By Dec. 28, many of the readership’s snowbirds would have already departed for warmer climes, but for those who hadn’t, travel agencies advertised numerous possibilities.
Not surprisingly, a big ad on page 28 touted a free reservation service for Miami Beach hotels, with seven-day package trips from $112 — although $19 less by train. Car rentals were just $1.36 per day.
Features included Cadillac taxi transfers to and from the hotel, a “night club party with cocktails,” a beach bag and a free water skiing lesson. Airlines used included the now-defunct Eastern Air Lines and National Airlines, which billed itself as “Airline of the Stars.”
Note the ad’s phone number (LO8-0680), which uses the old system of exchange names. The “LO” might have been short for Locust, Lowell or Logan, according to Notes on Nationwide Dialing, 1955, an AT&T/Bell publication.
Those not interested in Florida could take trips to Mexico, Bermuda, California, Israel or the Caribbean.
