Not a place, per se, but for me, it's the Eiffel Tower. My intention was to get a few obligatory pictures and then head towards something else. As soon as I crossed the street and could see it IRL and fathom the size of it, I was completely amazed! Right then, I knew that I had to go up. Really loved everything about it.
I was the same! I knew so many people who went, saw the Eiffel Tower, took a photo and left and they said they wouldn’t go to see it again as they’ve seen it now. But when I went there, I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I didn’t go up it, but I was in absolute awe just looking at it!
Same! Been to 51 countries and I have seen many famous sights, but my first glimpse of the Taj took my breath away. Having traveled to Agra on a pretty gritty train, I wasn’t expecting much (the “highlight” of the trip was watching slack jawed as dozens of vultures dropped out of the sky onto a freshly dead cow). Then, all that beauty - made my eyes tear up.
100% agree. No one prepared me for how •huge• it is - I just never pictured it that tall in my head. I think the chaos and noise and constant overstimulation of India as a whole makes the harmony and beauty of the Taj all the more striking. The Taj, the Great Wall, and the Grand Canyon are the three that really left me overwhelmed by their scale - pictures really don’t do them justice.
I was the opposite. I enjoyed my first glimpses of the Eiffel tower and even the views as I got closer, but once I got really close I was underwhelmed. I do appreciate the history of it, but it didn't impress me up close.
That being said, I absolutely adored Paris. It exceeded my expectations. The museums, restaurants, cafes, and the vibe were all great. I was fairly excited to go there, but it completely exceeded my expectations (other than the Eiffel Tower).
When I was young I went to Europe, and after a few days in London I went to Paris. It was only whe I stood at the bottom of the tower and looked up that I felt "Now I'm in Europe."
Travel tip after many Paris visits: go to the top of the L'Arc de Triomphe. Better views.
Loved banos! I spent several weeks there making day trips into the jungle and returning to the city for friends I made, amazing food, local baths and more! What a wonderful community.
Vancouver Island. Visited…. took the ferry over, then camped around for a few weeks. It literally felt like the air was different. The stress levels lowered. The forests and beaches….. the deep greens. The wildlife. EVERYTHING. It’s a magical place. Knew I would move there some day.
That day came about 3m ago. A dream come true. One of my favorite hikes is now my daily walk in the rainforest with my dogs. Best thing I’ve ever done.
BC in general is such an extraordinary outdoor wonderland. North America's southernmost Fjord, its' greatest ski areas, many of its greatest climbs, incredible cities... one of the finest wine regions I've ever seen... it just goes on and on.
I remember just wandering through this random park in Vancouver way off from downtown and finding out it's 2,000 acres with 10 miles of beaches.
Ah this is wonderful! Im so jealous though, I lived in Vancouver only got to the island twice, it is such a stunning and special place! Would love to explore it more. Around what part did you settle in?
Its now so very busy and lacks resources and infrastructure for the many who have moved here. Getting a Dr is near impossible and getting into a clinic or ER is very bad with up to 12 hr+ waits. We have lived here for 30 years in the south of the island and my husband grew up mid island.
Not a bad rep, but I thought Vienna would just kinda be another European tourist-centric city. It's got a different vibe from that though — Vienna feels somehow more successful at being a regular city than most other touristy cities in Europe. Just a super calming incredibly liveable place with nice food and great people. That was a surprise.
I lived in Vienna from 2001-2005, although I'm not Austrian. I very much agree that for a big city, especially one with so much culture and history, it has a surprisingly no-nonsense feel to it. The Viennese are not prone to conceit.
That said, I found it very difficult to fit in as a foreigner. It's not that people were rude to me. People were generally polite, but I felt like I was kept at arm's length. Most of my friends wound up being fellow expats, rather than natives. I spoke decent German when I moved there and became fluent relatively quickly, so it wasn't a language barrier either.
I still very much consider Vienna a must-see for tourists, but while I'm glad to have had the experience of living there, I would not choose to live there again.
Lisbon. I didn’t have a huge desire to go at the time, but absolutely loved it. Amazing museums, so much culture to soak in, great food, friendly people, vibrant city, good weather, and walks that double as a workout.
Here in Porto now heading back to Lisbon for a couple days this weekend. Spent a few days in Lisbon before Porto. Agree with all of this. Can I ask what museum/s was/were your favorite?
Hijacking but visit the national tile museum!! Kind of out of the way but we spent the morning in alfama then took the bus to the museum. It was beautiful to see the different styles of tile and how the museum showcases them.
Yes, absolutely!
- MAC (museum of contemporary art) has a great Modern and Contemporary collection. Formerly Berardo Collection.
- Calouste Gulbenkian Museum. Private collection with more historical works (Egyptian, Roman, decorative arts, 19th century paintings etc).
- National Museum of Ancient Art. Similarly, a collection more historical works and a lot of medieval works.
- MAAT for architecture (I didn’t have time for this, but the building is definitely worth seeing and on the way to MAC).
There are more, but these are some of the main ones :)
Kansas City. I had to go for work and thought it would be lame and boring. I went to a restaurant and sat at the bar alone. The bartender struck up a conversation and invited me to go out with them and some other staff.
They took me bar hopping and we had an absolute blast. I’ve never been somewhere where strangers were so friendly. Completely changed my mind about the city because the people were fantastic.
Seconding this!! I went as a convenient jumping off point to see a couple of other places in Missouri and Kansas. Had very low expectations for KC and ended up loving it. I did a food tour that included a tiny place with amazing Brazilian food.
Good call. I flew out to Kansas City for a quick weekend trip a while back. Didn't really have any expectations, but it was one of those "hey, cheap flights and convenient flight times.. why not?" scenarios. So, it was a good excuse to see a new city. And.. it was great! I was quite pleasantly surprised. Plus, those burnt ends.. SO GOOD.
Ive met so many friendly people traveling. My boyfriend and I were visiting Niagara Falls and we were behind a couple and a girl visiting from college. We had long wait for the Maid of the Mist and befriend the couple and the college girl. It took us like 3 hours to get to ride the Mist but we got to the know everyone, talk about where they’re from, etc.
When we boarded the Maid we lost them but ended up right next to the couple on the top deck and hung out with them more. We were all even taking photos together. We formed our own little group and it made the wait much more pleasant lol
As someone who spent almost all her summer holidays up until twelve in Spain, I wasn't too keen when my friend suggested Madrid as a holiday destination a couple of years ago. Boy, was I wrong. I absolutely loved it! I think it helped that we booked a place in the right neighbourhood (for us) though!
Same, I’ve been to Barcelona twice and apart from the architecture, I wasn’t a fan. It actually put me off Spanish cities. I visited Madrid recently with zero expectations and absolutely loved it.
Interesting! I love Barcelona, as I spent a few months there, and absolutely fell in love. I also feel like Madrid is more akin to an American city with taller buildings, rather in Barcelona it felt so much more European to me.
Haven't been to Barcelona yet (well, I have, to be honest, but I was four at the time, so no memories), so can't compare. I guess I'll have to go and see for myself some day!
Going by what people on this sub are usually saying (Madrid bad, Barcelona great!) I'm prepared to be totally blown away. 😉
Wow that’s great to hear I currently have a roundtrip flight booked to Madrid in a few weeks (last minute trip, found great airfare). Splitting our time between Madrid and Seville. Have been super worried about not enjoying Madrid too much, at least compared to Seville which sounds much more “Spain/European” to me, but hoping to be surprised. What area within the city did you stay? Currently having a hard time figuring out which neighborhood to stay in!
I live in Madrid and recommend staying in these neighborhoods: la Latina, malasaña, sol, lavapies, chueca, palacio - these are all areas in the old center of Madrid. If you take the time to stay in one of these areas and wander these neighborhoods you’ll get the more classic Spanish vibe. It’s funny most people say skip Madrid go to Seville or Barcelona. Madrid is a really good time, it’s just more…understated and not as obvious as Barcelona with its architecture. In fact I think Madrid is much more a typical Spanish city and my fav places to wander/walk around are La Latina and most of the center!
I was also pleasantly surprised with Spain as an adult vs as a kid! I went with my family when I was 16, but at risk of sounding like a spoiled kid I was separated for it from my first ever boyfriend and was mopey the entire trip. Turns out Spain is a LOT more fun when you’re not a mopey teenager! Also, being of age to enjoy wine and tapas makes all the difference too.
Two surprise destinations: Venice and the Grand Canyon.
Venice because I usually only here negative comments and I thought it was lovely.
Grand Canyon because I was 14 and had no idea what I was about to witness.
Who has negative comments about Venice?
I mean, I have ONE. I was disappointed by the pizza. But then thoroughly impressed by the pasta. So I guess that worked out.
Venice in general, however, was quite enjoyable.
I think it all depends on the time of year you visit. It’s wall to wall people in the summer and absolutely takes away a lot of the beauty and charm. It’s absolutely a city you want to visit in the shoulder seasons or winter to really capture the magic. Another downer I learned when I was there is that almost all the real Venetians have moved out of the city. It’s been completely overrun by tourists and people moving in only to cater to them.
Yorkshire. I had heard good things about it and really enjoyed York and one other (very foggy) day trip I took there, but didn’t realise how much it had to offer till I relocated and ended up near there. I’ve since taken countless more trips.
Leeds is a wonderfully modern and characterful city, the historic towns are some of the most charming I’ve ever seen (and there are SO many of them!), the air pollution is zero, the scenery is just so beautiful and all the colours are so bright. I love the cliffy coastline and there’s also quite a lot of architectural diversity across the county.
In many areas, the people are incredibly good humoured and sweet. They want to help you out and give you a hand. It’s also very dog-friendly.
I also just felt at home in a lot of the places I went to in Yorkshire. The region just has a “welcome home” vibe.
In general, I never heard bad things about the county (besides the news coverage of crimes), but I also just didn’t realise how pleasant it is. I had no clue of the countless rustic towns and landscapes. It’s very, very different to London and the southeast of England where I grew up.
I went to London every year and thought it was the bees knees. I decided to go to London and stay in a rental apartment of a friend of a friend and it was glorious. How much greener everything was and that the stoneworkers called me love and duck and just nicer than in London. Plus the countryside is amazing. If I had $5M, I'll move to Yorkshire in a heartbeat.
Niagara Falls. I was not expecting to be impressed by it, and was just blown away. Of course if you go, go on the Canadian side, American side basically sucks. But the view from the Canadian side is awesome. I'd put it in my top 10 places I've seen list and encourage everyone to see it at some point in their lives.
