How travel has changed since 1985’s ‘Back to the Future’

I’ll be honest, I have somewhat of a personal vested interest in this blog post. I LOVE the Back to the Future. Growing up I wanted nothing more than to be Marty McFly, hurtling through time and space in a rusty old DeLorean. Like everyone, I hoped and wished that the year 2015 would really bring us hover boards, but I suppose smartphones are pretty great too. October 21^st 2015 is the day that Marty and Doc Brown arrive in the future from 1985 in the second film, and so in celebration, I thought I’d have a little look at how travel has changed since 1985 (SPOILER ALERT: it has changed a lot…)

Off the beaten track

Oh the Eighties. It was a simple time, where most people’s trips were decided by thumbing through a holiday brochure. Remember the cheesy, airbrushed photos of laughing families relaxing near a deserted swimming pool, or the pre-packaged holidays that stuck you in all the tourist traps and crowded resort gift shops? I don’t know about you, but I’m over that. Swimming with whale sharks in the Philippines or throwing tomatoes at La Tomatina in Spain, that’s more like it. In short, these day’s we’re able to be a little more adventurous in our quest to meet the world…

Last minute trips

Thanks to rise of budget airlines, planning adventurous trips months in advance is a thing a of the past. Instead of planning a 2016 summer holiday right now, travel can be so cheap and easy nowadays that taking off on a quick weekend break to Amsterdam or a last minute visit to London at the drop of a hat is always a possibility.

Smartphones

Remember having to sit in a stuffy travel agency just to book a holiday? For those of you who are too young to remember that, believe me, that was a real thing! No thank you. A couple of months ago I literally booked a weekend trip, including transport and accommodation using my phone while waiting for a bus, listening to a podcast and half paying attention to a game of Trivia Crack. WHILE WAITING FOR A BUS AND PLAYING A GAME! That is just ridiculous.

Also, gone are the days of being lost in a foreign city with no way to find your way around and only a paper map in tow. Boarding passes, translators, music (we used to carry around Walkman and Discman music players! Remember those?!) GPS/Sat Nav, search engines and thousands of apps have got our back. I like 2015 🙂

Travel photos

Bad hair and crazy clothes. Oh the joys of old travel photos. Not only were most of the pictures blurry, but then you had to take the film or the disposable camera in and pay for developing (which nowadays can be done in 1 hour but that was not always the case), only to find that half the pictures had thumb smudges (maybe all of them if you’re anything like me) and partial obstructions from fingers. I think things have improved recently, although we’re a little more obsessed with photographing our food… 😉

Digital Memories

Telling the world about your trip back in the 1985 meant taking the best photos you could (with no digital screen to double check them remember) and having them developed, then arranging them in a nice (or affordable) photo album, and hauling them into school or work after the trip. A few lucky family members and friends back home may have even received a very briefly written postcard. You couldn’t even email a picture home back then!

These days we leave all the heaving lifting to Go Pro cameras and social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Although seeing my best friends are biking on Death Road in Bolivia, or snowboarding in New Zealand while you’re stuck at uni or work always intensifies my wanderlust…

Selfie Sticks

Two words the Back to the Future crew probably didn’t anticipate: Selfie sticks. Definitely wouldn’t find those in 1985, and some people hope they’re gone by 2016.

Also, on a very important related note, we are now close to the existence of hover boards. Come on science, get your act together!

Massive thanks to Uwe Hermann, Davide, Barney Moss, Mooshuu, Ricardo (2) and @JohannaW for their awesome pictures.

Colin R. (@sir_colinr) is a member of the Hostelworld Social & Content team, singer/guitarist of @theEmpireKings,  and fanatical sports nerd.