What’s the worst place you have ever been on holiday?

ObviousOrca@reddit

You are invalidating numerous reports of women feeling unsafe, scared, harassed etc etc by saying that you’ve never had anything but a great time…whilst you are a man, and obviously have been treated differently.

If you’re so well travelled have such a good attitude how can you not see this is a problem, particularly in Marrakech?

[-]

I am indeed a man, I have no wish to dismiss your experience but it was not mine.

[-]

GarminArseFinder@reddit

This sounds like hippie delusion. The place is awful, the people we encountered are equally so.

We went to Marrakesh as a group of around 10 boys and I can confirm it’s a shit hole and one of the only places I tell everyone to avoid.

Interestingly, if you go to the French part of Marrakech it feels a lot more civilised.

FamousProfessional92@reddit

Calling lived experienes "racist" is an interesting choice.

[-]

Sea_Appearance6837@reddit

Someone was interested enough to read this far into this thread. Where so much barbaric behaviour has been described and then downvoted you probably muttering ‘racist’ 😂

[-]

KZakros22@reddit

Just like their religion.

[-]

ThatWasMyNameOnce@reddit

Haha this reminds me of the shop traders in Egypt shouting out random British phrases they had learnt thinking it would reel us in... "luvly bubbly!" "Better than Asda price!" Etc 😂

[-]

januarynights@reddit

Wow, that's awful, I'm glad you managed to escape!

See my other note and if it didn’t discourage you enough.….I’ve been to Marrakesh twice and both times kind of disliked it, sure I got some nice nice spices and beads (readily available online now) but my ex was in love with the whole lore from the hippy/Rolling Stones era of having a nice time there. I’m sure it was fantastic in the 70s-80s.

That said, I sat in the Argana cafe on the central square on both visits and had some mediocre tagine and some nice-ish tea. This was before 2011 when it was blown up by a person, also with a vest full of nails intending to cause harm to everyone in the building. I certainly would not visit again, or go to an area right now that has been known to be attacked during foreign invasions of the Middle East mainly due to how many tourists visit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Marrakesh_bombing

https://www.restaurantargana.com

Sure, it seems business as usual there now, but why would anyone want to actually risk it only to get hassled all day long? Why don’t you think it could possibly be unsafe, as many others have said, when there is a dedicated record to how unsafe, stressful and anxiety ridden it can end up being?

I went 10 years ago with my then boyfriend and we had a nice time. Sure people were trying to scam you or approach you often to sell you things but I am originally Indian and know very well how to handle this, I am very firm with my nos and very good at haggling.

Few months ago 3 of my female friends, all in their early to mid 20s went to Morocco and they had a good time too. Having said that, 2 of them were Indians and one British. I guess depending on where you are from these things may or may not be difficult to tackle.

[-]

fractals83@reddit

My advice would be avoid Morocco as a solo woman. My wife had a rough time when we were there together, and I’ve had friends go who had an absolutely horrible time getting harassed all the time, and felt quite unsafe.

[-]

anxiousthroway85@reddit

We visited last year as a family with young children and had an amazing time - but I would strongly recommend that you do not go unless you are in a family unit with a man.

We found out that family units are respected by Moroccans, through pure chance we ended up walking with my husband in front with our son while I pushed our daughter behind them (narrow streets and for me to watch my husbands pockets) this is how traditional families walk and somewhat protected us. When my husband went out by himself one one occasion he was cornered (he is like twice the size of the locals so nothing happened but still) we didn’t realise that not only was he protecting us, but we were also protecting him.

[-]

ObviousOrca@reddit

No, don’t go especially if on your own. This is not a test or an omg, this person said “don’t go so I should go for sure to prove them wrong”. It is just not fun. You can find most of the stuff available for sale in the markets online.

It’s not really that special anyway. Other parts of Morocco maybe yes, but avoid Marrakech unless you have a male with you or a dedicated male guide even for the two of you.

It’s such a pain the ass getting hassled all the time, and wondering if you’re safe or not makes it a no brainer.

[-]

Kaleidoscope_75@reddit

If you go as part of a female group, you will feel safer. I know the attention can feel daunting, but generally, most of them leave you alone once they see you're not interested in their goods, etc. The law comes down quite heavily on sexually harassing female tourists.

[-]

Life_Emphasis6290@reddit

Agreed. There are many similar markets in the world that all basically sell the same things, but without all the hassle. Marrakesh markets was impressive for the narrow, claustrophobic feel, but it's just hundreds of stalls all selling the exact same few things.

[-]

Prestigious_Gap_4025@reddit

Wouldn't say unsafe, but I felt uneasy when we got lost in the souks around midnight - those streets are like a maze and some parts aren't the best lit.

I've never returned, but my wife has but stayed in an all inclusive resort with her friends, which they never bothered to leave, they had a really good time there.

[-]

AndrewHinds67@reddit

It's not the same as the real travel experience, though if you don't venture out. Mind you, I don't blame her, but it's tragic that you can't travel anywhere without being hassled like that.

[-]

TrustEast4832@reddit

Morocco is not safe for a solo woman - even a local would tell you that (mostly cities). Maybe you'd 'just' get relentlessly harassed and cat called worse than Egypt and Turkey, but why would you expose yourself to the risk of something more serious happening? Plenty of beautiful, much safer countries to visit.

[-]

Dunny2k@reddit

Went with my girlfriend last month and didn’t feel unsafe at any point there. Yes it’s hectic and chaotic in the medina, you’re going to a poor country so what do you expect? There’s the usual scams and stuff but if you’re used to that then there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Marrakesh. We had an amazing time exploring it.

[-]

neurobonkers@reddit

Went with my girlfriend last year and we couldn't walk down a single street without being scammed and harassed.

Definitely wouldn't feel safe letting my girlfriend out of my sight and it's the only country we've ever been where she couldn't go for her usual morning runs as it would definitely attract unwanted attention.

That said we had a great time and would go back but it's not for the feint hearted. You've just got to be prepared to trust absolutely no one.

[-]

Dunny2k@reddit

It’s the same in every third world country though. You get scammers everywhere, hell even in first world European countries like France and England, specifically Paris and London.

We walked through the entire medina and only got “harassed” once, and tbh it was just a guy trying to for us directions but obviously he would’ve wanted money for it. We declined and he left us alone.

[-]

ZeroDosage@reddit

Yes. Its not safe.

[-]

GlassCrepe@reddit

I had that exact experience in 2010 in Marraskesh, couldn't walk in the souk without being harassed by men trying to touch me despite being there with a tall man, it was the worst. Never going back.

[-]

nastyleak@reddit

blueroses8000@reddit

I don’t know why you’re getting downvoted for simply telling your own experience, you’re not saying the other people are lying, both experiences can be true.

My experience last summer was like yours and I’m female and our group was a mix of both including some young girls. We had a great time with no issues and like you we were also lost in the alleys late at night a few times trying to find our riad and never felt unsafe.

Also hoping to go back soon as it’s so convenient even for a short warm getaway, you can literally go for a long weekend, enjoy some sun and good food and be back without much travel. And the riads are all just beautiful, you get a whole house to yourself with the stunning architecture and all come with a chef as standard who has a breakfast spread waiting for you in the morning and can cook all your other meals if you want. Ours had 3 floors with flowers climbing the whole place and a whole rooftop full of seating, dining and party area and everything was so beautiful like out of an interior design magazine and it was so cheap. And there were little birds flying in to play with us all the time!

I would highly recommend anyone to book a riad than a hotel for a proper experience.

[-]

hairychris88@reddit

Everyone who's had a positive experience of Marrakesh is being roundly downvoted for some reason! The Reddit hivemind at its best.

existentialgoof@reddit

Essaouira is usually quite cool. In summer, usually low 20s during the day with a strong breeze off the sea. But that doesn't mean it never gets the occasional warm day. When I went in August it was too chilly to comfortably be on the beach in short sleeves. But it was nice.

[-]

Becka_buni@reddit

Second this! Was a dump! Went on a holiday there to try save our relationship 🤣. Ex had to walk behind me whilst everyone shouted ‘sir what is wrong with your wife’ this guy chased us and put this monkey on us. Pure hell

[-]

Neither-Initiative54@reddit

Agree. I went about 10 or 11 years ago. Hotel was fine - it had lovely grounds, but I lasted about 45m in the medina before getting a taxi back to the hotel - didn't like it at all. Was there with my husband who was a very large chap, pushing 6ft5 and broad, and I am quite tall, blonde etc and we may as well have had a flashing light on our heads - we just got harassed everywhere we went. People trying to put bracelets on you, getting aggressive when we said no, just horrid. Airport was chaotic. Hotel was reasonable but definitely not enough reason to ever return. The city has some beautiful architecture but I felt so uneasy in the souks and city.

It has put me off going to anywhere where I might get hassled.

Marrakech was going to be my answer too. Visited with my friend (both female) when were in our late 20s. I'll partly blame my friend who likes to book DIY holidays. Got dropped off at the main square and had to look for our Riad ourself which at night when the area was heaving with people was terrifying. Nothing is signposted, we had to walk down scary alleyways and when we did find the Riad, they told us they didn't have a room for us so we had to go elsewhere.

Thankfully we only planned to stay in Marrkech for one night and then we moved on to Agadir for the remainder of the week which was slightly better. Still would never return though.

[-]

blueroses8000@reddit

That sounds awful that they just dropped you off and no one came to get you and of course that it was double booked as well. I wonder how different your trip would have been if that issue hadn’t happened and you stayed longer.

We went to Agadir and Marrakesh on the same trip (5 days in each) and we didn’t have problems at either but we found Marrakesh to be way more interesting and fun and I said I’d go back to Marrakesh but not Agadir (unless it was a really nice self contained resort). My friends and family who have been to both multiple times before me all told me the same thing, that Agadir is a bit boring and they keep going back to Marrakesh.

The markets are great and it's fun to barter. Go deep into the souks for a bargain, never buy near the gates as the prices there are higher for those just wandering in. The food has been amazing and the street food is all fresh and safe to eat.

Wife has been fine in any outfit she's worn, backless dresses and shorts etc. There seems to be plenty of young women in groups walking around in similar Western holiday clothing.

We've had no tour guide and just used GPS to find our way, phone has been on show on multiple occasions and never had a problem.

The monkeys and snake charmers in the square are known scammers but if you stay 10ft away and don't stop they won't approach you. Better not to reward animal cruelty for a photograph anyway.

Overall I'd highly recommend the place and would definitely come back! I suppose it just depends what you're into!

[-]

gin0clock@reddit

This reads like a Marrakesh government PR spin.

The experience I had contradicts everything you're saying.

[-]

Wesside288@reddit

I would concur with everything he said, Morocco is a wonderful place full of wonderful people.

[-]

gin0clock@reddit

He and you are in the minority in this thread. I've dug out my review from a thread called "where's the most disappointing place you've ever visited":

"Marrakech.

Airport was a chaotic shitshow on arrival.

Whilst looking for our private transfer, multiple random men stood loitering outside the airport tried to convince us they were our transfer but couldn't provide a name or number to verify.

Hotel was 4 stars, but filthy and immediately tried to push us into buying excursion tickets on arrival. Air-conditioning was almost non existent and one night we went to sleep in the lobby for a couple of hours as a break from the heat in our room.

Hotel buffets are always poor, totally acknowledge that, but I watched the fella hand making omelettes, handling raw meat with no hygiene measures in place, wearing a watch. Flies and wasps on the fruit inside the dining rooms. It was like watching an exercise in how to fail food standards inspections.

Got food poisoning from room service on our second day, wrote off the third day.

Went to the local shops to buy some more sterile, snacky food, security tried to search my bag and confiscate the snacks we bought, a concierge stepped in to help us out. She was the only person we left Marrakech with a positive opinion of.

The hotel staff regularly would 'forget' our change almost every time we bought a drink, when we challenged this someone patronisingly explained tipping is part of the culture and I had to awkwardly explain that I'm happy to tip people, but not £3 when the beer I purchased was £7... You handed me something from a fridge. You don't get a 30% tip.

When we went into the city we were harassed by taxi drivers in like a "scared for our fucking lives" kind of way outside the YSL museum. We used the alternative to Uber and taxi drivers would run at the car as they arrived so that we couldn't get in the taxi and tried to bully us into their taxis.

When we finally got sick of the sheer hassle, we got a taxi from the hotel, and the driver was on his phone for the entire journey texting, he also insisted we call him on his private number for a ride home because "taxis in Marrakech aren't safe..." Went to a really nice roofless restaurant but the humidity was combatted by 2 or 3 electric fans. Literally had to peel my trousers off when we got back to the hotel, did not use the taxi driver from before.

Went to Jardin Majorelle, really lovely until afterwards where once again we were rabidly harassed by taxi drivers.

