What countries / places have you been to, and were do you recommend / not recommend?

Overheal · 03-02-2013 11:35PM

Coastal Maine was pretty amazing. Went for a few days in 2010, the seaside towns were just something else, and you could fish right off the bridges for trout and see absolutely everything in that water, it was cleaner than tap.

Atlanta, on the other hand, only leaves the impression of a city in decay and I don't really like it. Homeless people panhandle the streets all day and decomissioned bridges have been converted into above-ground parking lots and locations for new buildings. It's kind of neat that they have done this and theres an entire sub-city underneath all of that new construction (the entire undergound district is where all the original city roads are preserved) but it's also kind of sad. I only spent a few hours in Savannah but it was much nicer, so is St. Augustine if you're down that way.

Parsandeman · 03-02-2013 11:39PM

Chemical Burn wrote: »

Where have you been to and would go back or warn people not to go to? Where do you want to go to?

I have been to a shit load of places, too many to mention. I would like to go back to Gibraltar, turkey, Luxembourg, Italy and Netherlands. I have not yet been to a place were I would be jumping for joy to return to.

I want to see Greenland, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Japan, Mongolia, Faroe Islands, Svalbard, Kazakhstan, St. Helena (preferably Tristan Da Cunha), Pitcairn Island, Easter Island and Christmas Island.

Has any boardsies been to my bucket list ??

In hindsight, this might be better off in Travel, so I don't get the piss take answers. move if appropriate, Cheers.

I have been to Kazakhstan, Armenia and azer. I have no idea why you want to go to these places. Truly awful places

Digs · 03-02-2013 11:40PM

collie0708 wrote: »

Well if they put effort into McDonalds it must be worth the trip...

The maccers in Kingaroy in the back ar*e of Australia was the best I've ever eaten but definitely not worth the trip to Kingaroy

New Zealand north island is stunning, Plenty to do in rotorua, Napier, taupo etc. it reminded us an awful lot of Ireland but a lot cleaner and prettier!

Canis Lupus · 03-02-2013 11:41PM

Biggins wrote: »

Once spent a day in Marrakesh and the markets there.
Seemed absolute chaotic and the then girlfriend was hassled somewhat by blokes.
(I was told later that her red hair was a bewildering factor related to local fellas trying to grab her attention).

It might be wrong to put the whole place down but would be hesitant to return there.

It's overrated and full of hassle. Try riding a fully loaded touring bike through the medina twice for an 'experience'. It's full of young lads trying to sell you hash but Chefchaoun is one of the nicer towns up in the Riff but a touch more difficult to get to. Essaouira (sp?) is Marrakech lite. Everyone I spoke to reckoned it was nicer.

Biggins · 03-02-2013 11:42PM

Canis Lupus wrote: »

It's overrated and full of hassle. Try riding a fully loaded touring bike through the medina twice for an 'experience'. It's full of young lads trying to sell you hash but Chefchaoun is one of the nicer towns up in the Riff but a touch more difficult to get to. Essaouira (sp?) is Marrakech lite. Everyone I spoke to reckoned it was nicer.

Worth remembering around next time if the chance arises. Cheers.

Canis Lupus · 03-02-2013 11:43PM

collie0708 wrote: »

Well if they put effort into McDonalds it must be worth the trip...

I was cycling. Trust me, a maccers dinner is something on the level of divine when you're living off pasta and sauce/stringy meat tagines.

ToxicPaddy · 03-02-2013 11:50PM

Good:

Berlin - Fantastic city, so much to see and do.
Prague - Beautiful city, avoid the touristy stuff and you'd be surprised how much more to the city there is. Very friendly people too.
Seychelles - Paradise (Mahe not too nice, but Praslin and La Digue, pure paradise)
Kenya - Amazing country, very friendly people (deperate poverty in some places tho)
Stockholm - Amazing city, built on a serious of islands, friendly people, stunning women everywhere but very down to earth. Bloody expensive tho.
Norway - Great country, unbelieveable scenery especially up along the west coast, fjords, glaciers, huge valleys with beautiful lakes etc. Again, expensive but worth a trip, Bergen is lovely, smallish city with friendly people.
Vanvouver - Very chilled out city, well worth a visit. But a lot of poverty in the East Hastings area.
Anywhere in the Canadian Rockies - Stunning scenery, especially when it starts to snow.
Zurich - Small but nice city, way over priced, but so is almost everyhwere in Switzerland. Great night life, some great clubs and beautiful scenery around it.

Not So Good:

Montreal - Very over rated. Nothing bad, was just was expecting more. Been there once, saw it, wouldn't be rushing back to it.
Agadir - Basically the same as any tourist resort in Spain.. Very Meh!!
Genoa - Not very impressive. Kinda dirty and didn't find the people that friendly.

