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ToggleTraveling is all about surprises, for better or for worse. And unfortunately, not all destinations can live up to the hype. Every now and then, somewhere you’ve talked up in your head falls short of your expectations. So, here are some of the places that travelers found seriously underwhelming, according to Redditors and members of the BuzzFeed Community.
1.
“Dubrovnik. It was the final stop of my two-week trip through Croatia, and it was by far the most touristy place I visited. I had previously stayed in a lot of small towns and rural, less-populated places, so ending my trip in a place that was saturated with so many tour agencies and souvenir shops on every single street was a bit sad. It’s still a beautiful place, but it was a bit of a disappointment from the unspoiled city I was envisioning from the scenes of Game of Thrones.”
2.
“Cabo San Lucas. There were massive ships blocking the horizon, panhandlers who would stand in front of you so you couldn’t see the ocean, and hordes of people getting in the way at every snorkeling spot. There were beach chairs packed like sardines. I love other parts of Mexico, but Cabo was generally an underwhelming experience.”
3.
“Puerto Rico. It is one place I would not choose to go to again. I was so disappointed to find that it is very, very Americanized there. Most of the restaurants are American type fast food places (Burger King, McDonald, KFC), and you really have to go far inland to find good authentic food and culture. Plus you don’t need to stay more than three days to see everything. Old San Juan is by far one of the best things to see and do on the island, but I did not find anything special about it.”
4.
“Palawan in the Philippines. It’s constantly called one of the best islands in the world, and judging by the endless stream of crowds, people have caught onto the idea… but I have to disagree. Palawan was alright but definitely overhyped, IMO. The coral reefs were just OK compared to what I’ve seen elsewhere, it’s overcrowded, the beaches were just fine, and the prices were hardly a bargain.”
5.
“Santorini was pretty disappointing, in my opinion. I feel like the photos I’ve seen online must have been photoshopped. I expected beautiful views but ended up having to crop graffiti and dirty buildings from the backgrounds of my pictures. It was also so expensive. The cheapest lunch option I found was a small wrap for 11 euros. It really felt like a tourist trap. Rhodes, on the other hand, was gorgeous and affordable. This island was home to beautiful beaches and old medieval buildings. I would avoid spending much time in Santorini, considering how much more expensive it is than other, equally beautiful Greek islands.”
6.
“Venice. I know that sounds like blasphemy to some people, but I found it stinky, dirty, and unnecessarily expensive. I was bored within six hours, and I had three days to fill. I ended up traveling out of the city and exploring the lovely surrounding cities and countryside instead of spending my time in Venice.”
7.
“Disneyworld. My whole family was so excited about this Florida vacation, and we could not wait to get there. But we spent more money than planned (we still can’t even stomach how much we spent), we fought more as a family than we ever had, and we stood in line after line after line. The most fascinating part of the whole vacation was realizing that many people live for this place. The crowds…the prices…the lines. Never again for us.”
8.
“Mount Rushmore was a complete letdown. We could see it from the car and saw the $20 parking fee to get closer and decided to keep driving. But the Badlands are a little farther down the road, and they are absolutely stunning! Highly recommend if you’re ever nearby.”
9.
“Goa, India: People tout Goa as a legendary beach destination, but it really wasn’t that great. The beaches themselves were subpar, it was so busy, the water can be polluted, and it’s not really the relaxing beach destination you might expect.”
10.
“Egypt. I was so excited to go, but it was the worst place I’ve ever traveled to. Everyone tried to scam me relentlessly, from the airport clerk to the taxi drivers and the pyramids tour guide. People will tell you they recognize you from the day before, and they’ll try to get you to ride their donkey and follow you even when you say multiple times that you’re not interested. It was impossible to walk half a block from my hotel to try to buy water without people constantly stopping me trying to get money in some way and some form. It was absolutely exhausting.”
11.
“Antalya, Turkey. This was once a beautiful, ancient city, but it seemed to be ruined by the massive number of tourist traps. During my stay in the city, I had the constant feeling I was going to be ripped off in shops, cafés, and restaurants.”
12.
“Bali. This Indonesian island is still great in many ways, but it is increasingly overrun by obnoxious tourists and expats. I’m talking vapid, entitled influencer (or wannabe influencer) kinds of tourists/expats who wait in long lines to take selfies at historical/spiritual sites that they don’t bother to learn anything about.”
13.
“The Maldives. Unless you are newly married and want to spend most of your time in bed or wanna do nothing but lay on the beach, you WILL get bored. Don’t get me wrong, the islands are beautiful and the beaches are breathtaking, but if you are on a smallish island (most of them are small) with one resort, you will get bored of it pretty quickly unless you are willing to pay big bucks to do activities or just to get drunk.”
14.
“Geneva, Switzerland. While it was a pretty city, the soul-crushing cost of everything definitely weighed down my experience there. I never expected to pay 24 francs for a hamburger in my life.”
15.
“The Blue Lagoon, Iceland. “I was shocked by how pricey it was for the experience, especially considering most of the public hot baths are free and there are geothermic springs everywhere in Iceland. I felt like I had to check it out, but in the end, it felt like a rip-off.”
16.
“Casablanca, Morocco. I think it’s the least interesting place in a fascinating country. It felt like a dumpy business district on the coast. Other than one obscenely expensive mosque built by a previous king, there’s nothing to see. But the rest of Morocco? It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen. Fez, Essaouira, the High Atlas Mountains, and Marrakesh were all gorgeous.”
17.
“Prague. This might be controversial, but I was underwhelmed. While Prague definitely boasts beautiful architecture, I felt that was pretty much the only draw. There was not much to do there as a tourist. I visited four other countries on the same Eurotrip and had some incredible food, but I found the food in Prague to be very lackluster. In fact, we didn’t have a single good meal in three days there. IMO, you don’t need much time there because you can see the whole city in 48 hours.”
18.
“Cinque Terre, Italy. This one may be controversial, but I found this handful of villages in coastal Liguria to be very boring and overly touristy. All the hiking trails were closed. Either way, it’s a day trip at best, and I would recommend visiting the Amalfi Coast over Cinque Terre.”
19.
“Paris. I visited for the first time this year, and I don’t think ‘hated’ is the proper word, but Paris definitely didn’t blow me away. There are some amazing sites to see there, although most of the buildings are within a few hundred years of creation. Other cities and towns in Europe have much more of their Middle Ages architecture left. For residents of one of the cities in the world that attract the most tourists, the people of Paris do not seem to like outsiders at all. I think they would be perfectly content with only Parisians existing in Paris.”
20.
“Dubai. It’s talked up as one of the best tourist destinations in the world, but when I was there it felt like an amusement park under construction. I felt like I was constantly being shuttled from one tourist trap to another.”
21.
“Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. Once you leave Waikiki, there’s so much more of the island to explore, with beautiful beaches, good food, and more authentic culture than what you get in this one tiny area.”
22.
“Monaco. I was in southern France and decided to take a quick bus ride over to Monaco one day because I heard it was like paradise. I was thoroughly disappointed with the place. There was nothing but high-end clothing stores, along with extremely overpriced, terrible food and yacht docks. There was a complete absence of anything interesting. It felt like a place for ultrarich people to sit around and goof off.”
Have you traveled somewhere that left you feeling underwhelmed or disappointed? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form.
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