A few months ago, I was in a little Twitter thread talking about my favourite travel destinations with the Twitterverse. Y’know the score… blah blah Italy… blah blah Iceland… And well, I got curious to hear about people’s worst travel destinations. Especially because a lot of the community I’m involved in on Twitter is made up of travel bloggers and digital nomads. I was intrigued to see where they would pick as their least favourite places.
I mean, of course these things are subjective. And when I posted my 5 worst destinations to get the ball rolling, a lot of the time it wasn’t to do with the location itself, but rather a negative experience I had there. For example, there’s nothing at all wrong with Perth, and I’ve heard people rave about the Western Australia city. But when I was there I was travelling solo, didn’t make friends and literally had nothing to do. So it was a no from me.
But anyway, I was interested in finding out what destinations other people weren’t so thrilled with.
And well, I had quite a lot of detailed responses from people talking about the countries they thought were overrated and the ones they had bad experiences in.
I mentioned that this kind of question is completely subjective and personal, but the thing is, a lot of the same places kept coming up. Now, I don’t want to completely slate destinations, and actually, some of the answers I don’t agree with at all. But I thought it would be interesting to list out the worst offenders to see what you make of it.
Do you agree with any of these??
The Worst Travel Destinations Ever. (According To Twitter…)
Los Angeles, USA
The most common response when asked for people’s worst travel destination was Los Angeles, USA. I mean, it helps that I listed it as one of my least favourites so I’m sure that swayed the results a little.
But no, LA was not for me. As a tourist it’s hard to get around without a car, I found it quite seedy in places and it just didn’t have a good vibe. Other words used to describe it on Twitter included ‘rough’, ‘boring’, ‘soulless’ and ‘expensive’.
Marrakech, Morocco
Marrakech in Morocco was another common answer but again I might have skewed the results by mentioning the city first.
Personally I had bad experiences with letchy men in the medina and just didn’t feel safe as a female traveller. Other people agreed and had similar experiences, saying they were hassled a lot and got scammed/ripped off.
Paris, France
Paris is always a good idea… right? Well apparently not. The Twitterverse declared it overrated and a few said they just didn’t get it.
I actually agree with this. I think Paris is painted as this romantic, idyllic city when actually I’ve found the people quite rude and didn’t think the city was anything special. I didn’t get the hype, y’know?
But I have friends that absolutely adore Paris and since going a few times for work, it is starting to grow on me. Things like the cafe culture and little boutiques are definitely the highlights. I don’t know, maybe it’s somewhere you need to go a few times before you fall in love with it??
Vietnam
Ok, this one kinda surprised me. The whole of Vietnam is put in the ‘worst travel destinations’ list?! Yeah, apparently hun.
A few reasons included it being dirty, experiences of being pickpocketed, begging children, and there being too many tourists. I get the last one, tourism has kind of boomed in Vietnam over the last few years so I imagine it is a little different to when I last visited in 2011.
But honestly I found it to be a pretty cool country with lots of unique experiences. But each to their own.
Cambodia
Yeah I said Cambodia too. Partly because I had some bad experiences there – I was scammed and had death threats from a tuk tuk driver – but also because I just found the history so so sad. Phnom Penh in particular has a terrible history and places like S-21 and the Killing Fields really upset me.
A lot of people agreed, but someone also mentioned Sihanoukville. I actually loved Sihanoukville, it’s backpacker paradise. But again, it’s been a while and times have changed, it might be a dive now.
Bali, Indonesia
Whaaaaaat, the paradise that is Bali? Yep, overrated some said.
A few people mentioned that it is quite polluted with lots of rubbish, which is so sad to hear. Others said it was overcrowded and touristy (they must be talking about Kuta), and that people were just there for the ‘gram.
I get that last one. I remember watching sunset on the beach and seeing people queue to get a photo in the swings in the sea (you can kinda see it in the background of the below photo). Definitely kills the mood.
China
Yep, the whole of China also makes the list.
Most mentioned that the people were rude and had bad manners. Also that there’s animal cruelty, and that everything felt like it was a hassle. I visited China a few years ago, only for a short trip, but I completely agree with this. I’m not writing it off completely but I found it a hard destination to love.
Nassau, Bahamas
I know nothing about Nassau, but it was mentioned enough for me to not want to ever go. The Bahamas destination was described as overrated, overpriced, cheesey and with lame nightlife.
I’ve never been to the Caribbean so can’t comment. But I definitely thought the Bahamas would be nicer!
Venice, Italy
I want to go to Venice, just to experience it. But I hear from a lot of people that it is way too crowded, especially in peak time over the summer. Other Twitter commenters described it as expensive, hard to navigate and had experiences with rude people.
Maybe I should check it out in early Spring instead?
Brussels, Belgium
I’ve never been to Brussels, I’ve never had the inclination. But as I was scrolling through the replies, looking for reasons behind people’s dislike of Brussels, no-one really said much other than ‘boring’.
And I remember seeing another travel blogger visit Brussels, and they ended up leaving quite quickly. So yes, I think the general consensus is that it is a bit boring with not much to do.
Singapore
Singapore was in my list. I’ve been twice and still feel like I just don’t get it. I think in comparison to other Asian countries it just doesn’t have the same vibe. There isn’t much typical Asian culture, being a metropolitan city. I don’t know, something was missing for me and I found it a little soulless.
Others also said they didn’t get it, found it too commercial and quite expensive.
Honourable mentions for worst destinations include Italy as a whole, Rome, Malaysia, Egypt, Budapest, Berlin and Vegas!
I found this whole thing super interesting. I mean it was quite clear to me that things like negative experiences, poor weather, illness or bad company can massively affect your opinion of a destination. But at the same time, when people agree with places you didn’t like, for the same kind of reasons, it kind of reinforces your opinion, y’know?
Anyway, I’m keen to know what you think. Do you agree/disagree with any of these? Is there anywhere that didn’t make the list that you really didn’t like?
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