Went to KFC to try and eat something that might not make us sick one night. The guy behind the counter laughed at my girlfriend when she ordered her food and looked at me to confirm her order. The sexism was fucking obscene everywhere we ordered food, but that one took the mustard. (Edit: the chicken was pink and the guy I complained to said that's normal)

The highlight was a hot air balloon ride that the hotel confirmed at 9pm the night before a 4am excursion time.

The airport took 3 hours to get through on the way home, we didn't sit down once from front door to the plane.

We sat next to a Muslim lady on the way home who lived near to us at home at the time who said she was disgusted by the general behavior of the locals and said it wasn't a good representation of her religion and apologized to us, bless her.

My lasting impression of Marrakech was that it's a developing country that plays on that in a kind of feigned ignorance. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Every Moroccan who has replied to me about my experience on Reddit has told me that I'm wrong or lying about my experiences."

[-]

Wesside288@reddit

That may be the case but it does not negate the legitimacy of my experience, I shall say once again that I found Morocco to be a fabulous country populated by kind, respectful people from whom I learned a great deal that I still carry with me to this day. I do not wish to dismiss anyone else’s opinions but there is a great deal in what people have written that suggests that they went there with preconceived ideas.

[-]

gin0clock@reddit

Pre-conceived?

In good faith I would ask, can you elaborate please?

[-]

jo24sh@reddit

I assure you I don't work for the Moroccan government! 😂

Although if they offered me a job here I'll be glad to get off the sinking ship we call home.

Developing countries excite me because they are developing. Always something being built, always opportunities for hustlers to make money selling something they cooked at home, sure it can be rough at times.

My favourite thing has been the locals guessing french, then German, then Spanish before finally realising I'm British. It's as far from a benidorm holiday as you can get on a 4hr flight.

[-]

Wesside288@reddit

I think that is a lot of the problem, people actually being required to meet others on a human level seems to be too much to ask, clicking their fingers for uno mas beero por favor is more a lot of folks pace.

[-]

I couldn't wait to get out of Marrakesh when I went. Was our last family holiday and it was such a shit way to go out. 37 degrees every day and my sister and I getting harassed constantly the moment we stepped out of the hotel despite my dad being with us. Had a shit time and the food wasn't even good to make up for it.

[-]

Mental_Issue5109@reddit

This! Would never return to Marrakesh. My black boyfriend was called racial slurs on the street and the staring from men made me so uncomfortable

[-]

apple_kicks@reddit

I remember someone telling me thing is to pay a guide who will keep aggressive sellers away

[-]

StargazyPi@reddit

Yeah, I had a great time in Morocco with family. We booked onto a tour, but it was low season, so just ended up being us, a driver and a guide.

The comments towards your wife are shitty, that shouldn’t happen anywhere. I went with my husband, albeit was about 8 years ago when we were early 20’s and never had anyone harass me in that way thankfully. The most that happened to us was people kept trying to offer my husband 🌱

The stalls harassing I completely expected, and the lack of nightlife is kind of a given as for the most part it’s a dry country (we couldn’t buy any alcohol in most places at the time other than at our hotel, and the odd mojito in a restaurant).

I wouldn’t go there as a solo female traveller though unless you’re fully expectant of this stuff and are comfortable dealing with it. Other areas of Morocco may be better suited, I have female friends who have been to the coast for surfing and said it was incredible

[-]

Kind_Shift_8121@reddit

Morocco is such a mixed bag. The tourist hotspots are atrocious but most of the country is amazing and with such great people.

I toured it on a motorcycle years ago and was staggered by how welcoming and kind most of the population was.

[-]

kirkbywool@reddit

When was this as I wwnt in February ans enjoyed it, and was prepared for it to br shit as heard horror stories. My girlfriend didnt get any grief really but she did get stressed out ans worried about crossing the roads and lack of pavements.

I didnt mind bartering in the souks and had no issues, though woukd politely but firmly tell people no or to go sway if they tried to "help" us. Only taxis that were the issues with ripping us off but only got 2 of them when I went out to the new town to watch the football.

Yeah, the drinking wasnt the best but tbh didnt really go out there for that, though one night we planned to go drinking in new town after the footy my girlfriend said she was sick ans wanted to go home. Think it might have been the vibes in the Irish pub that put her off as it was worst pub I have ever been in

[-]

Entire_Pen9097@reddit

Came here to say Morocco. Got so sick

[-]

concrete_marshmallow@reddit

Morocco was boring.

We travelled all over (on a tour) boring food, cool architechture, felt safe but out of place as women in a male focused country. Can't find a beer, really missed people watching at a bar.

Mountains/dessert were cool, but there are way better places to see those without the religious/domineering vibe.

Also, foreigners are just seen as cash cows, that got real old real fast.

And the tipping culture they have was super annoying.

[-]

frenchois1@reddit

True but even the harassment claims with these countries I take with a pinch of salt - there are a lot of hivemind type behaviour and oneupmanship on Reddit whenever they come up.

I was in Egypt for eg recently with other white women, one who was ginger and we had the best time and found the people particularly friendly and warm. Are street hawkers full on? Yes but if you have any logic, they’re still easy to deal with. Just ignore and walk on and they leave you alone immediately. I even haggled a few times and got great bargains.

In contrast, I got felt up for the first time in years….in Tokyo, and found the Japanese people cold and unfriendly in general. Yet on Reddit, it’s the greatest place on earth for tourists.

[-]

To be fair, I visited Egypt and experienced this actually. We took a Nile cruise and the very small cruise boat was armed, with a big gun on the back of the top deck. We also took a day trip across the dessert to visit a temple and had to travel in a convoy with tourists from other hotels/boats with armed police escorting us. This was in 2010 I think, and it was considered a safe country to visit from the UK at the time (whereas now there are more cautions advised).

[-]

aarontbarratt@reddit

Agreed

I am British/Maltese. Many Maltese people go to Tunisia on holiday without issue. It's not a warzone with dead bodies in the street lol

[-]

bill_end@reddit

Thank fuck we're not allowing young men from counties like tunisia to immigrate to the UK en masse. Otherwise we'd be subjecting our citizens to the behaviour you refer to. Obviously no sane politician would endorse such a policy, would they?

[-]

Thatchers-Gold@reddit

Some bloke grabbed my preteen (blonde) little sister’s arm and pulled her into a shop when we were there. Looking back on it I admire my dad’s restraint

[-]

CraftBeerFomo@reddit

Bro's acting like he went on a family holiday to Somalia during the civil war.

There's no doubt the place was a bit grim and you got hassled by beggars and hawkers but you didn't need an armed guard and there definitely weren't dead bodies in the street.

But that's hardly different from a lot of tourist destinations or cities around the world, there's always people trying to extract money or scam tourists and beggars and Street kids are common the world over.

[-]

sjnyo@reddit

Sounds like my parents trip to Mexico about 15 years ago, they strayed too far I guess but sure poverty - children with limbs missing begging etc. Not sure if there’s still parts like that.

[-]

breadandbutter123456@reddit

I know plenty of women who’ve been to every country.

When I was in Egypt, we were at a fairly remote train station waiting for a train. As we were waiting to buy tickets, an Egyptian man got annoyed with us because my wife was waiting in the queue with me on the men only side of the queue. We worked it out and moved.

As we waited for the train, a couple (British) turned up. The girl was wearing gym shorts and a crop top. The guy was wearing a gym top and shorts. For sure they got treated differently than we did.

They were nice enough couple (hence I know they were from london) but what she was wearing was wildly inappropriate.

I had no problem with any element of the hotel, people, location, food, safety, cleanliness etc. In my experience it was no different to greek islands, Turkey, Mexico and Cape Verde - all of which have similar negatives written.

Where I would never go is Egypt. The family and friends stories about the harassment, especially in younger girls/women is shocking. However, my sister would go there because she loved/loves the attention, and is her go-to destination.

I would definitely return to Tunisia

[-]

AndrewHinds67@reddit

I've got a solar eclipse trip planned for next year. I'm dreading it.

[-]

KungenBob@reddit

Then don’t go?

“But I’ve already spent the money, and I can’t get it back!”

that's probably true, although when i went it was me and my girlfriend, both 19 years old

also the original comment's biggest problems were falling sick from the food and seeing stray dogs and horses, neither of which are anything to do with men vs women experience lol

[-]

Ok-Cauliflower-1997@reddit

I went to Sousse in December last year with a group and had a fantastic time. The original post said they went 15 years ago so it might be that attitudes have changed. I was out and about with my husband, by myself and with friends and the only trouble i ever saw was people trying to sell stuff. Clearly my experience is not universal but its definitely not a male / female thing.

[-]

Ok-Explanation1990@reddit

I think experiences probably vary with looks, age and hair colour.

My wife and I got strategically separated at a market - she tried at the back by a group of men whilst the guys at the front teamed up to so me getting near her. I'll never go back.

[-]

Long_Creme2996@reddit

Are you blonde?

[-]

The weird thing is, when I went it was a 4 star hotel, private beach and lovely pool, etc. Then within 100m of leaving it WAS like slums. You had to book an escort or pre-order a taxi direct from the hotel because it straight up was not recommended to walk through town.

Very jarring the disconnect between tourist area and how they really live.

[-]

Sweet_Confusion9180@reddit

Honestly I couldn't tell you, it was so long ago and just a "cheap all inclusive" style package holiday.

I know we flew into Tunis and took a coach from there, maybe 45 minutes or an hour from the city.

Our hotel was on the beach with pool etc. I don't remember the hotel being bad it was just the whole experience. I wouldn't go back.

I remember we did one day trip to the big market / medina in Tunis. Just a lot of people harrassing you to buy something.

[-]

Indecisive_C@reddit

I'm not defending the place but the henna tattoo was probably black henna and is commonly offered in loads of holiday destinations. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't know that black henna isn't proper henna and often causes allergic reactions which can blister and scar.

[-]

Pyjama365@reddit

I hear this a lot, but unexpectedly the only sexual harassment I got on my trip to Tunisia was by a member of staff at Manchester Piccadilly station on the way home. All the sales tactic comments I heard were gender-neutral, with not a single comment about my appearance (despite having pink hair at the time), and were equally directed at my male partner (I also know a few gendered slurs in Arabic that my friend taught me, and didn't knowingly pick up on any of those).

DependentPen8805@reddit

Bulgaria 14 years ago wasn’t great

[-]

Excellent-Law-218@reddit

Dubai. It was a work contract, but i did also have several days not working, and hated it.

When that fancy burj hotel was built, they managed to get their slave labour to create a fancy building but forgot the basic infrastructure. So, you'd be sat out on your "7 star" balcony of a morning with your 20quid croissant, smelling a procession of poo trucks going past because nobody thought to design a sewerage system.

I'd rather be eating a 2quid croissant at a Milton Keynes Premier Inn, safe in the knowledge that all of the poos from the hotel guests had long since floated down the sewers, not built up in a big tank waiting for the tanker to take them away.

[-]

Kaleidoscope_75@reddit

It's not all tacky. Burj Al Arab is quite an old and outdated hotel, despite its 7 star status. There are plenty less chintzy hotels available, with great service and food. I love going to Dubai. It's very family-oriented and usually very safe, despite what's going on at the moment. Dubai mall is a lovely place to visit of an evening, and I love soaking up the atmosphere on the many beaches, like Mamzar and Jumeirah.

[-]

FonJosse@reddit

Well, that's the thing, though. It seems that all they have is hotels, malls and beaches.

[-]

Kaleidoscope_75@reddit

I hear you, but there's Glibsl Village, and the kids love the theme parks. I, for one, love the beaches. Zero violence or having to worry about being mugged. The pros outweigh the cons.

[-]

FonJosse@reddit

This place is tacky and soulless.

I can understand why some people wouldn’t enjoy it but what exactly was it that made you hate it so much? genuinely curious.

[-]

InvestigatorPurple61@reddit

I went for a 10 day business trip in November. I HATED it. Here’s some of the reasons why - which are very personal to me. I’ve also included some nice things too.

Barely any nature or useable outside space. You very much feel like you are in a city all the time. And the few parks they have it’s too hot to go to or not easily accessible.
Constantly feel like you are in the city. Chilling by the pool in my hotel, a nice hotel in downtown by the Palm - you are surrounded by skyscrapers.
AIR POLLUTION - it is literally off the charts. They don’t even publish the air quality data on Apple Weather in Dubai. In the uk it’s about 2 on the air quality index (very good) and Dubai is about 75. I felt like I was getting cancer walking around combined with all the car fumes. You should spend limited time outdoors there.
Unwalkable. Genuinely. Want to cross the street? Can’t. There’s no pavements. You have to be picked up and taken over the flyover. Some people see this as luxury I guess.
Ethnic minorities are basically the only ones in service positions. Just gives a really weird vibe.
Traffic is unreal - to the point I cancelled multiple evening plans so I didn’t have to spend 1.5h in the back of an uber going a few miles.

