Travel Popular Travel Destinations & Holidays You Didn't Like

[Sttew]

The problem with many European Cities and Big US Cities such as NYC is you can spend your limited time trapped exploring tourist traps. Over priced, full of other tourists and as such unfriendly locals who are trapped in it.

To really enjoy these countries and get the most out of them, you really need to try and get outside the tourist spots to see the real destination. For example, I've heard many times Venice is 1000s of times better when you leave the canals and go to where the locals are.

To do any big city justice you need to immerse yourself, stay there for more than the 3 - 4 nights, and as you say, do what the locals do.

I also prefer to base myself in small to medium cities. Last year we had five days in the Netherlands before flying home and stayed in Utrecht instead of Amsterdam.

 

[adelaidecrows]

To do any big city justice you need to immerse yourself, stay there for more than the 3 - 4 nights, and as you say, do what the locals do.

I also prefer to base myself in small to medium cities. Last year we had five days in the Netherlands before flying home and stayed in Utrecht instead of Amsterdam.

I lived in NYC for 3 months on top of numerous month and 2 week stays before that. Lets just say I'm over NYC lol. The underneath, below the shiny tourist stuff is a hole! Times Square is such a waste of time.

I think most people just get lazy when booking holidays and dont do any real research, just want to see the tourist stuff they see on the net.

My advice would be to find a hotel a little bit away from the tourist stuff. for example, seeing NYC, plenty of good hotels in neighbourhood areas through midtown that are clean and safe and you can be around the locals. Staying up around times square and the theatre district is a waste of opportunity. Plenty of nice but expensive hotels around Central Park too. But also nothing wrong with getting a hotel in Queens and catching the subway into the city too.

Staying in smaller non tourist destinations is a great way to explore the real country and culture. I like that. I live in Portugal now in a small sea side tourist town. I hate tourists lol. But I do enjoy it here.

 

[Cuzz09]

People just want to go to places to take a photo and then be able to say "I've been there"

What other reason is travelling?

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[pepsi]

People just want to go to places to take a photo and then be able to say "I've been there"

What other reason is travelling?

Not sure if you are being facetious or it's a genuine question.

There are many reasons why people travel to famous locations: the history attached to the place, the architecture, maybe a long held dream to visit the place, want to experience other cities, etc.

 

[raskolnikov]

France, Italy, England, Switzerland, Germany, Austria.

mehhhhh

I mean I can understand not liking aspects of the first five. But what's not to like about Austria, apart from maybe the cold in winter? Amazing country.

 

[hotchilli]

Washington DC really is quite shit outside of the Smithsonian.

 

[revo333]

Not sure if you are being facetious or it's a genuine question.

There are many reasons why people travel to famous locations: the history attached to the place, the architecture, maybe a long held dream to visit the place, want to experience other cities, etc.

People come to Australia and think it's weird that we only go out and socialise on the weekends.

One eye opener for me in Europe was that people go out with their friends to restaurants and bars most nights of the week!

 

[phantom13]

Everyone is gonna do the touristy stuff any place they go, thats just natural. It absolutely is way better to immerse yourself but thats not always possible.

I swear by getting out for a run early morning in any city you visit, you get to see alot of it and feel a bit of the life lived there.

Ive been lucky enough to have done 6 weeks in Paris and 4 in NYC.

I adored Paris and would live there in a heartbeat, absolutely wouldnt live in NYC but its horses for courses.

 

[burge13]

Couldn't live in NYC in a million years. Busy, dirty, and expensive. Not exactly a winning combo...
Rio I could live, maybe not forever, but a lengthy stay, likewise Curatiba I think. Sau Paulo was a dump though

Queenstown in NZ probably my favourite place I've been tbh but like any touristy spot, it'll be ruined by hotels buying up land a shops ruining any authenticity it has/had.

Agree with getting away from touristy spots to truly see what a place is like

 

[FreoGirl]

Rome

 

[FreoGirl]

Couldn't live in NYC in a million years. Busy, dirty, and expensive. Not exactly a winning combo...
Rio I could live, maybe not forever, but a lengthy stay, likewise Curatiba I think. Sau Paulo was a dump though

Queenstown in NZ probably my favourite place I've been tbh but like any touristy spot, it'll be ruined by hotels buying up land a shops ruining any authenticity it has/had.

Agree with getting away from touristy spots to truly see what a place is like

I love NYC, but not been there since pre Covid

 

[Purple7x08_24]

I have found London new York and Sydney all not to my tastes

Darlinghurst is trash. Bondi gardens were ok. Bondi beach and Manly beach overrated but only due to the mass crowds. I'd rather go to Coffs Harbour.

I'd do those big cities just to have a brief look and feel of the place, but quickly venture off to smaller venues. If I ever went to the U.S, I'd go to the smaller towns around Pennsylvania, Oregon, Colorado etc.

 

[Purple7x08_24]

To do any big city justice you need to immerse yourself, stay there for more than the 3 - 4 nights, and as you say, do what the locals do.

I also prefer to base myself in small to medium cities. Last year we had five days in the Netherlands before flying home and stayed in Utrecht instead of Amsterdam.

