1990s Holidays: Top Destinations And Travel Trends

Budget airlines, the Channel Tunnel and city breaks.

Below: where people went in the 1990s, how the holiday actually worked, what changed during the decade, and the details anyone who was there will remember.

Useful for a reminiscence session, a themed party, or working out what someone's holidays looked like when they were young.

Years covered in the 1990s

• 1990 - Thatcher resigned, Gazza cried, and the country spent a fortnight thinking England might actually win it. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1990
• 1991 - Bryan Adams would not get off the top of the chart, the Soviet Union ceased to exist, and Freddie Mercury died. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1991
• 1992 - Black Wednesday, a general election nobody predicted correctly, and the Premier League arrived. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1992
• 1993 - Mr Blobby was Christmas number one, which is somehow not the strangest thing about the year. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1993
• 1994 - The Lottery started, the Channel Tunnel opened, and Wet Wet Wet would not leave the number one spot. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1994
• 1995 - Blur against Oasis on the Six O'Clock News, and Toy Story changed films for good. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1995
• 1996 - Football came home, nearly, and the Spice Girls arrived and took the entire decade with them. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1996
• 1997 - A landslide in May, a death in August, and the best-selling single in British history. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1997
• 1998 - The Good Friday Agreement, a World Cup sending off nobody forgave, and Furby. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1998
• 1999 - An eclipse over Cornwall, a millennium everybody was quietly worried about, and boy bands everywhere. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1999
• That is every 1990s year we have written up so far: 1990 to 1999.

Where people went in the 1990s

• Prague, Amsterdam, Dublin and Barcelona for the new weekend city break.
• Thailand, Goa, India and Australia on the gap-year and backpacker trail.
• Ayia Napa, Ibiza and Faliraki for club holidays.
• Florida, still the big family trip, often on a fly-drive with a villa.
• France by car through the Channel Tunnel, open to traffic from 1994.
• Paris and Brussels by Eurostar, close enough to do in a day.
• Turkey and Egypt growing fast on price.
• The Canaries and the Balearics still doing the bulk of the summer fortnight.

How the holiday worked

• easyJet from 1995 and Ryanair's low-cost model reset what a flight should cost.
• Booking by phone from a newspaper advert, and online by the end of the decade.
• Traveller's cheques and a money belt, still, for anywhere outside Europe.
• Eurostar and the tunnel making Paris and Lille a genuine day out.
• Package holidays still dominant, but no longer the only option.
• The euro was agreed in the nineties, but notes and coins did not arrive until 2002.

Travel trends of the 1990s

• Short breaks on top of the main summer holiday rather than instead of it.
• Backpacking and the gap year moving from unusual to expected.
• All-inclusive resorts arriving properly and changing what people spent abroad.
• Lonely Planet and Rough Guides as the way people planned a trip.
• Activity and adventure holidays - diving, trekking, skiing - sold as packages.
• Regional airports growing as budget carriers based aircraft outside London.

What people remember

• Disposable cameras and a film to hand in at Boots when you got home.
• Internet cafes to email home once a week and print the return flight details.
• Airport smoking sections, right up to the end of the decade.
• A guidebook with the corners turned down and a phrasebook nobody used.
• Hostel bunk beds booked by fax or by turning up.
• Paper tickets in a wallet you checked twenty times before leaving.

Iconic trips of the 1990s

• The Channel Tunnel opening in 1994 - Eurostar to Paris in three hours.
• Backpacking round Thailand, Australia and the full gap year.
• Easyjet (1995) and Ryanair's low-fare model turning weekends abroad into a habit.
• Glastonbury as a pilgrimage once the television coverage started.
• All-inclusive resorts arriving from the Caribbean and spreading to the Med.

How to use this

• Reminiscence: ask where they went, who drove and what went wrong - the disasters get the best stories.
• Quiz round: read a destination and ask for the decade.
• Themed party: put the 1990s playlist on and pin up a few old postcards.
• Present: a print of the place they honeymooned beats a generic card.

Shop prints and posters

How to write it so it lands

• Old holiday photos are the best prompt for a reminiscence session - better than any list.
• Ask about the journey, not the destination; that is where the stories are.
• Dates matter: check when someone actually went, not when the destination was fashionable.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1990
• Look back to 1991
• Look back to 1992
• Look back to 1993
• Look back to 1994
• Look back to 1995
• Look back to 1996
• Look back to 1997
• Look back to 1998
• Look back to 1999
• 1990s history: events, politics and culture
• 1990s calendar: year by year
• 1990s music: songs, genres and trends
• 1990s films and directors
• 1990s books, films and TV
• 1990s books: novels and authors
• 1990s art: artists and styles
• 1990s fashion: styles, designers and trends
• 1990s food: dishes, restaurants and trends
• 1990s technology: gadgets and computers
• 1990s shopping guide: what to buy
• 1990s games: board, card and video
• 1990s trivia: fun facts
• 1990s quiz: questions and answers
• 1990s party playlist
• The 1990s: the whole decade
• Retro gift guide: the 1990s
• The decade before: the 1980s
• The decade after: the 2000s
• All decade guides in one place
• Card messages by occasion: every guide in one place
• Card hub: cards, badges and messages by occasion
• Decade history by era
• Decade calendars: every year from 1920
• Decade music: songs, genres and trends
• Decade films: best movies and directors
• Decade books: novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade art: artists, styles and trends
• Decade fashion: styles, designers and trends
• Decade food: dishes, restaurants and eating trends
• Decade travel: destinations and holidays
• Decade technology: gadgets and computers
• Decade shopping guides
• Decade games: board, card and video games by era
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Decade quizzes: questions and answers by era
• Decade trivia game: play for points
• Decade quiz: test your memory
• Shop art prints and posters
• Shop greetings cards
• Shop birthday cards
• Shop funny cards
• Milestone birthday cards
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Retro party supplies
• 90s kids' TV shows
• 90s quiz questions
• Toys of the 80s and 90s
• Video shops and late fees
• Saturday morning TV
• Phones before mobiles
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Guess the year quiz
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

Where did people go on holiday in the 1990s?

Prague, Amsterdam, Dublin and Barcelona for the new weekend city break. The full list above covers the main destinations of the decade, at home and abroad.

How did people book holidays in the 1990s?

easyJet from 1995 and Ryanair's low-cost model reset what a flight should cost. The rest of the practical detail - money, transport and paid leave - is in the section above.

What were the big travel trends of the 1990s?

Short breaks on top of the main summer holiday rather than instead of it. The trends section above lists what changed across the decade.

What were the iconic trips of the 1990s?

The Channel Tunnel opening in 1994 - Eurostar to Paris in three hours. The iconic trips section above lists the journeys of the decade, with dates.

Do you sell holidays?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read, print and copy for a quiz or a care-home session.