Nice things: - outrageously good restaurant scene - fab service in hotels and hospitality - clean and good quality of life if you have the money

[-]

pajamakitten@reddit

Ethnic minorities are basically the only ones in service positions. Just gives a really weird vibe.

Slavery is pretty off-putting.

[-]

noodledoodledoo@reddit

Hey, they're not all slaves! Some of them are simply exploited!

[-]

TommyRiddles@reddit

Dubai is a beautiful place. As is Abu Dhabi, Oman, Qatar etc. If you experience any of these places through the lens of influencers you'll never understand what they're like and of course dislike them because you dislike influencer culture. They are peaceful, harmonious and tolerant places that offer opportunities to all. They welcome migrants from all over the world and give them the opportunity to have more. People in the west don't understand that many people in the world have an average annual income of less than $600. Would you too double or triple your income and live in a peaceful, safe and sunny place if possible?

[-]

pajamakitten@reddit

They are peaceful, harmonious and tolerant places that offer opportunities to all.

LGBT people and women need not apply.

They welcome migrants from all over the world and give them the opportunity to have more.

While taking their passports from them to prevent them from leaving, keeping them locked in jobs in a country where workers' rights do not exist.

[-]

TommyRiddles@reddit

LGBTQ people are free to live there. You clearly haven't been there. I have an LGBTQ family member that loves it there. What you have to understand over there is that there are two lines. The official government line, and the real line. Think of it like your government's official line on illegal downloading and streaming vs the real line. Your leader will never condone illegal file sharing, but they literally couldn't care less in practice.

The government has no part in this and actively has measures in place for people to report this happening, there are very bad employers all over the world. Every western country has at least as many shady characters and actors that exploit other humans. Your country is no less guilty of this happening. The only difference is that your country doesn't welcome migrants to better their lives. If they did, that would automatically create people that acted in bad faith too.

Your position is hypocritical. You do not have the moral high ground that you think you do. The rest of the world sees that but you don't.

[-]

pajamakitten@reddit

So your family member holds their partner's hand in public and could kiss in front of a police officer just fine then? They go to Dubai Pride every year and there are gay bars that they go to that openly advertise themselves as such?

My country has welcomed immigrants to have a better life here. More recently with people from Hong Kong and Ukraine, but there was a huge drive after WW2 for people from the Caribbean, India etc. to come to the UK to work. We also have plenty of EU migrants here.

[-]

spik0rwill@reddit

Would you too double or triple your income and live in a peaceful, safe and sunny place if possible?

Hell no.

[-]

TommyRiddles@reddit

Why,?

[-]

spik0rwill@reddit

The thought of living anywhere in the Middle East is repulsive.

[-]

Kaleidoscope_75@reddit

Living in certain parts of the UK can be worse, trust me!!! Dubai isn't that bad at all.

[-]

bill_end@reddit

Until you fall foul of the authorities. There are plenty of British citizens, influencers and the like in jail just because they publicly admitted there are Iranian missile attacks happening.

The only people from the West in dubai are tax dodgers, gangsters and influencer types with no taste whatsoever. I guess you get a few vacous, vapid tourists who like to go and pretend they're sophisticated people, but everyone just laughs at such folk.

You couldn't pay me a million quid to go to such a shithole with such awful people.

[-]

spik0rwill@reddit

I'm sure you could say the same thing about Russia, but that doesn't mean I want to live there either.

[-]

PuzzleheadedOwl1191@reddit

You forgot the /s

[-]

TommyRiddles@reddit

What's that?

[-]

Would love to know more about your experience!

[-]

MrKiplingIsMid@reddit

I know someone who worked on transport projects over there and described Dubai as an ‘unfinished Gmod map”.

[-]

YouSayWotNow@reddit

Came to give the same answer. It was a group trip and I didn't choose it but figured I would give it a fair try.

Northern India, over 30 years ago. Saw things that I still remember now, some very good, some very bad. The poverty was a shock.

I used to say that given the choice of going to Northern India again or going to prison for a similar length of time it would need careful consideration.

[-]

MatrixDiscovery@reddit

I had an amazing time in Amritsar and Dharamshala personally. But then again we did stay with a wealthy Indian family who took great care of us with a chauffeur and planned days...

[-]

rohithimself@reddit

Surprised to see India make an appearance so far down in the thread. If it was an all-world sub, my home country would be mentioned above Vietnam for sure.

North India has improved in terms of the road infra, airports and organisation of the taxi transport from the airport, but the poverty will still shock you.People ogling women has reduced, but not vanished, especially at places where people from various social class orders intertwine, like the Delhi metro. Street food, especially cold, will still give you dysentry.most likely.

I think if someone makes their way past the golden triangle and spends some time in Rishikesh, they may be able to appreciate some of north India.

[-]

SlaBLister@reddit

People ogling women has reduced, but not vanished, especially at places where people from various social class orders intertwine, like the Delhi metro.

Finland during a winter when they didn't have snow.

Expensive and incredibly boring.

[-]

BromleyReject@reddit

My mate's from Denmark. We were having a laugh at how all the World's Strongest Man on TV is almost entirely made up of Estonians, Latvians and blokes from Finland. He said "It's because there's nothing to do except lift stuff"

[-]

jamie__0@reddit

I watch world strongest man, in the 2025 event of the 25 participants 0 were from the counties you have mentioned. Strange thing to make up.

[-]

BromleyReject@reddit

You've watched one World's Strongest Man a year ago.

I once had to sit & listen to a barber telling me how once a year he'd meet up in Thailand with his friends from all over the Europe and they'd sit around with Thai women on their laps who - & I quote - "were 21 but looked 12..."

I don't think they were 21.

I agree with all of that.

Thailand is an amazing place and the seedier bits are really easy to avoid but our perceptions of overweight, single middle aged men who go to Pattaya for 3 weeks packing a suitcase full of lube and Viagra are probably quite close to reality - and unfortunately little will change that.

[-]

pajamakitten@reddit

Thailand is a ridiculously popular holiday destination these days. No one is going to think you are there for sex tourism.

[-]

thisisntben@reddit

I went to Thailand earlier this year and you really shouldn’t avoid an experience just because you’re worried about how you’re going to be perceived. You’ll find you get more interest from the girls outside the massage parlours and bars perhaps but they’re not a problem. Life’s too short mate, enjoy it while you can!

[-]

And also Thailand is not just Phuket. I’m Thai and I’ve only been to Phuket once and I hated it. The whole vibe there is not like what the rest of Thailand is.

[-]

CraftBeerFomo@reddit

Maybe try not going to live in Red Light Districts for Western tourists masquerading as towns / seaside resorts?

Thailand is a big country and there are plenty of places you can go where you can avoid that completely.

[-]

aarontbarratt@reddit

What you're saying is the equivalent of a Thai person refusing to visit the UK because there is a red light district in Soho

There is a big difference between going to Phuket/Pattaya vs Sukhothai/Ayutthaya

[-]

SlaBLister@reddit

literally advancing on us like a snake and backing us into a corner trying to convince us to ‘take their tour’. Touching our arms to come along... Insisting, persisting with insisting…how many NOs need to be said?

LMAO these voids are so self centered 😂 Do you really think they're looking to their leg over with you? They're just trying to get money from tourists who don't know any better. Unless you're firm, they won't leave you alone, regardless of gender. Source: am an Asian male who travelled to Morocco with 10 other asian lads and literally saw this exact same pestering.

[-]

LadyNajaGirl@reddit

For some reason I can’t see that awful comment that you made to me on my post so I’ll reply here. I hope the moderators removed it. That being said, you seemed to accuse me of disliking ‘brown people’ and that I believed in an outdated ideology that women are ‘fragile’. I want to be clear - travelling alone as a blonde female WILL get you attention and no doesn’t always mean no despite how firm you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re an Asian male or not- it’s not your experience. If you read a lot of comments on women’s travel experiences, they will tell you exactly the same. It has nothing to do with ‘brown people’ or whether or not I’m a ‘fragile female’ but everything to do with how I’ve personally experienced it. I really hope this has cleared it up for you.

[-]

SlaBLister@reddit

Okay, I do apologize for the mean words, so allow me to adjust my tone. I think you're looking at this the wrong way. You're interpreting these signs from what is a western cultural lens and what that implies in western culture. So in that regard, I can't say I blame you for interpreting these actions the way you do. But that doesn't mean it can't be recontexualized.

With all respect, I just don't see any solid evidence to support your blonde female theory, aside from fringe anecdotes that would naturally get a lot of attention (see missing white woman syndrome). The people that you described are almost all salesmen of some sorts, especially in a location like Marrakech. They want one thing: money. money from tourists, especially those that look like they aren't from the local area. So that means people like you and I!

I would also like to take this opportunity to say that I am sorry for the way I came across in my other replies, it was out of order. And I am sorry that you experienced what you did and I hope you stay safe :>

[-]

LadyNajaGirl@reddit

Thanks lovely. It’s unbelievable the amount of weird responses I’ve had to my post. It’s always men making strange assumptions or trying to play down a woman’s experience. I am a world traveller (very grateful) and have also done numerous solo road trips around the UK, mainland Europe and Western America. I am very familiar with safety and I won’t compromise that over a man’s feelings. The world isn’t always kind to us, even when we do nothing wrong. It comes from a very male privileged place to even think about criticising a woman whose experiences with travel isn’t always positive, but still wants to see all the beauty the world has to offer.

[-]

zwifter11@reddit

Cuba was stressful at the begining but once I got the hang of the casa process the rest of the trip just fell into place and I found it easy to talk to people about life in Cuba. There was this rough looking dude I played chess with; barefoot and wore only jorts. He chugged his rum straight from the bottle. He had a PhD in a Mechanical Engineering subject.

[-]

honeymeadowss@reddit (OP)

Disgusting in what way?

[-]

ObviousOrca@reddit

Do you not read up on the countries you wish to visit?

glitterjorts@reddit

I’ve also been to Benidorm for a 40th 🤦‍♀️ I’ve heard since then that the old town is lovely and completely different, you could escape there one day?

[-]

Big-Priority-6249@reddit

It’s not that bad. Take it for what it is and you’ll have a good time. I was surprised how clean it was when I went

[-]

Sweet_Confusion9180@reddit

Benidorm is an embarrassment. It's basically a British colony in Spain full of sun damaged boomers.

[-]

beggingforfootnotes@reddit

It’s a shame what us brits have probably done to the place because I’m sure it was probably a lovely city many many years ago

[-]

Boogaaa@reddit

Jimmy the Giant did a video about this where he talks about it being illegal to wear a bikini in Benidorm in the (I think) 50s/ 60s, but the British tourism was worth so much the mayor drove across the country to speak with the government about overturning that law for British tourists.

Yes, but probably not economically very viable. Prior to the 1950s, the population had been dwindling and the village wasn't going to survive.

Bifanarama@reddit

Same with the Algarve. Such a shame to see.

[-]

charlierc@reddit

This may just be hipster-ness from me but the Spanish places I want to explore are the actual cities - been to Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville and thought all were really nice to wander about. Benidorm having a part that is just El Brexito has just never really appealed to me

[-]

LuDdErS68@reddit

I've been to Benidorm twice with my family and really can't fault it. The Spaniards are very friendly, love kids and, if you make even the most basic attempts to say please and thank you in Spanish, you'll be treated like a king.

agbrigg@reddit

Do you have any attractions or areas to recommend in LA? We have 3 days there as part of a US-wide trip but it's the one place that doesn't really interest me and the research i've done hasn't really helped

[-]

No-Row-9994@reddit

Hey! I lived there for a few years so can chime in. I'd recommend taking advantage of the outdoors if the usual touristy sites aren't your thing.

Go to Malibu or Rancho Palos Verdes for a nice day in the sun/near the beach. The latter is much less touristy but also a lot smaller however it's my personal favourite.

You can do Beverly Hills but not the touristy way... check out the Greystone mansion then go for a nice walk/light hike around Franklin Canyon. Then you can go for lunch somewhere called Bravo Toast on Doheny Dr (more locals than tourists, nice street to sit outside on, less busy than Rodeo).

I'd also recommend The Getty museum. The gardens are just INCREDIBLE.

I'd skip Downtown LA unless you have a specific reason to want to go there.

Brentwood is nice, they have a nice farmer's market that a lot of locals love, but I don't know the area super well.

Echo Park or Los Feliz is you're into a more hipster/art scene.

And if you like Middle Eastern food, Carousel restaurant is a must try!

