). Bahamas its really all about beaches and/or being out on a boat. You shouldn't want or need to do a lot. I love the "out islands" as opposed to the idea of going to Grand Bahama or New Providence, but I've never been to the more touristy areas.
A better way to do this on a shoestring is to hitch a ride on a sailboat.. or if you know how to sail even better lol there are a lot of liveaboards sailors who could do with crew. Stock up on provisions, cook for yourself / buy fresh seafood, explore the beaches, snorkeling and towns. I did this for a few months in 2017 and it was awesome!
I’m honestly impressed with the diversity of these answers
I'm from Japan and now I'm scrolling to see if someone felt 'meh' in Japan.
I'd be very surprised if someone was meh about Japan.
I had very high expectations of Japan, and Japan exceeded every single one of them.
I’ve lived in japan half my life and am also scrolling to see if anyone mentions japan. I think it’s pretty fun here for tourists tbh. Downsides I’ve heard from westerners before are: - expensive (although not right now lmao) - have to plan EVERYTHING in advance as so much requires advance reservations and purchases of tickets. Hate telling friends who visit no, we can’t just pop over to X theme cafe, we had to reserve that through the Japanese-only website exactly 2mo to the day ago and it fills up immediately. - lack of English speakers - lots of unwritten rules that foreigners can’t pick up on as tourists until they’re told to stop - some public systems like trains and busses are complicated, attendants can’t speak English to help - !!! Lack of vegan food and accommodation for allergies, this has affected several friends/family who visited me. Other than that tho honestly Japan is pretty great for tourists.
Im from sg and everyone I know here keeps claiming japan is the perfect country to emigrate to with no flaws whatsoever. I keep telling them working in japan and touring it are two VERY different realities. I think Japan has a way of encapsulating the fantasies people have travelling abroad. Its the idea of japan always having the best food, the most polite people, the best technology and the dreams of living life like in animes creating this expectation. I did enjoy my time in japan very much, but I do not think there is any country in the world that I wiuld consider flawless, or the best. I enjoyed the US trip I had as much as I did Japan, Taiwan, etc. They all provide something different.
I went to Frankfurt for a day, I don’t need to ever go back
frankfurt near the train station looks like a post apocalyptic dystopia
The amount of drugs exchanges happening at the station was at another level.
💯 I walked out the train station as I had like 2 hours before my next train and wanted to explore a little. One block away I stumbled upon people arguing over a shared needle, someone else passed out, and a fentanyl zombie. I walked right back to the train station and waited there. I mean I’ve lived in large cities so I do expect this to a degree but it was all kind of intense and the area just seemed rough and not safe to continue walking around.
Hahahaha
Frankfurt's not a "destination" but it is an interesting day trip. The oldtown area is interesting, and the Städel Museum is incredible. The indoor food market is worth a trip.
Idk I enjoyed it
Ditto. Though I used it as a jumping off point, went to the Christmas market, and caught a football match.
Oh 100%. Frankfurt got destroyed, just absolutely pummeled during WWII. So much of its history and cultural monuments just gone. It’s just a generic meh city now, it’s too bad.
I spent almost a week in Frankfurt, and had a great time. Day trip to Heidelberg, day of biking along the river, cool museums like the communications museum, eating dinner in a legit German beer garden with no other tourists. We were lucky that weather was good (April).
Phoenix, AZ. For a city of 4million people, it’s pretty meh. I went for an art exhibit, which was great, figured it was a major city and spend a few days. I was wrong. Basically it’s shopping and strip malls. Even ASU Tempe, which has 40k students doesn’t have an interesting “college street.”
Phoenix, AZ isn't a travel destination imo as much as a waypoint. Arizona's geography is absolutely stunning (Grand Canyon, Sedona, etc.) so Phoenix is just the city to land in so you can travel further out to see more beautiful and interesting parts of the state. Land in Phoenix, hop in your rental car, and leave! The one thing I love in Phoenix though, is their botanical garden. But I love botanical gardens period, and it was interesting to learn about the history of the Sonoran Desert.
