Best & Worst

What experiences have you had that far exceeded your expectations?
And what were those that left you feeling deflated?
Top 3 for each.

Best.
1. Niagara Falls: Was not prepared for the noise and spectacle ... AMAZING.
2. Ephesus: Completely ignorant of the place until holidaying in Turkey ... rivals any archaeological site I've seen.
3. Bird-watching in Gambia: A last minute decision, but what a wonderful adventure!

Worst.
1. The Pyramids: Been on my bucket list for ages - what a disappointment!
2. Capri - Not worth the ferry journey. Amalfi coast is far more beautiful than this over-hyped island.
3. Any casino - the expectation is always better than the event.

Originally posted by @wolfgang59
The Pyramids: Been on my bucket list for ages - what a disappointment!

What was disappointing about it? I've been wanting to go there for ages.

Originally posted by @suzianne
What was disappointing about it? I've been wanting to go there for ages.

Not in the middle of the desert - just on outskirt of Cairo.
Size is underwhelming.
Local pickpockets and thieves are rife.
Police are corrupt.
Too many tourists.

Apparently Luxor is a far better experience.

I had a bit of disappointment with Dubrovnik. It is just too full and too touristic for my liking...

Our best vacation experiences we had with small Camping sites not included in any "inside tips"...though a small site is no guarantee for a good experience 😉

I have never really had a bad vacation, only good and less good, but there are places I probably wouldn't go back to such as Rome and Venice - I suppose my expectations were too high or maybe there were other reasons.

I was pleasantly surprised in Cyprus and Crete, and I'm always happy to visit London and New York. Friends of mine have recommended Berlin as a very nice place and I suppose I will go there to see for myself.

Originally posted by @torunn
I have never really had a bad vacation, only good and less good, but there are places I probably wouldn't go back to such as Rome and Venice - I suppose my expectations were too high or maybe there were other reasons.

I was pleasantly surprised in Cyprus and Crete, and I'm always happy to visit London and New York. Friends of mine have recommended Berlin as a very nice place and I suppose I will go there to see for myself.

Berlin has great places and sights. I can testify for that.

It was overwhelming when I had been there the first time 1985 and it has been great though different when I was there (for Sightseeing) 2012.

Originally posted by @wolfgang59
What experiences have you had that far exceeded your expectations?
And what were those that left you feeling deflated?
Top 3 for each.

Best.
1. Niagara Falls: Was not prepared for the noise and spectacle ... AMAZING.
2. Ephesus: Completely ignorant of the place until holidaying in Turkey ... rivals any archaeological site I've seen.
3. Bird-watch ...[text shortened]... l than this over-hyped island.
3. Any casino - the expectation is always better than the event.

Best.
1. Welwyn Garden City: well laid out.
2. Slough: sensible one-way system
3. St. Albans: charity shops and fast food and coffee in the High Street, unencumbered by any other type of shop

Worst.
1. Paris: too romantic for its own good
2. Ibiza: not much good if you like dixieland music and other trad jazz
3. Rome: two popes wear the crown, as predicted, no good will come of it, Fatima, homosexuals, you name it

Originally posted by @wolfgang59
What experiences have you had that far exceeded your expectations?
And what were those that left you feeling deflated?
Top 3 for each.

Best.
1. Niagara Falls: Was not prepared for the noise and spectacle ... AMAZING.
2. Ephesus: Completely ignorant of the place until holidaying in Turkey ... rivals any archaeological site I've seen.
3. Bird-watch ...[text shortened]... l than this over-hyped island.
3. Any casino - the expectation is always better than the event.

Best:
Sydney Harbour Bridge - I was fortunate enough to go up while dusk approached and it was awesome.
Paris - Honeymoon and an amazing city generally (next time will incorporate Euro-Disney for the kids)
Franz Josef Glazier - on the South Island of New Zealand, I did a heli-hike and it was awesome.

