A seasoned traveller who went on a two-year trip of a lifetime exploring 60 countries has dished out the five cities he would return to.
Lucas Brancatisano, from Melbourne, was working in sales to save money so he could set off on a one-way trip around the world.
The 29-year-old began backpacking solo across Latin America for 10 months before spending almost another year exploring Europe, Asia and Africa with his brother and housemates.
‘Over the last two years, I’ve probably spent more than $70,000 on travelling. Now I’m just saving up for the next adventures,’ Lucas told Daily Mail.
During his travels, he visited 60 countries, but there are a few he would never go back to if his ‘life depended on it’, with Cancún, Mexico, being one of them.
‘This makes me very sad to put on the list because Mexico is one of my favourite countries on Earth, by far,’ Lucas said in his video.
While many travellers love Cancún for its beaches and resorts, he was scathing in his criticism of the Mexican city, describing it as a ‘s***hole’.
‘It’s everything I don’t like about places that get over-touristed,’ he explained.
Lucas Brancatisano visited 60 countries but there’s five cities he’ll never visit again
The 29-year-old was working in sales to save money so he could set off on a one-way trip around the world
‘It’s everyone in all-inclusive (resorts). It’s just exactly what Mexico is not. Mexican people are so friendly. I feel sorry for the people that have to work and live in Cancún.
‘I would never go back in my entire life.’
Lucas said he personally thought Phuket in Thailand didn’t live up to the hype.
‘When I was there, it felt overcrowded, tourists everywhere, and pretty pricey. I didn’t fall in love with it at all,’ he said.
‘Phuket is no good. There are way better places, like Koh Tao, Krabi, anywhere else, but Phuket, I don’t understand it. I don’t know why.’
The traveller found Mui Ne in Vietnam relatively expensive compared to the rest of the country and felt it wasn’t worth adding to an itinerary.
‘You can skip this place entirely,’ he said.
‘It is a weird beach town with sand dunes. The water’s pretty disgusting. It’s actually pretty pricey for what the place offers in Vietnam.
‘And you just don’t need to go there. There are so many other places in Vietnam you can go and spend your time, spend your money and interact with locals.
‘Mui Ne is unfortunately not one of them.’
He spent almost a year exploring Europe, Asia and Africa with his brother and housemates
During his travels, he visited 60 countries, but there are a few he would never go back to
Lucas said he found Uyuni in Bolivia disappointing despite being part of a major tourist route.
‘If you do the salt flat tour, you will end up there. This place is the town that time forgot about,’ he explained.
‘There is rubbish everywhere, it’s like a half-developed town for such an important and popular place in Bolivia. I don’t know how this place is like this.
‘I really hope I never have to go back there because it was a tip.’
Finally, he said Cala d’Or, a popular holiday resort on the southeast coast of Mallorca, Spain, felt overly touristy and geared toward British holidaymakers.
‘The Brits have moved on from Benidorm, they’ve then gone over to Magaluf and now it’s Cala d’Or,’ Lucas said.
‘There are tiki bars, places that would make the Spanish locals absolutely sick of Mallorca, and it’s just not what it used to be.
‘The beach is absolutely stunning there. But everything in the main town is just old rubbish football jerseys and terrible restaurants.
‘There’s way better parts of Mallorca. Go to Sóller, go anywhere else, but Cala d’Or, unfortunately, has been claimed by Benidorm and the rest.’
His list comes just days after he named the five cities he’ll never visit again – New Delhi (India), León (Nicaragua), Oia (Santorini), Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Benidorm (Spain).
New Delhi in India took the top spot, with Lucas explaining that he felt overwhelmed by the city’s constant activity, including heavy traffic and pollution.
‘If you think you’ve been overstimulated in your life before, New Delhi is a whole level above that,’ the traveller explained.
‘There’s pollution, there’s noise, buses, horns, cows on the road and the sky is smog, it’s just crazy. It’s not for me, I don’t think I’ll ever go back.
‘The rest of India in parts is absolutely lovely, but New Delhi, not for me.’
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Next on his list was Leon in Nicaragua.
‘This place is sweaty and it’s dangerous at night,’ Lucas said.
‘If it didn’t have the volcano boarding, I’d probably never have been there in the first place, but it’s fine.
‘Nicaragua itself is fantastic. I had a great time there when I went there in 2024.
‘But Leon? No, I will never go back.’
Lucas went on a two-year trip of a lifetime exploring 60 countries
The 29-year-old started backpacking across Latin America for 10 months before taking almost another year to explore the rest of the world
Lucas said he personally found Oia in Santorini unpleasant, chaotic and overwhelming, despite it being one of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations.
‘This place is my definition of hell,’ he revealed.
‘In summer, getting sunburnt, 100,000 selfie sticks, and every single person getting the same sunset photo. You can just look at it online, you don’t have to go get a photo of it.
‘Don’t go there, you’ll have a really bad time. That’s all I have to say about it.’
Lucas said he visited Phnom Penh in Cambodia many years ago but recalled having a negative impression of the city.
‘I went there a long time ago, but when I went there, all I remember is a very built-up city with lots of tyre shops and not much going on,’ he said.
‘I could be wrong, and please let me know if I am wrong because Phnom Penh, maybe I would go back to. But from memory, it was a s***hole.’
Rounding out his list, Lucas called out Benidorm in Spain
‘This place is hell,’ he said.
‘If you find yourself there and you’re not British, you’re in hell. If you walk in there, there’s English breakfast on every single menu. Old British people rolling around, there’s just pasty skin everywhere.
‘It’s just not a very nice place. If you’re in Spain and you’re going to Benidorm, you need to rethink all of the life choices you’ve made up to that point because you’re in the wrong spot.’
