If you’ve traveled as much as my family has, you get asked all the time “what are your favorite places?” But no one ever asks, which place sucked? Or, what place did you like the least.
I used to say the entire country of Vietnam, but I’ve since been back and changed my mind. So here’s my current list of well-known cities around the world I’d never return to. Number 4 is the scariest place we’ve ever been.
#1 Bucharest, Romania
While we visited all over Romania, including Transylvania (one of my favorites), Cluj where we lived for a month, and many other places we loved, Bucharest felt unsafe. The people were very guarded, not friendly, and they had quite possibly the worst train station I've ever been to, including a fight on the way out of there which involved police.
#2 Benidorm, Spain
This is an area that UK vacationers come to and it's just gross there compared to every other town along Spain's Mediterranean coast that we stayed in. Skip it. Condoms, bottles, fights breaking out. Even the food there wasn't comparable, we felt they were catering to English tastes.
#3 Paris, France
What a letdown. The city is gross and unsafe in so many parts, especially at night. While the Eiffel Tower is pretty at night, during the day it's just meh. And the Louvre, the palaces, and all the sightseeing were just okay. We did see the Mona Lisa, but the tapestry on the opposite wall was way more interesting.
#4 Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Never felt more unsafe in our lives. Between the gangs on the trains, a friend getting mugged and robbed at gunpoint multiple times, and being followed for 4 days, we still have yet to find a place where we felt more anxious.
#5 Durres, Albania
Nope! Our family calls it the Chernobyl beach. There were dead fish everywhere, it smelled bad, and again, we are foodies, yet all the beach restaurants were subpar and overpriced.
#6 Phnom Penh, Cambodia
We met a few nice locals and were only there a few days, but all the old men in the city looking for young women was just beyond gross. The city is inundated with them.
#7 Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
We lived there for 5 months and gave birth to our youngest son there. We came back a few times, but the last time, the town had changed. It felt unsafe, more drugs and crime, and there was a large military presence that was never there before. We don't need to go back.
#8 Manila, Philippines
Manila was crazy polluted and the people there were hustling so much that it was hard to get around.
Do you agree with my list? Disagree? Let me know what places You'd never return to.
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