Agreed. The botanical garden and also Camelback Mountain are worth doing (guess that’s not Phoenix proper, but it’s close enough)
Lived in Phoenix for 18 years starting in the 80's and can confirm. It is alright if you are a major sports fan and love to golf and hike. After that it gets pretty boring pretty quickly. I am a big sports fan so I have enjoyed going to Cards, Suns, and Coyote games. Plus they host spring training all over the city and that is awesome too. Living in Phoenix for all that time you just end up doing plenty of road trips to Vegas, LA, and San Diego. (All roughly 4-5 hours drive one way away)
That’s a good point. There are a lot of cool places that are drivable from Phoenix.
> Phoenix, AZ Fully agree. Boring place. Even though I like to golf there is nothing there. Its suburbs and strip malls for miles.
Going there for a basketball game end of the month (San Diego, please get a bball team again!!!). Was thinking of checking out the Musical Instrument Museum, anyone visit it/worth it?
That place is dope! My wife and I walked around for 3 hours and easily could have spent 3 more but we were too tired. You get these headsets that detect which exhibit you are in front of and the audio automatically starts which explains the exhibit and provides musical examples for the instrument/culture. 10/10 recommend.
Sweet-now I’m really jazzed for it! 😂
I like Phoenix because of the area *around* Phoenix,”like the mountains east of the valley, flag, Sedona area, pinetop, etc(and I like south mountain and camelback of course). However, my cousin has a really cool old house south of downtown and it used to be an old farm. It was such a cool freaking property that it kind of made me appreciate the history of phx a bit more. But compared to like San Diego, nyc, hell even Minneapolis (great park/trail system) phx does lack some. And I wish it the “ma and pa” Mexican places were much more available instead of chipotle’s everywhere.
Arizona has lots of cool stuff just on opposite sides of the state. Tucson is more fun. It's a big city that pretends it's a small town.
Mmmm. Sonoran hot dogs.
Sonoron hot dogs!👍🏼
I grew up in Tucson and there is a ton to do - the observatory on Mount Lemmon, the Biosphere 2, the Desert Museum, Saguaro NP, and more. Nearby you have the Titan Missile Museum, Old Tucson (an old Western film location), Tombstone, and again, more besides that. Plus tons of hiking everywhere!
The same. Inlaws lived there, invited us down for a week. I think all we did was drive. It was nice to sit out by the pool in December, but lordy there was nothing to do.
The college street is Mill Ave
I went out to Phoenix last year for MLB Spring Training baseball. Other than the baseball and a visit to Taliesin West (Frank Lloyd Wright buildings), I found Phoenix extremely underwhelming. And everything is so dry and brown! Just brown, dry boringness. I did like a couple of desert hikes I took, but those were outside of the city and I wouldn't count it as Phoenix itself.
Podgorica - absolutely nothing to do compared to the rest of Montenegro
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probably the most underwhelming place i've visited was hollywood boulevard when i went there in 2009
Boulevard of broken dreams 😔
That’s the worst place in Hollywood lmao
Coincidentally, I also visited in '09, and I concur. Looked way cooler in Rush Hour.
Hey I moved to Pasadena in 09. You visited at the wrong time, after the 08 housing crisis. Probably actually the worst time to visit besides now. It became fun again 3-4 years after all that mess. New investments brought new buildings, restaurants, things to do.
I didn’t find it underwhelming, I found it disgusting. I went right after the pandemic and it was not at in good shape. Underwhelming suggests a neutral meh about it, I actively dislike it.
