Ahh yes you could get 200plus pesetas to the pound and EVERYTHING was cheap. Pina colada was the thing to be seen drinking and life was sweet. Going to Benidorm was exotic and the canaries and beyond was just showing off!!! Then along came the EU

No TV's on the planes.
It was cool to go home wearing " Linnekers Bar, Tenerfie" t-shirts or any other t-shirts with your "holiday local's" name on it.
The only sandals to wear were rubber flip flops or those flowerey ones with pretendy cork soles with a bow on the front.
You didn't reserve sunbeds, that was left to the Germans.
Everyone went on holiday white!!
Everyone came back from Spain with either a sombrero, a huuuuuuge donkey, castanets or flamenco figures.

And we all over-indulged in Sangria and who visited a liquour factory? My first holiday abroad not counting school trips cost £25 each and that was 1/2 board.

Patka

I will go a bit further back to my first holiday abroad in 1970- when I was 10. That was in Benidorm. I can't remember the name of the hotel but it was next to an open air cinema and I got rather fed up hearing all the songs from Oliver! We overlooked a farm and the cocks crowing woke us up early every day. Its funny to think there were actually farms in Benidorm. Everyone came home carrying straw donkeys and wearing sombreros.

For a while everywhere you went (Spain and the Balearics, this was were everyone went) had some very explicit souvenirs (tat). Like the plastic cucumber that opened up to reveal a certain part of the male anatomy , bottle openers that were ladies with their legs open etc - get the picture? So glad I didn't have young children in tow then!

my first holiday abroad was to Spain I was 6. It was 1971 oh given my age away now. Not sure it this was the one were I brought a huge donkey home. You wonder where they kept them on the plane I cant remember but there were loads. I think every family had one and the huge brimmed hats. The food was covered in oil and the salad covered in insects. carol

JimnLiz, It's still like that now!!! Loads of smut in the tourist shops!!!
I loved the pesata. 250 to the pound and you'd feel ripped off if a bar was charging any more than 300 for a pint! Infact the 1 pesata coin was worth so little, half the time the shops didn't bother giving it to you in your change!

My first holiday abroad was in 1963 to Greece although I had spent a term at school in France in 1958. The journey took the best part of four days, we flew from somewhere in Kent to Beauvais in France then a bus took us to Paris where we caught an overnight train to Milan then a train to Ancona on the Italian Adriatic where we spent the night in a Hotel, my friend and I were both blonde and caused quite a stir with the local Italian lads, Italian girls were still highly chaperoned in those days. We then caught a train to Brindisi from where we caught an overnight ferry to Patras in Greece and then a bus to Kyllini on the Peloponese coast. We then spent 10days in the sunshine before starting out on our epic return journey. I can't remmember how much the trip cost but I do remember paying the equivalent of a pound for a sleeper birth on the train. Bit off topic as my holiday was a long time before the 80's and 90's.

My first holiday abroad was in May 1978 when I was 17, with 7 other girls.
We went to Playa Del Ingles in Gran Canaria for 2 weeks - fabulous!

We used to roll in of a morning,
(we were delighted because we discovered the bars that opened at stupid o'clock for the bar workers so.... :cheers)
take our slap off, get our bikini's on and sleep all day by the pool side.
We all got fabulous tans!

(We loved it that much, we went back in the October for another 2 weeks!)

Memories...............

I loved my first hol abroad - about 1983 with Intasun (remember them??) to Majorca to be allocated on arrival. The plane rattled all the way there and bits of seats and lockers kept falling off. Went with another late teens couple and were hoping for somewhere lively like Palma Nova and ended up in the back end of beyond - Porto Colum - which was in those days extremely quiet, and very Spanish - a bit of a culture shock for all of us! I didn't realise how hot it was going to be so hot (duh) and hadn't brought any swimwear with me! So after having too many sangrias at the welcome meeting (probably 2 in those days!) and while having to go and sleep it off, I sent my boyfriend out to buy me a bikini. Him and his friend went off and found a cafe and ordered eggs, bacon, sausage, beans and mushrooms, each item of which the waiter served on separate plates in tapas style, and floating in oil! The hotel itself was like that "Els Bels" hotel in Carry on Abroad, right down to the staff!

