14 hours ago
Travelers Reveal Popular Destinations They'll Never Revisit
If you've been thinking about traveling to a new city, but aren't sure whether it will live up to the hype, you've come to the right place.
People in one Reddit thread are sharing the popular destinations they'll never revisit, and we've compiled the most passionate responses for you below.
From specific attractions to countries at large, here are 18 destinations people won't be returning to any time soon:
"As a New Zealander, I got two: Hobbiton and the longest place name in the world."
"Hobbiton is pretty much paying 120 bucks a head to look at some grass, then go to a Lord Of The Rings-themed pub, I get it if you're a LOTR megafan visiting NZ, but for me it was just so underwhelming for the also have a tourist attraction about 2 hours away from me called 'Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu', which is famous for being the longest place name in the world. People drive there to take photos with the sign with the name. I drove to it, and it turns out it's just a hill. Not even a special hill or anything, not like a tourist attraction type hill, just a normal ass hill. The bit I hated, though? No bloody sign lmao. they removed the long ass sign everyone took pictures with, so now its literally just a two hour drive to see a hill. I don't even know why that hill even has a name in the first place tbh lol."–YaboiMarkizzle
"Probably the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I've been a couple of times, and it always feels disappointing. It's just super grimey and tourist-trappy. If you're a big movie fan, there are many better places to visit in the Hollywood area."
–OppositionGuerilla
"Dubai. One week was enough to do all the interesting things; otherwise, there's nothing to do, it's just an unwalkable city (apart from the beach and the 'old' part of the city)."
–Chino_Kawaii
"Sadly, Prague. I've been to Prague three or four times, and the first few times were lovely. The city is beautiful and rich in history. They have great restaurants and obviously great beer. But, unfortunately, the city has become a Bachelor(ette) party destination, and the whole aura of the city has been ruined."
"Anywhere you go, you get drunken, loud groups of people ruining everyone else's time. And most places have also adapted to cater to these groups, so the quality has gone down as well... it's a shame because I love the city, but when I was there last year, I kept thinking 'oh well, looks like there's no point in coming back.'"–Tattoo-oottaT
"I just came back from Tulum. The taxis were a rip-off ($110) just to go 8 minutes down the road, the beaches were full of sargassum seaweed, and most of the food was subpar."
–kaysmilex3
"Antelope Canyon in Arizona, USA. Tickets are crazy expensive, and you get herded through like sheep."
"There isn't even time to take your own photos, the guide takes your camera/phone from you and snaps the classic photos. If you pay extra, you can get a few minutes to take your own pictures at the 'perfect' time of day. Tours are literally timed to the minute and can be disorienting. With dust falling on your head from above and being kicked up from the ground by other tourists, it's hard to breathe. Just all around unpleasant. I understand it has received the hug of death from tourists worldwide and therefore needs to be heavily regulated. I get it, and I'm glad for the income it provides to the native population nearby. But it was not worth the time, trouble, and money IMO. I have fab photos but no pride in them. I recommend The Wave instead. It's also heavily regulated, but the permitted crowd size is small and the long hike puts a lot of people off."–mzskunk
"Disney World. We did it up, spent a shitload of money and stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a week. We visited all the parks and at the end of the week went home with a lot of regrets."
"First off, the ads for the Animal Kingdom lodge are nothing but lies. You will be nowhere near the animals, and most of them stay as far away as possible. The rides across all the parks are pretty terrible, with a few exceptions. The crowds are insane. Everything is so expensive and just flat out not worth it. Don't even get me started on the character dining experiences. Universal Studios is much better if you like rides."–Tangboy50000
"The Riviera Maya in Mexico (Cancun down the coast to Tulum). My family went in 2001 when I was young, and the area was not at all developed. We stayed in Merida in January and did a few road trips, and decided to stay in Akumal for 3 nights (not in a resort)."
"There aren't really any remaining public beaches anymore; nearly every square inch is occupied by inclusive resorts and private beach clubs. A protected wildlife reserve south of Tulum is being destroyed to build more of these. Sewage/waste from this overdevelopment is being dumped into the cenotes (natural underground water sources), and the local population has been forced into poverty. Prices for going out are those of major US and European cities. The infrastructure in the area is crumbling, and there's a lot of cartel/dirty cop/scam taxi activity because of the yuppies that party on drugs in the beach clubs. The government looks the other way because a lot of money is being pumped out of the sad to see, it's surprising that people can travel to this area and simply look the other way while enjoying a lavish vacation."–ClaireClover
"Indianapolis. No disrespect intended, but I was completely underwhelmed. The hotel, called the downtown location, was a 15-minute taxi ride from downtown. There was simply nothing to do entertainment-wise."
