View Full Version : What was your first ever holiday abroad?
with cheese
23-06-2011, 11:36
A very brill thread on things from the past, of which HM has had us all thinking, so lets say where and when we first went abroad.
Mine was Majorca, Arenal, Hotel Principe. I was 12 and granddad passed away, leaving us a holiday in his will. Mum had 160 qid in tenners that was left as spends, it was loads for a family of 4.
Italy, sking when I was 11 or 12.
Great time
theloner
23-06-2011, 11:48
In a mud hut (was actually rough concrete walls about 5' high) with thatched roof crawling with insects and a wooden door on the beach at a place call Asilah just outside of Tangier Morocco in 1976. It was in a compound surrounded by a bamboo fence and was called Camp Africa and it was a great time, oh for those times again....sigh!!
canarybird
23-06-2011, 11:55
A month's holiday in Santa Monica, California with my parents and younger brother. We went down by train from Vancouver, Canada so my dad could take a course of study in Los Angeles. We rented an apartment in Santa Monica right by Muscle Beach, where young men went to show off their body building.
I developed a crush on a handsome young 15 year old American boy from Brooklyn.
I was eleven years old. Had a great time.
Canarybird
Pink shoes
23-06-2011, 11:57
Palma Nova I think the place was called in Spain. I had a free child space and traveled with my Mum and older sister. My Mum wanted her first and (only) holiday abroad. My dad would not leave the UK. I was about 10 at that time.
Backpacking across Europe in 1992 with 3 friends. We were in Barcelona for the last night of the Olympics. Unbelievable party. Had no sleep for 42 hours. Slept in the police station when I got arrested for having no documentation. Was let out 6 hours later because one of the cops was married to an Irish girl and knew the place where I was from!! :)
VideoMem
23-06-2011, 12:53
:hat:Ibiza in August 1976, 12 days at the Hotel Atlantic at Es Cana, taking Mum, my wife Pat with our children Alison & Duncan. A good time was had by all!
sundownersvince
23-06-2011, 13:16
1980 won freebie holiday to Lido de Jesolo near Venice. Being a first time flier, a bit nervous, even moreso when the plane had DANAIR :eek: written on it! A jet but smaller than todays planes I believe it was called a BA 111. All went smoothly as I was puffing away up the back (those were the days) until coming in to land the smell of fuel was very noticeable. Trolly dolly goes to fetch captain :sailor: who has a sniff and mumbles something to her. : (Jeeeez. Anyway it did land okay but it was a good 15 years before I went on another plane.
Sundowner
23-06-2011, 13:45
1968 Spent 3 weeks canoeing down the Dordogne river in France................those were the days just the sound of the river beautiful scenery and a different campsite every night.
Or you can have the truth.........blisters on my hands.........nearly drowned.........starving most of the time........wine we could afford tasted like vinegar........aaahhh those were the days..............gave up canoeing after that trip :)
Puerto de la Cruz Tenerife ! as a child with my parents , arriving in Santa Cruz on the "Venus " Norwegian ship ....A taxi to Puerto where we stayed in Hotel Gran Taora .....I thought I had arrived in Magic Land ... the gardens were beautiful and the hotel not at all like it is now , the lovely arched terrace has gone....???
Puerto was totally untouched with tourists , no high rises , My room and my bathroom were enourmous and over looked the town ...And I remembered the cars /vans /lorry's all hooted round every corner , making such a noise ....the shops didn't have windows and they seemed to sell everything and I can still remember the smell they had ....
Marios's bar in San Telmo was my Dads Favourite bar and we called in every day for his Brandy , sitting in his patio through the swing doors .... :drinking:
1968 Spent 3 weeks canoeing down the Dordogne river in France................those were the days just the sound of the river beautiful scenery and a different campsite every night.
Or you can have the truth.........blisters on my hands.........nearly drowned.........starving most of the time........wine we could afford tasted like vinegar........aaahhh those were the days..............gave up canoeing after that trip :)
Sounds like my kinda holiday!!!
Added after 4 minutes:
Had one like that last year in Portugal. Dont know how we managed to get home!
Ostend Belgium for my honeymoon in 1965, staying at the Admiral Hotel, visting Brussels,Bruge and Paris. flew from Southend on a plane with propellers. First taste of Stella Artois, a very enjoyable time was had by all, well me anyway.