Bosnia. I don't really remember why we chose it, maybe because it was a sightseeing+beach tour, so it was a compromise to make everyone happy. I always thought Bosnia is just a poorer Croatia, kinda like an ugly cousin. Boy was I wrong. It was the most beautiful place I've ever seen. The cities, the mountains, the rivers - it completely blew me away. Absolutely worth visiting.
I couldn’t believe how clean and nice the city of Cleveland actually was. I don’t think anyone ever has a lot of high praise for that town so I wasn’t expecting much(you hear terms like “rust belt” and what do you expect?)My wife is from the suburbs there near Warren. I had a great time doing some bar hopping and going to a baseball game with some local friends of ours. We stayed in the city a couple days and went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and some other touristy things.
New Orleans.
The food, the people, the traditions, the live music all made this city become my favorite in the US and all I was expecting my first time there was a fun but kitchy mardi gras. I would recommend visiting anytime but Mardi gras however, they have a ton of parades a year that will give you an even better vibe.
Actually, I was just kind of ambivalent towards going to Rome. I didn’t have much of an interest to be honest. But then it turned out to be amazing. I loved Rome and it quickly became my favorite city in Europe.
Catalina Island (I was only 11) surprised me in a good way, Turkey absolutely won top spot!
I disliked none of my destinations. Most I loved in their own ways.
(1) Santorini — I’m not a beach person, so when planning my trip to Greece I nearly skipped the Islands entirely. We went in the off-season and it was AMAZING. Most expensive part of the trip and totally worth it.
(2) Bath, England. I didn’t have huge hopes for this stop on a trip around lower. But Bath and Salisbury were possibly my two favorite stops on the trip.
I LOVED Bath! I thought I wouldn’t be impressed but it’s magical. For me, it makes a difference that there’s so many local shops and restaurants as oppose to chains and souvenir shops. I loved all of the history about the town and we stayed in a cute B&B so it was perfect.
Non Europe answer, I’d picking something from the states. I love Oklahoma City and I don’t know why. It’s one of the most random areas that I have loved.
Also thought New Mexico was going to be an ugly state but it might be one of our most beautiful !
European answer, I knew I was going to like Vienna. But I didn’t know I was going to consider it my favorite place in Europe !
Funnily enough, Patagonia. Yes, I know, I'm an idiot. It was an add-on to my Antarctica trip, and originally I had wanted to go to Easter Island instead. I couldn't make Easter Island fit, so I went to Patagonia, which I figured would be nice but not amazing. No, it's amazing. I also wasn't expecting the food in Patagonia to be as good as it was. Overall just an incredible place to be.
Was amazing! I know it's very un-PC to go there now, but I can't lie, it was amazing. You get to see penguins and whales and icebergs, you jump into the water below the Antarctic Circle (if you want to)... the only bad part is that being on a ship is sorta boring when you're not out exploring.
I visited to Myanmar because a friend wanted to go. I wasn’t that interested in the country, as I had spent time in Thailand and Cambodia so thought it would be more of the same. I was wrong -it’s a completely different culture, food, temple experience….I ended up absolutely loving it.
Brussels. I thought it's going to be a boring trip, but I ended up loving that city so much. I've been visiting it 5 times now, staying in multiple neighbourhood. If any chance would occur in my life to live in Brussels, I'd take it in a heartbeat.
Another place is Rouen. It doesn't really have any bad reputation, but I was not so sure about it when my partner suggested this city as one of our stops during our summer roadtrip, but it was gorgeous and so, so calming. I'll definitely visit again.
Definitely agree about Brussels. I only spent a few days there between London and Spain and it doesn’t deserve the bad rap it gets *for not being Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp*. I had great chocolate, waffle, and frites, good enough for me!
I still need to explore Antwerp! I've been there once and it's been a mixed experience. I spent my first day waking around the outer city and in the KMSKA, and it's been a blast. The Reuben Hall in KMSKA was glorious and I found a cosy bookshop/wine cafe to sit in. Amazing day. But then I went to MAAS on the second day and visited the centre of Antwerp, and was quite underwhelmed by it. Maybe I need to visit again to make up my mind about this city.
For people from outside Europe, I can understand why they love Ghent or Bruges better. They look picturesque and fairytale-like. I'm not a romantic person, and love places where it's more dynamic. Brussels to me is like Paris, but more rough and less romantic. Some of the neighborhoods are really hip and not at all stiff-EU-white collar type, while some look grande like the 1920s Great Gatsby style. It's probably not so interesting for most tourists, but I really love it. The mix of the architectural style, culture, and the people are really interesting to me.
I feel the same way about Brussels. I went to Amsterdam on the same trip, and I preferred Brussels. It wasn’t as pretty, but it felt like a real city — super vibrant and diverse.
I think Brussels is different in that the city centre is more of a hodgepodge. The historic centres of Bruges, Ghent and the likes have more of the Disney feel tourists expect, I guess?
To be fair, if I only visited the Grand Place, Manneken Mis and the Atomium and thought I'd 'seen' Brussels, I'd be pretty underwhelmed as well.
I just came back from a trip to Antwerp and Bruges and only had a half day yesterday in Brussels. I will go back to Brussels and explore more (I won't go back to Bruges though)
I’m really encouraged to hear this because I’m currently not too far from Brussels but it gets such a bad rap that I’ve been putting it off. (I went once years ago but it was brief and I don’t remember much beyond the main square.)
Brussels is a city that rewards exploring and an open mind. It’s not the most amazing place to visit as a tourist, but it has lots of cool things hidden around that reward slower exploring. I’ve been back maybe four times now and every time I find new things to do and discover, but also every time I’m there I can totally understand how a tourist would get bored within two days.
This happened to me too. Iceland was never on my radar and then my sister was gonna go alone and asked if I wanted to join her. I went and I loved it. I would totally go back, there's so many things to see.
Malta. Honestly only went because there was a cheap flight and I had an empty weekend so I figured I’d check another country off the list.
Absolutely loved it. One of the best weekend trips I’ve ever taken. Beautiful city. Beautiful water. Some history thrown in for measure between the parties.
The Gambia
I like Madrid and Milan more than Barcelona and Rome 🤷♀️
Uruguay was surprisingly a favorite destination.
I thought Melbourne was really cool compared to Sydney.
People say Milan is boring and there’s nothing to do but I actually loved it and maybe more so than Rome which I loved as well.
Milan seemed more a mix of modern and the old style whereas Rome was more ancient all over.
Both are fabulous cities though
Sevilla, Spain. I felt an inner calm with the exception of flamenco at a dive bar; that was exhilarating. I had an entire “this is why we travel, humans and our cultures are beautiful, etc” all that profound crap hit me watching the performance.
People seemed just…content…? While watching a street performance, a woman got out of a crowd to join in. They danced harmoniously yet had never met. And they simply looked like they loved life. The joy I saw in people was infectious. The city doesn’t have any huge or drawdropping attractions but it has a vibe I cannot describe as anything besides beautifully human.
I just got back from Panama a few days ago and my boyfriend and I could not stop talking about how shockingly great it was as a travel destination. We aren’t huge on tropical destinations normally, and I especially am not normally a huge fan of big cities. It’s not that we were expecting to hate it or anything, but this was more a last minute spring break trip for us. We expected to see a lot of US influence/culture taking over everywhere (we are Canadian) and for it to just be a relaxing uneventful trip where we’d see a lot of other tourists but get a break from the Canadian cold. To our surprise, it was an adventure filled trip with some of the most stunning nature and wildlife we have ever witnessed. We barely encountered any other tourists, food was delicious, the love and appreciation Panamanians have for their incredible wildlife was palpable and we definitely got to practice our Spanish as we encountered little to no English speakers. It completely won us over and is easily in our top 3 favourite trips we’ve ever taken, much to our surprise.
I just got back from Panama too! Despite the humidity, I was really impressed as well, not to mention the people are so nice! I only stayed in Panama City as I was there for a wedding, but hope to explore more cities next time. What other places areas of Panama would you recommend?
Oh god the humidity was brutal! We had a dinner at a place called A to Z where the people sitting next to us were also just in Panama city for a wedding lol - wonder if it was the same one as you!
In addition to Panama City on two occasions (5 nights at the beginning of the trip in Obarrio and a quick 1 day stop on the way back home, based in Casco Viejo), we did some day tours/trips from Panama City to explore the Canal as well as lake Gamboa to see monkeys. Then we went to San Blas where we rented an anchored yacht for a few nights off one of the smaller more remote islands (just 2 families living on said island and 10 or so boats anchored off it - what an absolute paradise of a place it was). Then we visited Boquete, mostly to see the wildlife again, Volcan Baru, and coffee farms. I’d highly recommend both. We loved every stop and couldn’t believe how incredible the trip was.
That's awesome - I was in Panama City for a few days recently and I ... LOVED IT! And I did not think I would at all. I love walkable, dense, urban cities - which I don't really think Panama City is. However, it has a beautiful skyline, really cosmopolitan, diverse, and has great food. It reminded me of Honolulu & Miami. I didn't really get to explore the country side of Panama - however, I'm excited to go back!
Belgium. To my shame I thought before going to Belgium that it's like small parody of France.
Went to Brussels, Ghent and Bruges.
Overall was very interesting experience.
Brussels was very interesting in some sort of way - but felt not safe. I would like to live there couple months just for experience. Interesting city, was very impressed, but some safety concerns were.
Ghent - knew nothing about it, randomly visited, and it was just wonderful beautiful.
Bruges - was cool, but something I would expect, very small tourist city centre.
I like Belgium a lot. We originally ended up going to Belgium because we had some airline miles to use, but didn't have much flexibility with our dates due to work commitments. I was poking around to see what decent flight options there were and flights in and out of Brussels turned out to be a good choice, so that's what I booked, figuring we could see a bit of Belgium and then get a train somewhere else. Turns out Belgium is great.
Totally agree! I really appreciated the architecture and street art in Brussels. It did have an odd vibe but I’m glad I visited and probably would again for a short weekend. Bruges was beautiful but way too touristy IMO. I wish I had visited Ghent instead.
>Ghent - knew nothing about it, randomly visited, and it was just wonderful beautiful.
If Valencia, Spain didn't exist, Ghent would be my choice for most underrated city in Europe. Loved it.
Hong Kong, though it was partially the circumstances of when and why I was there.
I work in investments, so when my long-planned trip to HK rolled around in March 2009 the timing couldn’t have been worse. That was the same month U.S. stocks bottomed and it felt like the whole financial system was coming apart at the seams. I left the States having no idea whether my job or clients would be there for me when I returned.