"Food was almost all mid fast food. Hooters, Buffalo Wild Wings, etc. People were nice, but the place was so boring. Went for the Big 10 basketball tourney. The city didn't even seem to notice. If there were any outside events, they were not promoted. Even the venue was lame. And the food there was worse than 7-11. Way worse. Like, middle school cafeteria free food bad. I feel sorry for Pacers fans."–Key-Article6622
"New York. Litter everywhere, homeless people shitting in the streets and eating out of bins, and the water is poisonous."
"One sewer grate was spewing up into the street, we got harassed at least twice on every subway ride, and the cafe we visited served our breakfast in a puddle of oil. The people there are miserable and angry; even in Central Park, you see the skyscrapers looming over the tree lines, reminding you that you're caged, and every surface is covered in graffiti from people trying to prove they exist before the city consumes them. All this under the watch of a thousand waving flags. It's the least human place I've ever seen."–Clomeaway
"Unfortunately, Santorini. I went 7 years ago, and it was horribly crowded, with tour buses everywhere. My hotel was lovely, had the classic view out the Caldera thing and was tucked away and hard to find, but not so hard that I didn't have tourists coming onto my deck and taking engagement photos my entire three days there."
"The archaeology museum was nice, and I asked someone there if they felt like tourists were ruining their island. She agreed. I cannot even imagine how bad it is now with cruise ships. Cruise ships ruin everything, in my opinion. There have been places I've gone to five years ago off-season in Europe that were lovely, and you could have an authentic experience. Nowadays, they are just packed and miserable with obnoxious tourists."–hoppyrules
"Venice. Beautiful city. Completely overrun with tourists. It's so crowded that you are literally touching shoulders with people in the streets. Almost no one lives there. The city is nearly empty after 7 p.m.. St. Mark's Square seems to flood daily."
–chocolatechipninja
"New Delhi. Well, I don't know how popular it really is, but I never ever want to go back. Felt like I had smoked 50 cigarettes and got tricked at every corner."
–FinancialSurround385
"The Medina in Marrakech. We were there for five days, apart from a day trip into the Atlas Mountains, which was very much the highlight. As soon as I stepped out of the Riad, we were getting mowed down by mopeds chucking out thick smoke, harassed and deliberately misdirected by locals, and money demanded if you stopped for more than 0.5 seconds."
"I was grabbed and partially hennaed against my will in front of police and forced to pay a ridiculous amount of money with a threat of harm if I didn't pay, despite me not agreeing to this and trying to run away. I travel well and extensively, having been brought up in the Mediterranean, so I'm used to haggling/bartering and somewhat intrusive social engagements. This was not that."–xwigglex
"No desire to go back to Tunisia. We got a resort and flew in, but for some reason, they didn't accept any of my credit cards. I had to go to a bank to withdraw cash. There were so many notes that they handed it to me in a box, and I had to walk back to the hotel carrying a box of money. That felt unsafe, to say the least."
"Then we spent a whole week inside the resort because the people working there said it was too dangerous for the ladies in the group to walk into town. We just left for the beach right in front, and it was full of seaweed. The resort itself was great. Good food, good people, and lots of activities, though. Then, a month after we got back, terrorists invaded the resort with machine guns and killed a bunch of people. We saw pictures of dead bodies in the exact place we were sitting the month before. No, thanks."
"Egypt. I was threatened with a knife by a local man. Also being a blonde pale woman… Too many harassing dudes."
–relakas
"Bali is a very popular place for Aussies to visit. I went for four days at the end of my honeymoon. It was hot and sticky, and hard to breathe. I'm shit at haggling prices–shopkeepers and taxi drivers are constantly hassling you."
"I got food poisoning first day (ate at Pizza Hut the rest of the time out of fear), saw cats jumping up and licking spoons and the servery at a buffet, and could only drink bottled water. When I went to the men's room at (what I was told was) an up-market shopping location, I had to flush the toilet with a bucket, and then, when I went to wash my hands, I saw a guy next to me washing his balls in the sink. Nice beaches though..."–seph200x
Do you have any destinations that belong on this list? Let me know in the comments!
