Vacation 'not-spots' - travelers vent about world's worst cities including 'dirty' Cairo and 'chaotic' Dhaka

Daily Mail​

27-05-2025

Seasoned travelers regularly share their favorite vacation hotspots online - but now a group of disgruntled adventurers have vented about the worst places to visit.
And their brutally honest assessments on Reddit may have you thinking twice about booking that bargain flight to an off-the-radar destination.
For every picture-postcard moment, there an equal number of disappointments and downright disasters when going overseas. Here's a look at some travel nightmares ...
Cairo, Egypt
Egypt 's capital might be famous for its ancient wonders, but for many visitors the reality of modern Cairo was less history and more horror.
'Loved the history, it's ruined by some people,' one traveler began diplomatically, before admitting the city was 'pretty dirty' with 'terrible drivers' and 'people hawking you down' on every corner.
Others were far more scathing.
'No functioning garbage collection. Total gridlock. No greenery anywhere. Barely even any pavements,' one frustrated tourist wrote.
'Sweltering heat and smog. Huge motorways and overpasses coming right up to the windows of dilapidated concrete apartment towers.
'A lot of the apartments were half-built and lacked windows - but were still occupied.'
The locals' treatment of women also came under fire.
'I am a tall blonde and the harassment was insane. And I dressed like a nun,' one user revealed.
'We ended up literally running back to the hotel. Not a particularly nice experience…'
Another added: 'The pollution makes you want to light a cigarette to get the health benefits of inhaling through a filter.'
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Bangladesh's bustling capital was another to crop up repeatedly, described by one user as 'straight-up Mad Max style.'
'Teeming with people, open sewage by the roads, god awful weather - super hot and sweaty - an unescapable stink across the whole city,' they wrote.
'People literally stare at you like an alien if you are foreign.
'Oh, and a woman tried to hand me and my colleague a baby out of the blue then started screaming bloody murder when we didn't want to take it.'
Another added: 'The traffic was something else. Total chaos. You don't drive in Dhaka, you just try to survive.'
Dijbouti City, Dijbouti
Some cities are barely known to tourists - and sometimes there's a reason for that.
One traveler who visited Djibouti City in East Africa described it as 'a dump' but added: 'The desert honestly was quite beautiful in areas.'
Others weren't so generous about the country between Ethiopia and Eritrea at the Horn of Africa.
'Djibouti. Flew in there from Dubai. Shantytowns everywhere, burning trash, absolutely brutal poverty,' one post read.
'All of those plastic bags you throw away after a grocery store run… ALL OF THEM… end up here.'
The blunt reviews paint a picture of a city struggling under the weight of environmental damage and poverty.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The capital of Ethiopia was a last-minute stopover for some travelers - but ended up delivering unforgettable horror for all the wrong reasons.
'Got stuck there on the way back from Tanzania. Airline put us in a hotel downtown. Would not recommend,' one wrote plainly.
Another offered a haunting account: 'Addis was an experience I wouldn't like to repeat. The hotel told me not to take any valuables with me when I went out.
'Saw people caked in filth with obvious mental illnesses defecating on the street, and the taxi to the airport got surrounded by guys who started rocking it violently back and forth because we'd accidentally run over their football.
'I honestly broke out in a cold sweat.'
While these accounts reflect personal experiences, they tap into a broader truth: not every city is built for tourism.
Whether it's dangerous levels of pollution, chaotic infrastructure, or unsettling street encounters, these destinations have left indelible marks on their visitors - and not the kind you frame on your wall.
So next time you're daydreaming about exotic locales, you might want to give the comments section a scroll before hitting 'book now.'
As one traveller put it: 'Some cities are best experienced from the window of a departing plane.'