I have more, but too tired to type atm

Biggins · 03-02-2013 11:51PM

ToxicPaddy wrote: »

Good:

Berlin - Fantastic city, so much to see and do.
Prague - Beautiful city, avoid the touristy stuff and you'd be surprised how much more to the city there is. Very friendly people too.
Seychelles - Paradise (Mahe not too nice, but Praslin and La Digue, pure paradise)
Kenya - Amazing country, very friendly people (deperate poverty in some places tho)
Stockholm - Amazing city, built on a serious of islands, friendly people, stunning women everywhere but very down to earth. Bloody expensive tho.
Norway - Great country, unbelieveable scenery especially up along the west coast, fjords, glaciers, huge valleys with beautiful lakes etc. Again, expensive but worth a trip, Bergen is lovely, smallish city with friendly people.
Vanvouver - Very chilled out city, well worth a visit. But a lot of poverty in the East Hastings area.
Anywhere in the Canadian Rockies - Stunning scenery, especially when it starts to snow.
Zurich - Small but nice city, way over priced, but so is almost everyhwere in Switzerland. Great night life, some great clubs and beautiful scenery around it.

Not So Good:

Montreal - Very over rated. Nothing bad, was just was expecting more. Been there once, saw it, wouldn't be rushing back to it.
Agadir - Basically the same as any tourist resort in Spain.. Very Meh!!
Genoa - Not very impressive. Kinda dirty and didn't find the people that friendly.

I have more, but too tired to type atm

After walking around all those places - I'm not surprised!

ToxicPaddy · 03-02-2013 11:53PM

Biggins wrote: »

After walking around all those places - I'm not surprised!

Smart ass!!! :pac::D

michellie · 04-02-2013 12:02AM

Chicago - loved it there, will definitely return some day. My boyfriends brother lived there , he moves around America with his job, we need to visit him more often!

Berlin - was a lovely city, we were there February a few years back and it was freezing and snowy, I'd love to go in summer.

04-02-2013 12:26AM

Cyprus - amazing part of the world

Paris - dive

Conchir · 04-02-2013 01:18AM

Places I'd recommend are London, Vienna and Amsterdam. They're all great cities, really cool and plenty to see and do. Amsterdam in the Summer, Vienna near Christmas to catch all the markets (and some snow maybe). London is good whenever.

If I never see Brussels again I'll be happy. A really depressing city, and the locals weren't very nice.

seenitall · 04-02-2013 01:25AM

Loved:

Rome - it's smoggy, crowded, congested but dam all it's spectacular

Florence - one-of-a-kind city, the birthplace of Renaissance, the only place that, for me, rivaled its you-could-cut-it-with-a-knife atmosphere of genteel history was Prague

Venice - and I go a long, long way back, been there so many times now because I'm in love with it, and always will be

Paris - need I say more?

Vienna - I love Vienna; Vienna I love you, please forget what I wrote about Venice and let's get together again soon

Salzburg - an absolute jewel, a gem of a cute, compact little historic city, surrounded by magnificent nature and scenery; all the mountains, all the snow in winter, all the pretty little lake towns and villages

Budapest - because I'm just an old, die-hard, Central European by birth and by inclination, so that's that

Prague - see above, but also for so much more; Prague is so beautiful and kind

Islands of the Adriatic - yes, always

French Riviera; Nice, Cannes, Antibes - yes again

Andalucia, Spain - a bit of an 'edge of the world' feel to it all, or is it just the limitations of my Central European mind playing tricks on me (but then I feel this here in Ireland as well!); but worth visiting nonetheless, liked Gibraltar too

The Loire Valley, France (around Blois and Amboise) - lovely people, amazing castles

Strasbourg, France - it's fine and nice-looking, but don't expect too much excitement

Oxford - I like it

Stratford-upon-Avon - yes, because I like Shakespeare so much; really atmospheric

Derry - really liked Derry; pretty in a composed and sober kind of way

Sligo - I've personal reasons to love Sligo, but also I do think that it is the most atmospheric (that word again!) of all the Irish cities/towns I've seen

Connemara, where do I begin or end? - Roundstone, just lovely and enchanting, the beaches, Kylemore Abbey, the lakes, and yes, I even love Clifden, I think it's nice and quaint, and the roads around there have some fantastic views

Galway - no objectivity here when it comes to Gaillimh, the height of bias etc,

; use your imaginations

Wicklow - stunning

Santiago, Chile - you're looking at the snow-capped Andes on one side, and at the Pacific on the other; cool, and the city is kind of good-looking too