Food in the hotel was really awful and for the first 2 days I lived on Crisps and chocolate milk and it's the only time in my life I can remember being seriously hungry. In the end we hired a car to drive to Palma and eat. The nearest beach to our hotel was about a 3 mile walk, as was the only bar/entertainment - a German run hotel where we even joined in with the club dance - not "Y viva Espana" OR "Ooh la Paloma Blanca" (sp) - but I can still remember the tune though unfortunately not the moves!

Did quite a lot of exploring that holiday - visited a "wild animal park" which had mostly goats and guinea pigs, Caves of Drach, loads of different resorts round the island and some inland towns with markets. I didn't seem to have much of a tan near the end of the week so on the last day I just lay on my front for as long as I could with no cream on and ended up burning the cheeks of my bum! Winced and whinged all the way home!

By the way - not having a go at Porto Colum. I've heard its a really nice resort these days and I'd love to go back there one day.

I loved that holiday - truly memorable!

anice

My first holiday was to Benidorm in 1988 when I was 18. I went with my boyfriend (who I am now married to) and another couple. It was a riot! I remember the Talk of the Town bar, and every one had seen 'Sticky Vicky'.
I nearly chocked when I watched the program 'Benidorm', as I couldn't believe she was still around!
After Benidorm we went to Tenerife, and did the 'veronicas' and 'Linekers bar' thing, and then we discovered Faliraki....wild times, I don't know how we survived!
Now we've all grown up and have children, we still go away with the same friends and their children, but things are a lot more civilized.

hi. I remember taking my own orange suitcase full of packets of crisps because I wouldn't eat the food when I was a child in the 70s. My mum and dad always got stopped by customs and had their suitcases searched. Carol

Our first 3 holidays abroad were 1985, 86 and 87 to Rimini , Lido di Jesolo and Malgrat in Spain all by coach !
It was that or not going but you did have to be a hardy soul to cope with the 30 hours of travelling, but you know what we had 3 lovely holidays , met loads of really nice people and had a great time .
I couldn't do it now though

What about those naff holiday songs.
Y Viva Espana
Agadoo
Birdie Song
Dolce Vita
Boys Boys Boys
Tarzan Boy
Maccarena
Saturday Night
Ketchup Song

Don't get that anymore....................thankyou very much.

CazzMicknTom wrote:

What about those naff holiday songs ..... Don't get that anymore

You'd be surprised! I think I've heard most of them in the last few years in various places we've been to

My first holiday was Majorca in 1976 - I was 7 years old and I still remember it now! And yes, we came home with a sombrero, a donkey, a sangria jug and a flamenco doll My first holiday without parents was to Benidorm in 1988 with my boyfriend and don't think Spanish tourism had changed very much between the mid 70's & late 80's.

All I can say is .... Boney M!!!

Love this thread...bringing back a lot of happy childhood memories. We started going 'abroad' from 1975 when I was 5, and went pretty much every year after that to almost every Spanish destination available at the time. Most memorable trip was to Calella via coach, my lasting memory of which was when the windscreen shattered but despite this the driver continued the journey with us covered in glass splinters and teeth chattering with the cold. No one thought about claiming compensation then did they? How times have changed. We must have gone up in the world a bit after that though as we flew from then on, visiting all the different Barcelo Pueblo hotels in Spain and the Balearics. It's funny to look at these places now, not sure I'd want a holiday there but would love to go back just for a little look.

Bought the donkeys too, one a year for 3 years of varying sizes...they looked a very happy little family in my bedroom. Also bought a 3 foot Smurf one year too Had a lovely red sombrero, castenets and maraccas (sp?), several spanish fans and of course lovely Spanish lady and man dolls for my dressing table. My parents must have been mad to let me bring back so much junk. Happy days though Oh I remember the rude keyrings too, they don't still sell them do they? Will have to cover my childrens eyes I think if they do.

I remember those coach journeys to Calella, Lloret and Salou so well!! The on board entertainment was bingo and daft jokes.!! As soon as we got over to France, the coach used to stop at a hypermarket in Calais so we could all buy cheap beer and fags!! (you needed to get p****d to endure the 28+ hours on the coach.) They aways used to break down, and we used to spend hours in French petrol stations waiting for spare parts to be delivered!! It was a laugh though -although the thought of doing it nowadays fills me with horror.
Denny

Blackcat,

do you remember the Eureka bar in Malgrat?

(Stayed in Malgrat in 1980 with my mates and again in 1989 with hubby, baby
and 8 other family members)

What a great place that was! Fabulous! Wonder if it's still going?