Last Updated: 8/4/19 (Added new suggestions and info)
There aren’t numerous places in the world I despise.
Like many travelers, I always try to travel with an open mind about the places I visit. but there are some places you’ll encounter that just rub you the wrong way.
And that’s ok.
We all have our own preferences and interests, and what I like about a place, some people won’t (and vice versa).
Of course, just because I don’t like a destination that doesn’t imply the destination itself sucks. everyone has their own feelings about a place.
At the end of the day, travel is a subjective experience. we all have our own tastes and interests. and we will all have our own distinct experiences in each destination too.
No two trips are the same.
That, in part, is why I love to travel: there is always something new to experience (even in places that you’ve already visited).
However, there are still some places out there that — to be polite — I dislike.
One of those places is Ko Phi Phi, Thailand.
I’ve never understood the hype about it or why people like it so much. other than being a place to purchase expensive drinks, it really has no redeeming qualities. It’s crowded, chaotic, dirty, and overrun with tourists to the point that it’s just not pleasurable to be there.
Yet, for some reason, Ko Phi Phi has remained “the” place to go in Thailand.
The other place I hate?
Plaja insorita.
Located on the eastern coast of Bulgaria, Sunny beach (Slanchev Bryag) is a seaside resort destination on the Black Sea. The permanent population is quite small, yet the flourishing tourism industry brings in tons of visitors during the busy months of Bulgaria’s summer.
It’s the hot spot to check out in Bulgaria, especially if you’re Russian, English (northern English specifically), or Scandinavian.
Ten years ago, Sunny Beach was a quiet seaside town with stunning beaches and good clubs. but as with so numerous other destinations in the world, as word got out about how good it was, it got much more and much more popular and much more and much more built for tourists. It went the way of Phuket, Ko Phi Phi, and Cancun, yet another victim of overtourism.
Everyone told me Sunny beach was a good party, but that didn’t really sell the place to me. another beach party town? Grozav.
I had just spent three weeks in Ios working on my tan and ouzo-drinking skills. but the people I was traveling with were heading there, so I figured I’d join them. We were all going the same route back to Sofia anyway.
While the nightlife is amazing (if you like to party until 6am with drunk 18-year-olds, that is), there’s really nothing else special about this place.
Absolut nimic.
I stayed three nights (two nights too long) because I ran into pals from Ios.
You’re probably thinking, Come on, Matt, is it really that bad? There should be something good about it.
You’re right, there is something good about it — it has a pretty amazing water park nearby. It’s huge, with some terrific water slides. I love water parks, and this is a really good one. but you can go to the water park as a day trip from Varna or Burgas and avoid Sunny beach entirely.
So why do I hate Sunny beach so much?
Well, first, the beach itself. It’s covered in beach chairs. So numerous beach chairs that you can barely put down a towel. I’m not exaggerating. In fact, it’s not really a beach so much as a vehicle parking lot full of chairs placed over some sand.
Next, there’s the water.
A few hours north in Varna, the water, despite being near a port, is crystal clear, beautiful, and inviting. It was just as fantastic as the water I played in in Greece.
But in Sunny Beach?
The water is polluted and filled with an algae bloom so large that the shoreline turned green. If you go in, you walk out looking like a swamp thing.
My Bulgarian pals say this only happens “sometimes” and that the water is “usually” nice. but when I pressed them a bit more, they got vague on just how little “sometimes” was. I got the impression that in some cases might be a bit much more frequent than they let on.
Lastly, Sunny beach is tacky tourism central. It’s full of glowing neon lights, bars, people on the street trying to get you into their restaurants or clubs, fast food chains, cheesy t-shirt vendors, and everything else a built-for-tourists destination has.
If you’d blindfolded me, drugged me, and woken me up in Sunny Beach, I could have easily said I was in Kuta Beach, Phuket, Cancun, or any number of cookie-cutter beachy places in the world.
There’s no culture or uniqueness to this place, except that some signs are in Bulgarian.
Finally, Sunny beach is filled with people who just want to overpay for a week of drinking. It’s always pleased hour, there are always totally free shots, and substantial night clubs go until dawn. I felt like I was on spring break.
But if you really want to go on a binge onieftin, există tone de destinații mai bune în Europa: Barcelona, Lagos, iOS, Dubrovnik și Varna, doar pentru a numi câteva. Cel puțin acele locuri au o anumită istorie, cultură și farmec pentru ei.
Sunny Beach este o capcană uriașă de călători a unei destinații cu o plajă proastă, mâncare prea scumpă, baruri și magazine de suveniruri și o grămadă de bețivi. Dacă vi se pare distractiv, vă recomand cu mare drag.
Dar există locuri mai bune pentru a petrece decât Sunny Beach.
În timp ce iubesc o viață de noapte grozavă, aș prefera să petrec într -un loc care are, de asemenea, o plajă bună.
Dacă nu o văd niciodată pe Sunny Beach, aș fi cel mai fericit om din lume.
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