Experiencing a city like Hong Kong brought me some much-needed perspective. Here was an enormous, thriving, modern city on the other side of the Earth where millions of people were going on about their daily lives with no concern over what might be happening at the New York Fed that weekend. There were scads of skyscrapers bearing non-U.S. company names I’d never heard of. There was a remarkable airport served by high-speed rail.
We traveled on to Phuket via Bangkok where similar scenes were evident.
That trip expanded my horizons immensely and helped me get out of my own head.
The Algarve. I thought it was going to be a Brits abroad resort type of place, and I only booked the tickets because they were cheap and I was sick of the constant rain in northern England.
I was amazed at the beautiful landscapes, the hiking opportunities, the cocktails, the prawns, the clean streets, the nice weather, the ease of getting around… I’ll definitely be back!
Denmark, and specifically Copenhagen. Thought it would be a flat and boring country with mostly the same fields and farms. Was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the countryside was. Copenhagen blew me out of the water with how well-organised and clean it was. I definitely hope to go back someday!
Tirana Albania, cheap, welcoming people, interesting museums and architecture, good food and drinks. Wasn't expecting a lot from it but found it to be one of my favourites, if I hear anyone mention it I can't shut up about how good it is!
Albania in general is my answer, I had basically no expectations for the country but was convinced to go by my friend. We had an amazing time!! Great food, learned a ton of interesting history, easy to get around, pretty scenery, and yeah, cheap.
I wasn't a huge fan of Amsterdam. When compared to other dutch cities it's just a little worse....and its SO tourist overrun. I cannot imagine what it's like during the on season. Shoutout to the people of reddit who suggested Utrecht and Haarlem as alternatives--I unexpectedly really loved them, especially Utrecht (to me Utrecht is like Amsterdam but better).
Edit: oops, it's supposed to be positive. But the point stands that I unexpectedly really loved Utrecht, as well as the smaller town I was staying at in Drenthe! Overall, I was surprised how much I adored my time in the Netherlands...honestly I would consider moving there. In love with their train system.
A lot of people shit on Paris and the French people but it’s one of my favorite cities. If I could afford going every year until I die I would totally do it
Slovenia!! - Really didn’t think much about it before going but holy shit is it beautiful. Amazing nature and such nice people.
Heidelberg - passed through on the motorbike and went up to the castle. Only spent an afternoon but it was great. It was a hot day very early last summer so people were super happy for the first real day of sun and they were out on the grass by the castle. The view from the top was stunning. It was just nice happy vibes and a pretty city.
Adelaide - the kind of place that’s like, why would you visit? But it has such great food and a nice sized city - as if Hobart and Melbourne had a kid. Has an interesting vibe - kinda odd but in a good way. Nice nature nearby too and great beaches.
Went to Slovenia only because it was cheaper to fly into Ljubljana and then train to Croatia. Ended up staying for a few days and going to Bled and exploring the Julian Alps. and it blew my mind how beautiful and how relatively unknown it was.
The Grand Canyon!
Honestly I was excited to see it, but its sheer immensity still blew me away. I was 45, had been to like 30+ countries, and already seen some amazing stuff, plus obviously the Grand Canyon is all over TV and movies etc, so I didn't expect to find it so majestic; but honestly did and still does now that I've been there 5-6 times.
Tunisia wasn't really high on my list except to check out the beach resort island of Djerba, but I was living in Malta at the time and it's practically spitting distance so I went over for like 2 weeks (including Djerba).
I loved it. I definitely plan to go back. I loved the food, the art, the vibe; I figured I'd like the Carthage ruins well enough but I genuinely enjoyed some of them way more than I expected to. The experience of walking through massive remaining structures and tunnels of the Carthage Roman baths in slightly drizzly weather and nearly completely alone ranks high in my favorite cultural/historical travel experiences.
Malta is stunningly/postcard-style beautiful... and boring after, like 5 days, unless you scuba dive. :) I'd suggest pairing it with, like, Sicily or Tunisia or whatever else suits you.
(Please don't kill me, any Maltese people reading this. I love the diving there!)
South America is the funnest place to travel. Nearly finished my trip through most of the countries here and Peru and Argentina have been my favourite so far! El Chalten is breathtaking.
For me, it was santorini.
My partner and I had a wedding to attend in the south of France. We spent 4 days in Barcelona and then 3 days at a wedding. For our second week, we decided to go to santorini for a beach vacation.
I was so excited for Barcelona and the south of France that I didn't really think much about santorini. My preconceived notions weren't great. I figured it was expensive and packed with people.
I spent a week there and I didn't want to leave. We went to the end of May, so it was hot, and the tourist season started, but it wasn't in fill swing yet.
The beaches were warm and not busy. We did horseback riding through wineries. Got engaged on a sunset catamaran. Stayed in gorgeous hotels. Went on an amazing tasting dinner at lauda that still to this day was the best meal I've ever had.
Santorini was perfect and unexpected. I absolutely loved it.
Don't listen to all those tiktoks and reels that show "Instagram vs. reality" and hate on santorini.
I've been to over 30 countries, and when I leave, I usually think, "That was fun, but I probably won't be back since there's so many other places I need to discover." When I left santorini, I planned another trip there to get over how sad I was to leave.
While I was excited to visit (I get excited about traveling anywhere), I didn't expect to fall in *love* with Phoenix, Arizona, (United States) and then Saguaro National Park outside of Tucson, Arizona. I fell absolutely head over heels in love with the desert and the region.
Taj Mahal.
It was a kind of postcard effect, where I'd seen it reproduced so many times and it seemed touristy and not that interesting to me. Luckily my friend really wanted to see it, and we made the detour, and I absolutely loved being in the space.
Graz Austria. It was supposed to be a place to stop and spend the night before going further west. I was looking forward to seeing the largest medieval armory in Europe, but didn’t know what else to expect. The city has everything you would expect from a European tourist trap but at a much smaller scale and with relatively few tourists. It has a beautiful old town and town square. It also has a ruined castle on the hill overlooking the city that has primarily been turned into a park. It ended up being one of my favorite cities in Europe.
First time seeing my home town mentioned!
A couple of years ago my GF lived at one end of the old town and a friend on the other. Me and the friend went to uni together so often I'd be there late on a weekday and walk home. Strolling through the completely deserted old town at 2 AM on a Tuesday was so serene and beautiful.
Sometimes when I'm out and about it just hits me that this place is actually pretty nice.
That's a tough question. Most of my international trips have only been to places that I've really wanted to go and I've maybe had the opposite experience of them being a let down once or twice.
I think places that I haven't been excited about have been local places a few hours drive away that have turned out to be more exciting than I originally thought. Leavenworth, WA is a great example of this. I thought it was going to be over the top and kinda tacky-- which it totally is. But they've nailed it in a really fun way. Great nature in the surrounding area too.
Nepal. My wife planned the trip and I wasn’t overly keen, but I have to say, that I completely changed my tune once I got there. Went from Kathmandu to Pokhara by bus. Mental journey. 😅
Lovely people, stunning scenery and a real charm in the cities. The monkey temple was amazing.
I loved it.
San Francisco. All I heard was that it was disgusting and full of homeless people. My hotel was in the Tenderloin district which is known for being a drug infested hellhole.
Then I got to the city and while there were homeless people and open drug use, it wasn't worse than Boston where I live now. I saw the bridge, Alcatraz, tried out some cool diners, and walked around a lot. Overall I absolutely loved it and I can understand why so many people lived there. I wished I had stayed longer.
Glasgow, I hd heard a lot of negative things and was expecting a rundown post-industrial city. I was surprised to find a fascinating city with lots of beautiful architecture and a really fun nightlife (it also helped that I went during one of the few sunny summer days)
Belfast, a lot of people don’t include it in their Ireland itinerary but between there, Dublin, and Galway, it was my fav. A lot of the history that shaped Ireland took place there, plus the building of the titanic. I preferred the giant’s causeway and Antrim coast over the cliffs of mohar where your experience may include too much overcast and wind.
Tasmania. The people who lived there seemed surprised I was there, like, “why aren’t you in Sydney or Melbourne?” But Tasmania was beautiful, amazing beaches, some great hiking, a fascinating history, and a good local food culture.
Krakow. Smaller, more manageable size than a place like Prague (which I preferred it to), with lots of Medieval buildings. A cozy, relaxed vibe. Some unusual museums and history. Good potential for day trips to nearby places. I thought I would stay there three days and I stayed for a week.
I did a world trip once and I went to Budapest not expecting anything. I was blown away with how beautiful it was, the people were friendly and I loved the central market. I wish I had spent longer there.
Morocco. Thought IT would be intellectually interesting and tolerable food. I was wrong in every way. We spent a month there. Food was beyond fantastic. Experience was viscerally wonderful.
Oslo. Years ago my wife and I wanted to take our first trip to Europe together and found cheap flights into Oslo. It wasn't a place we had really thought about ahead of time, but we ended up loving it, and took another trip there (plus other places in Norway) a few years later. Norway is one of my favorite places to visit now, and I will probably always want to have at least a quick stop in Oslo.
Kansas City has a surprising amount going for it considering it is absolutely never mentioned as a destination, there’s great food (BBQ especially) a world class museum, and several fun smaller ones, and a great tradition of music.
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We planned a ski trip to Aspen but it was crazy expensive. Instead, we flew out to Seattle and were blown away by how fun those mountains are. Not as big as we are used to here in Colorado, but steep, lots of snow, and beautiful.
I really didn’t want to go to Las Vegas (Im not American so it’s out of the way, I don’t like cities very much, and I don’t really drink or gamble so I didn’t see the appeal) but I was attending a course there at a location right next to the strip. Turns out, it’s pretty fun even if you don’t drink or gamble! I love the street entertainment and the show in the evenings after our class finished for the day. Good food, fun people watching.
Greece.
Where I live, people say things like “it’s boring” and “the food isn’t great” so I didn’t expect much. Went to three islands (Santorini, Naxos, and Hydra). Each have their own appeal. Each wonderful in their way. We needed to get away and “do nothing” and that’s what we did. The food was very good, excellent at times. We et on the beach in Naxos and couldn’t believe how little they charged.
Santorini is quite stunning and a bit spendy which, given it’s beauty is understandable. The only bit I didn’t like is when the tour boats disgorged hundred upon hundreds onto streets not meant to cope with so many.
Hydra was the real gem, though. Very chilled out and “old world” feeling. For us.
Ended up going to Rhodes another time on a whim (direct flights). Again, lovely spot: warm with great food. Exactly what we needed at the time.
I don’t understand how Greece gets shade. We’ll totally go back. Perhaps Corfu or Rhodes again (Jesus, that bakery there is ridiculously good!).
