Travelers Are Sharing The Most Harrowing Places They've Visited, And Their Stories Are Giving Me Chills

Traveling to new places can be thrilling, but it also comes with a fair share of anxiety. If you've ever worried about things going wrong on a trip, these Reddit stories will prove those fears completely valid. Recently, Fickle_salad_7363 asked Redditors: "What is the worst city or country you've visited, and what made the trip awful?" People shared the most uncomfortable, even unsafe, experiences they've had traveling that could make you think twice about visiting these places.

1."Seminole, Texas. In fairness, it only has a population of about 300, but I had to stay there for a couple of weeks for work. The only motel in town was infested with scorpions, climbing up the walls, behind the furniture, and eventually in my bed."

2."I got slapped on the boobs by a guy riding a bike in Luxor, Egypt... I was mindful about being respectful of the culture and my red hair and blue eyes being an attraction, so I wore a head scarf. That seemed to make it worse. I had this guy ride past on a push bike who proceeded to slap me on the ass one way, then rode back the other way and hit me on the boobs the other. I was dumbstruck and amazed."

—Yorkshire_rose_84

3."Fort Yates, North Dakota. My fiancée and I were on a road trip in September. We drove from Rapid City to Fargo and stopped at Fort Yates for lunch. When we got into town, every house looked boarded up and condemned, and every business looked like it had long been closed. We found the town grocery store and stopped to grab something. As soon as we exited the car, people began chasing the car. So we 'noped' out of there and left."

—who_peed_in_my_soup

4."A few years ago, my husband and I drove from Canada to Billings, Montana. I was shocked by the poverty and lack of infrastructure. I live in a poor rural area of Canada now (I moved to the east coast a couple of years after that trip). Nothing compares to that drive through Montana. You never expect a country as rich as the US to be like that."

—Bay-Area-Tanners

5."Jordan, for me. I received enough sexual harassment and, at a couple of times, literal stalking, for a lifetime. The sights were amazing, but the constant harassment tarnished my experience."

6."I had a great road trip driving all the way down New Zealand until we got to Invercargill. It had the weirdest aura of menace — people staring with blank looks, groups of young men following us (they appeared several times, and we had to avoid bumping into them as if they were trying to start something or pickpocket)."

"Maybe everyone in town was having an off day, but the only thing I could compare it to was when you walk down the wrong street and suddenly realize you're the center of attention in a way that you don't want... but the entire place was that way."

—ThinkThankThonk

"I took a bus to Invercargill as a college student and was waiting to catch a ferry ride to Stewart Island. I had a guy approach me and spend 30 min trying to 'get to know me' and 'hang out.' Super weird, and I couldn't get out of there faster. The rest of NZ? Beautiful, friendly place with no concern when I traveled alone or hitchhiked."

—coldblisss

7."St. Petersburg, Russia. I got beat up a bit at a phone booth and robbed. Fun times."

8."I had to go to Bakersfield, California, for work once. That place is just depressing; also, at the time, there was a heatwave with temperatures reaching well over 110 degrees Fahrenheit, so double fail."

—M_Fischer

9."I have never seen the poverty elsewhere that I saw in Jamaica in the mountains. Young boys yelled as we drove by, 'I want me that white meat.' I was with Jamaicans at the time, and I am middle-aged. I felt I shouldn't be alone for even a moment anywhere."

—Any_Humor_9060

"Jamaica. It seemed like everything was covered in garbage, and we were robbed twice in the same afternoon. "

—Fahernheit98

10."Morecambe, UK. Practically the type specimen of a run-down English seaside town... the ‘beach’ has substantial areas of quicksand, though as you vanish into the ground, you might think that a preferable fate to staying in Morecambe."

11."There is pretty much nothing to do in the Cayman Islands when it's raining, so naturally, it rained the entire time I was there. It didn't help that everything's insanely overpriced, the public transport is awful, and road safety is practically nonexistent."

—only-a-marik

12."Sihanoukville, Cambodia. We gave some places a wide berth the two nights we were there, so we didn’t see the worst things that I’m sure go on there. The sleaze and vice felt omnipresent. Imagine a Liam Neeson or Charles Bronson vigilante movie set in a beach town run by a vaguely Eastern European mob, and you’re imagining Sihanoukville."

—wilyquixote

"The giant beach was beautiful (and deserted), but we got scammed and almost kidnapped or worse.

Fortunately, a Thai guy who spoke Cambodian had watched us as we got into a tuk-tuk ten minutes earlier and decided something was off... He followed us, on foot, to where they had taken us (there was a gang waiting). Whatever he said to them, I suppose, made them think we weren't worth the extra trouble, and we were let go. Eternally grateful to this kind person who saved us!"

—motorbike_fantasy

13."Dubai is a cultural shit hole. It attracts folks who worship cash, Instagram, and flashy nonsense."

14."Delhi, India. 2009. Even in the airport, there was no concept of personal space, and random men would be practically on top of you. Once we exited the airport, it was hot and muggy, intensifying the smell of rotting trash and sewage. The streets are insanely crowded with people, cows walking in and out of traffic, and families with 5+ people riding on a single motorbike."

"It was the worst place I have been out of 30+ countries because it was breathtakingly sad. The wealth disparity, pain, and poor hygiene aren't their fault. I love so much of the culture, the food, the history, the natural beauty, but in Delhi, it was overshadowed by the byproducts of poverty."

—currycurrycurry15

15."I was very disappointed in Reno, Nevada. I am Dutch and love the US and its people. Unfortunately, Reno is one stay I want to erase from my memory... I felt unsafe, especially downtown."

16."Birmingham, Alabama, spooked me. It’s like a rust belt town plunked down in the middle of the Deep South. I visited a couple of times when I was living in Atlanta. We heard gunshots once, and a cop car drove by and advised us to leave the area."

—Coomstress

17."Cape Town, South Africa. I visited one of the townships (Khayelitsha) with about 400,000 inhabitants. The size and level of poverty, especially in comparison to the rest of the city, was heartbreaking."

18."Benidorm, Spain. Absolutely devoid of culture and history. There was nothing there, and someone decided to build Blackpool, UK, on steroids. The only thing there is to do there is drink...the clientele is just the worst kind of English person. Super weird."

—binglybleep

19."Turkey as a single female visiting female friends. What made the trip awful? Men. As rich as the culture and amazing the food is there, I would never go back again, and I traveled to many places in the world alone."

What's the most unsettling destination you've ever traveled to? Let us know in the comments, or submit anonymously via this form.

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.