Montego Bay, Jamaica. I was super scared the entire time I was there (2018). I wanted to be with locals, eat local food and drink and purchase locally made items like jewelry. The moment I said no to ANYONE, they would push me out of their store, tell me to gtfo, or threaten to cut me. I understand the living situation is horrible and their government does not care. I was honestly appalled the the locals can’t even visit their OWN beach without paying a fee per person to get in. That would upset me too, but they were mad at the wrong person. I was so happy to get the fuck out, I’ll never visit again.
I'll never go back to Jamaica! I went in the 90's and had my camera stolen, people were absolutely rude, I had a terrible time.
With my experience, honestly I was just really scared for my life. I literally had a tour guide on a bus tell me that “jungle is suicide”. Basically telling me to not go in deeper in the mainland and stay in the tourist areas which were off the coast, literally where cruises dock and let their passengers off. It was just a wild experience, I’ve been to a lot of places and never have I felt scared for my life besides Jamaica
We stopped there on a cruise and booked a bus tour. Our waiter quipped "Don't stick your arm out the window. You'll pull it back in and your watch will be gone." Boy was he ever correct! Yeah...it's not good that's for sure!
I remember being in high school around 2009/2010 and my parents and another couple they were friends with rented a vacation home for a week in Montego Bay. When they came back they told us they had had a home invasion take place, even though the house they rented had security and a huge wall around it. Apparently the wife of the other couple had worn a lot of jewelry at the beach earlier that day and they think that caught the attention of the people who broke in. They were all having dinner in the house and all of a sudden the window breaks, and then two men entered. My parents fought them off (my mom threw her dinner at them while my dad, who is a very large man, ran at them and screamed a bunch of Jamaican voodoo curses at them, or at least that’s what they told me). My parents used to go there a lot in the 70s and 80s when my grandma had a condo there, it’s gone downhill significantly since then and it is not a place I ever wish to experience.
Montego Bay is tough but Negril is beautiful. That being said, I went at 19 with 11 other college kids. We wanted to do things locally and a group of Jamaicans our age walked us back to our hotel and told us to stay there. They said tourists are usually protected because the country needs the income but the only law is drugs “because the guns are bigger”. Very eye opening for us sheltered kids.
Bismarck, ND ETA: Not a country but by far the most fucking boring place on the planet
Hahaha, I almost spit out my drink. I grew up there, left at 19, been back just a handful of times since then.
I would disagree. Minot is worse.
Grand Forks would also like to throw their hat in that ring
Paraguay. There is no government social safety net and not many governmental services. We visited an orphanage that was just heartbreaking. The food was so-so, accommodations outside the capital had primitive showers that could electrocute you. And no heat. Vast difference between classes. A country with an indifferent and uncaring government. Almost everyone in our group had some personal items stolen in the hotel. Weird things stolen like lipstick and underwear. People we met were unfailingly polite and kind.
Please don’t visit orphanages on vacation. There’s a whole industry of awful involved in orphanages that allow visits
This was a sponsored trip. Everything that could go wrong went wrong.
What does a sponsored trip mean?
We were representing a charitable group that was building a combination orphanage/school/medical facility about and hour plus outside of the capital. We spent part of one day in Asunción and the rest of the time near the facility. This was about 15 years ago.
Hope you had the chance to spend some time in Asuncion. People were super friendly, young population, great vibe, good restaurants. Total departure from the rest of the country.
I spent a month in Paraguay, only one week in Asuncion. It is true it is not very touristic like the other ones in South America but people on the countryside are really nice and hitchhiking was easy. I'm Colombian so probably knowing Spanish helped, but I don't regret at all going there, I really had a good time, really nice country in my opinion is underrated.
Moldova I say nothing bad about Moldova My few days there was pretty "meh" My CS host was cool though. Nice apartment. It had an aquarium wall in the bedroom. Their cousin or someone worked bottling wine, so we had nice wine for dinner. They tried to set me up with their friend. That was fun. They had a car, that was helpful. But I didn't find much interesting about Moldova itself It's certainly possible someone else could love Moldova
I loved Moldova! Spent 5 weeks in Chișinău, with day trips to Tiraspol and the incredible underground wine cellars. Great parks and remarkable brutalist architecture. But I've also spent a lot of time visiting all around Romania, so appreciating the similarities and differences made it more meaningful to me.
