Holiday venues that didn’t live up to expectations

fiorentina51

A day trip to San Gimignano whilst staying with my grandmother. Interesting but full of the usual tourist stuff and very crowded.
On the way back my husband and I drove through the scenic route back to my grandmother's house and accidentally discovered Conca d'Oro, near Panzano.
It seemed like we had stumbled back into medieval times. We walked around and stopped to sit and look out over the "Golden Bowl" valley. Suddenly a group of young men on lambrettas came through the gates of the village, each carrying a silk banner, celebrating the different contrada of the Siena Palio.
They really should have been galloping on white chargers to make the scene complete, but I was content.

Ah, fiorentina that sounds heavenly. Italy is my favourite place on earth. I lived there for many years and wish I'd never left.

Venice, which I'm sure is really lovely, but unfortunately, when we were there, it was overrun with cruise ships and the masses of tourists being herded around so incredibly frustrating trying to get anywhere.

The locals weren't particularly friendly and the shop owners became downright rude when we refused to be enticed into their establishments.

Shame, but I wish we had gone to Verona instead, which everyone said was beautiful.

Mykonos. We went there 16 years ago on a cruise and absolutely loved it. Spent time wandering around Mykonos Town and then took a taxi to a beach nearby. We returned last year and it was awful. Jam packed with tourists. We sat at a bar on the harbour front but couldn't see the sea because of the constant stream of people walking in front of our table. The lovely meandering streets in the town were solid with tourists. When we were first there, ours was the only ship in port - and we were a small Thomson ship. This time there were 4 huge ships plus our Medium sized one. Tourism can be a real benefit to local economies but it needs to be managed by local authorities and not be a "free for all".

Paris. Filthy. Chaotic. Unfriendly. Needless to say, I won't be going back.

Loved Port Douglas, been there twice, laid back and lovely, could easily have lived there. Vanuatu very disappointing and underwhelming. Bali too in recent years, used to be such a lovely place with very gentle people but now it's a tourist hotspot and very difficult to find anywhere that's not full of bars and drunks and people on the take.

Lanzarote, depressingly unforeign, nothing but Irish pubs, curry houses, drag artists etc. Loads of cockroaches and high winds. Couldn't find any redeeming about it. I was was in PDC by the way, might have been better in other resorts.

Apologies for those that live there but I believed the postcard image of Scarborough . I now say the best view of Scarborough is that in the rear view mirror of the car

kjmpde

Apologies for those that live there but I believed the postcard image of Scarborough . I now say the best view of Scarborough is that in the rear view mirror of the car

After leaving University quite a few years ago now, I was offered and accepted a job in Scarborough.

We rented while finding our feet and I recall the introduction to the next door neighbour was a rant at me about 'taking locals jobs' and she then spat on the floor in front of me. Over the next 12 months, my son was bullied horrendously at the local school, I was the victim of a physical assault one evening and the whole experience was dreadful.
We did meet some lovely people but the damage was well and truly done!
We moved as soon as we could...

readsalot

Paris. I was underwhelmed. Very disappointed.

I've felt the same when I've visited, but not many share our view.

Babs03

Brussels. Was a square and a few streets that were old/quaint but the rest of it was rather shabby. Good job there was the chocolate.

I like Brussels, I've been there twice. The shops were really lovely, especially the independent ones, and lots of lovely restaurants. I'm not a great sightseer, but I gather that you can easily go by train to other cities too for day trips,

Calendargirl

Alice Springs certainly wasn’t ’A Town Like Alice’, but to be fair, I hadn’t expected it to be really.

Alice Springs airport was flooded when I went there. We waded from the plane to the terminal. Honest,!!!! We didn’t get to see Ularu.
I was disappointed with China, mainly the people.

Long before you had Lonely Planet, and lots of advice on line and in magazines, I always did my own research. I would enjoy going to the library, looking up all sorts of info, from non fiction things and then I like to read any books by old style travellers , and people who have lived in the various countries that I am thinking of visiting. Also as a singer, there would be different musical connections, so perhaps somewhere that a favourite composer had lived or visited etc, and having always been a gardener, special gardens whether in the public zone or read about from trips by other gardeners so I have found many off the beaten track and my main thing both for art and music was to visit Venice , Florence and Rome was to go in February, take the right clothes and was able to have a great time , just wandering about , having read up the local special foods etc too. Sometimes because I worked in communications world wide, would get to know another operator and have had the pleasure of meeting several of them in person, especially a girl from Bucharest, who came to meet me and invited me to her home . We were pleased to meet up as we had been in contact through work for about 2 years and it was great putting a face to a name. As I was a redhead, sitting on a beach , was never my kind of thing , though enjoyed swimming wherever I went. A lot of times we went camping in a tent and so havent had many awful experiences in hotels etc. Only once we couldnt camp in a certain place, stayed at rather a tatty hotel and got bitten by bed bugs!! Still have the wanderlust wish to travel about, but the various health situations dont help. Been camping and sailing all round GB and enjoyed so much especially the wonderful seas up round Plockton in scotland and the isle of man was lovely, where you felt you had gone back about 30 years to a gentler time. Have no idea what it would be like now but farmhouse b/b is the sort of thing I can still enjoy now.

