Where we definitely don’t want to go on vacation again in 2023

by time news

The summer holidays are coming to an end – Berliners are slowly returning, landing at BER after two weeks in Mallorca or the Maldives, getting into the packed car after a trip to the Baltic or North Sea, stowing the hiking sticks back in their suitcases after the mountain holiday .

Some people are already wondering where things will go next year. Especially with popular holiday destinations you have to book in good time if you still want to get a place in a hotel or an empty holiday apartment. Which begs the question, what does coveted actually mean here? For us, certain travel destinations are no longer in the bag – until sometime improvement is in sight.


Binz: Overpriced pensioner bubble

Ah, Rügen! So there are many sighs when the talk turns to the favorite local recreation destination of Berliners. A dream, again and again, that’s how the island is. That’s right, the island is also beautiful, has great places, such as Sellin or the lovely Putbus. Even Bergen auf Rügen has good moments.

But you should definitely avoid the town of Binz: an overpriced pensioner bubble without charm. Holiday apartments are as expensive here as in European metropolises, with the difference that in Binz the pavement is rolled up after 8 p.m.

The place is boring and overpriced and when it rains there’s only one thing to do: walk up and down the boardwalk with the other seniors in the same clothes: Camp David shirts, Tom Tailor pants and Tommy Hilfiger Hilfiger jackets as far as the eye can see. If it’s not raining, you can at least go into the water or go on a bike ride. Maybe you’re lucky and get lost in such a way that you can’t find your way back. Marcus Weingartner


Malls to break the habit: El Arenal

“Mallorca is actually a beautiful island” is a standard phrase for German holidaymakers. The word actually already implies the restriction that then usually follows on the foot – only out of season, only in the authentic Spanish villages in the west and north-west, only away from the tourist baller shacks. There really is no other way to formulate the latter: just the sound of the overtourism buzzwords “Ballermann”, “Sangria bucket” or “El Arenal” makes your holiday-ready toenails roll up.

The government of the Balearic Islands has been trying for a long time to get a grip on the problem of rampant drinking tourism, which often comes in combination with the harassment of women. Stricter rules, bans, restrictions – a “quality offensive” was started years ago. Despite this, the Germans’ favorite island is still partying as wildly as ever.

After all, this year some bars that violate applicable law were forcibly closed, for example on Playa de Palma and in the British party stronghold Magaluf – another buzz word. The basis for the tough action is the so-called anti-booze tourism law, which was passed by decree at the beginning of 2020, but which has only recently been put into practice due to Corona. We prefer to wait until it becomes clear whether the crackdown is actually having an effect. Especially since you can read that ice cubes are getting scarcer in Spain. And, as is well known, only warm sangria is worse than cold sangria. Anne Vorvorringer


Venice yes, Lido no!

Venice is a dream city, no question about it. Away from the well-trodden paths around St. Mark’s Square you will discover an Italian city that is as lovely as it is beautiful, picturesque and not as expensive as you might think. Venice is a treasure at any time of the year except in the height of summer. Then in the lagoon city you have the feeling of slowly but surely sweating towards the end in an open-air steam sauna.

The Venetians are also suffering from their summer and are moving out to the Lido in full force. The spit in front of Venice lives from the faded splendor of bygone days as a luxurious seaside resort, famous for example through Thomas Mann’s “Death in Venice”. Little of that remains, the sandy beach on the island’s Adriatic side is a loveless and disappointingly unattractive strip accessed via the Gran Viala Santa Maria Elisabetta, a promenade typical of Italian seaside resorts with cheap eateries, souvenir shops, and hotels. Beautiful is different. Marcus Weingartner


Please do not climb: the Matterhorn

The travel and tourism publisher Fodor’s, headquartered in Los Angeles, regularly publishes a so-called No List with places that vacationers should best avoid. That’s not meant to be evil at all, but rather caring, because there are often thoughts about environmental protection or the frustration of the locals behind it. Two years ago, a tourism manager from Bali thanked the Indonesian island for being on the list. This meant that the government and local stakeholders finally took note of the garbage problem and the infrastructure burdens of the tourist magnet.

It is not known how the tourism advertisers of the 4478 meter high Swiss landmark Matterhorn took the fact that their summit was on the “no list” in 2020. In any case, the authors presented important reasons that speak against climbing what is probably the most photographed mountain in the Alps. Under the heading “The Place That Might Kill You,” it reads: “It’s time to reconsider grandiose dreams of conquest of nature – it’s a battle we ultimately cannot win. So it is time to stop climbing the Matterhorn.”

In any case, the bare numbers convince us immediately: seven mountaineers fell to their death on the Matterhorn in 2019 alone, and since the first ascent not a year has passed without a fatal accident on the shapely crag. Almost 600 alpinists have lost their lives here since records began. Nevertheless, every season up to 3000 people try to conquer the summit. Without us! Anne Vorvorringer


Crete in summer? Don’t!

Crete is a great island, the Cretans are a lovely people and, contrary to all clichés, the food is often very good, fresh and up to date. The capital Heraklion is an urban and lively metropolis, vibrating is the appropriate description.

Crete has only one disadvantage: Unless you have a beach holiday in front of you to stay motionless like a Teutonic zombie on some beach for three weeks, then Crete in midsummer is pure hell where you feel like a chicken in you Oven breaded in a mixture of suntan oil, dust and sweat.

The temperatures on the island, which is probably also an effect of climate change, often reach 38 degrees for several weeks and the island is then a grey-dusty spot, which is best endured in one of the many air-conditioned coaches. Bathing is also not an alternative, the water is boiling hot, and those who can simply stay in their own four walls in the midday hours. But you can do that without going on vacation.
Marcus Weingartner


Everything flat in Angkor Wat

Even Unesco is concerned about the future of the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia, which has been a World Heritage Site since 1992 and is one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia. The organization has launched a comprehensive program to protect the temples and their environs.

This is urgently needed: the huge buildings show a lot of damage. This is not only due to the weather, animals and tropical vegetation, but also to human destructiveness. For a long time, hardly any restoration work was possible due to the political situation in Cambodia. Plans were also announced last year according to which a casino operator wants to build a huge amusement park in the immediate vicinity of the archaeological complex in the province of Siem Reap. Experts are alarmed.

The first thing to do is to stop the further decay of Angkor Wat. Because of the pandemic, foreigners recently stayed away, and restorers were able to start their work undisturbed. A curse for the locals who live from tourism. But also: a blessing for the temple. Anne Vorvorringer


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