Some places we visit stick with us for many years to come. We carry the memories as patches for soul soothing, and time and again we go down memory lane by revisiting them like it happened yesterday.

Some places, destinations, cities and entire countries are exactly the opposite. Not only do they not make a lasting impression on us, they surprise us in a rather unpleasant way. So today we’re taking a look at what countries smashed people’s expectations the most and they realized they’re not stepping foot there again.

Thanks to this thread “What is one country that you will never visit again?”, we have a lot of interesting stories to uncover, so scroll down below. Interestingly, the country that most people referred to as a place they wouldn’t like to go back to was Egypt.

The thread was also picked up by the awesome Reddit community of Data Is Beautiful, where one of the users gathered people’s responses and made this visual map you’ll find below.

Image credits: stkfig

Read More: Disappointed Tourists Explain Why They’ll Never Visit These 30 Countries Again

#1 Dubai

yeahokaysureyup said:
Dubai. While interesting, it’s really just a total ripoff of western culture. I flew 12 hours from NYC only to be surrounded by cheesecake factory, Wendy’s, California pizza kitchen, etc. No real “culture”

nurd_on_a_computer replied:
Their oldest building is from the 70s. Don’t go there and expect some culture, I’d say.

There are literally buildings in NY older than Dubai itself. There are literally people older than Dubai.

EddaValkyrie:
As someone who has lived in Dubai for 6 years, don’t go to there if you want some Middle Eastern culture. The best you’ll get is the shows on the desert safari. If you like 5-star luxury then go ahead, which is the reason why I see most influencers go.

Image credits: yeahokaysureyup

#2 Turkey

freyakj said:
Turkey… As a woman traveling alone, it wasn’t nice. Sleazy men stalking you everywhere.

Newspaperboyyy replied:
As a Turkish male, I really hate those uneducated bastards. We’re trying to fix the country though, I mean… We will.

sugarbiscuits828 replied:
They have such a dead-eyed stare too, like sharks. I also got brazenly felt up on a tram. Not going back alone. Other than that, it was a lovely trip.

appayipyip__ replied:
Yeah, traveling, living, and being a woman is not easy here. Highly not recommend..

RachelWWV:
Absolutely beautiful country but the sexual harassment was too much. And no, I’m not particularly good-looking, either. Men literally followed me around. Thankfully I wasn’t alone; if I had been I would have had to go back to my hotel (if I could make it there) and just stay in my room until my flight out. It was THAT bad.

Image credits: freyakj

#3 Qatar

Eveningroovers:
Qatar. I worked there for 15 months. Appalling treatment of workers, very very hot. Terrible food and the whole country is a building site getting ready for the world cup next year. After that the country will be empty. Nothing to do apart from work and shopping.

AlligatorSteak1983:
Qatar – watching rich ignorant Arab sheikhs beat their Nepalese slaves was horrifying

Image credits: Eveningroovers

#4 Syria

guiscardv said:
Syria, I went before the civil war and it was honestly one of the loveliest places I’ve ever been, with super nice friendly people. Add to that the food is amazing. It would break my heart to see some of the places now.

fatimus_maximus replied:
Legit one of the most beautiful and historically interesting places I’ve ever been! Castles and the Knights of the round table in Syria? I learned so much…breaks my heart that all of these historically significant places are gone and a population is living in poverty. Heartbreaking

Anon replied:
My friend recently moved back after the war and the area she lives in is safe but there are a lot of refugees from other parts of Syria and it’s very sad how much infrastructure etc was damaged and how many lives were lost. Her grandma died at 65 years old because of poor healthcare infrastructure and medical sanctions.

Image credits: guiscardv

#5 Venezuela

PissySquid said:
Venezuela. I visited my extended family there (near Caracas) as a young child and had an amazing time, but things there have REALLY gone south since then. Pretty much all my family members that were there have left for obvious reasons.

Plantayne replied:
I met a couple of Venezuelans in a bar back in like 2007. They told me about the government had come and seized their farm that had been in their family for like a hundred years.

They had no choice but to stay on as employees or leave. Eventually, they made their way to the US whey they were working as mechanics. One of the saddest stories I’d ever heard.

Alexcelsior replied:
To everyone thinking about visiting the country without family/friends/contacts, don’t.

Image credits: PissySquid

#6 Cambodia

Cambodia.

medievalduck said:
But only because I was mugged in Phnom Penh.

C_Taarg replied:
Cambodia kinda same for me (I was mugged too but in Colombia, which I’d probably go to again). I just found Cambodia sad and unsettling. A brutal recent history and a country that kind of has very little so virtually all you encounter is set up to appease tourists. Drunken Europeans and Americans walking around partying with a local girl under their arm, everywhere I went was like fighting off women trying to give you a happy ending massage, every cabbie and tuktuk driver trying to sell you drugs and women. I was only there a week and didn’t go too far out of Siam Reap and Phnom Penh, so certainly there’s more to the country outside those cities but the whole experience just bummed me out.

