Travel Disappointments

My favorite type of travel blogger is an honest travel blogger. As great as it is to read about 101 ways in which a particular city, country, attraction or adventure blew your mind, it is so refreshing to hear from fellow bloggers about why a travel experience fell short. I think too often travelers shy away from criticism, even constructive criticism of their travels because they either are trying to avoid offending a local who may be reading, or they don’t want to admit to themselves that the trip they planned meticulously for many months was anything but perfect.

The reason I cancelled my subscription to a popular travel magazine was due to this “everything is always A+” mentality. The final straw with said magazine was when they featured an article praising a new Paris hotel as the epitome of chic luxury and a ‘game changer in the city’… only to discover that reviews on TripAdvisor (i.e. the closest you are going to get to impartialism) said the hotel was overpriced and underwhelming.

With that in mind, I would like to present my ‘Top 5 Travel Disappointments’ (in no particular order):

Disclaimer: These are mostly locations that I have visited only once. It’s quite possible that any number of variables such as time of year, weather, travel mates, my own mental state at the time of the visit or just poor luck could have cast a negative light on my experience. Thus it should be considered that if I visited these locations again the result may very well be different.

Olympiapark in Munich, Germany

I will preface by saying I loved Munich, the beautiful architecture, the Bavarian culture and of course the world famous beer. The Olympiapark, however, was a letdown. What may have been a world class facility built for the 1972 Summer Olympics now just looks dull and dated over 40 years later. I’m sure there would have been more activities going on if we had visited during the warmer months (we were there in February) but even so, we found it offered little to justify the train trip to get there. It was a lot of walking around uninspiring buildings and average landscaping. Walking time that would have been much better allocated to the city’s beautiful old streets. The only thing we found moderately interesting were the views of the city and the distant German Alps from the top of the Olympic Tower, but when you factor in the cost of this it is still a part of Munich worth skipping.

The Alpine view was the highlight of this day trip

Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic

This was a somewhat expensive day tour offered through our vacation provider while we were staying in the Samana region of DR. While the boat ride through Samana Bay to the park was enjoyable and there were some impressive views of islands and cliffs upon entering the park, the caves they took us to were not overly exciting. The history here is interesting and we were told the area was used as a filming location for some major Hollywood productions, but we didn’t really see what the big deal was. The caves were littered with graffiti from past visitors which pulls you right out of the natural environment the guide is trying to convey. The caves were also relatively small and packed way too tightly with several tour groups at once. Maybe if you arrived via private boat and cruised around the islands and cliffs while enjoying a rum cocktail this would be a fun experience, but I wouldn’t recommend booking the group tour offered through your vacation provider.

Impressive islands, caves not so much

The Food of Venice, Italy

Venice is a magical and unique city and something every traveler needs to experience at least once. The food however, I cannot recommend. Like many major European cities (especially in Italy) it is overrun with expensive, low-quality tourist trap restaurants that prey on travelers that just don’t know any better. After finding this out the hard way the first night, we did some serious TripAdvisor research and looked for dinner spots a little off the beaten track that were well reviewed. While these places were definitely much better quality, the Venetian cuisine was just not to our tastes. Instead of the classic Italian we all know and love, it was something different with influences of its trading partners over the centuries like Turkey. Sounds exotic and exciting I know, but I’ll take a classic Napoletana pizza any day while in Italy. Even the quick-service food was disappointing. Sandwiches that looked like they had been sitting under a heat lamp all day were selling for 12 Euro, go figure! Our best culinary experience in Venice came from the great selection of meats and cheeses we bought from a local deli and ate in our hotel room.  

If only we had a kitchen to cook our own meals in Venice, then we would be set!

Tampa, Florida

I have been to Tampa a couple of times, either to see a Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game or as a base to explore the nearby gulf coast beaches. Lightning games are a blast, but if you are going for the beach do yourself a favor and stay on the beach. Driving from Tampa to Clearwater Beach or St. Pete’s Beach is not as close as you might think, and if you encounter any traffic along the way you are in for a frustrating drive/parking search. I found the city itself lacked offerings for the intrepid traveler. The historic Ybor City area with its cigar-making past is kinda cool, but other than the highly recommended Tampa Bay Brewing Company, we were hard pressed to find anything in the area that interested us. After the Lightning game we wandered around downtown looking for a good bar, but everything was closing up. I love the state of Florida, mostly because of it's world class beaches. If you are looking for a city trip with sightseeing, dining options, bars etc. there are many more better suited cities in America.