[-]

BlitzballPlayer@reddit

So there are the big attractions like seeing the Hollywood Sign and the Chinese Theatre and surrounding Hollywood Boulevard (including the Walk of Fame). I really loved the Highland Park neighbourhood (has an alternative/hipster vibe to it, at least it did in 2018 haha). It's got interesting places to eat, thrift shops, etc.

The Downtown area has the beautiful art deco City Hall and a lot of big shops, as well as impressive modern architecture. But you definitely have to avoid wandering into the dangerous Skid Row which is very close to it.

Downtown also has Little Tokyo and nearby China Town. A fairly short drive/taxi ride away is Koreatown.

Beverly Hills has the Rodeo Drive luxury shopping street, which was interesting just to browse for me and soak in the atmosphere. Definitely beyond my budget in terms of actually shopping haha.

If you have time to head out a little bit, nearby Santa Monica has a beautiful beach and an iconic pier with attractions on it, which is a fun way to spend an afternoon. It's about 20 minutes' drive from Downtown LA (can be longer depending on traffic).

Overall, everything is quite spread out, but I found getting an Uber around easy. A lot of people prefer New York City because it's densely packed with attractions. LA seems to divide people more but the climate, friendly people, and natural beauty of the surrounding landscapes made it such a great trip for me.

[-]

blueroses8000@reddit

What did you do in Vegas? As someone who’s not interested in gambling and doesn’t drink I always assumed it would be pointless for me to go there.

[-]

BlitzballPlayer@reddit

We spent a while wandering around the various themed casinos. They’re cheesy, but kind of a spectacle in themselves. The Venetian is an impressive building.

There are a lot of shops which are fun to browse, and a lot of restaurants to choose from.

Our hotel room was really high up so it was cool to see the skyline by day and night.

Actually driving to and from Vegas was cool for me because it was the desert and so different to anything I’d seen before.

Vegas is cool if you can appreciate the tackiness and craziness of it all. The problem these days is it's so expensive hence why it's in a massive slump- if you speak to older Americans they'll tell you that back In the day it was cheap which was why it was popular.

You always hear stories of people getting a free hotel room in casino etc back in the 90s if you gambled enough you wouldn't get that now. It used to be a cheap break with cheap shows etc now everything decent is extortionate there.

I now live quite near Vegas - I'm done after 3 days.

Last time I went I met 3 English girls who were there for 2 weeks! What a nightmare that would be.

[-]

VolcanicBear@reddit

Christ 2 weeks sounds horrendous. I'm massive stoner and general messer, work gave a confidence there every year. 3 days is definitely enough.

[-]

tetlee@reddit

Yeah, I met them on their first day so no idea how they dealt with it. I'd have been ad-hoc booking a rental car and hotel somewhere else after a week

[-]

Mushyboom@reddit

Agree with LA. Not sure what I was expecting but it certainly wasn’t the intense smell of pissy asphalt and terrible, overpriced food.

Egypt was the worst travel experience of my life. I hated it. It has nothing going for it at all.

aunt_satan@reddit

What part of Turkey was this? I'm going to Istanbul and I'm assuming they're a bit less effed in the head there.

[-]

MrBlackledge@reddit

Agree on turkey but I’ve been multiple times to Egypt, and I’ve enjoyed it every time. Admittedly the old Pharaohs revenge might ya but other than that the resorts are great, snorkelling/scuba is amazing and the people are generally pretty nice.

Cairo is an absolute shithole though.

[-]

Different_Bake_611@reddit

Cairo is the worst place I've ever been. We've been a few times to go diving and it's incredible but Cairo was such a shithole and the people there were borderline violent at times we saw the museum, bought a fez and got back on the coach.

[-]

honeymeadowss@reddit (OP)

Omg why?? To both?? My partner wants to go to Egypt as he’s dyingggg to see the pyramids. And we are going to Greece in July and want to do the boat trip to Marmaris 🥲

[-]

CulturedClub@reddit

Egypt is fantastic! Spend your days snorkeling in water almost as warm as a bath. Take bananas in the water and you can hand feed thousands of fish. The red sea is so salty you just lie on or in the water with zero effort. Get one of the new full face snorkel masks here before you go.

Assuming you stay in sharm-el-sheik book the flying trip to Cairo and the pyramids (the overnight bus is torture). The pyramids just cant be fully appreciated until you see them irl. They're mesmerising. As is the sphinx.

bigdogroundhere@reddit

Lived in Hurghada for almost a year. Amazing place. Lovely locals.

Can’t wait to buy my own apartment out there in a few years!

[-]

MayDuppname@reddit

I have been in July and managed fine, but it was into the 50s C. Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

I love Egypt. Had some of the happiest days of my life there. It's the only place I've ever hitchhiked (out of desperation) and the very first vehicle to pass me picked me up and took me to my destination. He then refused to take money from me.

Make friends with a local and you'll have the holiday of a lifetime. Luxor is virtually empty in the July heat. The valleys of the kings and Queens are sheltered and insanely hot, but worth a visit when there are few other tourists around.

Hurghada is the most beautiful and incredible place to land in at night. A shining beacon in the desert.

[-]

blueroses8000@reddit

Been to only Antalya twice, stayed in old town and a resort the other time and no problems at all. Everyone I know has been Antalya and Istanbul and love it, never heard a complaint.

Went to Egypt last year. Everyone was so kind and friendly. Lots of come into my shop etc, but no one running down the road, dragging us in.

Portugal is lovely. Albufeira is beautiful. Loved it there. I was in Montechorro, albeit a long time ago

[-]

I went to albufeira in february. It was dead, not even a local in sight. None of the restaurants or shops opened and it genuinely looked like a ghost town. Didn't see a single queue in the airport and there were like 20 people on the flight too. Beach was lovely though since the weather was mostly warm.

The Blackpool zoo is really nice.

[-]

StrictlyMarzipanOwl@reddit

Went to Rebellion Festival a couple of years back. Both the visitors and locals were all lovely people (not the flag shaggers who tried to stir shit up - they had to lock down the venue whilst the march was on)

Yes, it's a bit rough around the edges, but to visit for a long weekend, it was good fun. Had a fab time. And I say it again, all the locals we met were lovely.

[-]

Legitimate_Spray_127@reddit

This is hilarious. Got made to go to Blackpool on a work conference (assuming the venue was cheap), was a super weird trip. We walked from a Travellodge to the seafront and saw the weirdest things, from literal gang fights in the middle of the street to public sex outside of a pub. Also saw Boy George outside of a venue as he was performing there at the time. Bizarre place, there’s dumps and then there’s Blackpool.

[-]

seatemperature11215@reddit

Public sex?? Bit cold for that usually, I'd have thought!

[-]

Grayvolution@reddit

Ouch. Genuine question, why is Blackpool seen so badly?

[-]

alastairreed@reddit

Blackpool is over hated.

It has its issues like all towns, and there’s a lot of poverty there which people don’t really like to see when they go on holiday.

But honestly, like most places, there are nice bits and bad bits. For young children there’s really loads to do from a tourism point of view - attractions and theme parks and rides on the pier etc.

Stanley Park is genuinely beautiful as are many of the stretches of coast line. The surrounding towns of Poulton-le-Fylde, Cleveleys and Lytham St Annes are much more refined and pleasant. I think people’s mistake is staying in/visiting the areas in the centre of town which are undeniably deprived.

There’s a lot of work happening to try and resolve the issues the town has along with undoing the seemingly never ending negative PR from many people who have never even visited.

I went over 20 yrs ago. I was in my late teens. My ex had family over there. I had a blast because of the nightlife.

Times have changed though. The world has changed.

[-]

charlierc@reddit

Feel like nightlife has gone downhill everywhere, no? Or at least in a lot of places

[-]

Scotchnittenpoopen@reddit

I live near Blackpool. Everyone I speak to not from around it thinks we must visit all the time. Nope. Awful, awful place.

Look at any metric for the top 10 in drug, alcohol, domestic violence, life expectancy and Blackpool tops the leagues.

The front is nice looking out to sea, but turn around and it’s the dirtiest, tacky, scummy place in Britain.

I cannot tell people enough to avoid. Unless you like seeing drunks and druggies at 11 am.

TBF the pleasure beach used to be ok, but haven’t been there for years.

[-]

Puzzleheaded_Bat6401@reddit

I knew friends who traveled to Blackpool every year, it seemed they had fun. I had thought of going to experience the place but after reading the comments here I don’t know. I would like to visit for a travel experience. Have you ever been to Liverpool? Any thoughts about other places in England?

[-]

Scotchnittenpoopen@reddit

Liverpool is nice, especially the docks and the one centre.

Yup, Been most places, mostly great, people have different cultures, customs, all under the same sun but different rays, most people are similar to us, they can be welcoming a d .ost just want what we want, stay off the beaten track is all I would say

[-]

zwifter11@reddit

I’ve spent a few weeks in Napoli. The first impression does look grim with graffiti absolutely everywhere and inadequate street lighting at night. On my first trip to Napoli there was literally mountains of rubbish on street corners as the bin men went on strike.

However I never felt unsafe or at risk of violent crime. After a while I became desensitised to the graffiti and grime. The nightlife of Quartieri Spagnoli has a certain character. The worst I experienced was being ripped off with tourist prices and one local buy being very pushy wanting a tip.

And like most cities, it has its nice ”upmarket” parts. As you head east along the sea front promenade to Chiaia and Posillipo it gets quite nice. With property prices as high as the UK.

And you’re within easy travelling distance of some beautiful scenery like the Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Pompeii, Vesuvius and Capri.

[-]

Greedy-Passion6562@reddit

I LOVED Naples, but then I did visit just after Napoli won their league. The atmosphere was incredible. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

[-]

Necessary-Crazy-7103@reddit

You seem to be a man from some pictures on your profile so maybe you're just not aware of the privilege you have that enables you to make the most of each travel experience you've had. Women are forced to move through the world in a vastly different way and have to avoid some experiences altogether for our own safety.

[-]

KILOCHARLIES@reddit

I disagree with the term “privilege”, yes women have to be more concerned with safety and avoid situations that could go badly, but so do I as a white man. I don’t go to dodgy areas, make sure I stick to where tourists go, be careful of people trying to fight or rob me, it’s not a vastly difference experience where I have complete autonomy to do and go where I like.

Using that as an excuse as is women can’t have the same experiences as me is a total cop out.

Think ahead, stick in groups, do research just like I do and you’ll have a great time as well. Or you can stay at home and think you’re underprivileged and wallow in pity. Meanwhile most of the world’s people (men and especially women) don’t have the money or ability to have those experiences as they are actually underprivileged. That’s not you.

[-]

blah_bitty_blah@reddit

Tell me your a man with privilege, without telling me your a man with privilege 🤣

[-]

Necessary-Crazy-7103@reddit

We can't have the same experience as you and yes you're privileged by virtue of having a dick. Get over it.

[-]

Lulovesyababy@reddit

I love this comment.

There’s likely nowhere listed here you’ll get experiences like that for a day or two unless you are going out of your way to constantly visit market places and shops etc. All the interactions people complain about here are limited to brief shopping trips where they encounter locals or when they stray away from the tourist areas. Trust me, you’ll be absolutely fine.

After having those brief experiences on a lot more occasions that the average person though, it almost becomes a familiar way of interacting with locals. I tend to enjoy the back and forth now, look forward to the haggling if I want to purchase something and it generally acts as an ice breakers to interact with locals after they’ve tried their opening pushy patter.

I’ve told many that allowing tourists to look in their own time and be calmer is likely to yield better sales but they generally reply that since everyone else selling the same stuff in the area is pushy, doing the opposite doesn’t yield good results and I agree.

If you want to avoid it completely though, either stick to staying inside resorts (nothing wrong with that) or go to retail destinations such as Hong Kong, Singapore, NYC, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur etc if you want to do shopping without any stress. You’ll only get minimal pushy behaviour if you go to the more markety places there. Most shops I find you have to actually go hunting for a sales person if you want to buy something.

[-]

Richard__Papen@reddit

I'm not actually that bothered about shopping, i'd just like to see interesting countries without being badgered. Ah I had hoped the 'off the beaten track' parts might be easier.

You might be right that I'd get used to it in a way. I guess once your confidence is up you might even be able to have a laugh about it all.

Well done on trying to change their approach! Do you think a lot of visitors find themselves giving in to pressure tactics?

BTW I don't even like sales staff in British shops approaching me and it often makes me much more inclined to go elsewhere.

[-]

KILOCHARLIES@reddit

Going as part of an organised tourist group with a local guide is probably the best option if you want to go off the beaten track but don’t want to be hassled. Tell them you have difficulty dealing with being accosted by salespeople and I bet instances would be few and far between.