Sarahr

Paris. Filthy. Chaotic. Unfriendly. Needless to say, I won't be going back.

I found that in Paris. London is the same. I bet that carnival was a nightmare! I can’t do concerts now, done with the RF. so no need to ever go there again.

When I passed through Brussels in 2013 and spent a few days there, it struck me as very run down and drab - not at all what I expected a capital city to look or be like.

There are far nicer places in Belgium in my opinion, Antwerp, Halle, Mechlin etc.

cc

readsalot

Paris. I was underwhelmed. Very disappointed.

I've felt the same when I've visited, but not many share our view.

So that now makes 5 of us on here!
Paris used to be beautiful, I'm talking 30 - 40 years ago. Now it's dirty, smelly and lacks the je ne sais quoi it used to have.
Nul points from me.

A Tunisian island I had visited three times previously, once on my own, twice with a girlfriend. Typical desert island to look at but pretty basic, lovely clean hotel, French influenced food, gentle evening entertainment and kindly staff who remembered me each time. The hotel was always full, families and couples, generally different Europeans.
The last time, on my own, as soon as I got there it was so quiet, only two couples staying, both French, no alcohol being served, bar closed up. No beach snack bar, no evening events, it was like a ghost town, a member of staff I knew explained a rich family from the mainland had taken over, strict Muslim.
The pool was full of women in full burqa with the men and children, I actually felt unsafe and dressed modestly for the week. The travel company, Panorama, couldn’t move me for three days and I didn’t want any kickback from leaving, I was very glad to get home.

PS I eventually had my money back.

We travelled up to the Nordkap about 25 years ago in our little vw van. A lovely slow, long drive all the way from Wiltshire where we lived. I absolutely loved the calmness of the Norwegian, swedish en finnish roads, hardly any traffic.
We just stopped by the side of yet another lake and camped gloriously by ourselves every night. We've not been back ourselves but friends have and it's changed so much with roads blocked with campers everywhere.

It was Niagara Falls for me, the Falls spectacular, the town a big let down.

Camper vans are a blight

Malta has become so busy in the last 10 years. There is some serious developments going on - a 17 storey apartment block and a Hard Rock Hotel at St George’s Bay.

escaped

cc

readsalot

Paris. I was underwhelmed. Very disappointed.

I've felt the same when I've visited, but not many share our view.

So that now makes 5 of us on here!
Paris used to be beautiful, I'm talking 30 - 40 years ago. Now it's dirty, smelly and lacks the je ne sais quoi it used to have.
Nul points from me.

Fair enough on the main tourist drag, but quiet little back streets and cafes with not an English voice to be heard, are still hard to beat.

Paris went on two occasions for different events not impressed over rated and atrocious food.

Morocco the poverty upset me and I would never go back.

New Orleans was a disappointment crack cocaine use openly seen.

Allira I must come in with a defence of Weston-super-Mare. Over this last bank holiday weekend, with glorious sunshine throughout there have been crowds - however our mile long beach gives everyone plenty of personal room there, not crowded together as in so many seaside resorts with far less beautiful sand. Watching children, running around on this, building their castles, etc. running backwards and forwards to try to fill up the moat is so timeless. Then we have the gentle donkey rides along parts of that beach;. With one of the very best ice-cream places at PJ's and lots of other and marvellous fish and chips, it is an ideal place for an economic but happy and healthy few days out. Just watch out for the SeaGulls though.

cc

readsalot

Paris. I was underwhelmed. Very disappointed.

I've felt the same when I've visited, but not many share our view.

My late husband and I adored Paris. The first couple of times we did the usual touristy things, Sacre Coeur, Eiffel Tower etc. quite right too, as they are the heart of Paris.
Then I discovered a website run by a Parisienne who clearly adored her city. She described wonderful places to visit off the usual routes so we could see the real Paris. I can’t remember the names of all the places she told us about. Some were on the outskirts but a lot of them were little streets and squares in various areas of Paris. Most of them were away from too many tourists, so were wonderful to see. It’s worth looking her up. I think her website was Sandrine’s Paris but I can’t get off here to look! Sorry!
One thing we worked out for ourselves and loved was a midnight trip to the steps leading up to the Sacre Coeur. We had bought crepes from a surprisingly, still open creperie and sat and ate them overlooking pretty much the whole of Paris. Crepes have never tasted as good before or since! It was magical. We had been married for many years by then, but I think Paris made us realise how much we cared and how happy we were. Our marriage lasted for 57 years until my husband’s death in 2020. The memories of those Paris trips seem to bring him closer in my heart.