Corfu in august, what a sh-t hole, thompson ala carte, my ar-e, more like horse and cart, 2 young kids with us, mozzy's ate them in bed, Put us above the Disco, well tried to, i went potty, cheeky bl--ders,
Goforgold
23-06-2011, 16:04
I was about 12. We took the car onto an aircraft and flew from Lydd Airport to Europe and then drove down to Nice, making various overnight stops. We've still got the cinefilm of the car being driven onto the plane - it looks weird now!! :)
The aircraft took 3 cars and 20 passengers.
For anyone interested in aircraft here is the link :-
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1279850
sundownersvince
23-06-2011, 16:04
Corfu in august, what a sh-t hole, thompson ala carte, my ar-e, more like horse and cart, 2 young kids with us, mozzy's ate them in bed, Put us above the Disco, well tried to, i went potty, cheeky bl--ders,
Pure gold reggie! :crylaughing:
Harmonicaman
23-06-2011, 16:59
2001. Golfing holiday in Tenerife! When Tizzy and I got married and had kids we always went to northwest Scotland. This continued for 21 years. Went on the golfing holiday and the heat and the sun swayed me and I go to Tenerife every year now. (With little 3-4 day breaks in Scotland 'cos the scenery is best in the world).
Tom & Sharon
23-06-2011, 17:27
I (Sharon) first went abroad in 1969 to Magaluf. I can't remember the name of the hotel, but I thought it was dead exotic. I was 6!
Tom's first time abroad was when we went to Tangier together when we were 19 in 1982. I was blonde (still am) and tiny (not anymore) and spent the whole fortnight convinced that an arab was going to roll me up in a carpet and whisk me away, because they used to stare so much.
My first holiday abroad was about age 11 when my mum sent me on a school holiday to France. We went by coach on the ferry and down to Paris, staying at a hotel close to the Moulin Rouge (great for a bunch of schoolboys) and then on south to Avignon and onwards to the coast to le Lavendou. Had a great time, untroubled by teachers and surrounded, it seems, by THE most fabulous looking girls!
As an adult it was back to Paris a few times and just loved that city. Loved the left bank life. First beach holiday was to Majorca and had a fabulous time, just doing too much!
My first holiday abroad was to Calella, Spain in 1969. It was also the first holiday abroad for my Mum, Dad, sister and her boyfriend. Can't remember the name of the hotel, but remember it was half board, 10 nights 29quid each! haha. All my friends from school were dead jealous, and I thought we must be posh!!!
1980 my wife and i and 10 year old son went to corfu for 2 weeks nice hotel and the cost was Ģ105 for the three of us great holiday wish we could holiday for that price now ha ha
Ours was 17 days in L'Estartit Spain on the Costa Brava by coach from Liverpool Ģ99 each, It took 2 days with an overnight stop in Orange in the South of France, Great first holiday but i couldn't do it again.
Ostend Belgium for my honeymoon in 1965, staying at the Admiral Hotel, visting Brussels,Bruge and Paris. flew from Southend on a plane with propellers. First taste of Stella Artois, a very enjoyable time was had by all, well me anyway.
I didnīt know we were married Skeggy :whistle:- Oh no I did exactly the same holiday in 1964 (apart from the hotel which I canīt remember) with my then boyfriend. Felt really exotic and I got the bug so have travelled at least once a year ever since. Following year stayed and worked on a kibbutz in Israel then spent time in Kathmandu and Pokhara. Finally settled down in 1970 when I got married.
I used to get packed off to the Isle of Man from about 6 onwards to stay with Relations at Port Erin.
First Continental Holiday was to a small Village North of Salou.
We went by Train from Chester, and did this for about 11 Years, with an extra Bonus one Year of 10 Days in Calella.
Best Education Our two Kids had.!!
Davie Thistle
23-06-2011, 20:00
.................well, if you can call going to France for 5 days in 1995 to watch the Jags playing in Europe!
our first 'Real' Holibag was - yeah you guessed it!
TENERIFE!
the year before they done away with the peseta, 2000? I think.
been back 2/3 times a year since!
