Dubai. I know it's rich, sophisticated, a holiday destination for many, and so on, but I just hate its tasteless glitz, its lack of soul, and the intense stratification of its society.

ofsquire , Pat Whelen Report

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Qatar. Slavery is basically legal.

The1TrueRedditor , Oleksandr P Report

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Never leave the hotel in Egypt as an underaged girl without your parents. Even if you're with them you probably will be followed and hit on by older creeps, but they won't do anything when you're not alone.

PhiloPhocion:

The harassment is out of control. My first visit was with family and there were people calling out the lewdest comments about my literally 10 year old sister and our mum. Second visit in my early 20s was with a group of friends including two women, who were physically grabbed or touched by strangers saying lewd comments if we weren't literally standing shoulder to shoulder with them.
The scamming and conning is also out of control. Scams are everywhere, including in areas that most tourists would think are relatively safe (i.e. scammers working on official areas around major tourist sites, even sometimes right at the doors of official areas dressed in pseudo official uniforms, with no pushback from officials). And even officials themselves - I can't tell you the number of friends I've had who have had some form of having cameras or electronics seized by customs for no reason or 'spot check passport reviews' where your passport is taken unless you can pay the cop some pocket money.
I absolutely loved Egypt - its food, its sites, and most of its people are incredible warm and welcoming. But holy hell it makes it hard to love sometimes.
It gets a little better outside of Cairo but I advise literally everyone going to mentally prepare themselves and if they don't know anyone there already, to just hire a guide to at least help avoid the worst of the harassment and scams.

anon , Alex Azabache Report

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I worked in Saudi Arabia for just 10 days and couldn't stand it. It saddened me that there were almost ZERO women in public. And in the airport there was a bookseller kiosk where all of the books were in English so they were obviously aimed at westerners and almost all of them were about Islam. I browsed one of them and it was basically trying to convince western women that god wanted them to stay inside where they were "safe" and how rampant rape is in western countries. Sickening. Ironically in the bottom corner there were like 3 books in Arabic and do you know what they were? HARRY POTTER books! Funny.

FinsT00theleft , SULTAN Report

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Kuwait is a f*****g cesspool.

penswright:

From Kuwait, Seriously don’t come here. There’s absolutely nothing special to do here that you can’t do literally anywhere else.
The lack of entertainment in the country is a huge issue, it’s the reason why we lead in obesity rates and why people don’t like going outside. Also if there’s a concert or a new mall opening, good luck going, if the traffic doesn’t kill you, the crowds will.

Banuvan , SenuScape Report

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Pakistan. I lived there for a while. Even in the best neighborhoods in Islamabad, there is trash everywhere, literally no hygiene. Then, when it’s cold, trash is burned, releasing thick, toxic clouds of smoke.

InkedFrog , Aa Dil Report

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Turkey was terrible.

My cousin was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed little girl at the time.
And some weird old man actually tried to kidnap her right in front of us.
He grabbed her hand and tried to walk off with her.
Bare in mind she was maybe 5 or 6 at the time.
When we all started arguing, and were basically playing tug of war with this man trying to make him let her go, police came over and let the man go..
They were speaking Turkish so we don’t know what he said but the man was allowed to walk free.

The13thReservoirDog , Taryn Elliott Report

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Morocco.

From being ripped off, to children following me down a dark alley asking for money, to horrible hotel reception, to rich, spoilt locals at nightclubs, I've never been to any other country where I've been so relieved to leave.

jerpear , Polykarpos Tiftikoglou Report

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Did not enjoy LA. Visited a bunch of places including more obvious stops like Hollywood, the beach, downtown. It is not a place I'll go back to.

RedofPaw , Bryan Underwood Report

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Weird one, but Tokyo (not Japan as a whole). I have never felt so alone surrounded by so many people. I feel like I understand the loner trope in anime much better now. The food is great, everyone seems polite, and it is incredibly safe. But unlike nearly every other place I have traveled, I can't think of a single person in Tokyo that I had an actual conversation with.

The rest of Japan that I have been to is a different story. Extremely kind and welcoming. Lots of really interesting characters, and I mean that in the best way.

theOGFlump , Aleksandar Pasaric Report

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I love Italy, but Rome was not great for me. There was an overwhelming amount of shady people trying to take advantage of tourists. The local we were with warned us not to carry any valuables to any touristy spots because there was a 100% chance someone would try and pickpocket us.