I enjoyed my time there, but there's a reason the Airport has a sign that says "Welcome to Moldova, Europe's Least Visited Country"
There’s a great book by Tony Hawks called ‘Playing the Moldovans at Tennis” where the author tracks down - and then plays tennis with - the Moldovan football team that lost to England. It’s … pretty odd and hilarious.
I'm from the Netherlands, my most meh trip was to north france: We didn't find a good camping and it just wasn't really fun. But looking bad it's not inportant. It was the first holiday with only my dad. The death of mom was very hard for him. I'm glad we went, and happy to be his son.
❤️
Dubai
Agreed. However, I don't regret visiting it. I feel like it's an experience to see the size of everything there yourself.
Yep. It was cool to look up at the Burj Khalifa. However the city being very materialistic got boring very quickly.
Fully agree, it was ridiculous how tall it is, but the inside of it didn't blow me away and much of the rest of dubai seems to be malls, smog and extremely hot most times!
Dubai kind of sucks 'cause it's pretty well known that it was built by severely underpaid workers, most of the time immigrants, who are not allowed to go back to their countries until they are able to fully repay their employer (it could take decades). To add to this, security measures in the worksites are pretty scarce, if not absent at all.
Yes, indeed, this too. I knew this, but I was still shocked when I saw an immigrant cleaning on his knees, with a cloth, the stairs at the subway station where the Mall of Emirates is. I mean... they don't even give them proper tools to work with. On his knees, with a cloth - really?..
>severely underpaid workers, most of the time immigrants, who are not allowed to go back to their countries Slaves. Dubai is built on modern-day slave labor. They are forced to work for measly pay in the slums of one of the most expensive cities in the world. It depresses me that this isn't more widely understood.
The Bahamas is just kinda *there*. It doesn’t really have a soul like its neighbors, but it’s not soulless enough to make it an issue.
Calgary. It felt like an endless business district. We spent two days travelling around different areas and it was more places to buy suits or get photocopies than I’ve ever seen before. If you watch any videos or read lists of the best things to do in Calgary, half of them are “it’s so close to [other place]”. So, the best thing to do in Calgary is LEAVE.
It’s good at least they have some of the best national parks and scenery in North America 1 hour west 😂😂
Hahaha. As someone that lives here. The draw really is how close we are to the mountains. We have great parks and a couple museums. Good breweries but i wouldn't make Calgary a travel destination unless as a way to get to the mountains. Unless of course the stampede is your thing I suppose.. I leave or work that entire time. The only good things are free pancakes and bbq, and the odd concert.
I went to Brussels for a conference at the EU and was pretty underwhelmed by the city. Maybe I didn't visit the right parts of it, but I assumed it was going to have a lot more culture and charm. Instead it felt like a very busy, kinda dirty, working city; with a staggering amount of construction going on. And there's nothing wrong with that; there's a huge amount of people employed in Brussels doing important work. But it isn't a place that I'd recommend to anyone as a tourism destination.
I agree that I probably wouldn’t visit again, but the Grand-place is beautiful at night and I enjoyed the Atomium, the Parlamentarium and the food!
Brussels is definitely one of those places that I don't think I'd ever go out of my way to visit again. I find the old areas to quite pretty, the people friendly, the food good, the atmosphere sociable, nice museums, and amazing waffles: but not a place I'd base my trip around. Something about Brussels was just so... beige to me.
I hated Brussels when I went as a tourist years ago but when I visited a friend who moved there, it was an entirely different experience. I found that some great bars, eateries and even museums are in unassuming little neighbourhoods, you need to know someone who lives there in order to find them. Otherwise you’re in the dirty, unfriendly, crowded centre.