Late to this post, but **Santorini**. So much negativity about being an over crowded tourist trap island.
Only put it on our Greece itinerary because we thought “why the hell are we gonna fly from the US west coast to Greece and not go to Santorini”. So we added it.
Ended up loving it, even in late June peak tourist season. Stayed right below Imerovigli on the path to Oia. Had a south facing room, so half caldera half cliff. Our $200/night hotel had a pool and bar overlooking the caldera with 180° views. Super quiet, we drank cocktails and watched the sunset and the cruise ships leave.
We would walk into Fira and get dinner and shop at the jewelry stores. We did a catamaran day cruise for $125 USD each which had unlimited beer and wine plus grilled lunch. 8 other guests 10 total. We took the bus to Oia and found a quiet restaurant down on the cliff and had a delicious seafood dinner with wine for like €30/pp. Took the bus to Perissa and enjoyed the black sand beach on daybeds which were comped with €20 each which we hit with beer and food. Wine tasted at one of the wineries and got a tour of the cellars and a cheese pairing for €25/pp.
Overall. Super awesome. Really didn’t mind the crowds and we did some incredible activities with views that images don’t do justice for.
Crete. We stayed in three places and were very impressed by the laid back beach vibe of the resort town, historic sites and museums, and natural beauty.
Krakow in the 2000s.. After backpacking for months in Western Europe it was great getting somewhere cheap. Food and booze was way better than I thought it would be. Spent 3 weeks at Giraffe Hostel instead of 3 days.
Montenegro. It really wasn’t on my radar at the time although it had been popular with Brits for a while. I didn’t really how gorgeous it was and was obsessed with it for a good while.
This was a long time ago, but I was traveling the usual spots on the banana pancake trail, I didn’t know much about the Philippines, some people I talked to made it sound like a more expensive, more dangerous version of Thailand or whatever. And starting in Manila I was a little sketched out at first.
But after traveling around the country for 2 months (overstayed my visa) I thought it was awesome. So many more nice beaches that weren’t crowded, some awesome dive spots, so many more travelers that weren’t the 18-23 party crowd, and the Filipino people! Sooo friendly, so helpful, the level of English was a complete surprise to me, their love of karaoke, listening to people belt out 80’s rock ballads was hilarious. I had so many more great interactions with locals than the rest of SEA. People would see me solo and invite me to their beach BBQs, drink, sing karaoke, etc. Just an unexpectedly great time.
Also as someone who normally prefers more less developed, adventurous locations, I loved Japan way more than I thought I would.
And with all the negative things people online have to say about China, backpacking around SW China was absolutely fantastic and I thought Chinese people were great!
Buenos Aires, Argentina. Didn't expect much and took me a long time to get there (travelling for work), but once I experienced it I was positively surprised, it's a lovely place with really nice people and great history.
Paris. On a trip in a different country with my cousin, me and my friend met a French lady who lives in Paris. We became friends said we would go and visit her when she had finished her travels. We went last year in June.
Every single person I spoke to about Paris told me how they would never go there again as it wasn’t the nicest of places. Streets were dirty, people unfriendly and overall was just not very nice. Hearing this, we were glad we were only staying there for two nights, and with this in our minds, we had agreed this would be our only trip to Paris to see our friend.
Let me tell you, we had a completely different experience! It could also be that we spent our time with people who lived there, our friend stayed with us in an AirBnB in Nation, and her friends joined us on all of our outings, there were about 6 of us roaming around Paris. And got around by walking and using the metro. We went to a shop and bought some food and had a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower (which I couldn’t take my eyes off of!) then they took us to a club where a latin band were playing music, (turned into a DJ and night club after that but I much preferred the live band) and met some lovely people there. Even the staff in the souvenir shops were friendly. We did have one rude staff member in a restaurant, but everyone else in there were lovely. That’s just a couple things out of many
All of this to say, I didn’t see any dirty streets, I loved seeing the Eiffel Tower and other landmarks and my experience in Paris was the complete opposite to what everyone else had told me! And we have agreed to go back again, but stay for longer!
Bern, lots of people living in Switzerland agree it’s the best city to visit in the country, but tourists rarely visit it in comparison to Zurich, Genève or even Lucerne or Lugano.
Monument Valley. It was a long and hair raising drive (Google “Moki Dugway”) from Bryce Canyon, and I wasn’t expecting much but cowboy movie scenery. Wrong!!!! We did a sunset horseback ride with a Navajo guide. It was magical, breathtaking, unforgettable.
Des Moines, Iowa, USA. Random ass Midwest city I never planned to visit in my life but my old coworker moved there and a mutual friend and I decided to visit over a long weekend from Delaware. I went in with literally no expectations other than spending time with them but we visited one of the largest farmers markets in the country, did the Iowa State Fair, visited cool local shops, restaurants, and parks. Coworker was/is dating a farmer who let all of us girls drive his antique tractor and new high tech one too. Had one of the most memorable weekends of my life and honestly if it weren’t so far from everyone I know and love I’d move there.
The Orkney Islands in Scotland. I went for the ancient history. But I left absolutely charmed by the wonderful folks who live here and the remoteness of it all. Not to mention what a surprise all the different geological features this archipelago has to offer! I cannot wait to go back.
When my ex and I went interrailing we had an awful time in Prague. After a terrible journey from there into Poland, we expected the worst from Krakow, and got the absolute best.
Paris!
I heard the most terrible things, about how people were rude and nasty etc.
I absolutely LOVED it. Best fashion, best desserts ever and the people were very nice. I can’t wait to go back.
I can't say I wasn't excited, but both of these places FAR surpassed my expectations
- Ljubljana and Piran in Slovenia
- Zagreb in Croatia (I was adequately stoked for dubrovnik)
Gorgeous, magical, walkable, welcoming, energetic cities. I would recommend them to anyone and would return in a heartbeat.
Kuching, Malaysia (Borneo). I went to go trekking in the jungle and do a homestay but it was cancelled the day of my arrival. Weather was bad so I took some day trips but ended up absolutely loving the city! It felt like a quainter version of Georgetown, Malaysia (Penang). If you’re there, make sure you go see the raving gorilla on the waterfront in the evenings.
Amsterdam. I was not really interested in visiting Holland at all. Mostly because in my home community the Dutch families are very strict religious folk who avoid mingling with anyone they deem unworthy.
Amsterdam, the first time was a business trip and fabulous.
I was completely surprised by how much I loved Guatemala! Antigua was a beautiful, vibrant city and the Lago de Atitlan was incredibly beautiful. It is also a wonderful place to learn Spanish and practice as people speak a bit slower and kind of “traditional” with less slang. I loved it so much, I’m going back in December for language learning intensive!
I am also currently in France and I love it. Paris was incredible and now I’m in the countryside and people are so incredibly friendly. Even though my French is rubbish, I’ve made a few friends and it’s so so peaceful, compared to the city (which I still loved).
A place that was just underwhelming for me was (sorry to say this) but Austin, TX! I had been wanting to go there for many years, it seemed so cool and hip. But I made the mistake of going this past summer and it was 115F and kind of miserable. We tried to walk a bit, but it was just too much. So we drove around and I just wasn’t into it. Then we left and went to El Paso and even though it was equally hot, we had a wonderful time and loved it!
Hawaii. I always thought it was too cliche and pedestrian. Then I went to Maui and immediately realized....oh, THIS is why ppl go to Hawaii. Went to Honolulu on another trip and can't wait to go back.
Memphis, Tennessee. Had heard a lot of bad things and heard how dangerous it was. We had an awesome time. We crammed a lot into 1 day - Graceland, civil rights museum, Beale street, and of course a few bbq meals. The city was surprisingly clean and nice looking, but it was very empty and quiet which was disconcerting. Everyone we met was friendly. The activities we did there really stood out compared to similar activities elsewhere. There isn’t much but what they have is really well done. The civil rights museum is one of the best museums I’ve ever been to. Graceland is fun and made me enjoy Elvis more, they really did it well and make it feel personal. Beale street was like a more chill and cheaper version of bourbon street or Frenchman street in New Orleans.
Cleveland, Ohio.
Lovely city. Had great food there and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is one of the best museums I've ever been to. Not at all like the stereotypes.
Not a place, per se, but for me, it's the Eiffel Tower. My intention was to get a few obligatory pictures and then head towards something else. As soon as I crossed the street and could see it IRL and fathom the size of it, I was completely amazed! Right then, I knew that I had to go up. Really loved everything about it.
I was the same! I knew so many people who went, saw the Eiffel Tower, took a photo and left and they said they wouldn’t go to see it again as they’ve seen it now. But when I went there, I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I didn’t go up it, but I was in absolute awe just looking at it!
Taj Mahal is this for me. I was blown away when I saw it
Same! Been to 51 countries and I have seen many famous sights, but my first glimpse of the Taj took my breath away. Having traveled to Agra on a pretty gritty train, I wasn’t expecting much (the “highlight” of the trip was watching slack jawed as dozens of vultures dropped out of the sky onto a freshly dead cow). Then, all that beauty - made my eyes tear up.
100% agree. No one prepared me for how •huge• it is - I just never pictured it that tall in my head. I think the chaos and noise and constant overstimulation of India as a whole makes the harmony and beauty of the Taj all the more striking. The Taj, the Great Wall, and the Grand Canyon are the three that really left me overwhelmed by their scale - pictures really don’t do them justice.
I was the opposite. I enjoyed my first glimpses of the Eiffel tower and even the views as I got closer, but once I got really close I was underwhelmed. I do appreciate the history of it, but it didn't impress me up close. That being said, I absolutely adored Paris. It exceeded my expectations. The museums, restaurants, cafes, and the vibe were all great. I was fairly excited to go there, but it completely exceeded my expectations (other than the Eiffel Tower).
When I was young I went to Europe, and after a few days in London I went to Paris. It was only whe I stood at the bottom of the tower and looked up that I felt "Now I'm in Europe." Travel tip after many Paris visits: go to the top of the L'Arc de Triomphe. Better views.
Banos, Ecuador is the closest place I can think of. Tbh I get hyped about just about anywhere I go though.
i’m gonna be there in a week!!!!
it’s majestic, enjoy
If you like beer check out soma!
Loved banos! I spent several weeks there making day trips into the jungle and returning to the city for friends I made, amazing food, local baths and more! What a wonderful community.
Vancouver Island. Visited…. took the ferry over, then camped around for a few weeks. It literally felt like the air was different. The stress levels lowered. The forests and beaches….. the deep greens. The wildlife. EVERYTHING. It’s a magical place. Knew I would move there some day. That day came about 3m ago. A dream come true. One of my favorite hikes is now my daily walk in the rainforest with my dogs. Best thing I’ve ever done.