PA2SK replied:
I was drugged and robbed in siem reap. Be careful out there.

Image credits: medievalduck

#7 Morocco

hunterfam55 said:
Morocco, was basically confined to the hotel as you were confronted by aggressive beggars and shop workers

Elieolio replied:
Been to Morocco twice and I feel you. The solution for my partner and myself during our visit was to act totally indifferent to everyone trying to push whatever. I found wearing sunglasses made it easier for me. Keep your head high and play it cool. The pushers are only interested in your pocketbook.

feltonvillain
Impossible to let your guard down in Morocco. I did not enjoy it.

Image credits: hunterfam55

#8 Serbia

Serbia. If you’re a POC, don’t go.

I caught a connecting flight to London there so didn’t leave the airport in my two hours layover. Every single soul in the airport was staring at me coldly and silently for two hours straight: must have been 150 people approximately. Even when I bought food, the cashier didn’t talk to me, just stared until I said “Can I buy food or”?

Felt like I was a criminal who needed to be watched like a hawk. My heart rate must have tripled out of fear that they’d gang up on me especially when they won’t let me board my flight. They’ve never seen a black woman with a British passport and needed thirty minutes to verify it wasn’t a fake passport.

Image credits: lacaseraorange

#9 Jamaica

aardvark_armyReport:
Jamaica. Everyone thinks that you owe them a tip for something, or runs up and puts a necklace on your SO and expects money immediately. Unless you’re just into getting pumped for money by locals and worrying about being robbed, don’t go there.

Thisismyusername89:
Jamaica…got mugged within the first 5 minutes I kid you not!

heyyouwtf:
I don’t think people realize how impoverished a lot of Jamaica is. I’ll never go back there either. I had a driver try to extort money from me on my honeymoon. The lady that set up the transportation at our resort was in on it. The driver accosted my wife demanding money for a previous ride he had given us but abandoned us so we had to find our own way back to the resort. I told my wife to go into the airport and he and I exchanged words. He wanted the money for the return trip plus extra because he drove to pick us up for no reason. Mind you we waited over an hour for him. Once he realized I wasn’t going to back down and I wasn’t afraid of him calling the cops he backed down and left.

Image credits: aardvark_army

#10 Madagascar

Madagascar.

I loved the sights, but I couldn’t enjoy anything from the guilt of having a vacation there while the locals were below the poverty line and completely mistreated by the frenchies who live there.

Image credits: Mahg195

#11 USA

RagePandazXD:
America, don’t feel like I really have a reason to return and everything just feels too big to me. Don’t have family there, thought it was grand and can see why some people love visiting but just not my cuppa, especially in the summer. Meanwhile I’d love to go back to Italy again but go further north this time.

Longjumping-Oven-631:
“Also USA. Worst place ever. An average American does not know anything outside the USA. They think they are the center of the world and they don’t need to know anything about other countries. NYC is super polluted with beggars everywhere. I saw two people fighting with knifes at 1am. Over priced. Dirty. There are many racist people in the southern and middle States, add to this guns! People in the USA worship the dollar. They accept to do anything for money, no ethics. I didn’t feel safe there.”

Hurts2hatelo:
The USA. Obviously not the same reasons as you guys have for Egypt and such..
I’ve been to NYC. It was pretty cool and I enjoyed it (although we didn’t really do much touristy stuff like visit Liberty) but I don’t really have any travel plans to the USA because I’m just not interested in it. I’m sure there are pretty places, but in terms of history, culture, food, etc. the US doesn’t interest me.
I would quite like to visit Hawai’i some day, but I’m a little confused about what Hawaiians have said about how tourism negatively affects their economy, the lives of native Hawaiians, historical and cultural monuments and artefacts, etc. And I wouldn’t want to visit a place where my tourism could be harmful to the people who live there. I can admire from afar.

Image credits: RagePandazXD

#12 Chad

PM_ME_YOUR_PRINTS said:

Chad. Definitely the most depressing country I have ever been to.

WhatDaufuskie replied:
I’ve heard Chad described as “the Mississippi of Africa”

human-potato_hybrid replied:
Fun fact, there is ONE movie theatre in the entire country.(As of several years ago). And the average internet speed is 1.2 Mbps (assuming you have coverage, and the electricity is on)

Image credits: PM_ME_YOUR_PRINTS

#13 Laos

Laos. My family is from there. My mom’s side is problematic (abuse of all kinds, narcissism, etc). My dad’s side went through my bags and luggage trying to steal stuff. I am sad because I’m a first generation Asian-American and I have no family in the states either that I can count on. I have no family in my immediate family. Everything is dysfunctional. This went down a weird road. Sorry. EDIT: I want to clarify that this is not a generalization of Laos as a country and Laotian people as a whole. This is specifically about my experience with my family and why I will not come back if it means seeing them again. I think this is a valid boundary to set for myself.

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Image credits: TakahashiCherry