One evening, a group of dudes followed me around for almost an hour, harassing me because I was a teenage boy with long hair, which must have meant to them that I was gay (I'm not, but that didn't matter to them). 4 grown-a*s adults following around a teenage boy hurling insults in broken english. I was pretty terrified and have since had an appreciation for some of the challenges gay people have to deal with just for being themselves.

One dude at a train station tried to forcibly 'help' my mom carry her luggage (aka run off with it).

When we visited the coliseum, a lady threw a bracelet at my sister then started yelling at her, saying she was a thief and demanding she pay for it.

Also, driving in Rome was terrifying - courtesy on the road does not exist there, and everyone drives extremely aggressively. I saw a guy in a van hit someone on a vespa, lean out the window and yell at him, then drive off. The vespa guy just got up and left as if it were a regular occurrence.

Absolutely a beautiful country and most of the people were lovely, but a person without 'street smarts' could have a bad time there. This was all more than 20 years ago though, so it may be different now.

omgpokemans , Pixabay Report

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50ish countries (including egypt) across 6 continents.

Israel by far the rudest people

Morocco i felt the most harassed and unsafe

Australia, Malaysia (borneo) and India where friendliest

(I'm a 30s white lady from Canada for context).

batsicle , Kostiantyn Stupak Report

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The USA are definitely up there when it comes to entering the country, I have never felt the least bit welcome by TSA agents.

Once you’re done with that b******t and finally get out of the airport, that changes drastically.

the_che , Nout Gons Report

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I've been all across North America, Europe, Africa and Asia and honestly the rudest people I encountered were in Wyoming (outside Yellowstone, everyone in Yellowstone was lovely)

...even the guys who tried to rob me in Lagos were more polite.

MagicBez , Blue Ox Studio Report

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Jamaica, from friends being grabbed and dragged into stores and shops, to locals hip checking you out of the way. Only country that we didn't get more than 100' out of the resort before we turned around and went back in. People you are tipping with put a smile on but the second you walk away they are talking s**t about you.

glucoseintolerant , freepik Report

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As a young woman- Florence, Italy. Spent three months there in college.

First of all, you could feel the nasty demeanor the second you get off the train from any other town, very similar to a NYC vibe. Not in and of itself the deal breaker here though.

The issue was that I have never had SO MANY r*pey and violating things happen anywhere else. Walking around was *relatively* ok, it was Friday/Saturday night activities that were the most problematic. I’d be out with a group of women, and hordes of men would surround and try to grope us. Every weekend. I once had a man come up behind me and put his drink to my mouth. It was regular practice to have to pull friends away from handsy men or literally shove the men away when they didn’t respond to “NO.” Many of us just stopped going out unless our male friends were with us. It became too much work to constantly protect ourselves and each other.

Outside of the weekends, you’d still get the creeper yelling (or worse, whispering) “ciao, bella” and following you across the plaza.

This all happened enough times that to this day, I get ANGRY whenever I see a touristy t-shirt that says “ciao, bella,” because that phrase dredges up memories all the violating behavior, and why the f**k would I want a shirt with the worst pick-up line in the world on it.

mintchocolate816 , Josh Hild Report

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India is tough for solo travelers. I was being harassed and followed by cab drivers or salesmen for miles. I'm a guy. And everytime i took a taxi or tuk tuk they dropped me off at some random jelewery store or something because the driver gets a commission or free gas by doing so/if i buy anything. Also being white i stood out and was a big target. Couldn't imagine being a woman alone in New Delhi. I'm sure some areas or cities are better.

nerddadddy:

I have visited India a number of times. It's a magical place, very rich culture, and the people are very welcoming and warm. However, every time I have taken a bus, train, or airplane, when it's time to disembark, the oldest sweetest Indian grandmas will elbow you in the back and push you out of the way to be the first ones off. It's something cultural I think, but getting off any type of mass transport is a free-for-all where manners are out the window.

Healthyred555 , Chee Huey Wong Report

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I was in Greece, travelling with a male friend, and had an amazing time.

