Every day millions jet off on their dream holidays. But are their expectations always fulfilled? We caught up with two sets of passengers at Gatwick airport’s check-in, and then met them off their flights home the following week. Here are their verdicts:
Name: Kate Roberts. Age: 19. Occupation: English student at University of Sussex. From: Uckfield, Sussex.
Name: Ben Scott. Age: 19. Occupation: History student at University of Sussex. From: Cornwall.
Destination: Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Holland. Flight: HV605 (Transavia airlines) Duration: Six days.
Cost: pounds 59 (incl tax) each for return flight with Transavia. “We haven’t fixed up anywhere to stay yet. We’ll find youth hostels when we get there. Between pounds 7-pounds 12 a night.” Holiday budget: pounds 300 each. Amount spent: pounds 600 each. “We really overspent. We just kept drawing money out of the cashpoint – and now we’re both horribly overdrawn before term has even started!”
Last Holiday
Kate: “We went to Amsterdam together in March just for the day.”
Ben: “I also went to Spain with my whole family over Easter.”
The Mission
“To get some space really. Two friends, Gordon and Alex, have moved into the tiny room we share and it was getting a bit cramped! We also wanted to do something to celebrate our first anniversary. Hopefully, we’ll travel round a bit, maybe catch a train into Germany or Denmark.”
Mission Accomplisled?
“Absolutely. We had the best time and feel totally refreshed. We easily found youth hostels, which was the main thing. We stayed in Amsterdam one night, then took the train to Germany. We were aiming to get to Berlin but we ran out of time, and money.”
The First Day
“The first night, we met up with some friends who have taken a year out to study in Amsterdam. We wandered round the town, went to the wildest of wild clubs, and stayed up all night. It was a mad, mad evening.”
The Last Day
“We weren’t nearly so energetic at the end after traipsing to Germany and back. We met up with our friends again but just chilled in cafes. After they went to bed, we stayed up drinking coffee in the coffee bars until late.”
The High Point
“Going to Hamburg in Germany because we’ve never been there. It was so picturesque and full of life. We wandered round the beautiful parks and took a pedalo out on the lake. We spent most of our time in the Reeperbahn, the `red light’ Soho, area where all the shops, cafes and clubs are.”
The Low Point
“Visiting Bremen. It was really industrial and grey and all the people were boring and unfriendly.
“When we crossed the German border, we were accosted on the train by this Polish drug dealer who was smuggling cocaine. He was a bit mad and really scary so we made our excuses and moved to another carriage.”
Name: Ray Smith Age: 40 Occupation: Machine assistant From: Sittingbourne, Kent
Name: Julie Smith Age: 39 Occupation: Shop assistant
Name: Mark Smith Age: 18 Occupation: Construction worker
Name: Michael Smith Age: 16 Occupation: Temp
Name: John Austin (Mark’s best friend) Age: 18 Occupation : Civil servant
Destination: Ibiza
Club Calatarida, Calatarida, Ibiza.
Flight: AWD523 (Sunworld Airlines)
Duration: One week.
Cost: pounds 380 each for all-inclusive resort booked three months ago.
Holiday budget: pounds 250 Amount spent: pounds 180.
Last Holiday
The Smiths: “14 years ago, when our two boys were youngsters, we went to Tenerife. We were very poor then. Up until recently we’ve made do with the caravan.”
John: Golfing holiday to Spain.
THe Mission
Mr and Mrs Smith: “To have one last big holiday together as a family. To spend most of the time just relaxing at the complex. The boys will probably go off clubbing.”
The Boys: “Yeah, clubbing’s the main thing. It’s got to be done! We’re happy with good music and plenty to drink.
“Neither of us would mind a holiday romance or two if the chance came around.”
The First Day
Mrs and Mrs Smith: “We arrived quite late, they held the Miss Calatarida beauty pageant, which was very enjoyable but, really, we just wanted to sleep.”
The Boys: “The first night we just drank San Miguel, the local beer, at the hotel bar. It was fairly lively, but not exactly non-stop parties.”
The Last Day
Mr and Mrs Smith: “The hotel held a great You-Bet! kind of show. The entertainers were betting us to do things like – find six blokes to appear on stage in bikinis. We won!”
The Boys: “We got solidly drunk in San Antonio – and then we all clubbed together.”
The High Point
Mr and Mrs Smith: “The weather. It was 88 degrees when we left, which was particularly good for this time of year. The drinks were really cheap, too. Two shots of peach schnapps and a glass of Sangria for pounds 2!:
The Boys: “The entertainers in the complex . The sketches they performed were excellent.”
Mission Accomplished?
Mr and Mrs Smith: “We had a beautiful time. Old Ibiza town was interesting. But most of the time was spent lazing around.”
The Boys: “We found this fantastic night club but we only went there three times because the resort was so good. Days were spent lounging around – nursing hangovers.”
The Low Point
Mr and Mrs Smith: “To get to the beach, you had to climb down a huge flight of steps – and getting back up to the hotel again was a real chore. And the return flight was delayed for nearly two hours due to radio problems in London.”
The Boys: “Only the waiting at the end.”
