Go Ahead, Butcher the Name: Why You Should Travel Somewhere You Can’t Pronounce

There’s something deeply satisfying about confidently announcing your next destination—until someone asks how to spell it, and you realize... you’re not entirely sure yourself. Welcome to the joy of mispronounced magic. In a world of predictable passports and copy-paste itineraries, there’s a particular thrill in going somewhere that your mouth can’t quite handle. A place that defies phonetics, scoffs at your high school geography class, and makes your autocorrect collapse in defeat. If the name confuses you, you’re probably on the right track.

At Mayfield & Co. Travel, we call those the good trips.

Why the Tongue Twisters Are Worth It

Let’s be honest. We all love a Paris moment. But there’s something richer, realer, and far more intoxicating about sipping wine in Ljubljana (lyoo-BLYAH-nah), even if you accidentally order pickled trout trying to ask for the check. Places you can't pronounce? They’re often the ones that haven’t been over-filtered, overrun, or oversold. They welcome you, not because you’re another tourist, but because you bothered to show up at all. And they reward you with authenticity, depth, and often a much better exchange rate. If it takes a few tries to say it right, chances are you’ll never forget how it felt to be there.

But What If I Say It Wrong?

Spoiler: You will. And guess what? Locals usually love it. Your fumbling is endearing. It shows effort, respect, and openness—and more often than not, it opens the door to unexpected conversations, generous smiles, and unplanned memories. You’re not just a traveler. You’re a human, trying. And that’s worth celebrating. Also, it’s funny. You’re funny. So lean into it.

Luxury Isn’t Just Velvet Robes and Room Service

Real luxury is about experience. And experiences don’t come from checking into the same hotel everyone else posted on Instagram last month. They come from discovering something that feels entirely yours. It’s finding a sunrise over Meteora, Greece (meh-TEH-oh-rah)—a name you didn’t know yesterday, but a view you’ll never forget. It’s the midnight street food in Hoi An (hoy-AN) or the way time stops on a train to Sighișoara (sig-ee-SHWAR-a), Romania. It's messy, magical, and just the right amount of mispronounced. Let your next trip be as unpredictable as it is unforgettable.

Lost in Pronunciation: Cities You’re Probably Saying Wrong

🌍 International Edition

CityYou Said What?Try This Instead

Ljubljana, Slovenia. Lyoo-BLYAH-nah Oaxaca, Mexico. Wa-HA-ka Reykjavik, Iceland. RAYK-yah-veek Ibiza, Spain. Ee-BEE-tha Phuket Thailand Poo-KET Bruges, Belgium. Broozh

🇺🇸 Domestic Missteps

City The Wrong Way…The Right Way

Louisville, KY Loo-uh-vuhl Des Moines, IA. De-Moyn Puyallup, WA Pew-AL-up La Jolla, CA La HOY-ya Spokane, WA. Spo-CAN

🧩 Same Name, Different Sound: A U.S. Pronunciation Plot Twist

Sometimes, the chaos isn’t even international. It’s state-to-state. Towns with the same spelling suddenly have beef with each other’s phonetics. Here’s a handful of name twins that fight dirty:

Houston-Texas: HYOO-ston Ohio/NYC: HOW-ston Cairo-Egypt: KYE-roh Illinois: KAY-roh. Lima-Peru: LEE-mah. Ohio: LYE-mah Versailles- France: Vehr-SIGH Kentucky: Ver-SALES Miami-Florida: My-AM-ee. Oklahoma: My-AM-uh Berlin-Germany. Bear-LEEN NH/WI/etc.: BURR-lin Vienna- Austria: Vee-EN-na Georgia/Illinois: VY-enna New Madrid-Spain: Ma-DRID Missouri: MAD-rid

Travel Tip: If you’re heading to a place with a familiar name, don’t assume you know how to say it. Locals are deeply protective of their weird pronunciations—and honestly, who can blame them?

The Bottom Line

If it sounds hard to say, it’s probably harder to forget. So the next time you plan a trip, resist the urge to stick to the easy-to-Google, impossible-to-mispronounce crowd favorites. Challenge your tongue. Surprise your tastebuds. Confuse your GPS. Because mispronounced places make the best stories, and the best stories deserve the best journeys.

Ready to go where your mouth can’t keep up? Let Mayfield & Co. Travel help you plan a trip that’s unforgettable—even if you can’t pronounce it.