Good old fashioned traffic trying to get from Tampa to Clearwater Beach

Valletta, Malta

First and foremost, Malta is one of my favorite European countries that I have had the chance to visit. We stayed on the rugged northwestern coast which was absolutely beautiful. The problem was we were only there for 3 days and thus could allot one of those days to exploring another part of the island. We chose the capital Valletta, instead of the more recommended ancient city of Mdina. Our entrance to Valletta was grand. It had a very North African feel like we were entering Casablanca or something. From there we found it offered quite little, just a lot of shopping and crowds. The views of the sea were nice, but we didn’t need to travel from the coast we were staying at for that. There did not seem to be many major sites of interest, and the one we did try and visit (Shipwreck of St. Paul) was closed without any info on when it would be open. We found we were quickly bored and wanting to head back to Golden Bay. We were also quite upset we had missed out on our chance to see Mdina. Oh well, next time! 

The entrance to Valletta was sadly the highlight of the day trip to the Maltese capital

Mike @ Palms & Pints

@palmsandpints

The Part-Time Traveler

I started my travel blog (and related twitter account) back in January, as travel planning has been a huge passion of mine for quite some time. I was looking for a way to pass on some of my knowledge on the subject, but more so to connect with and learn from other like-minded bloggers. In just a few months in the community I have been exposed to so many whose lives revolve around travelling the globe. My first reaction was a bit of jealously. I typically go on two major trips per year. “Major” being defined as a trip of a week or longer. On top of that I may squeeze in another 2 or 3 long-weekend type getaways. The jealousy lies in the fact that many of these bloggers are spending more time on foreign soil in a month than I do in a year!  It’s seems the sentiment from many of these full-time globe-trotters is that “anyone can do it, but it’s not for everyone”, and this couldn’t be more accurate.

Venice - sadly one of only two major trips I will take this year

I love to travel, and maybe just as much, I love to plan travel. For my February ten-day Europe trip I must have spent 30+ hours over 3 months planning it, ensuring we were getting the best possible value and the most out of our brief time in each location. Same could be said for my Florida “guys trip” in April. I find myself reverting back into travel-plan mode mere days after returning from a previous trip. If holding down a full-time job means that I can only travel a few times a year, so be it, but it’s sure not going to stop me from the research!

With that said I will be the first to admit that “full time travel” might not be for me, even if the work schedule provided more flexibility. Part of what makes travel so special for me is the rarity and exclusivity of it. Little things like being at an airport, checking into a hotel or grocery shopping in another city are exciting events. I work downtown Toronto and my office is in a hotel building in the city’s tourist-filled entertainment district. Everyday going to and from work I see those arriving in the city with their luggage, grabbing breakfast in the hotel or strolling Canada’s Walk of Fame along King Street West. On one hand I’m jealous of their current travel excitement juxtaposed against my dull work-day grind, but at the same time it prompts me to think about my next adventure abroad. A friend of mine who travels more than regularly on business told me that he looks at airports like a stop-and-go highway during rush hour. Nothing but a hassle. I can’t imagine experiencing an airport like this. Airports represent your gateway to amazing new places and memories. There is just something about being on the road at 5AM en-route to a 7AM flight that screams VACATION!

Made a 3-day trek to DC last summer

From my reading, long-term travel is typically done on a modest budget, thus one would have to have the lifestyle to match. I don’t fancy myself much of a budget traveler like many of the aforementioned “digital nomads”. I enjoy certain comforts when I travel and this is twice-fold for my main travel companion, my wife. This doesn’t mean that we stay at the Four Seasons, but it means that backpacking between hostels is not necessarily our cup of tea.

Does the idea of travelling the world full-time appeal to me? Absolutely! But I don’t think it’s something I will ever do. I love my house and take great pride in its ownership. We have a pool in the backyard and settling back there on a hot and sunny day with a drink in hand is something not even a five-star hotel room overseas would ever replace. I love my car, my MacBook and my gadgets. I couldn’t sell off all of these things to fund full-time travel. I am a self-proclaimed “Trip Research Aficionado”, and this is a passion I can maintain from the homestead. There are so many destinations to learn about and hotel reviews to read through, so travel will always be a huge and on-going part of my life... and when it does eventually come time for my next adventure, I’ll be wide-eyed and well-prepared.

Nothing beats home in the summer time!

Mike @ Palms & Pints
@palmsndpints