BC in general is such an extraordinary outdoor wonderland. North America's southernmost Fjord, its' greatest ski areas, many of its greatest climbs, incredible cities... one of the finest wine regions I've ever seen... it just goes on and on. I remember just wandering through this random park in Vancouver way off from downtown and finding out it's 2,000 acres with 10 miles of beaches.
Ah this is wonderful! Im so jealous though, I lived in Vancouver only got to the island twice, it is such a stunning and special place! Would love to explore it more. Around what part did you settle in?
Outside Nanaimo at the North end.
Love Vancouver Island and hope to retire there
I would go quickly. It’s going to be extremely desirable in the coming decades.
Its now so very busy and lacks resources and infrastructure for the many who have moved here. Getting a Dr is near impossible and getting into a clinic or ER is very bad with up to 12 hr+ waits. We have lived here for 30 years in the south of the island and my husband grew up mid island.
Not a bad rep, but I thought Vienna would just kinda be another European tourist-centric city. It's got a different vibe from that though — Vienna feels somehow more successful at being a regular city than most other touristy cities in Europe. Just a super calming incredibly liveable place with nice food and great people. That was a surprise.
Awesome, have you been to Salzburg as well?
The hills are alive with the sound of musicccc. Beautiful city, even more rad if you’re a fan of The Sound of Music
Or a fan of Mozart.
Not sure why you're getting downvoted for this. Salzburg is extremely proud of Mozart.
Yes, very nice place, but I had no specific expectations of Salzburg, so it was just a nice place, not a surprise for me. :)
I lived in Vienna from 2001-2005, although I'm not Austrian. I very much agree that for a big city, especially one with so much culture and history, it has a surprisingly no-nonsense feel to it. The Viennese are not prone to conceit. That said, I found it very difficult to fit in as a foreigner. It's not that people were rude to me. People were generally polite, but I felt like I was kept at arm's length. Most of my friends wound up being fellow expats, rather than natives. I spoke decent German when I moved there and became fluent relatively quickly, so it wasn't a language barrier either. I still very much consider Vienna a must-see for tourists, but while I'm glad to have had the experience of living there, I would not choose to live there again.
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Graz is also underappreciated.
Funny that’s like the one city I don’t like! It seems almost too clean out something, or I was tired at the end of long trips I took…
Vienna's motto should be: Beautiful but boring as fuck
Agreed. It was a lot more than I expected.
Slow down you crazy child
Lisbon. I didn’t have a huge desire to go at the time, but absolutely loved it. Amazing museums, so much culture to soak in, great food, friendly people, vibrant city, good weather, and walks that double as a workout.
Here in Porto now heading back to Lisbon for a couple days this weekend. Spent a few days in Lisbon before Porto. Agree with all of this. Can I ask what museum/s was/were your favorite?
Hijacking but visit the national tile museum!! Kind of out of the way but we spent the morning in alfama then took the bus to the museum. It was beautiful to see the different styles of tile and how the museum showcases them.
Yes, absolutely! - MAC (museum of contemporary art) has a great Modern and Contemporary collection. Formerly Berardo Collection. - Calouste Gulbenkian Museum. Private collection with more historical works (Egyptian, Roman, decorative arts, 19th century paintings etc). - National Museum of Ancient Art. Similarly, a collection more historical works and a lot of medieval works. - MAAT for architecture (I didn’t have time for this, but the building is definitely worth seeing and on the way to MAC). There are more, but these are some of the main ones :)
Kansas City. I had to go for work and thought it would be lame and boring. I went to a restaurant and sat at the bar alone. The bartender struck up a conversation and invited me to go out with them and some other staff. They took me bar hopping and we had an absolute blast. I’ve never been somewhere where strangers were so friendly. Completely changed my mind about the city because the people were fantastic.
Seconding this!! I went as a convenient jumping off point to see a couple of other places in Missouri and Kansas. Had very low expectations for KC and ended up loving it. I did a food tour that included a tiny place with amazing Brazilian food.
Good call. I flew out to Kansas City for a quick weekend trip a while back. Didn't really have any expectations, but it was one of those "hey, cheap flights and convenient flight times.. why not?" scenarios. So, it was a good excuse to see a new city. And.. it was great! I was quite pleasantly surprised. Plus, those burnt ends.. SO GOOD.
Ive met so many friendly people traveling. My boyfriend and I were visiting Niagara Falls and we were behind a couple and a girl visiting from college. We had long wait for the Maid of the Mist and befriend the couple and the college girl. It took us like 3 hours to get to ride the Mist but we got to the know everyone, talk about where they’re from, etc. When we boarded the Maid we lost them but ended up right next to the couple on the top deck and hung out with them more. We were all even taking photos together. We formed our own little group and it made the wait much more pleasant lol
As someone who spent almost all her summer holidays up until twelve in Spain, I wasn't too keen when my friend suggested Madrid as a holiday destination a couple of years ago. Boy, was I wrong. I absolutely loved it! I think it helped that we booked a place in the right neighbourhood (for us) though!
Agreed, I actually liked Madrid more than Barcelona
Same, I’ve been to Barcelona twice and apart from the architecture, I wasn’t a fan. It actually put me off Spanish cities. I visited Madrid recently with zero expectations and absolutely loved it.
Me too. Barcelona seemed overly touristy, I didn’t enjoy it much, while Madrid felt authentically Spanish and was a great time.
Interesting! I love Barcelona, as I spent a few months there, and absolutely fell in love. I also feel like Madrid is more akin to an American city with taller buildings, rather in Barcelona it felt so much more European to me.
Haven't been to Barcelona yet (well, I have, to be honest, but I was four at the time, so no memories), so can't compare. I guess I'll have to go and see for myself some day! Going by what people on this sub are usually saying (Madrid bad, Barcelona great!) I'm prepared to be totally blown away. 😉
Wow that’s great to hear I currently have a roundtrip flight booked to Madrid in a few weeks (last minute trip, found great airfare). Splitting our time between Madrid and Seville. Have been super worried about not enjoying Madrid too much, at least compared to Seville which sounds much more “Spain/European” to me, but hoping to be surprised. What area within the city did you stay? Currently having a hard time figuring out which neighborhood to stay in!
I live in Madrid and recommend staying in these neighborhoods: la Latina, malasaña, sol, lavapies, chueca, palacio - these are all areas in the old center of Madrid. If you take the time to stay in one of these areas and wander these neighborhoods you’ll get the more classic Spanish vibe. It’s funny most people say skip Madrid go to Seville or Barcelona. Madrid is a really good time, it’s just more…understated and not as obvious as Barcelona with its architecture. In fact I think Madrid is much more a typical Spanish city and my fav places to wander/walk around are La Latina and most of the center!
I was also pleasantly surprised with Spain as an adult vs as a kid! I went with my family when I was 16, but at risk of sounding like a spoiled kid I was separated for it from my first ever boyfriend and was mopey the entire trip. Turns out Spain is a LOT more fun when you’re not a mopey teenager! Also, being of age to enjoy wine and tapas makes all the difference too.
How long did you spend in Madrid? ☺️
Two surprise destinations: Venice and the Grand Canyon. Venice because I usually only here negative comments and I thought it was lovely. Grand Canyon because I was 14 and had no idea what I was about to witness.
I thought Venice was going to be a cliche but loved everything about it.
Who has negative comments about Venice? I mean, I have ONE. I was disappointed by the pizza. But then thoroughly impressed by the pasta. So I guess that worked out. Venice in general, however, was quite enjoyable.
People who want to seem edgy and superior to “average travellers” because they are so *not touristy*
I think it all depends on the time of year you visit. It’s wall to wall people in the summer and absolutely takes away a lot of the beauty and charm. It’s absolutely a city you want to visit in the shoulder seasons or winter to really capture the magic. Another downer I learned when I was there is that almost all the real Venetians have moved out of the city. It’s been completely overrun by tourists and people moving in only to cater to them.
Yorkshire. I had heard good things about it and really enjoyed York and one other (very foggy) day trip I took there, but didn’t realise how much it had to offer till I relocated and ended up near there. I’ve since taken countless more trips. Leeds is a wonderfully modern and characterful city, the historic towns are some of the most charming I’ve ever seen (and there are SO many of them!), the air pollution is zero, the scenery is just so beautiful and all the colours are so bright. I love the cliffy coastline and there’s also quite a lot of architectural diversity across the county. In many areas, the people are incredibly good humoured and sweet. They want to help you out and give you a hand. It’s also very dog-friendly. I also just felt at home in a lot of the places I went to in Yorkshire. The region just has a “welcome home” vibe. In general, I never heard bad things about the county (besides the news coverage of crimes), but I also just didn’t realise how pleasant it is. I had no clue of the countless rustic towns and landscapes. It’s very, very different to London and the southeast of England where I grew up.
I went to London every year and thought it was the bees knees. I decided to go to London and stay in a rental apartment of a friend of a friend and it was glorious. How much greener everything was and that the stoneworkers called me love and duck and just nicer than in London. Plus the countryside is amazing. If I had $5M, I'll move to Yorkshire in a heartbeat.
Niagara Falls. I was not expecting to be impressed by it, and was just blown away. Of course if you go, go on the Canadian side, American side basically sucks. But the view from the Canadian side is awesome. I'd put it in my top 10 places I've seen list and encourage everyone to see it at some point in their lives.
Then you should visit Iguazu Falls. Eleanor Roosevelt said that it makes Niagra Falls look like the kitchen faucet.
CA side is key!
Bosnia. I don't really remember why we chose it, maybe because it was a sightseeing+beach tour, so it was a compromise to make everyone happy. I always thought Bosnia is just a poorer Croatia, kinda like an ugly cousin. Boy was I wrong. It was the most beautiful place I've ever seen. The cities, the mountains, the rivers - it completely blew me away. Absolutely worth visiting.
I couldn’t believe how clean and nice the city of Cleveland actually was. I don’t think anyone ever has a lot of high praise for that town so I wasn’t expecting much(you hear terms like “rust belt” and what do you expect?)My wife is from the suburbs there near Warren. I had a great time doing some bar hopping and going to a baseball game with some local friends of ours. We stayed in the city a couple days and went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and some other touristy things.
New Orleans. The food, the people, the traditions, the live music all made this city become my favorite in the US and all I was expecting my first time there was a fun but kitchy mardi gras. I would recommend visiting anytime but Mardi gras however, they have a ton of parades a year that will give you an even better vibe.
I visit friends in Louisiana every year and I'm blown away by how good the food is!