Islands of the South Pacific - yes

Saving the best for last, my absolute favourite city so far: LDN, the ancient Londinium, the original Big Smoke, mwwwwahhh I love you London

"Meh" effect:

Padua, Verona, Klagenfurt, Graz, Munich, Grenoble (felt kinda 'walled in' in that city, but I guess I just don't like mountains that high), Lake Balaton (Hungary), Coventry (UK), Dublin (Eire), the Easter Island (there's really not much to see there, OP; just those giant head thingys)

Didn't love:

Marseille - the pushy, Arabic element is really strong in the streets, which was a bit scary and a hassle travelling as a lone woman; it's a weird thing but I just felt this undercurrent of violence in that city; which is a damn shame because parts of it are just beautiful

Still on the list:

Central and Southern Italy, Capri, the southern islands, that sort of thing

the Black Forest, Germany

lots more Alps; LOTS more Alps

Scotland, Edinburgh, the Highlands

Sweden

the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, Cambodia

parts of China

certain parts of Turkey, including Istanbul

Athens, Greece

the North Pole

perhaps a cruise up the coast of Norway

Canada, amazing nature

Grand Canyon

New England (drop me anywhere around there, I'll be happy)

LA, California

Yellowstone

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Egypt

Morocco

Kenya

Not too pushed about ever seeing:

most of South America (ok, maybe it would be fun to explore the Amazon a bit)

Australia

most of Africa

countries of Benelux

Iceland

Anything that was comprised in the old USSR, really (ok, someone did give me an idea about St. Petersburg on this thread, but that's as far as it would go)

most of the Middle East, excluding the countries I mentioned previously

India, Pakistan, etc: no thanks

Ruudi_Mentari · 04-02-2013 01:30AM

Oz / UK / Cyprus you like nightlife? all good.

shanec1928 · 04-02-2013 01:35AM

Dubrovnik Croatia. The old city is pretty cool. And some great views too

04-02-2013 04:20AM

Not a fan of Manila or Colombo as a tourist..

Witchie · 04-02-2013 04:45AM

Loved for their architectural beauty: Bruges, Arras (France), Beaugency (France), Delft (The Netherlands), Charlestown (USA).

Natural beauty: Banff (Canada), Hope (Canada), Dover Beach (Barbados), Yalikavak (Turkey), Grand Canyon.

Atmosphere: Paris (always feel like I'm in a movie when there), San Francisco (a bigger warmer Galway) Brighton (a smaller colder San Francisco but bigger warmer Galway) and Galway!

Fun Fun Fun: Las Vegas and Liverpool.

Meh: Edinburgh, London (other than Camden Market which I love), Dusseldorf and Amsterdam.

Shryker · 04-02-2013 04:46AM

On the continent, I recommend Berlin, Vienna, Amsterdam, Krakow and Prague.
I recommend especially anywhere in Germany. Switzerland is far too expensive to ever recommend over Germany.

Vienna is great for quiet nightlife. I loved being able to go out at any hour and order a nice meal and a drink outside and have a smoke while I was doing it.

Amsterdam is great for reasons everyone knows. I'll say this. I met a lot of tramps that went out of their way to warn us against thieves and everything else was pretty great. If you plan on the center of town then it's every third place is going to be a place to buy weed or a cake shop.

The tour of Auschwitz while I was in Krakow was one of the most memorable things I've ever done on holiday. It was a beautiful sunny day in July. The sky was blue and clear with not a cloud in sight. Everyone seemed slightly energised from such an unusually good day. Just over 30 degrees. There was a breeze. It wasn't very persistent but it was there just enough to keep everyone cool.
It was one of the nicest summer days I've ever experienced. Just a beautiful summer on the continent. But then we saw the room full of spectacles, the room full of crutches and walking sticks. The place where gas canisters were thrown through the ceiling.
Such tranquil blue sky, and beautiful green countryside made a huge impression on me. To think that in such wonderful weather conditions that in the time of my own grandparents such a great amount of people could have suffered so much.. didn't mean to go on.

Places not to visit: Rome. Italians are the rudest people on earth. Their traffic is homicidal. The streets were littered with rubbish, the people were rude and the streets were full of vagrants, some of them in wheel chairs or children.
There was rubbish all over the place and I could not understand the predominance of white pance or the scooter. Cultural craphole. The rest of Italy seemed really nice. The only nice place I found in Rome was inside a few of its restaurants.

