Traveling and seeing new places and cultures should be on everyone's bucket list, but like every other experience, there are going to be some disappointing ones.
Some travel destinations are so disappointing, however, that people vow to never visit them again.
Ironically, many of those locations are dedicated travel destinations!
Redditor Gourmet-Guy asked:
"Which city are you NOT going to visit ever again, and why?"
Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
"Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Devastating, hopeless, traumatizing, soul-crushing poverty that gets me emotional when I think back on it. The things I saw there… words fail to describe."
- MPD1987
"I was checking my watch every few minutes counting down the days and hours until I could leave. It was a scary place where even those that are supposed to protect you are open to attacking and robbing/kidnapping/murdering you."
- rayrayrayray
Birmingham, Alabama
"Birmingham, Alabama. My wife was almost kidnapped right in front of me while I was holding our infant. Luckily she’s scrappier than she looks and they gave up when they couldn’t quickly shove her in the car."
- starwestsky
Cairo, Egypt
"Cairo. I've seen everything I wanted to see there, but would never return. Tourists are treated like cattle there, by those involved in the tourist trade, much to the embarrassment of the many good Egyptian people who live in the city."
- kublakhan1977
"We hired a dedicated driver and tour guide for a couple of days so didn't feel like cattle. That said, the number of people harassing us to try to get money was obnoxious. When our guide was with us, they stayed back, but the second he gave us some time to explore, they were horrible."
"Plus, seeing military personnel with assault rifles everywhere was a bit unsettling..."
"This was like a month before the coup, and we could sense something was off, as well."
"That said, our guide was awesome."
- fezmid
"Cairo... My god... I have said this before but... the pollution, the people asking you for money everywhere you go, the mistreatment of animals... I wish I could say that the historical side of the city makes up for it but... nope."
- udontnowme
Marrakesh, Morocco
"Marrakesh, Morocco. The only place I’ve ever been that I’ve sworn I’d never go back to."
"After two days of walking around, followed by groups of men and boys trying to touch my wife (who was dressed modestly with legs and shoulders covered), followed by aggression when either she or I voiced our displeasure with this, we gave up trying to sight-see and spent the rest of our vacation in the hotel."
- ItsSupperHans
Bradford, UK
"It just doesn't have a lot going for it, unfortunately. The sort of place where when people find out you are from out of town, they ask what you are doing there, but not in a sort of cheery, 'Oh, what are you here for?' way, but a 'Seriously, why have you chosen to come here?' way. Not very welcoming."
- BobBobBobBobBobDave
Stockton, California
"Stockton, CA. The McDonald's had an armed security guy."
- KalSethMoran
"Growing up, my dad was a crime scene investigator for the DOJ (Department of Justice) and covered all of Northern California. Like, the entire top half of the state. And most of the time when he’d get called, if it was a homicide, he’d be going to Stockton."
- DancesWithPibbles
Atlantic City, New Jersey
"Atlantic City, NJ, if I can help it."
- GoPhinessGo
"Atlantic City is just bizarre. It feels like a run-down smallish city, but it's weirdly dotted with glitzy casinos. It's like Vegas and Scranton got drunk one night and made a really strange baby."
- full_of_ghosts
South Beach, Florida
"I don't need to go back to Miami, or at least to South Beach. My husband and I went last year and it was a little bit of a nightmare. We always find fun together, so it was still a good vacation, but I'd rather spend money elsewhere."
- loudlittle
"As someone that grew up in Miami, my biggest recommendation for visitors is to do just about anything but go to South Beach."
"Miami has a lot of really cool areas but they’re not tourist hot spots. You’ll have a much better time, in my opinion, hitting up the bars in the gables than going to Wynwood, for example."
- TheMightyYule
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
"Dubai. It features so much about what I don't like about humanity. All money and no substance."
- zordabo
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
"Ashgabat. Glad I went, but creepy. Total authoritarian dear leader surveillance state. Basically can’t leave the hotel unless escorted. Bad food."
"Utterly fascinating, but I can totally scratch it off my list of 'been there, done that.'"
- timpdx
Mobile, Alabama
"Mobile, Alabama. There was a palpable aura of anger and resentment in that town that I'll never forget."
- Casual-Notice
Manila, Philippines
"Manila. The traffic, the pollution, the poverty."
- blacks11
"I'm from the Philippines, and dude, I also hate it there. I'm a province guy. I remember one time I rented an inn there, and the smell literally gave me culture shock. The sink was full of cigarette butts and the bed was cockroach-ridden. I was never able to sleep. I rather stay here in the forest with my fairy friends."
- rupleix
Hollywood
"Hollywood, specifically Hollywood Boulevard. It's really janky, the whole town kind of smells, and it's just wholly disappointing."
- rancidtuna
Gary, Indiana
"Gary, Indiana. Should be self-explanatory."
- No-Strawberry-5541
"Gary is fine, during the day. You can drive through there without much issue. But at night? If you have to go through there, treat every stop sign as a rolling stop and just never stop."
"The place is rundown and has been for decades, since the main source of income, left town. Now it's just, people who are too poor to move anywhere else. It's an all too common story in the US."
- KikiFlowers
Nassau, Bahamas
"Nassau, Bahamas. Absolutely horrible. The place is extremely run down. Locals don’t leave you alone and don’t take no for an answer."
"No, I don’t want to buy a wooden flute from the 90s. No, I don’t want to buy D&G sunglasses from China for $80."
"I don't know, maybe I had a bad experience, but I’ll never go back to the Bahamas, at least Nassau."
- rodman666
While traveling is a tremendous experience, there are always going to be some destinations that are disappointing for some, and a reason to never visit again for others.
The best plan is to travel as much as you can, and keep mixing it up, so you can see as many destinations and cultures as you can in a lifetime.
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