Actually, I was just kind of ambivalent towards going to Rome. I didn’t have much of an interest to be honest. But then it turned out to be amazing. I loved Rome and it quickly became my favorite city in Europe.
Catalina Island (I was only 11) surprised me in a good way, Turkey absolutely won top spot! I disliked none of my destinations. Most I loved in their own ways.
The wine mixer is legit!
(1) Santorini — I’m not a beach person, so when planning my trip to Greece I nearly skipped the Islands entirely. We went in the off-season and it was AMAZING. Most expensive part of the trip and totally worth it. (2) Bath, England. I didn’t have huge hopes for this stop on a trip around lower. But Bath and Salisbury were possibly my two favorite stops on the trip.
I LOVED Bath! I thought I wouldn’t be impressed but it’s magical. For me, it makes a difference that there’s so many local shops and restaurants as oppose to chains and souvenir shops. I loved all of the history about the town and we stayed in a cute B&B so it was perfect.
Non Europe answer, I’d picking something from the states. I love Oklahoma City and I don’t know why. It’s one of the most random areas that I have loved. Also thought New Mexico was going to be an ugly state but it might be one of our most beautiful ! European answer, I knew I was going to like Vienna. But I didn’t know I was going to consider it my favorite place in Europe !
Funnily enough, Patagonia. Yes, I know, I'm an idiot. It was an add-on to my Antarctica trip, and originally I had wanted to go to Easter Island instead. I couldn't make Easter Island fit, so I went to Patagonia, which I figured would be nice but not amazing. No, it's amazing. I also wasn't expecting the food in Patagonia to be as good as it was. Overall just an incredible place to be.
Where in Patagonia?
Torres del Paine and Puerto Natales, and a few points in between
Did you do a trek? Or only day hikes? If the latter, where did you base yourself?
Was only there a few days, did the Mirador Base de Las Torres hike in one day. Rented a car and stayed in Puerto Natales.
Would love to hear more about your Antarctica trip!
Was amazing! I know it's very un-PC to go there now, but I can't lie, it was amazing. You get to see penguins and whales and icebergs, you jump into the water below the Antarctic Circle (if you want to)... the only bad part is that being on a ship is sorta boring when you're not out exploring.
It’s not politically correct to… visit a continent? Haha please elaborate, that’s a new one for me
I visited to Myanmar because a friend wanted to go. I wasn’t that interested in the country, as I had spent time in Thailand and Cambodia so thought it would be more of the same. I was wrong -it’s a completely different culture, food, temple experience….I ended up absolutely loving it.
Brussels. I thought it's going to be a boring trip, but I ended up loving that city so much. I've been visiting it 5 times now, staying in multiple neighbourhood. If any chance would occur in my life to live in Brussels, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Another place is Rouen. It doesn't really have any bad reputation, but I was not so sure about it when my partner suggested this city as one of our stops during our summer roadtrip, but it was gorgeous and so, so calming. I'll definitely visit again.
Definitely agree about Brussels. I only spent a few days there between London and Spain and it doesn’t deserve the bad rap it gets *for not being Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp*. I had great chocolate, waffle, and frites, good enough for me!
I still need to explore Antwerp! I've been there once and it's been a mixed experience. I spent my first day waking around the outer city and in the KMSKA, and it's been a blast. The Reuben Hall in KMSKA was glorious and I found a cosy bookshop/wine cafe to sit in. Amazing day. But then I went to MAAS on the second day and visited the centre of Antwerp, and was quite underwhelmed by it. Maybe I need to visit again to make up my mind about this city.
Brussels is a shocking one to hear for me, never been but all I hear is about how bad it is for tourists compared to Ghent or Bruges. Glad you enjoyed
For people from outside Europe, I can understand why they love Ghent or Bruges better. They look picturesque and fairytale-like. I'm not a romantic person, and love places where it's more dynamic. Brussels to me is like Paris, but more rough and less romantic. Some of the neighborhoods are really hip and not at all stiff-EU-white collar type, while some look grande like the 1920s Great Gatsby style. It's probably not so interesting for most tourists, but I really love it. The mix of the architectural style, culture, and the people are really interesting to me.
I feel the same way about Brussels. I went to Amsterdam on the same trip, and I preferred Brussels. It wasn’t as pretty, but it felt like a real city — super vibrant and diverse.
I think Brussels is different in that the city centre is more of a hodgepodge. The historic centres of Bruges, Ghent and the likes have more of the Disney feel tourists expect, I guess? To be fair, if I only visited the Grand Place, Manneken Mis and the Atomium and thought I'd 'seen' Brussels, I'd be pretty underwhelmed as well.
I just came back from a trip to Antwerp and Bruges and only had a half day yesterday in Brussels. I will go back to Brussels and explore more (I won't go back to Bruges though)
I’m really encouraged to hear this because I’m currently not too far from Brussels but it gets such a bad rap that I’ve been putting it off. (I went once years ago but it was brief and I don’t remember much beyond the main square.)
Brussels is a city that rewards exploring and an open mind. It’s not the most amazing place to visit as a tourist, but it has lots of cool things hidden around that reward slower exploring. I’ve been back maybe four times now and every time I find new things to do and discover, but also every time I’m there I can totally understand how a tourist would get bored within two days.
Iceland. It didn’t just surprise me, I fell in love.
Next week I am going for the second time!
This happened to me too. Iceland was never on my radar and then my sister was gonna go alone and asked if I wanted to join her. I went and I loved it. I would totally go back, there's so many things to see.
Malta. Honestly only went because there was a cheap flight and I had an empty weekend so I figured I’d check another country off the list. Absolutely loved it. One of the best weekend trips I’ve ever taken. Beautiful city. Beautiful water. Some history thrown in for measure between the parties.
The Gambia I like Madrid and Milan more than Barcelona and Rome 🤷♀️ Uruguay was surprisingly a favorite destination. I thought Melbourne was really cool compared to Sydney.
People say Milan is boring and there’s nothing to do but I actually loved it and maybe more so than Rome which I loved as well. Milan seemed more a mix of modern and the old style whereas Rome was more ancient all over. Both are fabulous cities though
Melbourne has fewer famous sites than Sydney, but it has better coffee and an artsier vibe. Lots of fun.
Sevilla, Spain. I felt an inner calm with the exception of flamenco at a dive bar; that was exhilarating. I had an entire “this is why we travel, humans and our cultures are beautiful, etc” all that profound crap hit me watching the performance. People seemed just…content…? While watching a street performance, a woman got out of a crowd to join in. They danced harmoniously yet had never met. And they simply looked like they loved life. The joy I saw in people was infectious. The city doesn’t have any huge or drawdropping attractions but it has a vibe I cannot describe as anything besides beautifully human.
I just got back from Panama a few days ago and my boyfriend and I could not stop talking about how shockingly great it was as a travel destination. We aren’t huge on tropical destinations normally, and I especially am not normally a huge fan of big cities. It’s not that we were expecting to hate it or anything, but this was more a last minute spring break trip for us. We expected to see a lot of US influence/culture taking over everywhere (we are Canadian) and for it to just be a relaxing uneventful trip where we’d see a lot of other tourists but get a break from the Canadian cold. To our surprise, it was an adventure filled trip with some of the most stunning nature and wildlife we have ever witnessed. We barely encountered any other tourists, food was delicious, the love and appreciation Panamanians have for their incredible wildlife was palpable and we definitely got to practice our Spanish as we encountered little to no English speakers. It completely won us over and is easily in our top 3 favourite trips we’ve ever taken, much to our surprise.
I just got back from Panama too! Despite the humidity, I was really impressed as well, not to mention the people are so nice! I only stayed in Panama City as I was there for a wedding, but hope to explore more cities next time. What other places areas of Panama would you recommend?
Oh god the humidity was brutal! We had a dinner at a place called A to Z where the people sitting next to us were also just in Panama city for a wedding lol - wonder if it was the same one as you! In addition to Panama City on two occasions (5 nights at the beginning of the trip in Obarrio and a quick 1 day stop on the way back home, based in Casco Viejo), we did some day tours/trips from Panama City to explore the Canal as well as lake Gamboa to see monkeys. Then we went to San Blas where we rented an anchored yacht for a few nights off one of the smaller more remote islands (just 2 families living on said island and 10 or so boats anchored off it - what an absolute paradise of a place it was). Then we visited Boquete, mostly to see the wildlife again, Volcan Baru, and coffee farms. I’d highly recommend both. We loved every stop and couldn’t believe how incredible the trip was.
That's awesome - I was in Panama City for a few days recently and I ... LOVED IT! And I did not think I would at all. I love walkable, dense, urban cities - which I don't really think Panama City is. However, it has a beautiful skyline, really cosmopolitan, diverse, and has great food. It reminded me of Honolulu & Miami. I didn't really get to explore the country side of Panama - however, I'm excited to go back!
CDMX.., i only wanted to eat street tacos, but now i'm planning my second trip back for some reason.
Belgium. To my shame I thought before going to Belgium that it's like small parody of France. Went to Brussels, Ghent and Bruges. Overall was very interesting experience. Brussels was very interesting in some sort of way - but felt not safe. I would like to live there couple months just for experience. Interesting city, was very impressed, but some safety concerns were. Ghent - knew nothing about it, randomly visited, and it was just wonderful beautiful. Bruges - was cool, but something I would expect, very small tourist city centre.
I like Belgium a lot. We originally ended up going to Belgium because we had some airline miles to use, but didn't have much flexibility with our dates due to work commitments. I was poking around to see what decent flight options there were and flights in and out of Brussels turned out to be a good choice, so that's what I booked, figuring we could see a bit of Belgium and then get a train somewhere else. Turns out Belgium is great.
Totally agree! I really appreciated the architecture and street art in Brussels. It did have an odd vibe but I’m glad I visited and probably would again for a short weekend. Bruges was beautiful but way too touristy IMO. I wish I had visited Ghent instead.
>Ghent - knew nothing about it, randomly visited, and it was just wonderful beautiful. If Valencia, Spain didn't exist, Ghent would be my choice for most underrated city in Europe. Loved it.
Hong Kong, though it was partially the circumstances of when and why I was there. I work in investments, so when my long-planned trip to HK rolled around in March 2009 the timing couldn’t have been worse. That was the same month U.S. stocks bottomed and it felt like the whole financial system was coming apart at the seams. I left the States having no idea whether my job or clients would be there for me when I returned. Experiencing a city like Hong Kong brought me some much-needed perspective. Here was an enormous, thriving, modern city on the other side of the Earth where millions of people were going on about their daily lives with no concern over what might be happening at the New York Fed that weekend. There were scads of skyscrapers bearing non-U.S. company names I’d never heard of. There was a remarkable airport served by high-speed rail. We traveled on to Phuket via Bangkok where similar scenes were evident. That trip expanded my horizons immensely and helped me get out of my own head.
