Have you had a bad experience visiting a city and sworn never to return? Not every trip is a great experience—maybe you ended up in the wrong part of town by accident, or maybe you came in the wrong season and found the city crowded with tourists, or pummeled with bad weather. Today, we’ll talk about the 20 cities people will never visit again, and why they’ll never go back. Do you also have something to share with us? Let us know in the comments!
1. Port-Au-Prince, Haiti
Port-Au-Prince is the capital city of Haiti. It is also the most populous and where many tourists visit because of its national treasures related to the country’s history—such as Delmas, the National Palace, and the National Pantheon Museum.
One person stated, “Was checking my watch every few minutes counting down the days and hours until I could leave. It was a scary place where even those that are supposed to protect you are open to attacking and robbing/kidnapping/murdering you.”
Another commenter replied, “Same. Only time I’ve had bodyguards. Had to sign a waiver that basically said that whatever happened to me if I decided to go somewhere without them was on me. It was so sad. And that was before the 2010 earthquake.”
2. Cairo, Egypt
One person shared, “Cairo. I’ve seen everything I wanted to see there, but would never return. Tourists are treated like cattle there, by those involved in the tourist trade, much to the embarrassment of the many good Egyptian people who live in the city.”
One Redditor said, “Same. Did a big bougie exclusive tour that would take us around the pyramids. We got taken to the desert and told to give them our money or they would leave us out there. Would not recommend.”
Another commenter added, “It’s the biggest city in the Arab world, and it’s full of rich history. Sad that it’s so unsafe.”
3. Marrakesh, Morocco
“Marrakesh, Morocco. Only place I’ve ever been that I’ve sworn I’d never go back to. After 2 days of walking around followed by groups of men and boys trying to touch my wife (who was dressed modestly with legs and shoulders covered), followed by aggression when either me or her voiced our displeasure with this, we gave up trying to sight-see and spent the rest of our vacation in the hotel,” one person shared.
“I had this exact experience. Not safe for solo female travelers. I have traveled all over the world. Morocco ranks dead freaking last as a place I would visit again,” another replied.
A third commenter added, “Even the street merchants in Marrakesh are super aggressive. Makes you super uncomfortable. 0/10 would not recommend.”
4. Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
“The resort was fine. But stepping into the city market… big aggressive vibe towards woman tourists. Even when the bf is next to her,” one user stated.
“Lol I remember being followed down the street by two dozen shopkeepers, taxi drivers, and others. Insane,” another added.
“Yup, I’m never stepping foot in Egypt again after dealing with them. One of them cornered my sister in a shop and I had to threaten him before he would let her out the door. They are very aggressive,” someone replied.
5. Bradford, United Kingdom
“It just doesn’t have a lot going for it, unfortunately. The sort of place where when people find out you are from out of town, they ask what you are doing there, but not in a sort of cheery ‘Oh, what are you here for?’ way, but a ‘Seriously, why have you chosen to come here?’ way,” one person stated.
“I used to live in Leeds and have some Saturday nights out in Bradford in the 90s. Since I left, it’s been interesting to see Leeds turn from a post-industrial dirty [place] to a decent city with lots to offer, and Bradford staying a filthy, post-industrial [place],” a second person replied.
Another added, “Lol, I was born and raised in Bradford. I moved out in my early 30s (about 17 years ago). Every time I go back there to visit friends or family I’m like, ‘Why did I stay here so long.’ It’s a town with virtually nothing going for it.”
6. Stockton, California
“Stockton, CA. The McDonald’s had an armed security guy,” one user commented.
“Growing up my dad was a crime scene investigator for the DOJ and covered all of Northern California. Like the entire top half of the state. And most of the time when he’d get called, if it was a homicide, he’d be going to Stockton,” One Redditor replied.
Another commenter added, “It’s funny, Stockton gets so much crap, and deservedly so, but there are some fabulous food spots in Stockton that I miss terribly. Especially Gian’s Deli and De Vinci’s (for the amazing ravioli). Also miss Podesto’s supermarket, great Italian grocery store.”
7. Atlantic City, New Jersey
One user shared, “It’s so depressing there.”