I do find though it’s almost like chatting up girls. Highly intimidating at first but once you’ve been knocked back a few times or had an experience where it’s nowhere as bad a first assumed, it becomes quite a normal way to interact with strangers.

I do think a lot of tourists do give in to pushy sales staff but it’s from the lack of being able to be firm without coming off as rude. There’s probably 10x the amount though that would have spent money but don’t as the seller can be interpreted as hostile. I’m guilty of the latter still to this day as sometimes I just not in the mood. I just say no or don’t even make eye contact and keep walking. They don’t take offence as there’s always another tourist steps away.

[-]

Richard__Papen@reddit

I've never liked the idea of an organised group because of the cost and relative lack of adventure but now I'm getting on a bit it could be a good option - better than not going at all, which is what is currently happening!

Haha I'm not sure I've ever chatted anyone up, ok maybe once (I was on fire that night!!) - I've either thought bloomin' 'eck they're fit but never dared do anything about it or maybe if they're nearby anyway just had a "friendly chat" and if something happened, great.

Interesting, so an astute seller may do well to change their approach. Humour and charm could definitely work, I think. I wonder how much rivalry there is between different sellers and if it ever gets violent.

[-]

KILOCHARLIES@reddit

It feels more cheesy than it actually is. You’ll see far more than if you did it on your own, you’ll have others that are in the same boat as you and I’d bet you’d have an amazing time. The south east Asia tours are especially good. Loads of solo travellers and vast things to see.

Yeah it gets violent with sellers sometimes but never tourists. It’s their lifeblood and it never goes there. I always find a bit of Del Boy banter back and forth breaks the ice and it’s all humour and friendliness after. You’ll be fine.

[-]

Richard__Papen@reddit

Good point and also they could serve as a confidence builder to go out on my own sometime.

Cheers.

[-]

KILOCHARLIES@reddit

I swear you’ll come back a changed person. And you’ll like have pulled a few other solo travellers and be a certified international haggler 👍

[-]

Richard__Papen@reddit

😄😄 Cheers. You should be a motivational speaker!

[-]

Loud_Fisherman_5878@reddit

It depends on the level of it. I’ve been places where a whole crowd of people followed us and the crowd kept growing- it wasn’t comfortable at all and also really sad that it was necessary for them. I didn’t find the hassle in Marrakesh a bother at all although my girlfriend did because she hadn’t been anywhere like it before (I’m a woman too so it isn’t that she was getting a different experience to me based on gender which I imagine does happen).

[-]

Richard__Papen@reddit

A whole crowd does sound very unnerving.

Do you think women get hassled more than men?

[-]

superioso@reddit

You just ignore them and they go away. It's not exactly difficult.

[-]

Loud_Fisherman_5878@reddit

Depends on the place, usually they do but in Cambodia the crowd just grew.

[-]

A lot of these comments do seem like that is the case. Also a lot of people maybe not tolerating the local food well or not knowing how to stay safe- my old job used to send people to India and everyone would come back saying they had spent the whole week on the toilet ‘and I was so careful, I only ate sandwiches and I got them from our hotel!’ Sandwiches in India are not the safest food at all!

[-]

Ok-Swan1152@reddit

Darwin?!

[-]

Loud_Fisherman_5878@reddit

Me too, or they think they are taking precautions but they don’t really understand how.

[-]

Phil_Mike-Huntin@reddit

Paris is awful, it's just as bad as Egypt if you're a lone female. Tunisia never again, you couldn't pay me enough. Marseille was disgusting and violent, Brussels is filled with men trying to rape you. Recently went to Malmö for work and whilst I loved the architecture, again the same incidents of creepy as fucking men.

Ironically it's the only place I've been to in Sweden just a trip across when on holiday in Denmark. My image of Sweden was changed for sure.

Malmö was like the industrial and very mixed town I grew up in in England. Not the Sweden of my imagination hah.

Good kebab though.

[-]

Isgortio@reddit

Apparently it's got the most immigration from African/Asian countries whereas other parts of Sweden haven't got much. The cultures are incredibly different. From what I've heard, the immigrants aren't allowed to get jobs but they can live there, so crime is quite high.

[-]

Patient_Ad_8896@reddit

I feel like there's an important distinction you should have made about 'the people' in those European countries

[-]

nicetoursmeetewe@reddit

No wonder you find the same kind of people in Tunisia, Egypt, Paris,Marseille, Brussels and Malmö...

[-]

FitSolution2882@reddit

I was VERY surprised with Greece in regards to this. We weren't bothered AT ALL in Athens - or Cyprus come to think of it.

Totally different to Spain, France, Holland and Italy.

[-]

Me too, until I met my southern American husband

He was not pleased when I said it to him, half seriously

"I'm southern. I ain't a fuckin' yank'

[-]

Humble-Usual7038@reddit

Ya. I expected so much more from Atlanta. Was really disappointed. But the Atlanta Baseball park was pretty fantastic. Id go and stay there at the park- its like its own city.

[-]

vilpto@reddit

LA for me. As a destination something about it all just didn't feel right? I also went with somebody who is now my ex and when we were there they made me feel like I didn't exist, like I was there alone and used me for money. I'm sure that had something to do with why I didn't like LA but there is definitely something uncomfortable about LA in general

[-]

zwifter11@reddit

I’ve had a similar feeling, I once went on vacation with a friend (who I no longer contact).

While on our vacation he became very selfish, it was all about him and what he wanted to do. At no point did he think about my wishes or desires for the vacation. On one of the days it was my birthday and he didn’t even let me choose what to do or where to eat out, on the only day thats special to me.

I'm sorry but that story of "it's closed on Mondays" after a 4 hour drive just made me laugh. You'd like to think they'd at least Google that in advance

At least when I went to Lisbon and found that many of the major attractions in the Belem district were shut on the Monday I was there, it was only a 20 minute bus back to my hotel

[-]

zwifter11@reddit

Years ago I was in southern Italy. I once walked 4 miles from our resort to the nearest town in scorching hot temperatures, it must have been over 35C with no shade or breeze.

When I got there, the entire town was closed for a siesta. The entire place was like a ghost town. I wanted to cry.

After being unable to find a bus back, I managed to find a local to ask what time does the bus come? They replied “It doesnt. The bus service stops too”.

So I had an unsuccessful and rather heat exhausted 4 mile walk back along the coastline.

[-]

SuperrVillain85@reddit

m sorry but that story of "it's closed on Mondays" after a 4 hour drive just made me laugh. You'd like to think they'd at least Google that in advance

Haha this was in 2000 so smartphones weren't a thing. But honestly when we got back, my mum went absolutely fucking ballistic at the hotel conceirge guy who organised the trip for us.

[-]

charlierc@reddit

I can bet that there was a certain degree of amusement when you looked back on this incident that your mum did give such a bollocking tbf

[-]

Ill-Opportunity8918@reddit

Amsterdam wasn't as nice as I expected. Dodgy people everywhere. Sat on bins, stood on the bridges,coming up to talk to you pretending they were being helpful. They all wanted to take you to this bar with cheap drinks or sell you cocaine. Even when you were on the pedal boats they beckoned you over. I expected it to a point but not as often and not when you were with your wife.

[-]

zwifter11@reddit

I once spent a few hours in Amsterdam as a stopover for 2 KLM flights.
Walking around I asked a local for direction. He literally said “2nd on the right”. He then absolutely hounded me for money, demanding payment, to the point he was following after me and getting in my face, quite loud, aggressive and threatening.

I had to go upto a hotel doorman to ask for their help with this crazy local guy. The doorman refused to help me, until I stepped inside and the commotion made their reception area look bad in front of the guests checking in.

[-]

Ok-Test-7217@reddit

Stockholm - Imagine the highlight of this city is the Abba & Eurovision Museum! And thats coming from a fan of both. Incredibly boring city, no personality, no history, no nothing.

Dusseldorf - Even worse than the above. Seiko Tower is nothing special considering there isnt much to the view. You could not convince me to return.

[-]

zwifter11@reddit

When I was young I went to Stockholm with a group of friends. I remember the bouncers in bars being the most heavy handed seen anywhere. If you looked even remotely drunk they’d kick you out the bar, no questions asked. Yet the hypocrites were happy to sell alcohol to you. In the end, it was a disappointing weekend as we all ended up getting kicked at out at different times and going back to the hotel early.

[-]

Not_A_Toaster_0000@reddit

Thinking about it, I suppose Stockholm is a bit like Singapore. Very pleasant, clean, and everything works, but also kind of bland and dull.

Although Gamla Stan is a nice neighbourhood.

[-]

BarnesForest@reddit

Ive been to Singapore recently and its nothing like Stockholm to me. In Singapore the old blends with the modern, everything is fairly advanced, colourful, with beautiful influences from around the world. Stockholm is just so gray. I was literally looking for the old city and didnt realise I was standing smack dab in the middle of it.

[-]

Either_Sense_4387@reddit

Have to disagree with Stockholm - I loved it! Didn't find it boring at all and found loads of history and interesting things! The Vasa museum is still one of my favourites in the world!

[-]

missesthecrux@reddit

Ok, I’ll bite. I went with friends who were really enthusiastic about the Vasa museum. From a technical standpoint I guess it was interesting. But there was so much of the museum dedicated about “life onboard”…but it sunk the second it left the harbour! None of this happened! I couldn’t believe that it was a highlight for so many people. It’s a boat. It sank. They built it up again. That’s the story. It’s not even interesting. And like everything there it was so expensive.

One of my friends and I both thought about that within the first few minutes which probably clouded the experience. But after an hour we were desperate to leave.

Sorry, not trying to be combative but it’s a rant I’ve had in my head for about 10 years now.

[-]

Either_Sense_4387@reddit

Not combative at all! I mean, you are pretty much correct, but I kinda loved the science part around why it hadn't decayed and how over 96% was original to just be amazing to me!

I also like the back story that it sank because it capsized because the king was so ostentatious.

I loved it and found it fascinating!

You do have to remember though, I am also the person who still finds the big tree in my home town to be pretty fascinating!! 😂 (Was born there and now in my 40s 😂)

I suppose different people like different things!

Agree though, yes, Sweden (and Scandinavia in general) is incredibly expensive!!

For your viewing pleasure, here's the big tree...

[-]

missesthecrux@reddit

That’s a very fine tree. I’d much rather look at that than the big ship again!

[-]

Either_Sense_4387@reddit

Thanks! I hope it was cathartic and your decade long pent up rage about the Vasa has abated! 😂👍

I have just been thinking though about your "life on board" comment... Yeah, they really weren't onboard very long! 😂👍

[-]

missesthecrux@reddit

Yeah like so much about the on board prison. Surely nobody was ever in it since it had only left the harbour? So much about cooking. Did they eat a single meal?

[-]

Either_Sense_4387@reddit

I don't remember that, but that is pretty stupid! When did you go? Last time I went was about 2012. First time was probably about 1998.

I mean, I doubt they did have a meal because they hadn't even got to the island to drop off the children... Legit you probably spent more time reading about life onboard than they were onboard! 😂 (Not trying to reignite your anger!)

ambergriswoldo@reddit

Ah that explains it - I always stay in the older more rural areas - very few bars, beautiful beaches and lots of history

[-]

insane_worrier@reddit

I went to Old Perithia and that was lovely but i had soured on the whole place by then.

I'm not a beach person so that doesn't help.

[-]

Noctemme@reddit

‘06?

[-]

Armodeen@reddit

Did you ever ✊ you know

[-]

honeymeadowss@reddit (OP)

Omg why!!!

[-]

OrbitingPlanetArse@reddit

I remember going on a package holiday to Spain in about 1983 with my parents.

We were on the fourth floor of some jerry built concrete hotel and the balcony had railings which both myself and my brother could have fitted through.

Most of the stories I heard about the Spanish rang true. They don't like tourists, and will quite happily chuck beer glasses from their tables, cigarette ends, coasters, bits of food they have probably already chewed and spat out ..... urrgh. The waiting staff in any restaurant will ignore you if they are even remotely busy.

The golden beaches which you see in the brochures are full of litter and broken glass (although in fairness to the Spanish, this is due to most overseas tourists being notorious litterbugs). But Spain has been given mountains of European funding over the years to bail out its faltering economy, and the place is still a complete mess.

I will concede the Spanish staff at the hotel were great and did the best with their limited resources. (The hotel was owned by a German outfit who never spent a penny on the place - another common story with Mediterranean resorts).

[-]

Due-Vacation-17@reddit

Fuerta Ventura. Shout out my parents for taking me when I was kid, but that place wasn’t supposed to be a holiday destination. It’s basically just a rock.

[-]

apeliott@reddit

I've been to Vietnam four times in the last two years.

Yeah, my mate's daughter is a flight attendant and she's been there a lot. She loves it.