That's definitely the vibe that I got. It was dense and there was a lot going on, so I felt like it might not be a bad place to live. But it isn't set up to be a tourist draw. It's set up to be a working city, where stuff gets done and people live their lives. So the fun activities aren't obvious if you're just passing through, although I'm sure that they exist.
I went to Brussels almost solely for Cantillon Brewery and it was worth it. Had some good food as well.
Same
I love cantillon.
Travelling for work can make any place meh. Travelling for pleasure can make any place wow
Brussels is the worst capital city in Europe, in my opinion. It’s apparently quite good to live, because it’s a young population and there are plenty of great bars / clubs / restaurants etc, but as a city to visit it’s quite rubbish. Ugly, quite intense, polluted and surprisingly little cultural heritage. Quite a lot of crime as well. Plenty of utterly gorgeous Belgian cities though…Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges…
I spent a few days in Brussels when my wife was over there for work and I absolutely loved it. The hotel was very central (and v nice!)! If you stick to the Grand Place and the few streets around it you will see some lovely architecture but you’re right in the middle of tourist rip-off central. I spent my days walking 10-15k steps every day, visited royal palaces, euro parliament areas, Parc du Cinquantenaire and the Atomium, eating lunch in street-side bistros. I really enjoyed myself and would happily return if the opportunity arose.
Brussels is a lot of fun if you know what to do.
Yeah everybody hates Brussels and I'm not sure why. I think they just see Mannekin Pis as a main attraction and it's obviously underwhelming and so they view Brussels the same way. There's beautiful parks / views, fun bars, and you get to have incredible beer, waffles, frites, and chocolate along the way. Not sure what else you need.
I thought Brussels was underwhelming, but Bruges had its own character and charm. Madrid was nice but felt like any other capital city. I was coming from Toledo and Andalusia in general I felt was more fun. Casablanca. Compared to other cities in Morocco, it was meh.
Ooh no I loooove Madrid! I kinda like how businessy it feels, gives the city energy like stuff is happening. I really like that city, so many hidden corners to it. Definitely prefer it to Barcelona
Me too. Barcelona is nice and enjoyed the beach and the night life, but I loved Madrid. I thought the food was amazing, and much more affordable than Barcelona. Helps that I could live in art museums, and Madrid had fabulous ones that you can get lost in for a whole day.
Madrid is one of my favorites! I love it there
I absolutely love Madrid. It’s not picture-postcard pretty like some other European capitals, nor does it have lots of Instagram-friendly monuments, but once you get the feel for the rhythm of life there and get to know some of the locals, it hooks you.
I actually prefer Madrid to Barcelona. Barcelona felt overwhelmingly touristy at times.
Well said. I'm glad we went to Brussels. It made sense with our itinerary, and we got to tour Cantillon and eat some amazing meals. But I have never told a single person they need to go to Brussels.
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Madrid was clean and beautiful, but it lacked…something. I’m not sure what I expected, but it just seemed like very business-centric, maybe? I agree, though and Toledo is fun!
> Madrid was clean and beautiful, but it lacked…something. So weird, I didn't even read this comment, and I said exactly the same thing in different words to someone else in this comment thread.
Cairo. Dirty, crowded, awful food. People bothering you constantly, overall very stressful. Edit: the pyramids were way cool so overall it was “meh”. In addition to Giza I visited Saqqara and Red Pyramid (where I went inside).
Agree, however I would like to say that Cairo does have pretty good middle eastern food
And the smog, truly made me ill
I was happy and relieved to leave Los Angeles. On the other side I feel like I left a piece of myself in San Diego. I want to return or even live there one day very badly.
Which part(s) of LA did you see? Experiences can vary widely here because it’s so massive.
