Hi Jane, Have you any recommendations for myself and my 20 month old son? I
don’t need to go in school holidays so am fairly flexible. Laura
Dougall, Cheshire
Times online family travel expert Jane Owen responds: You - and your
son - will have a great time so long as you find a friend to go with you so
that you can share the pressures and pleasures of parenting. It’s worth
asking married friends as well as single parents – some will be happy to
have a break with their child and without their partner. If your son is only
20 months you may yet to have experienced one of the major problems with
holidays as a single parent – loneliness, particularly in the evening.
If you want a structured holiday, with babysitting on tap, go for one of the
holiday camps like Club
Med or Sun
Sail Most have kids clubs as well as sports and relaxation facilities
for you
Familyrapp.com
lists a host of single parent holidays in the UK and around the world. Catalink
is another useful source of single parent holidays. Just remember to beware
of sites which give lip service to single parent holidays in order to fill
places – you’ll end up in a hotel/campsite full of two-parent families
without any easy way to make friends or join the fun.
The single parent
travel club is particularly useful if you don’t know any one with the
same aged child or in similar circumstances to you. For a mere £7.50
membership you will be able to make contact with other lone parents who want
to go on holiday.
If you’re prepared to take pot luck Single
Parents on Holiday arranges dedicated lone parent holidays in a few
well-chosen destinations at exceptionally low prices. On the other hand if
you’d like, and can afford, a tailor-made holiday Responsible
Travel can help and they’ll find a holiday which may have less impact on
the planet than many others.
Finally, whatever you book a holiday just remember to drive a hard bargain –
you are in a strong position to negotiate because you are not tied to term
times. Enjoy the advantage while you can.
Got a question about family travel? Email our trio of experts at
yoursay@timesonline.co.uk- Chloe Bryan-Brown takes care of questions for the
0-6 year olds, Emma Mahony handles the 7-12 age group and Jane Owen the
teenage and single parent groups.