It's just not for me.

[-]

Thick-Aside8417@reddit

I gotta know why you keep going back 😅

[-]

apeliott@reddit

Living in Japan with the wife and kids. We go back to the UK to visit my parents each summer, but it's getting expensive. My wife figured out that it's cheaper if we stop in Vietnam for a night, so that's what we did the last two times.

I told her I'm not doing it again. The kids aren't too keen on it either. I'll happily pay extra and go through Korea or something.

[-]

Jackomo@reddit

Not sure what your previous experiences were like, but I feel like the two stopovers don’t really count as holidays. What exactly do you want from that kind of experience?

[-]

apeliott@reddit

A pleasant day in the city.

[-]

Two stopovers.

[-]

Jackomo@reddit

You make poor decisions that lead to irrational opinions. You only have yourself to blame for your shitty experiences.

[-]

TeHNeutral@reddit

What part of Vietnam?

[-]

nicetoursmeetewe@reddit

I live in Japan too and wanted to spend a few days in Vietnam next time I'd go back home, what don't you like about it?

[-]

apeliott@reddit

I replied earlier to someone else who asked:

https://old.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/1say098/whats_the_worst_place_you_have_ever_been_on/odzgszf/

The queues to get through immigration and security were ridiculously long. I've been through quite a few airports and these were the worst by a long shot. It was also chaotic and obnoxiously noisy from the moment we got out of the airport. Super humid and raining almost constantly. And I used to live in Wales lol

The traffic was horrendous. Everyone weaving in and out while constantly beeping their horns. The taxi drivers were always playing with their phones (one was playing with two phones at the same time) and none were wearing seatbelts.

The hotels were nice enough and cheap, but the noise outside from motorists beeping horns just didn't stop. Walking down the streets which were often cracked and broken we had to step into the road to avoid all the motorbikes and plastic chairs/tables. Crossing the road felt really dangerous and a lot of drivers didn't stop at the lights.

We had pho a few times but I didn't find it all that great. It was kinda bland and I much prefer the ramen in Japan. We had pizza once but couldn't even finish it.

I will say that we really loved the coffee and brought back a load of it with us. Also, we didn't have time to get out of the cities and I hear the countryside is much nicer.

[-]

reddishvelvet@reddit

Ah yes, that famous Vietnamese pizza. Sounds like you really tried the full range of cuisine.

Sounds like you just don't like cities in developing countries. Which to be fair, is fine. I think you should be able to be honest about your comfort level when travelling. It's just odd to write off a whole country based on that.

[-]

celestial-quartz@reddit

Coming to Vietnam for a 1 day stopover when you’ve just come from a developed country like Japan will always shock you. You should give it a chance and not judge it from the airport and the traffic. The main cities are so different to the rest of the country and there’s so much history, culture and things to do.

[-]

Sister_Ray_@reddit

These kind of comments always make me laugh... wtf do you expect from a developing country? Part of the fun of these places is stepping outside the your highly regulated western comfort zone and going somewhere where everything is a bit more loose and chaotic and rules are optional... if you're too highly string to enjoy that, then why would you go?

[-]

Humble-Usual7038@reddit

Exactly what I love about developing countries. The organized chaos. Less rules. It's wonderful

[-]

explax@reddit

Depends what you're looking for tbh because I really like Vietnam, including the large cities. The crazy roads depends on what you're used too.. it's pretty much the same as places like India, Cambodia and parts of Thailand

Hornsea...I was 15. The toilet in the static caravan was leaking and obviously had been for some time as the place smelled like sewage. The bedroom I was meant to share with my younger brother was the size of a shoebox. I opted for the sofa to avoid his hotboxed farts. Hornsea itself was drab and depressing and it felt like there wasn't much to do. Also my boyfriend had recently dumped me and whilst on holiday I found out my best friend and him had gotten together. Didn't eat all holiday besides some fresh fruit.

[-]

macca191@reddit

There's little else to do in Hornsea apart from getting dumped and then cheated on!

[-]

roguerix@reddit

Ah, at least I had the authentic experience then!

[-]

Hide-Outside@reddit

I can agree about Tunisia! I took my mum on holiday last October. I’m well travelled but I’ve never felt so uncomfortable anywhere before and I’m used to travelling alone.

Pamukkale turned out to be advertising itself based on pictures that were thirty years out of date - the water it sells itself on has mostly dried up. It was very Instagram Vs Reality

We passed through Kusadasi on our way to Ephesus. Kusadasi was fairly grim; the sort of place where cruise ships pull up for the day and where you get a choice of full English or full Irish breakfast. We only found one good restaurant, to the extent that we went back twice in two nights out of a sense of mild desperation. We asked the restaurant owner if he had any recommendations for a Turkish breakfast in Kusadasi, and he said there was nowhere unless we had a car and were willing to drive it out of the town, which about sums it up.

slophiewal@reddit

The fishing heritage museum was often a school trip for us, I can still smell that place 30 years later 🤣

[-]

UnderHisEye1411@reddit

Grimsby is class. Beautiful Victorian housing, faded seaside glamour, cheap pints, fish and chips, good people.

Haven't you heard..

Our family had a caravan at Sandy Bay so we usually went there many, many times until it got worse and started becoming a chav resort with loud music and junk food, and they watered down the Tiger Club so it was earlier and in a bright room with all the parents right there. It used to be in a massive dark room and all us kids would be at the front separate from the parents, and there would be suspenseful music, then it would go on until 11pm then we’d walk back to our caravan in the dark looking at all the rabbits.

[-]

MiquePoms@reddit

Nooooo.... i'm off to montenegro next month!

[-]

TurbulentHamster3418@reddit

Don’t sweat! We went last September & loved it! We were a short walk from budva & walked into the town most nights. Felt very safe & had some amazing food too. Do not miss out on visiting kotor! It’s amazing! We also did the cable cars there & there’s dozens of boat trips!

[-]

intotheneonlights@reddit

Wow this is really interesting - we definitely weren't in the centre of Budva but we were in the town and it was maybe a 45 min walk to the Old Town.

People were lovely, had the best boat trip ever with a guy we christened Serbian Jesus but I do wonder if I was just really unlucky as it sounds like we weren't far from each other...!

[-]

reddoodit@reddit

If it makes you feel better we’ve been to Montenegro and it’s one of the prettiest, best places I’ve been. Perast and Kotor are beautiful. We had to stay one night in Budva because of delays at the airport so we drove in at night and left early morning and it looked ROUGH in comparison

[-]

No-You8267@reddit

Seconding that Kotor is beautiful and not to be missed.

[-]

intotheneonlights@reddit

Yeah agreed, we did a trip to Kotor. Loved the vibes (and the CATS!) although it still felt similar to Budva, if less touristy (or maybe more? More overrun by Americans but has more going for it?)

Form your own opinion. Don't be put off. I've heard it's nice.

[-]

the_splonge@reddit

It’s great you’ll be fine don’t worry, I travel a lot, went there the other week as it was cheap, people are lovely, place is safe. Weathers always good, a little windy. Enough to do if you like snorkelling/ diving but not too much to do

[-]

Bazzlekry@reddit

We went to an alleged 5 star resort for new year in Cape Verde a few years back. Was definitely not 5 star quality, despite the prices - sheets and towels with holes in them etc. 7 of us went, 7 of us were ill after. My friend was served a beef burger that still had the cellophane round it one night. Never ever again.

[-]

seano_thegr81@reddit

We didn't like it either. Went for a week and it felt like a third world country that they'd just stuck a couple of 5 star resorts on the beach.

Flies were all over the buffet food and I got really sick and ill on the last couple of days. Couldn't wait to get home tbh.

[-]

CasjAbs@reddit

My old housemate and his fiancee travelled every 3ish months, often on a budget. He always raved about their trips, but Cape Verde was a quick ‘it wasn’t great. I’m not going back and wouldn’t recommend it’.

[-]

tom_l_92@reddit

We went a few years back with our daughter who was 5 months old at the time. Had a great time and were all fine. Thinking about it now though I don’t know what was going through our heads. No hospitals, basic supplies non existent and a fair few people that go seem to end up with stomach issues.

[-]

No-Historian1178@reddit

I work in international healthcare. The level of health care is incredibly poor and even basic health ailments are a nightmare. In January we ended up evacuating about 30 people due to a food poisoning outbreak.

[-]

MidnightRambler87@reddit

Agreed.

If you love ancient architecture as we do, you can find ruins and fantastic history everywhere. Just drive into the mountains in the middle, no more than half an hour out of the city, I will guarantee you will find ancient cretian architecture all over the place, not just the temple of Apollo.

And the people are fantastic, really friendly, especially to English tourists, even more so when you go off the beaten track.

I must be the only person on here who had a good experience in Tunisia; I don’t remember anything bad that particularly stood out for me. I was a child at the time however, so perhaps through adult eyes I would see it differently now.

[-]

Poonpatch@reddit

Butlins in Minehead. It was my ex-wife's idea and I reluctantly went along with it. It's like going on holiday to a council estate. Fucking awful place.

[-]

Neat-Ostrich7135@reddit

Gran Canaria

Rocks, no vegetation, cheap tat shops

Like if someone took Blackpool and put it on the moon

[-]

GoodnightGodBless@reddit

Two friends & I (British & All aged 20) went to Marsa Alam in Eqypt in 2010

As soon as we got to the hotel something was quite obviously off, literally all the staff and were extremely unwelcoming & almost hostile towards us.

From the moment we went to the customer service desk to check in, or Any time we went to the bar or tried to order food at the restaurant the staff seemed very keen to avoid or completely ignore us and we had to physically go up to staff or be very assertive so they literally could not ignore us.

Even the other guests seemed to have a very obvious disliking to us with strange looks, pointing & whispering about us.

This was all in contrast with how all the other guests were being treated.

One time we went to order drinks around noon, and after a German couple had just been served when I eventually got the bartenders attention he point blank refused to serve me saying it was “Too Early”.

This kind of attitude and interaction continued for all 3 of us, there were loads of other weird comments and things but I can’t quite recall all of it.

Just to put into context, none of us are the classic British “Lads, Lad”. We are all fairly quiet and just wanted a nice chilled holiday with minimal drinking & just nice food, sunbathing, playing cards etc.

This was also our first proper holiday as young people so we just didn’t know what to expect and it got to a point after a couple of days where we were so uncomfortable, uncomfortable, humiliated, degraded, and just felt so awkward & actually fairly unsafe that I asked to speak to my holiday rep.

I explained what had Been happening & she went to get the hotel manager.

I was quite shocked when he seemed to show no surprise and acknowledged/ Validated my concerns.

Apparently there had been a “group of Polish boys” (some of) whom had been kicked out of the hotel the night before for being overly drunk and generally causing a nuisance.

He went on to explain that because we “Looked the same”, everyone thought we were part of the same group. Guests included.

He offered no apology, seemed to genuinely not care but did say he will speak to his staff about it and let them know we had nothing to do with this group.

Things got slightly better but we were still mostly treated with unwarranted caution.

Honestly the worst holiday I’ve ever been on and it was quite obviously racism/ discrimination, and completely unjustified.

[-]

Every-Inevitable-140@reddit

I’m sorry, bro, but Egyptians have a deep psychological trauma due to the final period of the British occupation of Egypt, which was relatively recent

[-]

WeirdMinimum121@reddit

Ridiculous

[-]

Every-Inevitable-140@reddit

huh?

[-]

GoodnightGodBless@reddit

Sorry I don’t quite follow your logic there?

They thought we were Polish, not British.
Going off that logic, does that mean that all British people should automatically treat anyone with German citizenship in an unsavoury manner?

[-]

LittleSuccotash4839@reddit

If you read some answers in this thread about Paris, Brussels and 'those men' and it probably is racism and discrimination and completely unjustified as you said, but a lot of people agree with it, so you can imagine how some of 'those men' feel on a regular basis.

[-]

Tanto207064@reddit

We had a great holiday in Tunisia a couple of years after Covid. Family holiday all inclusive it was actually a bargain now looking back. £3k 4star 2 weeks in the summer. It was everything we needed and food was great plus went on a few trips. Agreed you wouldn’t want to just go out on your own as it looks horrible outside the hotel

[-]

Tanto207064@reddit

Pontins prestatyn. If you’re lucky and everyone has their curtains open you can see through all the chalets for about 10 in a row

[-]

Successful-Watch3814@reddit

Tunisia, I was held at gun point by a boarder guard. I was 18 😞

[-]

RagingFuckNuggets@reddit

Withernsea.

[-]

PetersMapProject@reddit

We went to Japan, including Tokyo, and had a fantastic time. We normally have a rule that we don't go back to the same place twice - there's so much more of the world to see - but we're planning to make an exception for Japan.