Puerto de la Cruz, 1985, couldn't stand the place.:whistle::whistle:
Runrigger
23-06-2011, 20:27
Majorca for us, 1978.Hotel Java in Can Pastilla. Was a wonderful place then. Went back 3 years ago and the place has changed so much we found it hard to believe we were in the same place. Mainly caters for Germans now as the brits seem to have moved on to Palma Nova area.Arenal, just down the road was thee in place then,now it is just a shadow of its former self. Great memories though, but we have moved on now, and visit Benidorm or Tenerife when we can.
angiebabe
23-06-2011, 20:49
1970, an educational cruise around the med, on the SS Uganda, it served as a hospital ship during the Falklands war.
with cheese
23-06-2011, 20:55
I sailed along side Her, Angie, there is a 60th anniversary for her next year as part of the Falklands Celebrations.
Sunlover
23-06-2011, 21:18
Camping, Pla de la Torre, San Antonio de Guixols, Palamos, Costa Brava, 1964, travelled down by car, took 3 days! Went via Andorra, (we were new and didn't know to follow the coast road), Mam said if that was the only route, she would be flying back! Stayed on a lovely pine filled camp site, everyone was camped under the trees, Mam said she had come for the sun and would be having the sun, so we camped in the open. Was like being in the Sahara! French style toilets and only cold water on site, pumped from underground, talk about from the sublime to the ridiculous! Spent all day on the beach and had some good nights with all nationalities on the site. Made friends with the locals too. Cracking holiday went back every year for years, (camped under the trees though) Often wonder if it's still there.:)
Another drive down and camper to South of France in 1971. Choose a nice flat pitch after a storm water was up to our ankles we had wondered why all the other tents were on the higher ground with little ditches round them . We sure found out pretty quick.
My first holiday abroad was to New York in 1979 when I was 16. I got into big trouble for it though. My parents had gone on holiday to Devon and being 16 I refused to go as I had other plans ;). They agreed I could stay at home on condition I had my dinner every night at my Grandmother's who lived just around the corner. I had a part time job after school and had saved on the quiet for ages and booked a flight with the Laker Skytrain (anyone remember him?) from Gatwick to JFK. I stayed with my Dad's sister and Family. I was away 2 months and left a letter for them getting back from holiday :o I travelled to King's X on the train then managed to negotiate the tube to Victoria then another train to Gatwick.
I wouldn't have been able to get away with it nowadays. You didn't make international calls back then so I never got rumbled. I arranged it by letters to my aunt. It was too costly to call abroad and you had to pre-book a slot to call internationally. How times have changed so much in just 30 years.
My first holiday abroad was to New York in 1979 when I was 16. I got into big trouble for it though. My parents had gone on holiday to Devon and being 16 I refused to go as I had other plans ;). They agreed I could stay at home on condition I had my dinner every night at my Grandmother's who lived just around the corner. I had a part time job after school and had saved on the quiet for ages and booked a flight with the Laker Skytrain (anyone remember him?) from Gatwick to JFK. I stayed with my Dad's sister and Family. I was away 2 months and left a letter for them getting back from holiday :o I travelled to King's X on the train then managed to negotiate the tube to Victoria then another train to Gatwick.
I wouldn't have been able to get away with it nowadays. You didn't make international calls back then so I never got rumbled. I arranged it by letters to my aunt. It was too costly to call abroad and you had to pre-book a slot to call internationally. How times have changed so much in just 30 years.
Blimey Dave, I thought i was brave, parents dragged me to hambilton near blackpool when i was 15, they retired there, i thought f--k this for a game of soldiers, and went back to leeds on my own, long bus journey then, 4 or 5 hours,
with cheese
23-06-2011, 22:31
Freddie used to give Christmas parties at his house for all his Staff. I went to one in 1979, had a girlfriend who waited on the round table at Gatwick. This was a table for all the big boys, he was one and gave her an invite. Fabulous geezer, still around.
tizzywizzy
23-06-2011, 23:29
First time abroad for me was when i was about 20yrs old. I went to Majorca with club 18-30.I didn't know anyone before i got to the airport. I had a very drunken time and got very sunburnt.Made lots of friends who i went with on other holidays .
with cheese
23-06-2011, 23:38
First time abroad for me was when i was about 20yrs old. I went to Majorca with club 18-30.I didn't know anyone before i got to the airport. I had a very drunken time and got very sunburnt.Made lots of friends who i went with on other holidays .