I'd do that too. Amsterdam is more of a nightlife location. In Germany, I'd go to Munich over Berlin but I'd suss out all of the attractions I was interested in and then **** off to all of the historically significant places.

 

[Purple7x08_24]

People just want to go to places to take a photo and then be able to say "I've been there"

What other reason is travelling?

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I've seen people walk up to the 12 Apostles on the Great Ocean Road, get out of the car, take a few snaps and **** off. Imagine doing that at Stonehenge without appreciating everything about it.

I want to go there and walk around it with no photos. Sit down and appreciate every aspect to it. Then I want to write a journal of every little aspect of the visit from the noise, the breeze, weather, feeling I get when walking on the ground, literally everything.

 

[ash_1050]

People come to Australia and think it's weird that we only go out and socialise on the weekends.

One eye opener for me in Europe was that people go out with their friends to restaurants and bars most nights of the week!

Astute observation. A lot of Aussies work 5 days a week and then cram their weekends with social stuff, before then going back to the 5 day grind.

Europe is a lot more around mid week socialising, and with less binge drinking in the process. Have tried to slot more mid week stuff in (sport, dinners etc) and keep a bit more free time on weekends. Helps to give life a bit more meaning and create a happier balance overall.

 

[errant bounce]

Astute observation. A lot of Aussies work 5 days a week and then cram their weekends with social stuff, before then going back to the 5 day grind.

Europe is a lot more around mid week socialising, and with less binge drinking in the process. Have tried to slot more mid week stuff in (sport, dinners etc) and keep a bit more free time on weekends. Helps to give life a bit more meaning and create a happier balance overall.

You can romanticise this stuff a lot though but who can be arsed sitting around until 10pm when you have to commute to work in less then 12 hours time? might be alright if you've had a productive week and tomorrow's a Friday wfh but imagine doing that every night for a month. **** that.

Having a beer at 11pm with a bowl of olives is great on a Tuesday when you're on holiday but I look forward to my alone time and time at home and after work I look forward to cooking a meal, doing some cleaning, and calling it a night by 10pm.

I dunno, I wouldn't say Australians cram their weekend with anything. most people I know spending Saturday morning doing some cleaning and the washing, do some shopping and errands or stuff in the garden in the arvo, and relax from about 3pm onward (in whatever guise that might be). Sundays are generally a chiller day and the evenings are spent preparing for the week. most people in England, Ireland, and the US, Canada, and New Zealand do the same and we're the most common of little clusters – we don't have that much in common with southern or northern Europeans.

To be frank I don't actually get what southern Europeans do for jobs. feels like a massive underclass of people in hospitality but there's no major industry in most of these places and yet they're all in lounging around on beaches for three months a year. what actually keeps these countries going?

 

[revo333]

To be frank I don't actually get what southern Europeans do for jobs. feels like a massive underclass of people in hospitality but there's no major industry in most of these places and yet they're all in lounging around on beaches for three months a year. what actually keeps these countries going?

Keep in contact with a few people I met in Spain, I ask them what they do for work 'ummm..ahhh, tourism' but when I ask what they actually do it's like some big secret and they can't give me a clear answer.

And yes, their Instagram is weekly updates of going out with friend 7 times a week and travelling every month.

Another person I talk to from Prague is pretty much the same.

 

[JackOutback]

Sounds like I should move to Spain.

 

[burge13]

Sounds nice

Like what would be possible here if we didn't need 6 figures for house deposits and earning 6 figures a year to maintain the mortgage...

 

[revo333]

Sounds nice

Like what would be possible here if we didn't need 6 figures for house deposits and earning 6 figures a year to maintain the mortgage...

It's the same there as well but i think there attitudes are live for the moment instead of save save save for 20 years so you have some money when you are 65.

 

[The Dice Man]

It's the same there as well but i think there attitudes are live for the moment instead of save save save for 20 years so you have some money when you are 65.

Not quite. Banks cant move the interest rate of your mortgage like they can in Australia. Our rate is fixed at 1% for the life of the loan. We can negotiate to go lower, but they cant raise it on us.

 

[revo333]

Not quite. Banks cant move the interest rate of your mortgage like they can in Australia. Our rate is fixed at 1% for the life of the loan. We can negotiate to go lower, but they cant raise it on us.

They would still keep up the same life style I bet.

 

[The Dice Man]

They would still keep up the same life style I bet.

I meant that it’s maybe easier to plan. A sudden increase in interest rates doesn’t affect those already under loans. There’s no fear of your mortgage jumping from 3k to 6k in a matter of months. In Australia that kind of increase can be devastating to families. And it’s quite unfair to have that uncertainty in what is most likely to be many people’s largest investment.

 

[revo333]

Sounds like I should move to Spain.

It's a popular place for a reason and the good thing is there is still plenty of good places that are not called Madrid or Barcelona.

 

[The hands of stone]

It's a popular place for a reason and the good thing is there is still plenty of good places that are not called Madrid or Barcelona.

A lot of people miss out on the smaller cities and towns that are absolute gems.
We hired a van and did two weeks travelling through the country around 15 years ago .

Albacete , Jaen , Alicante and Almeria were great spots we stopped over at on the way around .

The language barrier is more pronounced but you absolutely get by .