World's 10 most hated cities

They're not the worst cities in the world, they're the best at bugging people. Introducing the places guaranteed to swing your mood southward

By Jordan Rane 

Last week we got all loved-up with our ranking of the most loved cities in the world. 

This week we're feeling cranky. 

However, the worst thing that could ever be said about a city is not that it merits “top 10 most hated” status.

No, the worst thing that could ever be said about a city is that it’s not even worth discussing.

Say what you like about these 10 places (and lots of people do), they all prompt conversation. OK, plenty of critical conversation according to our findings, but we mean that in the most positive light.

So let’s re-name this one “10 cities travelers most love to hate” -- and secretly hope that they remain, if not “awfully beautiful,” at least “beautifully awful” to some degree.

Because who really wants a world full of Vancouvers and Stockholms?

10. Belize City, Belize

Hate Belize? No no no. I'd just prefer to be somewhere else.

Few tropical outposts less than a three-hour flight from Dallas have spawned as many alluring Sunday travel section taglines as Belize -- a diving and cruise ship magnet that has been dubbed “Central America Lite,” “the other Caribbean” and “the gateway to the world’s second largest barrier reef.”

With all that warm press and tourist traffic passing through, you’d expect Belize City to have kicked its nagging reputation as the sorriest port o’ call on either edge of the Caribbean.

Crime. Drugs. Dilapidation. Welcoming committees of bored, desperate touts. A vibe that screams avoid-being-out-after-dark-and-wait-for-your-real-itinerary-to-begin. Belize City has it all.

When your own Director of Tourism owns that Belize’s main transport hub is “consistently rated as the worst destination” among cruise passengers, something more than the city’s famous swing bridge may need adjusting.

Until then, it’s full speed to the puddle jumpers and water taxis.

Also on CNNGo: 10 of the world's most hated airports

9. Cairo, Egypt

Not good enough to like, not bad enough to avoid.

There are other cities coping with even more crippling air pollution, maniacal driving, ridiculous traffic, overpopulation and post-revolution stress -- though not too many, and none we can think of that travelers would ever put very high on a sightseeing list.

Cairo, of course, impels us to come anyway -- which naturally breeds some resentment.

Home of the world’s last remaining ancient Wonder and an incomparable wealth of history and antiquities that rank high on any serious globetrotter’s bucket list, visitors these days are forced to turn more than just a blind lung to a recent World Health Organization report that equatesbreathing in this city with smoking a pack a day. 

“Avoid the crowds and protests and it should be fine otherwise,” advises one recent visitor on Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree.

“We can't predict what will happen, but keep your ear to the ground and you should be OK,” hedges another.

It needs to be asked: Was modern Cairo really what Pharaoh Khufu had in mind in his 5,000 Year Plan?

8. New Delhi, India

These guys aren't even the hawkers -- they're the hawkees.

Travel scams happen everywhere. But few cities fuel as much lengthy discussion and strategizing about them as India’s sprawling capital -- arguably the world’s favorite place for travel forum junkies to dish on their favorite travel forum topic:

How to avoid getting fleeced outside the airport, at the train station, at your hotel and everywhere in between.

“There are plenty of cons to be aware of,” blogs TravBuddy in a post entitled "Scam City: Delhi’s Tourist Hustles and How To Avoid Them," which lists several popular ones by name: The "Government Tourist Office" scam; The "Hotel Commission" scam; The "Fake Train Station" scam; The "Airport Transfer" scam, etc.

Learn these. Commit them to memory. Then go out and freely soak in the opulence of New Delhi, the breathless chaos of Old Delhi -- the otherworldly extremeness of it all, knowing that your street savvy is really no match for a place that makes New York look prenatal.

“Avoiding scams and touts in Delhi,” posts travel community site, traveldudes.org, “the chances are really high that you will be scammed anyway.”

Also on CNNGo: Foods we love to hate

7. Jakarta, Indonesia

Jakarta: great, if frustration is your favorite emotion.

Jakarta isn’t nicknamed “The Big Durian” (thorny, odorous fruit you might actually enjoy if you give it a chance) for nothing.

“It is a very demanding city from a traveler’s perspective, full of surprises and awaiting difficulties,” notes one TripAdvisor expat who came to love Jakarta after six months. “Once you get to know it, you can’t have enough of it.”

The obvious snag. Indonesia’s 8 million annual tourists arriving at this springboard to Bali, Yogyakarta, Sumatra -- anywhere but here -- spend on average 7.84 days in Indonesia according to a 2011 study by the country’s Central Bureau for Statistics.

How long will it take most visitors to decide they haven’t enough time to gain an insider’s appreciation about this sprawling city choked with traffic, pollution, poverty and tourist “draws” largely revolving around random street adventures and an epidemic of malls?

About 7.84 seconds.

6. Lima, Peru

Lima: world's biggest victim of faint praise.

Latin America’s fifth-largest metropolis may be marginally cleaner than Mexico City, somewhat safer than Sao Paulo and way more beach-friendly than La Paz, yet Lima continues to quietly suffer from the worst, if well-meaning, curse in travel circles: being constantly described as a place that’s not nearly as dull as everyone else keeps saying it is.

“If you’re prepared to delve into the nooks and crannies of this massive city, then you can find plenty to admire,” blogs one Lima supporter, after delivering the mortal blow that “most people that I’ve spoken to about Peru don’t really rate Lima. It’s ugly, it’s boring, it’s not traditional enough, are the main complaints I’ve heard.”

“Who knew we'd love Lima so much?” opines another blogger. “My Spanish teacher said it was boring. Lonely Planet didn't make it sound exciting. Others yawned through it -- but four times wasn't enough Lima for me!”

“For much of the year, a smog hangs over Lima. The city looks washed out and monochrome. When you combine this with years of news (and rumors) about Lima being unsafe, shabby or just plain boring,” opines Time Out in its defense of Lima, it’s no wonder people overlook “Latin America’s best-kept secret.”

Blame it on that herd mentality, but until Lima’s staunchest fanbase stops going on about how everyone else mistakenly finds the place insufferable, it’s a one-way ticket to Machu Picchu, please.

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