Come on Tizzy spill the rest.
First was with 14 mates to Ballyponsa in Majorca . 11/07/1981. My father was very strict and i couldnt go anywhere til i was 18 so off we all went. 2wks Deya Apts , never forget it .Im sure you can all picture the scene so i dont have to go into any detail.
angiebabe
24-06-2011, 00:18
I sailed along side Her, Angie, there is a 60th anniversary for her next year as part of the Falklands Celebrations.
Tell me more!
Tell me more!
Was you in the navy?
First time abroad was a weeks school trip in the early 60's to Belguim and Paris. Coach to Dover then then the ferry to Ostend where we stayed stayed at the Hotel Grand. We went to Paris for three days and then returned to Ostend for the night. In Paris we had to move from the planned Hotel because the OAS (?) were rioting in that area.
1969 First time abroad 'on my own' with no adults was at the age of 19 whilst at Uni, five girls went on a Mecca 18-30 holiday to San Antonio in Ibiza staying at Pension Puchet, cost us 38 guineas!!!! On the way home to Luton we were delayed and had no money, a kind elderly couple who had brefriended us in the Hotel bought us all a drink........think we flew Danair???
Hi, First holiday abroard 1968, Can Pastilla, Majorca. Eight lads all 19 years old, what a fantastic 2 weeks. 40 quid full board and a San Miguel was 8 pesatas allways remember that worked out to 32 beers to the pound, nobody would ever believe it, oh to put the clock back. Went back to work in Majorca the next year and stayed for 4 years in Magaluff, best years ever.
Rickiebear
24-06-2011, 06:09
My first holiday was with a company called Kentways flying out of Bournmouth UK to Majorca. At the hotel our waiter was from Tenerife, he loved his 'homeland' so much we went there the following year in 1971, staying in Puerto de la Cruz. I remember my dad hireing a taxi for the day and traveling around the island, with the driver showing us where the new airport was to be built.
onelegnofeet
24-06-2011, 06:59
Tell me more!
Was you in the navy?
No he is Captain of his own ................LILO !!!:sailor2::surf::surf:
Yes both him and me ,and with what i hear he spent most of his days looking for "The Golden Rivet "!!!:eyebrows:
First time abroad for me too with the navy ,it was to Gibraltar (got a red stamp there "Unwanted Alien !!!") then onto Malta ,and because of my earlier red stamp i could only view Malta from the Ship !! Been back on holiday there once ,wish they had kept me on the plane too !:sailor2:
with cheese
24-06-2011, 07:01
Tell me more!
Was you in the navy?
Yes I was I did a pre Falklands exercise with various ships learning new skills for active service. Uganda being one.
onelegnofeet
24-06-2011, 07:04
My first holiday was with a company called Kentways flying out of Bournmouth UK to Majorca. At the hotel our waiter was from Tenerife, he loved his 'homeland' so much we went there the following year in 1971, staying in Puerto de la Cruz. I remember my dad hireing a taxi for the day and traveling around the island, with the driver showing us where the new airport was to be built.
Puerto de la Cruz Tenerife ! as a child with my parents , arriving in Santa Cruz on the "Venus " Norwegian ship ....A taxi to Puerto where we stayed in Hotel Gran Taora .....I thought I had arrived in Magic Land ... the gardens were beautiful and the hotel not at all like it is now , the lovely arched terrace has gone....???
Puerto was totally untouched with tourists , no high rises , My room and my bathroom were enourmous and over looked the town ...And I remembered the cars /vans /lorry's all hooted round every corner , making such a noise ....the shops didn't have windows and they seemed to sell everything and I can still remember the smell they had ....
Marios's bar in San Telmo was my Dads Favourite bar and we called in every day for his Brandy , sitting in his patio through the swing doors .... :drinking:
Puerto de la Cruz, 1985, couldn't stand the place.:whistle::whistle:
WOW! a threesome ...........did you get your nose pushed out BRIAN !!!!
with cheese
24-06-2011, 07:04
No he is Captain of his own ................LILO !!!:sailor2::surf::surf:
Yes both him and me ,and with what i hear he spent most of his days looking for "The Golden Rivet "!!!:eyebrows:
First time abroad for me too with the navy ,it was to Gibraltar (got a red stamp there "Unwanted Alien !!!") then onto Malta ,and because of my earlier red stamp i could only view Malta from the Ship !! Been back on holiday there once ,wish they had kept me on the plane too !:sailor2:
You wouldn't have been welcome in the gut anyway.