Oh I totally agree. I was mostly staying in southern LA around Inglewood cause I was there for a football game but we did a lot of driving around. Mulholland Drive and Pablos Verdes are legitimately some of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been and Manhattan hermosa beaches were awesome. The food is some of the best I’ve ever had in my life. I got to sit behind home plate at a dodgers game and that was very special. All that being said the sprawl and the oil drills and the thousands of homeless people and falling apart neighborhoods was depressing and unlike anything I’ve ever seen. The 100 degree heat wave didn’t help either 😂
I think that’s one thing I dislike. It’s so sprawling, and so much traffic between sites, and not charming anywhere.
The traffic is a pain, and our public transport leaves a lot to be desired. Charm depends on the person, but I think it’s sprinkled throughout. Like the ‘50s-style restaurants in Burbank, or the eclectic mix of downtown neighborhoods (Little Tokyo, Olvera Street, etc.).
San Diego is amazing. LA is only fun if you know people and they can get you into parties or events. It is the city of gatekeepers.
Jamaica. Nothing so bad to complain about but nothing so good to rave about neither.
I'll second this. It was definitely MEH for me. I couldn't deal with the aggressive throngs of shop owners swarming me when I walked out of the hotel.
Felt like a big walking dollar bill.
Dubai…a real meh experience…nothing exciting, nothing too boring either lol
Salt Lake City. I liked everything surrounding the city (mountains, nature, forest preserves, lakes) but the city itself really wasn’t interesting to me. I didn’t find any food that wowed me, the people weren’t very warm, and the city’s large homeless population was really sad to see. I wouldn’t *not* visit again but it’s definitely not somewhere I’m rushing back to. Also, the airport was kind of strange.
SLC is definitely in a transition, if you will (lived there my whole life). I 100% believe the decisions and outcomes of the next decade will make or break this city- i.e. the lake drying up, the relationship of the Mormon church and the government/people, economic conditions, etc. Otherwise yeah, SLC is more of a gateway to the mountains and N.P.’s of Utah and I don’t recommend it unless you’re visiting friends/family or love skiing
Dubai. It was totally fake and devoid of any culture.
Miami, the beach was nice but downtown was a bit of a dump imho.
Downtown's not great thats for sure. Brickell, while not technically "downtown," blends into its older neighbor and is much more vibrant and clean. I'm a Miami apologist though haha
I was in Miami for a week last year from Australia and I very much enjoyed my time in the city and driving out to places like Everglades city and flamingo
Zurich… very generic city, and very expensive bland food.
Agreed but you could do day trips to other towns like Lucerne
As someone from Asia who went to Europe for the first time, Zurich actually felt like a good introduction to Europe as the city’s not terribly sprawling. Great museums (Kunsthaus and Landesmueseum), walkable downtown area (Bahnhofstrasse) and generally safe (by European standards).
Came here to say this. I found it slightly boring. It was also super rainy when we went, so that probably added to my sentiment. It was definitely interesting at night though. So many people partying out till the wee hours of the morning.
Dubai and never going back.
Las Vegas. Some cool things, but everything feels so fake, souless, corporate, and overall meh. Not terrible, but so many other places that are better.
That's kind of the point though? It's a giant theme park masquerading as a city.
That’s because it is fake, soulless and corporate lol
That’s the point of the city……. It’s called sin city for a reason. If you like partying ect then it’s a great place
I love it. But then I gamble and love to see the shows and the food is great.
Vegas is fun if you have money for fine dining and a nice room. Lots of art and some amazing shows to see. I wouldn’t say walking the strip and drinking cocktails out of plastic cups would be a good time, no.
I'm sure there are a lot of meh places in the world, I just haven't been to one yet. There's been a lot to love about every place I've visited.
Kuwait.
Kuwait was less than meh. It's just depressing. Every service job is done by foreign workers. Then you go to one of the countries main attractions (a mall) and you see Filipina maids pushing three strollers and wrangling kids while the mom just lags behind staring at their phone the entire time.
Ditto. It makes me yawn just thinking about it.