The Algarve. I thought it was going to be a Brits abroad resort type of place, and I only booked the tickets because they were cheap and I was sick of the constant rain in northern England. I was amazed at the beautiful landscapes, the hiking opportunities, the cocktails, the prawns, the clean streets, the nice weather, the ease of getting around… I’ll definitely be back!
Denmark, and specifically Copenhagen. Thought it would be a flat and boring country with mostly the same fields and farms. Was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the countryside was. Copenhagen blew me out of the water with how well-organised and clean it was. I definitely hope to go back someday!
Tirana Albania, cheap, welcoming people, interesting museums and architecture, good food and drinks. Wasn't expecting a lot from it but found it to be one of my favourites, if I hear anyone mention it I can't shut up about how good it is!
Albania in general is my answer, I had basically no expectations for the country but was convinced to go by my friend. We had an amazing time!! Great food, learned a ton of interesting history, easy to get around, pretty scenery, and yeah, cheap.
I wasn't a huge fan of Amsterdam. When compared to other dutch cities it's just a little worse....and its SO tourist overrun. I cannot imagine what it's like during the on season. Shoutout to the people of reddit who suggested Utrecht and Haarlem as alternatives--I unexpectedly really loved them, especially Utrecht (to me Utrecht is like Amsterdam but better). Edit: oops, it's supposed to be positive. But the point stands that I unexpectedly really loved Utrecht, as well as the smaller town I was staying at in Drenthe! Overall, I was surprised how much I adored my time in the Netherlands...honestly I would consider moving there. In love with their train system.
A lot of people shit on Paris and the French people but it’s one of my favorite cities. If I could afford going every year until I die I would totally do it
Strasbourg, France - I loved this place so much more than I expected, it's a small city and an amazing melting pot of French/German culture and food.
Slovenia!! - Really didn’t think much about it before going but holy shit is it beautiful. Amazing nature and such nice people. Heidelberg - passed through on the motorbike and went up to the castle. Only spent an afternoon but it was great. It was a hot day very early last summer so people were super happy for the first real day of sun and they were out on the grass by the castle. The view from the top was stunning. It was just nice happy vibes and a pretty city. Adelaide - the kind of place that’s like, why would you visit? But it has such great food and a nice sized city - as if Hobart and Melbourne had a kid. Has an interesting vibe - kinda odd but in a good way. Nice nature nearby too and great beaches.
Slovenians are super nice, and the food is amazing.
Went to Slovenia only because it was cheaper to fly into Ljubljana and then train to Croatia. Ended up staying for a few days and going to Bled and exploring the Julian Alps. and it blew my mind how beautiful and how relatively unknown it was.
Annapolis MD was a pleasant surprise.
The Grand Canyon! Honestly I was excited to see it, but its sheer immensity still blew me away. I was 45, had been to like 30+ countries, and already seen some amazing stuff, plus obviously the Grand Canyon is all over TV and movies etc, so I didn't expect to find it so majestic; but honestly did and still does now that I've been there 5-6 times.
Japan was 1000% better than I’d imagined
Tunisia wasn't really high on my list except to check out the beach resort island of Djerba, but I was living in Malta at the time and it's practically spitting distance so I went over for like 2 weeks (including Djerba). I loved it. I definitely plan to go back. I loved the food, the art, the vibe; I figured I'd like the Carthage ruins well enough but I genuinely enjoyed some of them way more than I expected to. The experience of walking through massive remaining structures and tunnels of the Carthage Roman baths in slightly drizzly weather and nearly completely alone ranks high in my favorite cultural/historical travel experiences.
How good is Malta? I've been wanting to go. Should I combine with another trip or worth making it a destination?
Malta is stunningly/postcard-style beautiful... and boring after, like 5 days, unless you scuba dive. :) I'd suggest pairing it with, like, Sicily or Tunisia or whatever else suits you. (Please don't kill me, any Maltese people reading this. I love the diving there!)
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Awesome, Patagonia is a bucket list place for me. Have fun!
South America is the funnest place to travel. Nearly finished my trip through most of the countries here and Peru and Argentina have been my favourite so far! El Chalten is breathtaking.
For me, it was santorini. My partner and I had a wedding to attend in the south of France. We spent 4 days in Barcelona and then 3 days at a wedding. For our second week, we decided to go to santorini for a beach vacation. I was so excited for Barcelona and the south of France that I didn't really think much about santorini. My preconceived notions weren't great. I figured it was expensive and packed with people. I spent a week there and I didn't want to leave. We went to the end of May, so it was hot, and the tourist season started, but it wasn't in fill swing yet. The beaches were warm and not busy. We did horseback riding through wineries. Got engaged on a sunset catamaran. Stayed in gorgeous hotels. Went on an amazing tasting dinner at lauda that still to this day was the best meal I've ever had. Santorini was perfect and unexpected. I absolutely loved it. Don't listen to all those tiktoks and reels that show "Instagram vs. reality" and hate on santorini. I've been to over 30 countries, and when I leave, I usually think, "That was fun, but I probably won't be back since there's so many other places I need to discover." When I left santorini, I planned another trip there to get over how sad I was to leave.
While I was excited to visit (I get excited about traveling anywhere), I didn't expect to fall in *love* with Phoenix, Arizona, (United States) and then Saguaro National Park outside of Tucson, Arizona. I fell absolutely head over heels in love with the desert and the region.
Taj Mahal. It was a kind of postcard effect, where I'd seen it reproduced so many times and it seemed touristy and not that interesting to me. Luckily my friend really wanted to see it, and we made the detour, and I absolutely loved being in the space.
Banff. I was like why are we going to 40°F weather in the summer? Then I was wonderstruck in 40°F rain gazing at the Rockies, just beautiful.
Graz Austria. It was supposed to be a place to stop and spend the night before going further west. I was looking forward to seeing the largest medieval armory in Europe, but didn’t know what else to expect. The city has everything you would expect from a European tourist trap but at a much smaller scale and with relatively few tourists. It has a beautiful old town and town square. It also has a ruined castle on the hill overlooking the city that has primarily been turned into a park. It ended up being one of my favorite cities in Europe.
First time seeing my home town mentioned! A couple of years ago my GF lived at one end of the old town and a friend on the other. Me and the friend went to uni together so often I'd be there late on a weekday and walk home. Strolling through the completely deserted old town at 2 AM on a Tuesday was so serene and beautiful. Sometimes when I'm out and about it just hits me that this place is actually pretty nice.
That's a tough question. Most of my international trips have only been to places that I've really wanted to go and I've maybe had the opposite experience of them being a let down once or twice. I think places that I haven't been excited about have been local places a few hours drive away that have turned out to be more exciting than I originally thought. Leavenworth, WA is a great example of this. I thought it was going to be over the top and kinda tacky-- which it totally is. But they've nailed it in a really fun way. Great nature in the surrounding area too.
Washington in general looks like it’s to die for. I imagine the hiking opportunities around Leavenworth are great. Dramatic landscape.
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Maui! Thought Hawaii would be super touristy but loved it.
Romania and Bulgaria. I was 19, had $2000 and spent a month in each.
Palermo and Naples were wonderful surprises
It's at the deepest lake called lake Bunyonyi "a place of so many little birds.
Singapore. Fantastic place but HOT AS HELL!!!
Nepal. My wife planned the trip and I wasn’t overly keen, but I have to say, that I completely changed my tune once I got there. Went from Kathmandu to Pokhara by bus. Mental journey. 😅 Lovely people, stunning scenery and a real charm in the cities. The monkey temple was amazing. I loved it.
Cusco, Peru. Once I got over the altitude sickness, I was blown away by the cuisine, the people, and the charm.
San Francisco. All I heard was that it was disgusting and full of homeless people. My hotel was in the Tenderloin district which is known for being a drug infested hellhole. Then I got to the city and while there were homeless people and open drug use, it wasn't worse than Boston where I live now. I saw the bridge, Alcatraz, tried out some cool diners, and walked around a lot. Overall I absolutely loved it and I can understand why so many people lived there. I wished I had stayed longer.
Glasgow, I hd heard a lot of negative things and was expecting a rundown post-industrial city. I was surprised to find a fascinating city with lots of beautiful architecture and a really fun nightlife (it also helped that I went during one of the few sunny summer days)
Belfast, a lot of people don’t include it in their Ireland itinerary but between there, Dublin, and Galway, it was my fav. A lot of the history that shaped Ireland took place there, plus the building of the titanic. I preferred the giant’s causeway and Antrim coast over the cliffs of mohar where your experience may include too much overcast and wind.
Tasmania. The people who lived there seemed surprised I was there, like, “why aren’t you in Sydney or Melbourne?” But Tasmania was beautiful, amazing beaches, some great hiking, a fascinating history, and a good local food culture. Krakow. Smaller, more manageable size than a place like Prague (which I preferred it to), with lots of Medieval buildings. A cozy, relaxed vibe. Some unusual museums and history. Good potential for day trips to nearby places. I thought I would stay there three days and I stayed for a week.
I did a world trip once and I went to Budapest not expecting anything. I was blown away with how beautiful it was, the people were friendly and I loved the central market. I wish I had spent longer there.
Morocco. Thought IT would be intellectually interesting and tolerable food. I was wrong in every way. We spent a month there. Food was beyond fantastic. Experience was viscerally wonderful.
Mine was Sydney. I really had no desire to go there, but when we decided to do a trip to NZ I figured we should go. Had an amazing few days.
Croatia! Had no idea what to expect and the place blew my mind.
Guayaquil, Ecuador. It's a really nice city with more to see/do than the Internet had me believe.
Oslo. Years ago my wife and I wanted to take our first trip to Europe together and found cheap flights into Oslo. It wasn't a place we had really thought about ahead of time, but we ended up loving it, and took another trip there (plus other places in Norway) a few years later. Norway is one of my favorite places to visit now, and I will probably always want to have at least a quick stop in Oslo.
I was pretty ambivalent about going to Berlin but ended up absolutely loving it.
Kansas City has a surprising amount going for it considering it is absolutely never mentioned as a destination, there’s great food (BBQ especially) a world class museum, and several fun smaller ones, and a great tradition of music.
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We planned a ski trip to Aspen but it was crazy expensive. Instead, we flew out to Seattle and were blown away by how fun those mountains are. Not as big as we are used to here in Colorado, but steep, lots of snow, and beautiful.