You got charged for too much PORT HOLE DUFF.
What's for breakfast skipper, I got Spithead Pheasant and S*it on a raft.
Added after 2 minutes:
WOW! a threesome ...........did you get your nose pushed out BRIAN !!!!
Didn't Sylla used to be Dougal, em Brian and Dougal on holiday together, Rickybear you are not really Florence are you.?
onelegnofeet
24-06-2011, 07:08
You wouldn't have been welcome in the gut anyway.
You got charged for too much PORT HOLE DUFF.
What's for breakfast skipper, I got Spithead Pheasant and S*it on a raft.
Still scrubbing the mess decks with my tooth brush !!! Bring back the rum tot ............but not the Cat !!!!
tizzywizzy
24-06-2011, 08:15
Come on Tizzy spill the rest.
All i will say is a lot of fun was had. It was not wild like the ones today.I never got out of control and caused trouble.
You wouldn't have been welcome in the gut anyway.
You got charged for too much PORT HOLE DUFF.
What's for breakfast skipper, I got Spithead Pheasant and S*it on a raft.
Added after 2 minutes:
Didn't Sylla used to be Dougal, em Brian and Dougal on holiday together, Rickybear you are not really Florence are you.?
Dougal ! just like the one in your Avatar , with cheese , Is that your black Lab? such great dogs ....
My first Holiday abroad was Majorca, Arena, I could not believe that the weather could be so lovely for the ten days we had there, first time abroad, it was brilliant.l
with cheese
24-06-2011, 20:02
Dougal ! just like the one in your Avatar , with cheese , Is that your black Lab? such great dogs ....
That was my old boy Sylla who sadly died with a tumour that did not show at all, happy to the day he died, just collapsed, 14 years old. Got a new boy from rescue, He is Alfie, had him a year now.
That was my old boy Sylla who sadly died with a tumour that did not show at all, happy to the day he died, just collapsed, 14 years old. Got a new boy from rescue, He is Alfie, had him a year now.
AAwhh ! Dougal was 16 , perfectly ok but his back legs went , it was heartbreaking and we cuddled him while he went to sleep ...Sylla was our little girl lab , she had a massive tumour .. she was 11 , and when she went Dougal mourned for over a week and we had to feed him by hand ...we had such happy days with them though and lovely memories ....
with cheese
24-06-2011, 21:06
My first Lab, Lady, lived to 15 and one day just got dropsie, 2 days she was gone, bless.
My first Lab, Lady, lived to 15 and one day just got dropsie, 2 days she was gone, bless.
We had another one before these two ...Mavro ...he was 15 when he died.....and my grandad always had labradors , all black , love them ... but none now , can't face loosing them again and Dougal irreplaceable , he would try and talk to you ...one thing for sure , he could mind read !
Better get back to holidays LOL !:surf:
slodgedad
24-06-2011, 21:37
Don't know if this counts, but we were living in Germany at the time (1964)
We had a camping holiday down the Rhine and anywhere that sounded interesting..
My biggest memory is taking the wrong turn on the motorway and heading towards E, Germany with a military pass and my Dad crapping himself cos we we couldn't turn back'
when i was young we had a camper van so we toured mostly wales, so i never went abroad untill i was married and we even planed the holiday and flights seperate!! we got the apartment out of daltons weekly in a place called son calou in majorca, it used to take us about half hour to walk to any sort of night life and it was the first time i had experienced all the bars showing pirate films and re runs of only fools and horses lol
Lucy Fer
25-06-2011, 12:49
First holiday was with parents went to Puerto de la Cruz and have been back to Tenerife loads of times since then.
with cheese
25-06-2011, 13:38
when i was young we had a camper van so we toured mostly wales, so i never went abroad untill i was married and we even planed the holiday and flights seperate!! we got the apartment out of daltons weekly in a place called son calou in majorca, it used to take us about half hour to walk to any sort of night life and it was the first time i had experienced all the bars showing pirate films and re runs of only fools and horses lol
Is that where you first had sex, one of those Welsh leisure centres
My first holiday abroad was with my parents, 1972(?), driving to Denmark in an old Volkswagen Beetle... camping - we couldn't afford hotels. The camping gear was loaded high on the roof.