Captain Graphite · 04-02-2013 05:10AM

I'd highly recommend China as a good country to travel around. There's so much to see and do, everything is cheap outside the big cities and people, in general, are really friendly. I wasn't a big fan of Beijing (bit too dirty and full of scammy taxi drivers) but it is worth going to the Forbidden City. Shanghai, on the other hand, is an incredible city; only spent 5 days there but would love to go back there. It's a bit manic but it's a perfect mix of Western and Eastern cultures.

Of the other cities I saw:
Nanjing was pretty cool and has loads of interesting historical sites, being the former capital. Also has a good nightlife district.
Suzhou is full of interesting sites, pretty Chinese gardens and canals. Also it's pretty small for a Chinese city so it's handy enough to walk around.
Chengdu was the most laid back city I was in; less about nightlife, more about relaxation. But it has spicy food and pandas so it's certainly not boring.

Would love to go back to China some day. In fact, I wanna travel around Asia in general; Japan, Malaysia, Thailand......and then Jordan and Iran on the other side. Maybe India too.

One of my favourite places in Europe is Luxembourg City; maybe not the most exciting place in the world, and quite expensive, but very, very beautiful. There's a wonderful atmosphere around the place. Also wanna go back to Amsterdam; two nights was not enough time there.

Don't think I've ever been anywhere I hated or would outright refuse to go back to. I wouldn't be in a rush to go back to Geneva (found it a bit dull), Ghent (pretty but lifeless) or Coventry (grim place; has ruins of a cathedral and nothing else going for it) but can't say any of them were dreadful places either.

Seaneh · 04-02-2013 05:21AM

Excellent:
Bolivia, La Paz is a dump but Cochabamba and Santa Cruz are both lovely,

Peru, I spent most of my time in Trujillo and Huanchaco and some time in Aeroquip and Puno and Cusco, all gorgeous, especilly Aeroquip. Lima looked cool but was only there for like 3 days so can't really say what it's like.

Ecuador, I spent most of my time in Manabi and the food there is, honestly, the best I have ever eaten. The most amazing fresh fruits all year round, amazing seafood, brilliant spices and herbs, was just the freshest, tastiest most natural food I've ever had. And every lunch and dinner you get a glass of chilled Jugo de piña so cold it's got ice crystals floating around in it, it's amazing. Me and chifles also became best friends. Quito is beautiful too, the people are awesome.

Argentina, Only really been around BA but it's a beautiful city, felt like being back in Europe after spending months on the pacific coast of South America, people are awesome, weather is amazing and everything is super cheap when you're converting from Euros. On my "must go back" list.

Basque Country in Spain, I adore the triangle of San Sabastian - Bilbao - Pamplona, it has just about the most beautiful views and landscapes I've ever been to and Basque people are just a joy to be around. Probably the best part of Southern Europe.

I'll post more later, bedtime now.

johnnykilo · 04-02-2013 05:35AM

Good: Barcelona, Berlin, Dubrovnik

Bad: Brussels, horrible place bar the Grand Place and everyone is a cúnt!

CollardGreens · 04-02-2013 05:47AM

Bermuda, thought I'd did and gone to heaven. Pink sand and the snorkeling was lots of fun. Short flight from the Carolinas and didn't see any UFO's!

Of course IMO you still can't beat the beach music down here on the Carolina beaches ~ home areas where friends and family are is always nice.

(I don't know this family, but well done video of every summer day in my part of the world)

Lightbulb Sun · 04-02-2013 09:03PM

The Dordogne Region in France is a beautiful place. Great river for canoeing, good weather and has a very attractive town called Sarlat with regular markets.

Blackpool isn't that great of a place apart from Pleasure beach, the theme park.
Full of B&B's, pubs and fish and chip shops. Very tacky.

04-02-2013 09:38PM

seenitall wrote: »

Loved:

Rome - it's smoggy, crowded, congested but dam all it's spectacular

Florence - one-of-a-kind city, the birthplace of Renaissance, the only place that, for me, rivaled its you-could-cut-it-with-a-knife atmosphere of genteel history was Prague

Venice - and I go a long, long way back, been there so many times now because I'm in love with it, and always will be

Paris - need I say more?