Another person replied, “The armpit of America. Was just there (again), and every time I declare I will never return. It’s like someone went into a slum, spent $100 billion to make it an expensive slum while keeping its slum aesthetics…. on a beach.”
Another user commented, “Atlantic City is basically What Would Depression Look Like If It Was a City. The casinos are fine and fun but pretty much everything outside of that just has this overall vibe of despair.”
8. South Beach, Florida
“I don’t need to go back to Miami, or at least to South Beach. My husband and I went last year and it was a little bit of a nightmare. We always find fun together, so it was still a good vacation, but I’d rather spend money elsewhere,” one user commented.
“As someone that grew up in Miami, my biggest recommendation for visitors is to do just about anything but the south beach. Miami has a lot of really cool areas but they’re not tourist ‘hot spots.’ You’ll have a much better time (imo) hitting up the bars in the gables than going to wynwood, for example,” another person replied.
A third commenter added, “I lived there for five years. I can confirm.”
9. Dubai, United Arab Empirates
One user commented, “Dubai. It features so much about what I don’t like about humanity. All money and no substance.”
A second commenter replied, “It’s a very hollow/empty superficial place. You know how in ‘Scarface’ Tony Montana had stacks of money, and gaudy possessions, but was a miserable person? That’s the entire vibe of Dubai.”
Another user added, “They have these huge impressive buildings and projects but it lacks soul. There’s something missing since it didn’t grow organically like ‘a real city.’ It feels like you’re looking at Sim City with cheat codes on and all buildings enabled on an empty map.”
10. Juarez, Mexico
One person stated, “Juarez. Walked across the border a few years back. Left after 20 minutes. Hey, wanna buy some cigarettes? No thanks, I’m good… Had about 4 interactions like that in 10 minutes and [got out].”
The second person replied, “Yeah also I lived in EP across the border and I had a friend get [injured] by cartel as soon as she crossed the border for literally no reason (she’s alive). Multiple people report just seeing dead bodies lined up when cartels ‘in heat.’”
A third commenter added, “I spent some time in Juarez building homes in high school. The locals were all very nice and it was a pleasant experience outside of the church we stayed in which crawled with cockroaches once the sun went down. But yes, it is absolutely not a safe place or someplace I would recommend people visit!”
11. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
“Ashgabat, glad I went, but creepy. Total authoritarian dear leader surveillance state. Basically can’t leave the hotel unless escorted. Bad food. Utterly fascinating, but can totally scratch it off my list of ‘been there, done that,’” one person stated.
“I cycled across the country over 5 days and my last day was in Ashgabat. Totally blew my mind as I wasn’t expecting it at all. The money that has been spent there is truly mind boggling. I can’t even imagine what all those huge buildings are for. Police on every corner. I took photos of some bus stops because they were incredible, and was surrounded by police who made me delete the photos,” one Redditor said.
12. Mobile, Alabama
One person shared, “Mobile, Alabama. There was a palpable aura of anger and resentment in that town that I’ll never forget.”
Another commenter replied, “I currently live here, and I can honestly say that you are not wrong. It has some of the rudest, unkind, bad-mannered people that I have ever met but it’s masked as ‘southern hospitality.’ It’s ridiculous and frustrating to live here.”
13. Manila
“Manila—Traffic, Pollution, Poverty,” said one person.
“I’m from the Philippines and dude I also hate it there. I’m a province guy. I remember one time I rented an inn there and the smell literally gave me culture shock. The sink was full of cigarette butts and the bed was cockroach-ridden. I was never able to sleep. [I’d] rather stay here in the forest with my fairy friends,” another second person replied.
“Was just in Manila. Yikes. Not a fun place,” another added.
14. Hollywood, Boulevard
One person stated, “Hollywood, specifically Hollywood Boulevard. It’s really janky, the whole town kind of smells, and it’s just wholly disappointing.”
Another one replied, “You can tell someone has never been to Hollywood if they suggest going to Hollywood.”
A third Redditor added, “Angelenos know to avoid Hollywood and its tourist traps. Aside from a meal at Musso & Frank it’s not worth a visit. Instead, go to Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Echo Park, and Sawtelle.”