Visited Legoland. I was 9 then.
...booked a flight with the Laker Skytrain (anyone remember him?) from Gatwick to JFK.
Can't say I remember myself, but in the late 80's I worked for a small airline in the US, (Florida). The owner was a Brit, who used to be Chief Pilot, and Captain flying DC-10's for Freddie Laker. He claimed the operations room for Laker Airways att Gatwick was a small office containing only a three-legged table (the fourth leg was missing), and a blackboard where all the flight planning was done.
He had a model of a DC-10 on his desk, painted in his company colors... even though the largest airplane we flew, could only take 6 passengers! :whistle:
Jackie Buyer
25-06-2011, 20:07
My first holiday abroad with my late husband was in 1976 to Ibiza, staying at the hotel Hawaii in San Antonio, boy were we green. Got drunk the first day at lunchtime, didn't see that night. Oh those were the days, did lots of daft things
Ecky Thump
31-03-2015, 18:23
My first holiday abroad was when I was about five and we went to Glasgow on a train, the sites of the trams, smells and sounds were amazing and as for the language, it's still to this day a mystery!:D
trevorife2
31-03-2015, 19:59
lloret de mar .... Need i say more???
cainaries
31-03-2015, 20:08
Only just seen this thread. I thought I'd gone abroad. I come from Sarf'mpton but my dad was a Geordie and took us to see his family in Whitley Bay and I genuinely thought I was abroad
First real time was to France and the car was loaded on to the ferry in a kind of rope cage by crane. (Yes, I am very old). No Ro-Ro ferries in those days.
Mine was to Tenerife in 1987. We booked a last minute Thompsons getaway that just said it would be a 4 star hotel in Tenerife. After 5 or 6 stops dropping people off we were the last on the coach and ended up at the Hotel Vulcano when it was very new in a big corner room - we felt very lucky!
Angusjim
08-02-2016, 15:11
My first holiday abroad was to Blackpool the language was an issue the couldnae mak ott fit I wis spikin aboot and didnae tak my 10 bob notes:spin: :lol:
Malteser Monkey
08-02-2016, 15:30
My first holiday abroad was to Blackpool the language was an issue the couldnae mak ott fit I wis spikin aboot and didnae tak my 10 bob notes:spin: :lol:
No we know this isnae truuu you and a ten bob note:D
The first time I went to Dublin, I got off the ferry and went in a shop to buy a map, I offered the guy an English fiver, he snatched it out of my hand and gave me the change in some weird currency called Punts. He must have seen me coming.
My first holiday abroad was when the Army sent me to Germany in 1964, now that was one BIG holiday.
My first holiday abroad was to Blackpool the language was an issue the couldnae mak ott fit I wis spikin aboot and didnae tak my 10 bob notes:spin: :lol:
Ah bit that wiz only last week !
Ecky Thump
09-02-2016, 14:58
Birmingham in the 1960's, nearly everyone I saw had brilliant suntans and thought this must be Britain's Riviera, but was amazed to find that I was many miles from the sea!:laugh:
- - - - - - - - - - merged double post - - - - - - - - - -
My first holiday abroad was to Blackpool the language was an issue the couldnae mak ott fit I wis spikin aboot and didnae tak my 10 bob notes:spin: :lol:
Ah bit that wiz only last week !
And he's never returned the coach fare that he borrowed from me.:D
MaTenerife
09-05-2016, 14:40
My first time abroad was in Tuscany, Italy. Must have been about 15 or 16.
FredWisley
19-05-2016, 11:05
The worst thing - I do not remember ANYTHING about my visit to China but I remember that it was funny in the train on my way :(
Dunno whether Wales counts like ... we (mum ,dad and family) were travelling in a clapped out motor got stuck in traffic somewhere near Sealand R.A.F. Base not far from Queensferry and finished up in a place called Gronant..just for the day.......
When I was in my 2nd year of Secondary School. I went to Brittany I remember having Orangina to drink and the teacher ( Mr Foley ) getting sunburnt feet at a beach in Sables D'or :)
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