The second he left, and I was on my own, the way men started looking at me scared the s**t out of me. I am *never* cat-called at home, and am used to dudes basically ignoring me (I think I natively give off a 'f**k you, don't bother' vibe, and I'm average-looking) and nearly every dude in Athens gave me this down-up flick of the eyes, tits-hips-a*s, delivered with such menace, that I felt very unsettled. One day, after an early ferry arrival, I had a five hour wait to check into my accommodation, also in Athens. I went to a park, lay my head on my pack, put my hat over my eyes and had a nap. I woke up to find that every bench in the park was occupied by a man, and all of them were staring at me. One was flat-out masturbating. I looked around at the dead eyes of the other dudes, decided I wasn't going to get any support there, and noped the f**k out as fast as I could. This was in broad daylight, on a weekday. Wild.

somereasonableadvice , Pixabay Report

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I was in Kazakhstan a few years back. The people there were extremely xenophobic towards me and the group I was traveling with. They called the military on us. Four soldiers on horseback showed up with AK47s and pointed them at our faces and told us to get the f**k out of where we were even though we had a right to be there and we weren’t doing anything bad. These people weren’t just rude, they were f*****g a******s. Needless to say I will never visit that country ever again.

Witty_Goose_7724 , envato Report

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The Philippines probably has the worst traffic ever, and I don't even understand why there are so many damn cars on a tiny a*s island.

It makes a 20-30 commute turn into a 4 hour waiting game.

LeggoMahLegolas , Marfil Graganza Aquino Report

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In Croatia I've always met rude people despite I always tried to be kind, patient and used the please and thank you on a regular basis. Every waiter tried to scam us, every shop attendant ignored us (if not snorted when we entered), I just think they hate tourists.

anon , Luciann Photography Report

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Many have mentioned Arab countries like Egypt or Morocco, or even India, which are usually regarded as rude countries to visit… but I’ve personally felt uncomfortable in Cuba. The country is extremely poor, frozen in time, and locals see you come and go with your expensive iPhone and cameras and everything they’ll never be able to afford. Scams are very common. People begging as well. Cuba is extremely safe (the govt makes sure every criminal disappears) but it just felt sad, and I could almost sense the resentment towards tourists, who are luckier than them.

LGZee , Yuting Gao Report

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I had a co-worker who traveled a bunch for various conferences.

The worst in his experience was Russia.

In most places he had been to, the locals were curious and happy to meet them; "Oh, how do you like it here? Where are you from? etc"

In Russia everyone he saw was hostile and irritated. The general vibe was, "Why the f**k did you even bother coming to this miserable s**t hole?"

END COMMUNICATION.

ZardozSama , Julius Silver Report

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Israel. They seem to make a point of being as rude as possible.

scolfin:

Israelis don't believe in manners. No, it's not that they have different manners than Americans, they just straight up don't believe in them, liked the web-handed alien that hassled Whestley in that one Star Trek episode.

Ok-District4260 , Naya Shaw Report

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Bulgaria, "Bloody Beach"


Mob/mafia controlled, lots of scammers. Even a worker at a club tried to extort me for money, threatening to call the mafia on me if i didnt pay up.

mrclockworkz , wirestock Report

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Not me but I had a teacher in high school who taught world history who, well, traveled around the world. One of the students in the class asked what her least favorite country or place she's been to was, she said Poland. It's important to note that she's a black woman because she said no where else had she ever been called so many slurs and spat at like Poland.

Acceptable-Draft-163:

Spent the last 10 years more or less travelling and living overseas. The worst experience I've had was in Warsaw. Mind, I was only there for 4 days in the dead of winter, but the people were very cold and unfriendly. Not a single person seemed interested in life, the city was grey and miserable (mind after ww2, it was more or less rebuilt) and I had 2 attempts to rob me. The first one the guy locked me and my girlfriend in a taxi and charged 180€ for a 5 minute drive. The only way I got out was I started kicking the windows in the back and started yelling. Second time I was walking near the metro and some guy walked over and tried to grab my girlfriends bag and run off, I pushed him and he ran away. That was more or less my experience of Warsaw haha. I'm sure it's lovely In summer. Not going to lie, I had a better time in Egypt over Warsaw.

anon , Josh Hild Report

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Brazilians can be ruthless. Was blown away by how adept such a diverse population could be at identifying outsiders. Was in a group of about 6 college aged dudes studying abroad meandering Rio, and 3 teenagers followed us for about 10 minutes yelling "gringo!" lmao.