15. Gary, Indiana
“Gary is fine, during the day. You can drive through there without much issue. But at night? If you have to go through there, treat every stop sign as a rolling stop and just never stop. The place is rundown and has been for decades, since the main source of income, left town. Now it’s just, people who are too poor to move anywhere else and a lot of gangbangers. It’s an all too common story in the US,” one person stated.
“My grandmother and her friends drove across the country in 1932. The ONE place she hated and said would never go back? That’s right, Gary, IN,” another one added.
16. Pompeii, Italy
One user commented, “Pompeii. What a bunch of stiffs.”
Another user replied, “Yeah, seems like they are all stuck in time and in place. Really uneventful.”
One Redditor added, “Yeah, what a sorry place. Everyone there is just living in the past.”
17. Nassau, Bahamas
“Nassau, Bahamas absolutely horrible. Place is extremely run down. Locals don’t leave you alone and don’t take no for an answer. No, I don’t want to buy a wooden flute from the 90s. No I don’t want to buy D&G sunglasses from China for $80. Idk maybe I had a bad experience but I’ll never go back to the Bahamas, at least Nassau,” someone shared.
Another commenter replied, “Been going to Nassau yearly for most of my life. Gotta know how to say no and haggle the folks down. Also, don’t go to the market right off the cruise ship dock, explore the town instead. Other than that, I love the place. Maybe because I am a familiar face, they treat me differently, but the people are great and friendly to me, the seafood is excellent, and they have a Burger King in walking distance from where I stay.”
18. Rockford, Illinois
One user stated, “I’ve never seen so many… drugs during the daytime in America.”
A second person replied, “My grandparents and family come from Rockford, and I visit every few months. They still have a house there. It is scary how fast that city goes from looking ok to [absolutely nasty]. Since all the employers left, it’s just restaurant chains throwing money back and forth draining the already failing economy. I think gambling is their largest industry and even then it is not a good place to gamble. My uncle always talks about how that city got hit really really really hard by crack cocaine in the 1980s and it has caused this huge generation of minorities (and white folk too but go there and you’ll see what I mean) with no parents or families who are all addicted to drugs and boasts one of the highest violent crime rates in the entire country. It has a higher crime rate per capita than most of the worst parts of Chicago. The city is basically a miniature recreation of Rhodesia in terms of how segregated the areas are and how the economy functions.”
19. Fez, Morocco
“The harassment of tourists by peddlers in that city is mind-bogglingly aggressive and orders of magnitudes worse than anywhere else. It doesn’t help the old city is a labyrinth where Google Maps does not work. You stop for one second to try to orient yourself, and you are surrounded by people offering to ‘help’ you. So stressful,” one person stated.
The second person replied, “The constant harassment, attempts at active misdirection, and general [trickery] got on my nerves. Every interaction, I was thinking ‘Ok, what’s this guy’s angle?’ Plus, tanneries smell abhorrent.”
A third commenter added, “I have zero interest in going back to Morocco in general.”
20. Memphis, Tennesssee
One user stated, “Memphis, too many homeless people harassing me.”
Someone replied, “My mom, sister and I stayed at the Motel 6 on an impulsive road trip. Obviously not the place we wanted to stay but we were just looking for something cheap on our way. We were lightly harassed on the way in but then at 330am came the banging on the door, the threatening phone calls and my poor mother sitting for the rest of the night with her pistol in her lap. She was called horrible things and was threatened with violence and even rape while I slept bc she didn’t want to wake me. She deserves the world, and I have no desire to return to Memphis.”
Then the third added, “I was eating at a Subway in Memphis, and the guy at the table next to me started making small talk, and then about 4 sentences in started in on a story and asked me for cash. Later in that same trip I stopped by a CVS, and a guy aggressively asked to use my phone for another story then when I said no he started screaming that I was racist and that I deserved to get my a- beat. At 8:30 AM I saw a homeless guy puking into the fountain at Court Square Park while another homeless guy was just sitting in the water with his shirt off. I was only there for 3 days. Yeah, not really feeling like going back there again.”
Source: Reddit.
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