Honestly one of the best trips we've ever been on.

[-]

Loud_Fisherman_5878@reddit

Seven years of travelling sounds fantastic (apart from the places you mentioned you didnt like)- were you on the move the whole time or did you spend any extended time in a spot?

[-]

kersplatttt@reddit

I know it's all subjective but to me it's wild to see Tokyo and Chicago on that list. I guess if you had a bad experience that colours it. But Tokyo is categorically amazing

[-]

rumade@reddit

I'd love your take on Tokyo as I live there now and feel that there's something for everyone. However, the first time I went to Kyoto I had a miserable time and I don't recommend to most people unless they're very into Buddhism, Japanese gardens, or Sengoku history. My mum booked a hotel in part of the city with nothing going on except Kyomizudera, which was under scaffolding, and it was the end of a 10 day multi city trip so we were exhausted and ratty.

omor_fi@reddit

Egypt, we stayed in Sharm El Sheikh. Awful harassment whenever we ventured outside of the hotel and the worst food poisoning from hotel food/drinks

[-]

BeatsAndBeer@reddit

Marrakesh. Constantly harassed and scammed, and got food poisoning on day 1. Wasn’t much to see either.

[-]

Dangerous-Stress-849@reddit

Do you actually mean.. "what's the worst place you've been?" does it have to be a holiday?

For me the worst place (at the time) was Algiers.

1993

little holes in all the walls with regular spacing.

This is the first thing that comes into my head when I think of Alabama, backwards yanks

honeymeadowss@reddit (OP)

Really?! Why?!

[-]

jjai2110@reddit

Every person has their own experience. I went to Marrakech 3 times & loved it each time - my husband joined twice and hated it.

The difference is that I'm fairly chill and batted away male interest in a pretty casual way, with a gentle laugh as I walked by without stopping. My husband is the stressed anxious sort and hated feeling like he was being scammed at every turn & didn't want to barter or argue back. I enjoy the sparing though 😏

[-]

Ohh, yes - a whole new person & psyche to learn & unpack!

My husband is the same as your brother actually - football match is not a problem, but confined spaces make him feel trapped. Ironically, a footy stadium is pretty much one of the most confined spaces even though it doesn't feel it 😏

Your self-assessment sounds like me from 5 years ago 😉. It was gently suggested I get tested (reluctantly, because it doesn't negatively impact my life) & the therapist chuckled when I told her the same, because I most certainly and obviously did have ADHD apparently.

[-]

Richard__Papen@reddit

We once had to go into a pub to get last minute football tickets. He lasted about 5 seconds before exiting. It was packed, the beer was flowing, there was noisy chanting. Although i hate the noise and the lack of space too i can often block it out at least for short periods.

That's interesting re you getting properly tested. I've done crappy online tests in the past and I've never been anywhere near the 'qualifying line' (I'm not hyperactive, I can stay concentrated with someone monologuing at me for a long time, I'm not impulsive or particularly forgetful etc etc) but when i see videos about ADHD traits eg on Facebook giving more specific examples I can tick a few more boxes...

I can be messy, I massively struggle with deadlines and being punctual, I have difficulty finishing things (& sometimes starting) eg work, books too partly because i get distracted by something else and also I'm just often not that bothered how things end because it's fiction and It's contrived anyway. I can get something I've just encountered now, 'task paralysis'. I could procrastinate for England.

So I dunno really.

Yes, I find even seemingly boring folk still have interesting things to say and will have had interesting things happen to them in their lives. Sometimes you have to get it out of them but I don't mind that.

[-]

I_SHAG_REDHEADS@reddit

?! ?!

[-]

coresme2000@reddit

By a significant margin, the UK.

Jimbaran Beach in Bali. What a shithole. Kuta and Denpasar too. Ruined.

[-]

alltorque1982@reddit

Couldn’t have put it better.

[-]

FALSE_PROTAGONIST@reddit

They really nailed it

[-]

hnsnrachel@reddit

Cyprus. Its fine in the tourist hotspits, but the abumal cruelty is ubreal as soon as you move away from them.

Marrakesh. A truly awful experience outside of the resort we were in. Every stereotype of the region was/is bang on the money.

They grab you, parade drugged snakes & caged monkeys around/on you.

Our taxi driver deliberately took us to the wrong place, I’m guessing he got a kick back from the shop he turfed us out at.

I’ve done Morocco, Egypt & Tunisia as a bit of guaranteed sun in my late teens/early 20’s when I was little more strapped for cash. They’re horrible places, I felt pretty unsafe anywhere outside of the resort.

One caveat being Sharm El Sheikh post COP summit seems to have developed a little bit, particularly in the tourist only zones. Still not pleasant mind.

[-]

TheoArchibald@reddit

Cambodia is the worst place I've been to. It's either being chased by taxi drivers for underage prostitution or people trying to steal your phone. Angkor Wat was nice, but do it yourself, never on a tour and S21 was very interesting. But people are horrible, food is mostly shit (outside of chet ktis) and it's surrounded by far better countries.

[-]

akarxqueen@reddit

Morocco, Marrakesh. Two white women constantly harassed by locals, we were spat on and had to hide in the medina from a drunk local who chased us. At every corner, being asked for money for everything, god forbid you ask for directions. Children harassing you to sell you tissues and begging just because you’re a tourist. Dusty and dirty and donkey hooves hanging in the markets, also people abusing and beating donkeys. Food was subpar, some glorified taglines that were whatever. Never setting foot there again

[-]

TheoArchibald@reddit

I really liked Marrakesh, but I can imagine it being exhausting, especially as a woman.

[-]

TrainingDragonfly248@reddit

I travelled a lot when I was younger. Tunisia and Egypt were both hell on earth. Both dirty, the men creepy as hell, food covered in flies. Would never go near either again.

[-]

e-talking@reddit

Gibraltar

[-]

dragon8733@reddit

I've been to Gibraltar a lot so I need to ask, why?

[-]

Independent-Egg-9496@reddit

In the UK? Pontins…. Accommodation was infested

Abroad? Loved travelling around Morocco (we went Atlas Mountains, Sahara, Fez, Casablanca etc) but Marrakesh was uncomfortably invasive - the locals were too much in the markets, I couldn’t wait leave.

[-]

LAcasper@reddit

Paris is a shithole

[-]

aziel123@reddit

Went to Egypt in 2009 misses wanted to stay in cairo. Constant car horns.

[-]

Whoppa-seagull@reddit

I have been to Egypt , Nile cruise & Luxor , amazing & I have also been to Tunisia & again brilliant. I have been lucky enough to travel a lot & do not have anything bad to say about anywhere. When you are away there are always people moaning & cannot be happy with anywhere or anything, sometimes there is just cause but very often not!!!

[-]

IncompleteObjects@reddit

Tunisia wasn't great.

My gf got continually harassed by local men, then got really bad food poisoning. Everyone we spoke to was trying to rip us off and we constantly got hassled by street vendors. Sitting on the beach was having to tell people to leave us alone every 5 mins

Blimey. Quite the choice for a break indeed

[-]

YarnPenguin@reddit

Baffles me to this day😂

[-]

Sea_Influence7197@reddit

Calangute, Goa. Harrassment by men, dirt and pollution everywhere. Herds of cows on the roads, packs of stray dogs and everybody seems out to rip you off. I was sexually assaulted walking down the main street with my husband. There are much worse places in India but Calangute is sold as a holiday destination.

[-]

offgridstories@reddit

Phuket, Thailand. I've been lucky enough to travel a lot and this is the seediest, most despair-inducing hyper drinking crummy tacky place I've ever been. And I've been to Magaluf (not by choice).

Egypt.

Everyone had their hand out for baksheesh.

I think Egyptians have noticed Western tourists don't give a fuck about them, & are only there for the pre-Islamic stuff out in the desert.

[-]

iadne1958@reddit

Loved Egypt! I haven’t been to Tunisia so can’t say but Bournemouth is my worst nightmare as we all got a violent case of gastro-enteritis. Not pleasant!

[-]

Spikyleaf69@reddit

Have been to Tunisia and Egypt, for us the biggest problems were distress at the poverty, children begging, stray animals, etc.

Then there is the incredibly pushy selling. In Tunisia we got locked into a shop & my husband had to threaten the guy before he let us out. In Egypt we got screamed at for ignoring someone selling in the street.

Dubai.

Before anyone jumps down my throat, my sister moved out there for work, and I love her dearly, even though I still question why she went to Dubai.

It's got this horrible 'uncanny valley' vibe, where everything is so squeaky clean and everyone is super polite, but as soon as you try to ask any 'difficult' questions, the façade starts crumbling.

[-]

charlierc@reddit

This story of people being arrested for documenting the recent situation in Dubai is just bizarre. Like, are people supposed to just ignore that?

[-]

charlierc@reddit

Worst two experiences didn't really make these places as quantifiably bad, but I got food poisoning in Paris and I got 20 Euro lifted off me by a grifter in Milan with a friendship bracelet scam

Cape Verde and Tunisia, both utter shit holes in different aspects.

Tunisia was just a dump and if you venture outside the complex you’re likely to get mugged. Also offensively hot in the summer.

Cape Verde (or at least the island we went) was just fucking barren. The complex was massive but fuck all to do and the food was constantly covered in flies. My guts took months to repair from that place.

[-]

EmphasisPurple5103@reddit

Florida

Marrakesh - I think as a guy my experience was completely different and my female friends have all said that they’ve had an awful time there.

Turkey - Antalya I thought was really clean and friendly.

It’s a shame because I think as a guy my experience is so different.

[-]

craftaleislife@reddit

*women

Please describe us as women, not females

[-]

ChannelSwimming@reddit

Corrected! Apologies!

[-]

Turbulent-Fun-3123@reddit

I once had a really vivid dream that I had spent all our money on 2 weeks in a place called Molderton. There were bomb shelters on the beach and it was awful!

[-]

Realistic_Ad9820@reddit

A whistle stop tour with my brother and parents around Northern Italy. I was 13, it was my first ever "hotel" holiday and it could have been great.

On Day 2 in Venice my brother comes down with a viral stomach bug. Overnight he crawls into my parents' bed at the grand age of 18 because he is "dying". My brother is melodramatic but we could say for certain he was quite sick.

By Day 4, he is no longer throwing up and just miserable and shivery, which is good because we need to drive to Venice. By the time we arrive, my mother now has the bug. She tries to ignore it as she's pretty stoic but this results in her suddenly having to throw up in a potted plant in the hotel lobby. Core memory for me.

Two days later, we drove to Florence, and it's my turn. My memories of Florence are of the hotel bathroom, and trembling in a darkened hotel room feeling sorry for myself. The last thing I ate before that bug was chocolate ice cream, so after that I avoided the stuff for years.

Finally, on a long drive to Pisa for our final stop, Dad gets the bug and has perhaps one of the worst drives of his life. To add insult to injury we made several wrong turns (this was before satnavs and phone maps) and it took hours longer than planned. We arrive late, nonody wants to eat, straight to bed.

On the final morning, we sat at a fantastic hotel buffet breakfast, all shivery and in recovery mode. We all ate toast and dried crackers. What a trip.

[-]

WallsendLad70@reddit

This resonates with the worst holiday we ever had in Lake Garda in the late 90s. Rained solidly 9 days out of 14, and not just my wife and I, but most people in the hotel, and neighbouring hotels went down with a crippling stomach bug with cramps, sweats and nausea.

It didn’t help that we stayed in the worst hotel masquerading as a four star. A place where you were given a form with dinner options at breakfast (bad coffee and an over sugared croissant) by frowning staff handing you a form to tick. Dinner options like ‘meat’ or’ pasta’ which led to a couple of surprises. We ate out when we could but the rain and lack of taxis made it hard.

Managed to get in some good trips to Verona, Venice and the Dolomites, but the Italian lakes was probably a mistake from the off as a couple in their 20s used to livelier places with more of a buzz. Found that the average clientele was leaning towards being older and retired, and it felt less Italian than other parts of Italy.

[-]

Acrossthehorizon94@reddit

Rome,

Phuket is a large island, comparing most of it to Pattaya and Benidorm indicates you just went to the west coast strip which is I agree horrific.

The rest of the island is beautiful though

[-]

m4jid@reddit

All Indian countries! India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

[-]

Wonderful_Falcon_318@reddit

Cairo. Just a busy, dry, shthole. The state of the poor donkeys there has made me send money to rescue charities for the last 20 years.

[-]

Much_Leader3369@reddit

Tunisia.... Utterly backwards place. I don't like to generalise but the majority of people/locals were backwards too. Gf was followed and looked up and down wherever we went, had to tell people to gtf away several times. Ripping off tourists was seen as fair game.