The_Bran_9000 , wirestock Report

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The airport I was in in Germany had the rudest attendants. The general people in Thailand are super friendly, but be careful in Bangkok, definitely some unsafe areas (especially for a woman).

she_who_walks , Martin Péchy Report

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I absolutely hated Sri Lanka. It was full of charlatans and cheats when I was there last.

Harkannin , Eugene Dorosh Report

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Every country has its good and bad parts!

For jerks to visitors, try some place like Iowa. If you are into what they like, its great. If you are a little different, forgot about it.

ooo-ooo-oooyea , TravelScape Report

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For travelling/getting around:

Germany. I love Germany with all my heart but I mentally prepare to be treated like absolute garbage at airports and trains. I was yelled at at security checks and physically escorted off trains. I'd still go back, though. People were so friendly.

For meeting locals:

People from Mexico City seemed a little standoff-ish. Maybe it's just part of living in a big city, but nobody seemed to have any time and simply asking for directions seemed like a huge inconvenience.

For just walking around:

Any Italian big city. Love the country and had soooo much fun in small towns. But as soon as you get to a big city (Milan, Rome, etc) get ready to fend off scammers, pay attention to pickpockets, people cutting in line for transit, it's pure chaos.

Now for the good!! (To balance off the negativity)

For walking around and being a tourist:

Germany or Canada. It's incredibly safe, people are friendly, they seem genuinely interested that you have a good time in their country.

For meeting locals:

Toss up between Brazil or Ireland. You can go to a bar alone in either country and you'll end up making friends, locals are super friendly and are very interested in chatting with tourists.

pokemaster28 , Shvets Anna Report

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As a British person I'm both surprised and pleased no one has said Britain yet. For my part I have no particular country to say is especially bad but people in Brussels were pretty rude.

I've been to Ostend in Belgium too and loved it, the people were lovely, everyone was accommodating and kind but I guess because it's a capital city people were just not like that in Brussels. For context I'm in a wheelchair and it was like I didn't exist for the week I was there, I was ignored, barged in front of through doors I was trying to open, and barged in front of in general more than I've ever been in my life. It was also pretty difficult to get people to talk to me instead of my grandma who I was with, which any disabled person knows is infuriating.

There were some nice people, at times it was nice to be ignored instead of fussed over as I am sometimes, and it's a beautiful city, but I'd definitely go elsewhere in Belgium over returning to Brussels. I'd especially recommend Ostend, I can't say enough how lovely it was there.

ViSaph , Pixabay Report

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I've been on five continents, and you couldn't pay me to go back to the island of Java in Indonesia.

SunsetIndigoRealty , Tom Fisk Report

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Switzerland was the rudest (so far)! Specifically the German speaking part.

I went on a school trip there when I was 11 and cashiers/shop workers showed absolutely no signs of warmth or friendliness. The worst interaction I had was when I accidentally bought two of the same metal walking stick badge (they were stuck together and I didn't realise until after I'd bought them), and the gift shop flat-out refused to give me a refund for the second badge. Basically just made a face at me and shrugged her shoulders as if to say, "Tough, now f**k off".

I've always wondered why people working in shops in Switzerland were such bastards because I've met and befriended lots of Swiss people since (from the German, French *and* Italian parts) and all of them were absolutely lovely. I've flown with Swiss Air, they were great, and transferred through Zurich Airport which was also great...

Were me and my other 11 year old classmates unknowingly committing cultural faux-pas? Are kids expected to be quiet and whisper in shops and not talk at a "kid volume"? Was it the fact that we were visibly and audibly English and couldn't speak German? Are kids going out and about without parents/on large school group trips with teachers not the done thing? Are refunds not really a thing, and by extension, you're thought to be a c**t if you try to change your order/items that you buy at the last minute? Is Swiss culture funny about the exchanging of money generally?

I've never understood what went wrong on that trip.

UmlautsAndRedPandas , Tranmautritam Report

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Iraq. I was stationed in Kuwait but travelled up north, often. The amount of flak we got was ridiculous.

Also, South Korea, I loved it there, but there were riots and protests of people that hated us.

Dyerdon , Pixabay Report

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