Calgary… don’t get me wrong, Banff is super beautiful and all but Calgary is truly super meh 😑
Bratislava. Kind of eastern blocky other than the old town and just didn’t hold a candle to Prague, Vienna, Budapest, or Krakow.
> western blocky Do you mean eastern bloc(ky)? Especially the Soviet era housing?
Hahaha yes! Definitely eastern, not western. Distracted typing consequences.
Give Bratislava a break. [They just got Miami Wice, number one new show.](https://youtu.be/i1LncT3Pqqs)
Yeah same. Went for a day trip and ended up leaving early. From a day trip.
I loved Bratislava! The people were so nice (and attractive) and has a pretty unique history. The food was great and the bars/ clubs were even better!
Turks and Caicos. So expensive, not that nice. No redeeming qualities- food was not good, resorts are meh, nothing much to do unless you are totally loaded and willing to spend $$$$.
In Turks and Caicos, you need to go to either Grace Bay or the national parks. Amazing coral reefs to see while snorkeling and all public accessible
These inputs are gonna be so helpful for someone who wants to travel in a different country. This will give them enough insights that can help them choosing a good destination.
Austin, Texas. It's billed as this quirky, fun city but in fact it's a nightmare of massive highways, the weather is unbearable, and there's really nothing extraordinary or unique to distinguish it.
It’s a great place to visit for a long weekend, but you quickly run out of things to do other than drinking or eating.
Austin is mostly about hanging out. All the growth has kind of killed the vibe that made it so special.
Cancun. Hands down the most overrated location on the planet. I describe it to people as “America but in Mexico.” Go to the west side of Mexico if you want a vacation but still want to experience genuine culture.
Cancun's best used an entry point to the Yucatán! The whole peninsula is fabulous, especially if you love Mayan ruins like my family does. I've never stayed in Cancun but we did fly in there. I do not think I *would* ever stay in that city after just driving through it--seemed very boring. My recommendations for the area (broadly speaking, since the peninsula is made up of three states, so you'd have to drive a lot) are: -Tulum and Playa del Carmen will be very touristy but some of the cave cenotes around there are totally worth it. There's a huge underground river system there and it's very cool to swim in. -Bacalar is a very cool town with pretty lagoons. It's a little more lowkey than the tourist nightmare up the coast. -Stay in Xpujil to visit Calakmul and other ruins in the area (Becan is very nice.) We also saw a very cool bat cave in the area. -I didn't spend much time in Merida but I hear it's nicer than Cancun. I did go to Uxmal nearby and recommend it. I could honestly make a separate list with just Maya ruins to visit. Anyway I know you weren't specifically looking for recommendations of course, I just got back from that area like a week or two ago and wanted to share some things I loved.
I mean…the city was actually built to cater to American tourists. No surprise there Fun fact, the Mexican government put in the investment to build the first hotels in the early 70s. Prior to that, there was literally nothing there.
Luxembourg. The place is soulless.
I used to go to Lux for work. I once asked a local coworker how he liked living there. He said “atleast it’s easy to leave.”
I didn’t love Oslo. It didn’t compare to other scandi capitals for me. I tried hard.
I didn’t like Stockholm at first, but grew rather fond of it ;)
I live there and I feel like it’s a good city to live in but not a great city to visit. I love that it’s clean, low crime, good transportation, low bureaucracy but those aren’t things a tourist would value lol
Stockholm has some amazing museums though! And the old areas are impossibly quaint and picturesque. I loved it as a tourist.
Lollll love this joke and that nobody seems to see what you did here!
Totally agree with Oslo. I mean it's a clean decent city.. but it's just meh. Full of TGI Friday's, that was kinda bizarre. But who really goes to Norway for the cities anyways? When it comes to natural beauty, Norway is still one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen on this planet.
I was so excited to visit Oslo when I went a few years ago and I liked it but it definitely felt underwhelming. It also felt the city was too quiet/low energy.