Vienna - I love Vienna; Vienna I love you, please forget what I wrote about Venice and let's get together again soon

Salzburg - an absolute jewel, a gem of a cute, compact little historic city, surrounded by magnificent nature and scenery; all the mountains, all the snow in winter, all the pretty little lake towns and villages

Budapest - because I'm just an old, die-hard, Central European by birth and by inclination, so that's that

Prague - see above, but also for so much more; Prague is so beautiful and kind

Islands of the Adriatic - yes, always

French Riviera; Nice, Cannes, Antibes - yes again

Andalucia, Spain - a bit of an 'edge of the world' feel to it all, or is it just the limitations of my Central European mind playing tricks on me (but then I feel this here in Ireland as well!); but worth visiting nonetheless, liked Gibraltar too

The Loire Valley, France (around Blois and Amboise) - lovely people, amazing castles

Strasbourg, France - it's fine and nice-looking, but don't expect too much excitement

Oxford - I like it

Stratford-upon-Avon - yes, because I like Shakespeare so much; really atmospheric

Derry - really liked Derry; pretty in a composed and sober kind of way

Sligo - I've personal reasons to love Sligo, but also I do think that it is the most atmospheric (that word again!) of all the Irish cities/towns I've seen

Connemara, where do I begin or end? - Roundstone, just lovely and enchanting, the beaches, Kylemore Abbey, the lakes, and yes, I even love Clifden, I think it's nice and quaint, and the roads around there have some fantastic views

Galway - no objectivity here when it comes to Gaillimh, the height of bias etc, ; use your imaginations

Wicklow - stunning

Santiago, Chile - you're looking at the snow-capped Andes on one side, and at the Pacific on the other; cool, and the city is kind of good-looking too

Islands of the South Pacific - yes

Saving the best for last, my absolute favourite city so far: LDN, the ancient Londinium, the original Big Smoke, mwwwwahhh I love you London

"Meh" effect:

Padua, Verona, Klagenfurt, Graz, Munich, Grenoble (felt kinda 'walled in' in that city, but I guess I just don't like mountains that high), Lake Balaton (Hungary), Coventry (UK), Dublin (Eire), the Easter Island (there's really not much to see there, OP; just those giant head thingys)

Didn't love:

Marseille - the pushy, Arabic element is really strong in the streets, which was a bit scary and a hassle travelling as a lone woman; it's a weird thing but I just felt this undercurrent of violence in that city; which is a damn shame because parts of it are just beautiful

Still on the list:

Central and Southern Italy, Capri, the southern islands, that sort of thing

the Black Forest, Germany

lots more Alps; LOTS more Alps

Scotland, Edinburgh, the Highlands

Sweden

the Mekong Delta, Vietnam, Cambodia

parts of China

certain parts of Turkey, including Istanbul

Athens, Greece

the North Pole

perhaps a cruise up the coast of Norway

Canada, amazing nature

Grand Canyon

New England (drop me anywhere around there, I'll be happy)

LA, California

Yellowstone

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Egypt

Morocco

Kenya

Not too pushed about ever seeing:

most of South America (ok, maybe it would be fun to explore the Amazon a bit)

Australia

most of Africa

countries of Benelux

Iceland

Anything that was comprised in the old USSR, really (ok, someone did give me an idea about St. Petersburg on this thread, but that's as far as it would go)

most of the Middle East, excluding the countries I mentioned previously

India, Pakistan, etc: no thanks

Trabolgan?

Zebra3 · 04-02-2013 10:40PM

Parsandeman wrote: »

I have been to Kazakhstan, Armenia and azer. I have no idea why you want to go to these places. Truly awful places

Armenia is a great place.

feargale · 04-02-2013 11:47PM

And I'd rather be strolling along the quay,

And watching the river flow,

Than growing tea with the cute Chinee,

Or mining in Mexico.

And you wouldn't much care for Sierra Leone,

If you'd ever seen Killenaule,

And the man that was never in Mullinahone

Shouldn't say he had travelled at all

seenitall · 05-02-2013 02:19AM

9959 wrote: »

Trabolgan?

Er, no, never been... so is that an invitation or a dare?

donegal_road · 05-02-2013 03:02AM

my top 10 (in no particular order) :

Vancouver Island
Quebec City
Rome
Amsterdam
Bilbao
Prague
Copenhagen
Venice
Edinburgh
Boston

5 places least impressed with:

Montreal (as mentioned earlier)
South Carolina
Naples
Pisa
Bologna

Itwasntme. · 05-02-2013 03:07AM

homemadecider wrote: »

Burundi and Rwanda are beautiful, lots of green rolling hills and sunshine. Sierra Leone has gorgeous beaches and incredible seafood.

I don't recommend visiting the Democratic Republic of Congo.

I love you homemadecider. This right here is the truth. Start booking those flights people!

Wompa1 · 05-02-2013 03:11AM

Visit:
New York
Las Vegas
San Diego
Sydney
Cologne
London
Galway
Orlando (but not for too long)

Avoid:
Los Angeles
Amsterdam
Cairns, Australia
Dusseldorf
Essen
Manchester
Zakynthos
Feurtaventura
Antwerp

What countries / places have you been to, and were do you recommend / not recommend?

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