IdiotBearPinkEdition@reddit

Went to Tangier a few years back. It was okay, but we witnessed two serious crashes on the taxi ride to the hotel from the airport, one that led to a death. It was a weird, tense atmosphere, with a lot of feral dogs. Our hotel staff were absolutely lovely, and respectful to me, despite me being a woman. Other men on the other hand straight up disregarded me as if I weren't there which was a weird experience

We booked a few nights in Tangier but decided to go to Fes for a night, but didn't tell our hotel staff. they were so worried they messaged us on our hotel app to make sure we hadn't got killed or kidnapped, which is a fantastic sign

Atlas mountains day trip was good, though

[-]

Alekazam@reddit

Not anything particularly bad, but was highly disappointed with Malta. Found it all a bit boring even though ostensibly I’m really into ye olde buildings and history. I didn’t think it was jaw droppingly beautiful, nor was I impressed by the cuisine on offer. Would not return in a hurry.

[-]

Riverview1957@reddit

Cornwall all parts same old same old. Yes it's stunning costal towns but you get absolutely ripped off every where you go. Never go back sorry 😞

[-]

Darkus185@reddit

Yeah agree. Boring, busy, and the locals don’t want you there

[-]

Beneficial_Fig7494@reddit

I've been all over the world and these are my least favourite.

Los Angeles - basically American Blackpool, everything you see on TV is a lie, next to the street where all the designer shops are is just tat ships and people dressed up, it's so tacky, then the rest of it until you get to Hollywood hills where the mansions are eis just really run down and you don't feel safe.

Panama - very hectic and run down, didn't feel safe

Vancouver City, Canada - whilst the rest of Canada was amazing the city centre of Vancouver was full of homeless people, full of druggies, there were people passed out in doorways of major brand shops, it was awful, we had a baby in a pram and I wanted to look in a certain shop which was a 10 minute walk away. Half way there I felt so unsafe we turned back and went to the car. In comparison over on Victoria island there were lots of homeless people but they were mostly super friendly and it definitely had a much different vibe than Vancouver.

Spain - I just don't like mainland Spain, can't explain why

India - I loved my trip to India and would go back but you need to make sure you do it safely. As a young blonde woman I had lots of people trying to touch me, take pictures with me, one woman gave me her baby to get a picture with. There were mosquitoes everywhere which I found very overwhelming. Do not give money to anyone, we gave some money to this woman who asked so nicely and lots of other people saw and they mobbed us and chased us back to the car. That was scary.

[-]

arenaross@reddit

Describing LA as American Blackpool is peak Reddit.

[-]

ClosedAjna@reddit

Zagreb was pretty boring

[-]

dy85@reddit

Jamaica and America

[-]

butterbeanscafe@reddit

Why didn’t you like Jamaica?

FOOD Great and the places look clean and inviting.

I've been to Ghent after this and there's so much nicer, completely opposite.

It's also very expensive and feels like tourist trap on every corner. Take in mind some people actually charge you more if you are not speaking their language.

[-]

Bellatrixforqueen@reddit

Egypt, Tunisia and Benidorm . Oh and Skegness

[-]

Throwaway4729w9@reddit

Driving from London to cappadocia

Stopped in sunny beach Bulgaria for the night, we were very much looking forward to leaving in the morning

[-]

RainbowPenguin1000@reddit

Not a holiday but I went to Barcelona for work and stayed a few days and hated it.

The taxi driver refused to take card when I arrived. It was 10pm at night and I could not be arsed to argue for 15 mins about it.

We went out for lunch and the waitress rolled her eyes at us more than once and never even considered smiling.

A used a shop round the corner from my hotel and the man wasn’t behind the till when I wanted to pay. Home came over after I got his attention and seemed pissed off I was even there. I paid for my things and he threw my change on the counter and just walked off.

There were other things too but overall it was just a crap few days.

First time we went to Egypt me, my parents and sister went, my sister was harassed a lot ,

[-]

ashyboi5000@reddit

My mum was a master at booking dodgy places.

Great Yarmouth, can't remember the resort but it was one of the rows of concrete flats, ala Butlins.

Some place in Wales, small log cabin/chalet places but it was falling apart.

A hotel in new castle for a cousin's wedding, think we stayed an hour then walked out.

Did one of those surprise destinations holidays, a young family in Kavos near it's peak party era of 2004ish.

I'm sure there have been plenty more grim and bear it holidays.

[-]

the_original_ed@reddit

middlesbrough. Yeah, I know. My saddo dad got a deal at a local hotel, near to a bookmakers in the centre. so he could still bet.

Was in the 1980s and every other shop was boarded up on the centre. Post apocalyptic.

To round it all off, I got kicked to shit by about 5 total strangers on the street. And got 9 stiches and a battered face for my journey home.

Happy holidays indeed.

And then there was Skegness…

[-]

breadbinofdoom@reddit

Mablethorpe. Generally orange. Dog $hite galore. Mobility scooters for all. Prison fencing around the children’s funfair. Very few teeth. And my personal fave, “Spanish city.” I assume a local councillor went to Spain and came back with a brilliant idea. Probably the worlds largest breezeblock building and cunningly designed to look pre-abandoned. Think Chernobyl but without the charm. Zero redeeming features.

[-]

meepykins252@reddit

Naples

[-]

lunaliquorice@reddit

Ive never been, but both my mom and aunt went to Egypt a few years apart, and both were sick the entire time they were there. Id never go

[-]

professorbubbleworks@reddit

Montenegro. Sadly, the towns just weren’t ready for tourism, and we felt unwelcome.

I got food poisoning on day 2, and was nearly hospitalised too.

Cruises came in and it was packed for four hours, and then it was a ghost town when everyone left.

[-]

Scotchnittenpoopen@reddit

Venice. Lovely city, beautiful architecture and history.

Ruined by tourists (I know I was a tourist!)

Busy, crowded, impossible to get in anywhere. Absolutely rammed. Went off season as well.

Police car chases through the city centre

kajosik@reddit

Morocco…

[-]

Gunboat_Diplomat_@reddit

Mumbai - the men are utter sex pests, walking into and groping my then gf and trying to take pictures up her skirt. This wasn’t isolated, it was constant. We ended up staying in the hotel room and decided to leave to Goa early. I now understand why we didn’t see women out and about, it simply is not safe for women.

[-]

Cool_Doubt2152@reddit

This is by no means ‘worst’ by the standards of these comments but my god I WISH I had done more research about staying in Oludeniz in Türkiye.

Went for our honeymoon after spending the first few days in Cappadocia. Gorgeous hotel about a 10 min walk to the beach near the town, in the daytime the hotel was nice and relaxed (should have realised something was up when saw there were earplugs in the hotel room), beach had a nice vibe, turquoise sea, nice restaurants… then the sun went down and the pub street opened and Jesus Christ. We were staying quite a few streets away from it but even with earplugs, all we could hear all night long until about 4 in the morning was the drone of ‘boom boom boom’ dance music and someone yelling on a loudspeaker. There were a few comments in the reviews about noise but by no means excessive to the point it made me question staying there

We like a few drinks in a bar on holiday but you know EVENTUALLY we want to sleep.

Romania in the 1980’s before President Caucescu was lynched was horrendous

national airline “Tarrim” was still using propeller planes to flay internationally
stewardesses all looked like shot putters and stood at the front of the plane literally throwing sweets at the seated passengers. That was the only food.
hotels just served a non specified meat which they called “veal” with French fries. For dessert it was bashed up windfall apples
chocolate had to be bought in the black market. It was hidden under the counter and in back rooms of furniture shops.
beggars everywhere
bleak Soviet style landscape everywhere
a soldier drew his rifle on me and my mum because I walked on some grass
massive sense of oppression everywhere
everyone was happy to get home

[-]

Bodrum in Turkey. Now it was just a day trip from Greece and Greece was lovely.

But Bodrum was just constant harassment by the market sellers. To the point that when we sat down to eat some food we thought we were finally going to get some peace, we saw the guy who ran the restaurant walk off into the market and when he came back three guys followed him back and tried to sell us stuff while we ate

We left and a guy just straight up grabs my Mrs and pulled her into a shop, I went fucking nuts and I followed him in, I was ready to throw hands.

Its the shitty little sunglasses shop and he's showing us stuff im telling him don't touch my fucking wife we're leaving. I hear a loud thud from behind us. Sat on the counter is this kid maybe like 14 or 15, holding a very large knife stabbing it into the counter, he looks at me says "hey Mr, knife is life"

Now i don't know whar knife is life meant but guess who walked away with 50euros worth of fake raybands!

[-]

Material_Angle2922@reddit

Turkey. Every fucking restaurant has their own version of salt bae. Food stalls will scam you at every opportunity.

Dubai is a soulless modern slavery wannabe melting pot city.

[-]

Familiar-Woodpecker5@reddit

Hiya butt bay! If you know, you know!

[-]

Logical_Yogurt5146@reddit

Crete. Unbelievably boring. There is the odd museum but otherwise it’s just restaurants and hotels and hiking. And beaches. We were super bored and just wanted to go home by day 3. We were there a week. It was a trip for my 40th bday ☹️

[-]

Humble-Usual7038@reddit

Awe that's too bad. We were on crete for 3 weeks and loved it.

[-]

Logical_Yogurt5146@reddit

Each other their own though isn’t it. I love places other people hate.

ASpookyBitch@reddit

Rugely. Went because partner wanted to go to a concert in the Cannock chase forrest.

I’m generally quite a shy and introverted person which is a blessing and a curse, as I’m used to finding ways to get people to politely leave me alone - and I’m reasonably street-savvy when it comes to sniffing out scams and grifts - but when it’s relentless then it gets wearing in the extreme, and whatever cultural or natural attraction you’re there to see becomes irrelevant. At my age now (45) and with a family my priority is somewhere we can all relax and feel safe, and that’s more important than the weather or Roman ruins or whatever. I also appreciate how much lovely and interesting stuff there is close to home.

HOWEVER: special mention goes to Greece and local wasp population. If you’re unlucky, you have two weeks plagued by the black-and-yellow stingy bastards. I’ve travelled the world and never known anywhere as bad for wasps.

In terms of cities, Bucharest sticks out as a place I have no desire to return to. Not especially bad or rough, just pretty boring and a bit grim.

[-]

Choice-Primary-4407@reddit

France

Various_Extreme_8773@reddit

Zante, it was like a 3rd world country.

[-]

kebabby72@reddit

Marrafuckinkech

[-]

stm2657@reddit

LA for our honeymoon. Never again, this was 27 years ago.

[-]

angrymurderhornet@reddit

An outdoor survival course in the New Jersey pine barrens. My husband was interested in outdoor stuff like that at the time, so I went along to be supportive. I hated every minute of it.

Fortunately, I was a grad student with a very flexible schedule, so I didn’t have to give up scarce vacation time. My husband took a couple more courses there later, but I happily stayed home instead.

The experiences were really good for him, so I don’t regret going along, but I’m also glad I didn’t attend any more of those events.

[-]

CPeeB@reddit

Your husband isn’t an interior decorator from Czechoslovakia, is he?

[-]

Carlomahone@reddit

😂😂

[-]

CoffeeeGoblin@reddit

His house looked like shit

[-]

Fun_Creme4591@reddit

Puerto Rico, including Culebra and especially Vieques.

San Juan is okay. We enjoyed ourselves. Outside of that...damn. Angry, rude people. Not just toward myself, I used to sit back and watch the show. It's practically a third world country.

I was so looking forward to the only U.S. tropical forest National park, El Yunque. Everything was so worn down and sectioned off. You couldn't hike. They blamed a hurricane that happened 8 years ago. Just lazy. Millions of dollars evaporated.

Vieques is a hole, the islanders were rude even if you were putting money in their pocket. We did the south beaches. They call them wild horses. No, these aren't mustangs. These are feral horses. They are brazen. They come right up to anyone and bite. The locals quit repairing the outdoor showers for washing off the ocean. The horses have to drink stagnant, brackish water or they break the showers to drink. So they constantly break them for a trickle of water. They are so unhealthy. They need veterinary care. There is none. Fecal material everywhere.

I'm so glad we kept island hopping over the next few weeks. The rest of the islands in the Caribbean were unbelievable. My favorite was Barbados. Don't waste your time or money.

[-]

bradclark2001@reddit

This happened last year and completely ruined whatever holiday we were supposed to have afterwards.

There's a reason why I don't like this sub.

See above.

[-]

honeymeadowss@reddit (OP)

Above?

[-]

When replying to submission/post please make genuine efforts to answer the question given. Please no jokes, judgements, etc. If a post is marked 'Serious Answers Only' you may receive a ban for violating this rule.
Don't be a dick to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on.
This is a strictly no-politics subreddit!

Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.