Worst:

Grand Canyon - Disappointing, just a crack in the earth, I couldn't afford a helicopter flight through it at the time, so would be willing to try it again.
Las Vegas - once you go beyond the razzle dazzle of the front, the rest is horrid, poverty, crime, homelessness etc.
Camping - as a late teens hap, in a tiny tent with a couple of mates, not glamping or enjoyable. Will be trying again this year in a trailer-tent, so hoping for a better experience.

Originally posted by @ponderable
Berlin has great places and sights. I can testify for that.

It was overwhelming when I had been there the first time 1985 and it has been great though different when I was there (for Sightseeing) 2012.

Thank you.
I would also add that Paris was a pleasant surprise. I had heard so much about the French arrogance and their reluctance to speak anything but French, but we felt very welcome and on the whole it was a nice experience.

Originally posted by @wolfgang59
Not in the middle of the desert - just on outskirt of Cairo.
Size is underwhelming.
Local pickpockets and thieves are rife.
Police are corrupt.
Too many tourists.

Apparently Luxor is a far better experience.

I did this trip as a guest of a company who really did not want staff kidnapped.

Armed guards improved the experience considerably. 🙂

edit : "Size is underwhelming." Not my experience.

Originally posted by @fmf
Best.
1. Welwyn Garden City: well laid out.
2. Slough: sensible one-way system
3. St. Albans: charity shops and fast food and coffee in the High Street, unencumbered by any other type of shop

Worst.
1. Paris: too romantic for its own good
2. Ibiza: not much good if you like dixieland music and other trad jazz
3. Rome: two popes wear the crown, as predicted, no good will come of it, Fatima, homosexuals, you name it

Sorry to report sir, but if you were to return to St Albans's today your experience would be quite different. (Nice little market though).

Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-duke
Sorry to report sir, but if you were to return to St Albans's today your experience would be quite different. (Nice little market though).

Verulamium, you mean.

Originally posted by @ashiitaka
Verulamium, you mean.

Blimey ... how long since you been there?

Originally posted by @wolfgang59
Not in the middle of the desert - just on outskirt of Cairo.
Size is underwhelming.
Local pickpockets and thieves are rife.
Police are corrupt.
Too many tourists.

Apparently Luxor is a far better experience.

Personally, I thought the pyramids were amazing. I went inside one of them. I also went to Luxor, Abu Simbel and I camped in the white desert, in the middle of nowhere near a limestone pillar. My trip to Egypt was amazing, although in retrospect it was dangerous.


This is so hard since I've done so many lovely holidays.
1. Istanbul - I cannot speak too highly of Istanbul. I went just before the coup in 2016 and was blown away. It's the only city I've been to that rivals Cape Town and I have been to many. The layers of history, from Greece to Byzantium to the Ottomans, spanning two continents... The grand bazaar and all the smells of spices and turkish delight, the hagglers trying to sell their wares - it was a magical experience.
2. Coming to Cape Town - before I packed up and moved here. It wasa regular destination for me (I would come for Christmas and Easter without fail for several years) and cry the whole way back to England. I live here now I and I appreciate it every day...
3. Antigua and Barduda/ Trinidad and Tobago. I used to live in T&T and it was like being om holiday 24/7. Crystal blue water, palm trees, bougainvillea combined with stunning colonial buildings and sugar plantations. Antigua was similar.

Honorable mention: Sidmouth, England. Beautiful little seaside town in Devon. I saw the Jurassic coast and still have some fossils I extracted from there. Chesil beach is also an odd anomaly.

Now for the worst:

1. Rome. It's not even close. This is the only place that I have been that I didn't like one little bit. It was dirty, run down and has worse infrastructure than any place in the developed world or in South Africa for that matter. The sites were mostly overrated as well. The grumpy locals didn't help. Did I mention that it's super overpriced?
2. Mettingen, North-Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. This place was okay. It's more here because I have been to other, more amazing places. It was a sweet little town, just rather boring.
3. Tours, France. Don't get me wrong, parts of France are beautiful. I was probably too young to appreciate the romantic side of it as well, so I can't be too harsh on this place. The people were a bit rude, as well.

Originally posted by @wolfgang59
Blimey ... how long since you been there?

I remember so many odd facts that I'm surprised my brain has space for anything that isn't entirely useless.