As a child I used to be taken away by my parents a few times a year on holiday. My parents loved a bucket and spade jobbie – jet away, airport transfer by coach then sun, sea, sand and sangria, kids clubs, lilos and evening entertainment. We used to frequent a number of places – namely Spain and the Balearics including Mallorca and Ibiza. They would pour over travel brochures and then take us away to what we saw as the land of sun, fun, sand and ice creams.
A cheap Spanish package holiday seemed to be the done thing where I grew up. Parents worked hard and wanted to whisk the kids away somewhere warm, but budgets weren’t huge so a week or fortnight in the Med became the go-to holiday of the masses. Torremelinos, Benalmadena, Benidorm, Porto Colom, Alcudia, Playa D’en Bossa were the must-visit resorts. High rise tower blocks of hotels lined the coast and ‘E Viva Espana’ was sung by family members a-plenty.
Over 20 years later and holidays to Spain have changed. Of course there are still the beaches to enjoy, sandcastles to build and sangria to drink, but the clientele is changing. Good value for money is still key, but many families similar to how mine was in the 80s are now choosing private villas to share with their friends and booking cheaper flights. The need for a decent and reliable airport transfer is key with this type of holiday as otherwise you will need to wait for a private taxi which you won’t know the price of. If you book in advance through a company such as Holiday Taxis, your mind can be somewhat settled and you can spend the time you would have spent waiting in that queue spending time with your children or friends.
I don’t miss those 80s style holidays one bit. I can still smell the straw beach mats, imagine the sand between my toes, and remember the lairy lads on the charter coach the travel company provided. I think that was one of the memories that stuck in my mind and not for a good reason. Nowadays I know that I don’t have to put up with that, nor with catching a taxi from outside of the airport as you can book your holiday transfer in advance – more convenient and more civilised, that’s for sure.
When she isn’t reminiscing about days gone by, Sarah loves to research her new holiday, planning her holiday taxi from the airport to accommodation, what to wear and who to go with, well in advance.
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