Picking a
travel destination can be frustrating. You want to have things to do and stuff to see. While these cities might offer that, they also offer disappointment.
We traveled to r/AskReddit to see what cities did not meet travel expectations.
1
Atlantic City. It's way dirtier and run down than I thought it'd be. -u/User_492006
2
Branson Missouri felt like if wish.com were a place -u/Dread_Wolf_TakeMe
3
Licking, Missouri. Not enough licking happening. -u/dumbhunny
4
Hollywood. And I'm embarrassed for people who travel around the world to see it. What they imagine it to be vs reality. Sorry, it's not what you expected. -u/Mondo114
5
I know everyone loves Marrakesh, but I hated it. It would have been amazing before about 2000, but now it just feels like a Disneyland version of their culture to cater to western tourists. Ali Baba costumes pretending to be desert nomads. Half of their ‘handmade goods’ are just cheap sh*t from China. You can’t walk 20 feet without being approached by scammers. -u/legshampoo
6
Beijing. I arrived at the end of a Trans-Mongolian rail trip seeing so many incredible places and I think it was just a huge upset. I was intimidated by the level of armed security everywhere, had to fight off so many scammers, didn't enjoy being touched and laughed at when on the subway (I'm a very white European with curly hair). Overall just found it really challenging despite some amazing sights. -u/Teapigs1984
7
Niagara Falls. I didn’t know the falls would be in a city. I thought it would be a national park. The whole place just felt like a giant shopping mall. -u/youburyitidigitup
8
Bali changed so much the last 10 years. It used to be so beautiful and amazing…Now it is full of “digital nomad” douchebags and overpriced food and crap. I remember when it was just a cool surf spot with cheap eats. -u/HippoNo775
9
Manila. Traffic was horrible and it was so dirty. Nice buildings but the entire experience was stressful. -u/Bigjay_37
10
Trenton, New Jersey. I wasn't really visiting or expecting to go there, just passing through on an Amtrak ride. I awoke from a nap to the train just stopped in what looked like Raccoon City. Trash everywhere, most of the buildings looked abandoned. The sky was cloudy and literally green. Like, sickly yellow green. And most eerily, I didn't see a single car driving on the street or anyone walking around outside on the barren sidewalks. All the stores and restaurants looked closed and empty. I was actually sort of gripped by fear for a second. -u/tr0nvicious
11
Dubai. While there I learned about how the whole city is built and run on some legalized slavery. I felt dirty after leaving. -u/BranigansLaw
12
Got shot 5 minutes after arriving in Rio. After a road trip from Sao Paulo with 2 friends nearly got carjacked at a gas station. Several shots fired only one hit. -u/VerySpecialCognac
13
Jacksonville Florida is a toilet. -u/pittguzzo
14
Naples. I think the best way I could describe the city center is as a sticky McDonald's table. -u/Gjilli
15
I hated Las Vegas so very much. So dry, so trashy, so smokey, ugh. Everything is also so damn expensive. But alcohol everywhere. -u/themeanlantern
16
It pains me to say this, but Dublin. My expectations were so high. That being said, I left my heart in Cork. -u/NotThatKindOfDrDr
17
Roswell, New Mexico. Nobody in town recognizes that every one outside of the town thinks of UFOs. It's just an absolute sh*t town without sh*t to do, and there isn't sh*t for hours outside of town in any direction. -u/manny130
18
Myrtle Beach. It’s Gatlinburg by the beach but with more meth and murder. It’s really cheesy as well. -u/Drulock
19
Paris was so dirty, and I was not prepared for the disdain of the French towards a stupid American. I believed the American Rom-Com movie version of Paris. -u/Idontknowthosewords
20
Birmingham, UK. I had a very dreamy idea of it for some reason. It's probably the sh*ttiest city in the UK. -u/sustainablecaptalist
21
As a Dutch person, I'm actually gonna say Amsterdam. So crowded, chaotic and getting run over by other tourists on bikes they've never ridden before. I feel like it's romanticized a lot because it's our capital but the first time I visited, I was genuinely disappointed. It's definitely dirtier on the streets and the canals have a lot of waste drifting in them. -u/Marveloes
22
Venice. Beautiful architecture and fascinating history...but dear god is it humid, the water is absolutely filthy, it’s so overcrowded, and there's gift stands in every corner selling the same cheap wares. -u/ChibiRedgrave
23
Athens. I couldn’t wait to go because I’m Greek. It’s filthy with polluted air and all of the famous ruins are right near city buildings, which are poorly constructed. The place feels very third world. -u/imatiredwoman
24
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. No offense to the folks that live there but I felt like everybody was angry, the traffic and parking was worse than Manhattan, and it had none of the redeeming qualities of NYC. -u/YOLO_SWAG_SATAN
25
Austin, Texas. Lived there in the ‘90s and it was pretty great. Now it’s an overcrowded, overpriced douchey mess. DontShootTheFood