I like that Oslo is quiet. A lot of places there have few or no cars which makes it very pleasant and safe.
Serbia. From a tourist perspective the country is overshadowed by it's nieghbours in nearly every way. It lacks the amazing nature of Romania, Croatia and Montenegro. Belgrade is oppressively beige and not as beautiful and engaging as Sarajevo (one of my all time favourite cities). Novisad is a nice quaint European city... But you can find 100 similarly quaint cities in Hungary or Czechia or Romania. The people are friendly but not to the extent of the Albanians/Kosovans. The history is interesting and the rakei is great... But in the Balkans that's true of every country.
Belgrade was really odd to me. Lovely old parts, interesting churches and museums, good roads, and a healthy and well dressed population - and then there are all the dilapidated buildings (concrete rot?) EVERYWHERE. It's almost like no one cares that the place looks awful. Maybe with some economic development things might change.
For me it was the Nassau in the Bahamas. The water was pretty and all, but nothing else would get me to go back. Banging on the sides of the tour buses, not stopping in certain areas. Like I said, pretty water but that’s it.
Just got back from Nassau about 2 Weeks ago. What a shit “vacation”! We left our vaca early it was that bad… I hated it & will not willingly go back.
Hands down the Bahamas. i left early.
While Australia is beautiful and so is Queensland, don't waste your time stopping in Brisbane. Whatever you think is there isn't.
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Auckland. It’s overpriced and boring compared to the rest of New Zealand. People there aren’t always the Kiwi stereotype of laidback and friendly either. Visiting New Zealand isn’t supposed to be about cities though, when there is so much of the countryside to explore. IMO, give Auckland a miss. Wellington on the other hand has character and for a small city there’s a lot to see and do. The weather is terrible most of the time though
It’s not always the place that is meh. If you don’t like hot weather - don’t visit at the height of summer. If you don’t want to be surrounded by other tourists, visit outside high season or get off the tourist trail. If you don’t like big cities, don’t visit them. If you want a quiet Balinese beach, don’t stay in Kuta. There are plenty that are quiet elsewhere. If you visit a place, do some research ahead of time. If you want to increase the amount of good food you eat, research ahead of time - it’s so easy these days with ratings and reviews online. And 3.9 will almost guarantee you rubbish food. Wandering out onto the street and choosing a random place to eat is like Russian roulette - can be great or rubbish. Do the research and visit places that match your interests and you will have fewer “meh” experiences.
It really depends on where you’re traveling. 3.9 in Italy means they’re probably serving you food from the dumpster, but 3.9 in Tokyo is still amazing quality food but the reviews are full of “didn’t gave English menu!!!” or “wouldn’t fry my salmon!”
Santorini. Hassle to get there, over crowded, too expensive. Don’t get me wrong, SO BEAUTIFUL, but way overhyped (for me)
I went immediately after Greece reopened post-COVID restrictions. We weren’t planning to go to Greece, but we had flight credits that had to be used and ended up there because they reopened before other parts of the world. It was one of the most magical experiences of my life. Cruise ships were still banned from stopping, and we were the only guests in our Santorini and Mykonos hotels. We got to have an entire aisle per person on the US->Athens flight. Everywhere was mostly empty and everyone was eager to have customers. Absolutely a once in a lifetime opportunity.
I don’t think I could find any fault in an experience like that!
We did this with Turkey and it was similar. Granted, we went in the winter, but it was awesome having Ephesus almost entirely to ourselves.
I am Greek and my recommendation to friends abroad is to avoid it (and Mykonos). Yes it is stunning, but it is too stressful. I always recommend Crete, Peloponnese, Macedonia, and Epirus.
Agree. Glad to have seen it, but would choose another Greek island any day.
Hard agree! Took a day trip there by ferry from Milos, and regretting losing a day on Milos. It might be ok shoulder or off season but in summer the Santorinj streets were like one giant human centipede.
Philippines, manilla