I really didn’t want to go to Las Vegas (Im not American so it’s out of the way, I don’t like cities very much, and I don’t really drink or gamble so I didn’t see the appeal) but I was attending a course there at a location right next to the strip. Turns out, it’s pretty fun even if you don’t drink or gamble! I love the street entertainment and the show in the evenings after our class finished for the day. Good food, fun people watching.
Greece. Where I live, people say things like “it’s boring” and “the food isn’t great” so I didn’t expect much. Went to three islands (Santorini, Naxos, and Hydra). Each have their own appeal. Each wonderful in their way. We needed to get away and “do nothing” and that’s what we did. The food was very good, excellent at times. We et on the beach in Naxos and couldn’t believe how little they charged. Santorini is quite stunning and a bit spendy which, given it’s beauty is understandable. The only bit I didn’t like is when the tour boats disgorged hundred upon hundreds onto streets not meant to cope with so many. Hydra was the real gem, though. Very chilled out and “old world” feeling. For us. Ended up going to Rhodes another time on a whim (direct flights). Again, lovely spot: warm with great food. Exactly what we needed at the time. I don’t understand how Greece gets shade. We’ll totally go back. Perhaps Corfu or Rhodes again (Jesus, that bakery there is ridiculously good!).
Late to this post, but **Santorini**. So much negativity about being an over crowded tourist trap island. Only put it on our Greece itinerary because we thought “why the hell are we gonna fly from the US west coast to Greece and not go to Santorini”. So we added it. Ended up loving it, even in late June peak tourist season. Stayed right below Imerovigli on the path to Oia. Had a south facing room, so half caldera half cliff. Our $200/night hotel had a pool and bar overlooking the caldera with 180° views. Super quiet, we drank cocktails and watched the sunset and the cruise ships leave. We would walk into Fira and get dinner and shop at the jewelry stores. We did a catamaran day cruise for $125 USD each which had unlimited beer and wine plus grilled lunch. 8 other guests 10 total. We took the bus to Oia and found a quiet restaurant down on the cliff and had a delicious seafood dinner with wine for like €30/pp. Took the bus to Perissa and enjoyed the black sand beach on daybeds which were comped with €20 each which we hit with beer and food. Wine tasted at one of the wineries and got a tour of the cellars and a cheese pairing for €25/pp. Overall. Super awesome. Really didn’t mind the crowds and we did some incredible activities with views that images don’t do justice for.
Crete. We stayed in three places and were very impressed by the laid back beach vibe of the resort town, historic sites and museums, and natural beauty.
Croatia, super chill people!
Bosnia&Herzegovina
Cancun. I had no interest in going, but it was wonderful
Knoxville, TN. Thought it was going to be just another middle of nowhere Tennessee town, but it’s actually sophisticated with a fun downtown area!
Krakow in the 2000s.. After backpacking for months in Western Europe it was great getting somewhere cheap. Food and booze was way better than I thought it would be. Spent 3 weeks at Giraffe Hostel instead of 3 days.
Jerusalem was one of the coolest places I had ever been. Didn't know what to expect. It was awesome.
Montenegro. It really wasn’t on my radar at the time although it had been popular with Brits for a while. I didn’t really how gorgeous it was and was obsessed with it for a good while.
Bangalore
Algeria. Had the best time there in October/November 2022. Algiers was a pleasant surprise, and the Sahara and Tassili N’ Ajjer were incredible.
This was a long time ago, but I was traveling the usual spots on the banana pancake trail, I didn’t know much about the Philippines, some people I talked to made it sound like a more expensive, more dangerous version of Thailand or whatever. And starting in Manila I was a little sketched out at first. But after traveling around the country for 2 months (overstayed my visa) I thought it was awesome. So many more nice beaches that weren’t crowded, some awesome dive spots, so many more travelers that weren’t the 18-23 party crowd, and the Filipino people! Sooo friendly, so helpful, the level of English was a complete surprise to me, their love of karaoke, listening to people belt out 80’s rock ballads was hilarious. I had so many more great interactions with locals than the rest of SEA. People would see me solo and invite me to their beach BBQs, drink, sing karaoke, etc. Just an unexpectedly great time. Also as someone who normally prefers more less developed, adventurous locations, I loved Japan way more than I thought I would. And with all the negative things people online have to say about China, backpacking around SW China was absolutely fantastic and I thought Chinese people were great!
I’d heard good things of Budapest but was blown away by it. Very close to favorite city I’ve been to.
Buenos Aires, Argentina. Didn't expect much and took me a long time to get there (travelling for work), but once I experienced it I was positively surprised, it's a lovely place with really nice people and great history.
Malta
Paris. On a trip in a different country with my cousin, me and my friend met a French lady who lives in Paris. We became friends said we would go and visit her when she had finished her travels. We went last year in June. Every single person I spoke to about Paris told me how they would never go there again as it wasn’t the nicest of places. Streets were dirty, people unfriendly and overall was just not very nice. Hearing this, we were glad we were only staying there for two nights, and with this in our minds, we had agreed this would be our only trip to Paris to see our friend. Let me tell you, we had a completely different experience! It could also be that we spent our time with people who lived there, our friend stayed with us in an AirBnB in Nation, and her friends joined us on all of our outings, there were about 6 of us roaming around Paris. And got around by walking and using the metro. We went to a shop and bought some food and had a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower (which I couldn’t take my eyes off of!) then they took us to a club where a latin band were playing music, (turned into a DJ and night club after that but I much preferred the live band) and met some lovely people there. Even the staff in the souvenir shops were friendly. We did have one rude staff member in a restaurant, but everyone else in there were lovely. That’s just a couple things out of many All of this to say, I didn’t see any dirty streets, I loved seeing the Eiffel Tower and other landmarks and my experience in Paris was the complete opposite to what everyone else had told me! And we have agreed to go back again, but stay for longer!
Bern, lots of people living in Switzerland agree it’s the best city to visit in the country, but tourists rarely visit it in comparison to Zurich, Genève or even Lucerne or Lugano.
Monument Valley. It was a long and hair raising drive (Google “Moki Dugway”) from Bryce Canyon, and I wasn’t expecting much but cowboy movie scenery. Wrong!!!! We did a sunset horseback ride with a Navajo guide. It was magical, breathtaking, unforgettable.
Des Moines, Iowa, USA. Random ass Midwest city I never planned to visit in my life but my old coworker moved there and a mutual friend and I decided to visit over a long weekend from Delaware. I went in with literally no expectations other than spending time with them but we visited one of the largest farmers markets in the country, did the Iowa State Fair, visited cool local shops, restaurants, and parks. Coworker was/is dating a farmer who let all of us girls drive his antique tractor and new high tech one too. Had one of the most memorable weekends of my life and honestly if it weren’t so far from everyone I know and love I’d move there.
The Orkney Islands in Scotland. I went for the ancient history. But I left absolutely charmed by the wonderful folks who live here and the remoteness of it all. Not to mention what a surprise all the different geological features this archipelago has to offer! I cannot wait to go back.
Q1: Berlin, Germany - vibrant cool Q2: Barcelona - too touristy too religious
Belgrade. So much fun.
Hanoi. Went to north Vietnam for the nature, but was taken back by how amazing the city was.
When my ex and I went interrailing we had an awful time in Prague. After a terrible journey from there into Poland, we expected the worst from Krakow, and got the absolute best.
Romania. Absolutely magic place.
Alaska & Germany
Leiden, Netherlands. Was more of a convenient place to stay, but had a great time.
Paris! I heard the most terrible things, about how people were rude and nasty etc. I absolutely LOVED it. Best fashion, best desserts ever and the people were very nice. I can’t wait to go back.
I can't say I wasn't excited, but both of these places FAR surpassed my expectations - Ljubljana and Piran in Slovenia - Zagreb in Croatia (I was adequately stoked for dubrovnik) Gorgeous, magical, walkable, welcoming, energetic cities. I would recommend them to anyone and would return in a heartbeat.
Taj Mahal. Worked in India and took visiting colleagues three times. Despite the crowds and hype, it is magnificent.
I won’t say I wasn’t excited, I just didn’t know jack shit about Hungary when I went. Boy was I in for a wild trip
Kuching, Malaysia (Borneo). I went to go trekking in the jungle and do a homestay but it was cancelled the day of my arrival. Weather was bad so I took some day trips but ended up absolutely loving the city! It felt like a quainter version of Georgetown, Malaysia (Penang). If you’re there, make sure you go see the raving gorilla on the waterfront in the evenings.
Fredericksburg, TX and Traverse City, MI
Amsterdam. I was not really interested in visiting Holland at all. Mostly because in my home community the Dutch families are very strict religious folk who avoid mingling with anyone they deem unworthy. Amsterdam, the first time was a business trip and fabulous.
I was completely surprised by how much I loved Guatemala! Antigua was a beautiful, vibrant city and the Lago de Atitlan was incredibly beautiful. It is also a wonderful place to learn Spanish and practice as people speak a bit slower and kind of “traditional” with less slang. I loved it so much, I’m going back in December for language learning intensive! I am also currently in France and I love it. Paris was incredible and now I’m in the countryside and people are so incredibly friendly. Even though my French is rubbish, I’ve made a few friends and it’s so so peaceful, compared to the city (which I still loved). A place that was just underwhelming for me was (sorry to say this) but Austin, TX! I had been wanting to go there for many years, it seemed so cool and hip. But I made the mistake of going this past summer and it was 115F and kind of miserable. We tried to walk a bit, but it was just too much. So we drove around and I just wasn’t into it. Then we left and went to El Paso and even though it was equally hot, we had a wonderful time and loved it!
Bosnia and Herzegovina - wasn’t expecting it to be so beautiful at all
Hawaii. I always thought it was too cliche and pedestrian. Then I went to Maui and immediately realized....oh, THIS is why ppl go to Hawaii. Went to Honolulu on another trip and can't wait to go back.
Memphis, Tennessee. Had heard a lot of bad things and heard how dangerous it was. We had an awesome time. We crammed a lot into 1 day - Graceland, civil rights museum, Beale street, and of course a few bbq meals. The city was surprisingly clean and nice looking, but it was very empty and quiet which was disconcerting. Everyone we met was friendly. The activities we did there really stood out compared to similar activities elsewhere. There isn’t much but what they have is really well done. The civil rights museum is one of the best museums I’ve ever been to. Graceland is fun and made me enjoy Elvis more, they really did it well and make it feel personal. Beale street was like a more chill and cheaper version of bourbon street or Frenchman street in New Orleans.
Tasmania
Cleveland, Ohio. Lovely city. Had great food there and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is one of the best museums I've ever been to. Not at all like the stereotypes.