Single Dad Life » Travel Advice

No Need To Travel Alone!

admin — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:39:58 +0000

By Jennifer Doncsecz

It is often times very pricey for single parents to travel with their kids. Even when kids promo’s are out there to travel for free or at a reduced rate, not having another adult going often times raises the child’s rates to another adult price.

Most cruise lines, Disney and all inclusives require 2 adults in their pricing of accommodations. But, there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

Beaches resorts understands that single parents need a break. They have certain dates in which they waive the $190 per night single supplement fee! Hot off the presses from Beaches Resort are their 2010 SINGLE Parents travel dates. For 2009, there is still time to travel through the end of October, but for next year, they are running these special single parent travel deals for Aug 17-Oct 31 ,2010. They are also making a point on having single parent welcome receptions, social cocktails, kids movie nights, and much more.

I can remember being a single mom and going on vacation with my kids only to feel a lack of conversation at night. On cruises, I often felt like a 3rd wheel to the couples at our dining table. I remember one time my kids ditched me for friends they made and I
was left alone under an umbrella watching all the other couples walking the beach.

Let’s just say a vacation should not be about how lonely you are on a beach! Sometimes it is very refreshing to get away from the grind and relax with others that are in the same “boat”.

I never had the time to join a single parent club or networking group, but now with these events at Beaches, it seems very appealing to hang out with others while my kids played in the waterpark or in their state of the art “xbox” game center.

It is refreshing to be able to travel to an exotic location and know that my kids will have a good time and I will too! It is my hope that other resorts adopt this same promotion as Beaches and single parents can discover many wonderful spots around the world with their children in tow!

If you want more information on single parents vacations, please feel free to email me at Jennifer@travelbyvip.com

Jennifer Doncsecz
President
VIP Vacations Inc
www.travelbyvip.com

#1 in the Nation for Group Sales to Sandals and Beaches Resorts!
Winner of the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s Romance in Travel Award in 2007!
Fox Philadelphia’s Travel Expert. Tune in each Friday to Good Day Philly and learn about the latest travel news!
Look for my new show on the Travel Channel every Sat. night at 10:30 pm-Cruises We Love!

What Every Single Parent Must Do Before Taking Their Child On Vacation

admin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:16:10 +0000

By Jennifer Doncsecz

Ever since January of 2007 when the government made it mandatory for every US citizen flying to the Caribbean, Mexico and Canada to now have a valid passport, single parents have felt much more at ease when taking their custodial or non custodial child out of the country.

However, just because you carry your child’s passport doesn’t mean you no longer have to get a notarized letter of permission to travel by your child’s other custodial or non custodial parent.

In most circumstances, airlines will ask where the other parent is. If you are traveling to a heavily used route for single parents to “disappear ” with their non custodial child (Mexico, Dominican Republic, Aruba) you will be asked to produce a letter that is signed by the other parent and notarized.

This letter should include the other parents name, the dates of travel, the locations you are traveling to, the other parents phone number and signature with a notarized seal. If you do not have this, the airlines could refuse you board the planes or even worse, you could get to your destination only to find that customs/immigration will make you turn around and not enter the country.

Many of my clients sometimes call the airlines ahead of time to check to see if this is necessary, however, the airlines do not operate customs/immigration and may tell you the wrong information.

Play it safe and always have the other parent sign this very important letter. Even if you have joint custody or full custody and the court awarded you ownership of your child’s passport, customs wants to know that both parents are aware of the child’s leaving the country.

In some cases where bad feelings are present between the parents, this can prove to be a bit tricky, but isn’t it better than spending thousands of dollars on a vacation on a beautiful island and being turned away from entering the country?

If your child’s other parent is deceased, it is also a good idea to bring a copy of the death certificate. I once had a client, who in a panic, had to call their in-laws for a copy of the obituary of their deceased spouse to be faxed to the airline’s counter because they were being denied boarding.

In the ever present world of parents abducting their children and taking flight, the airlines are being held under much more scrutiny. So, don’t get burned before you even arrive at your destination–be prepared and know what is required!

If you want more information on single parents vacations, please feel free to email me at Jennifer@travelbyvip.com

Jennifer Doncsecz
President
VIP Vacations Inc
www.travelbyvip.com

Picture courtesy of Alex

10 Simple Ways Single Parents Can Travel On A Budget

Barry — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:49:22 +0000

By Jennifer Doncsecz

It takes a little more planning when there is only one adult in the family, but it is possible to have nice family vacations!

The kind both parent and children will remember for a lifetime and the kind that will not destroy a single family’s budget.

There are several things single parents can do to enjoy vacations and make them memorable for children, too.

Take short day trips together. There are many neat places to go or interesting activities available near any metropolitan city. When you only go for the day, it requires less planning and costs less, too.
Travel very light. Mail ahead or buy when you arrive whenever possible. You will be the only person carrying everything unless you have older children.
Visit relatives for a reasonably priced vacation. You don’t have to mooch entirely. Take the host family out to dinner one night and be very helpful around their home.
You probably have a favorite baby-sitter you use at home. Bring him/her with you. They can share a room with your kids and be immensely useful to a single parent family.
If you go to your parents’ house or visit a sibling, someone who is very close and totally in love with your children, take a short trip alone. Leave your kids for at least one night while you either take a relaxing or exhilarating side trip.
Travel with another single or a relative. Some expenses are shared and each of you take a day as the primary caregiver of the children.
When your kids are small, travel off-season. Everything is cheaper and less crowded.
While driving to your destination, pack food ahead, then eat in roadside parks or metropolitan parks to save money. Being outdoors lets kids run off some energy while you take a driving break.
After you arrive, eat your big meal at lunch each day, then have sandwiches in the hotel room or outdoors (weather permitting, of course) for dinner. Luncheon prices are always lower.
Let your child bring a friend. With careful planning, your child can bring a friend for very little more money. Often the other family will footthe bill for their child anyway. This will give you some relief from the chief entertainer role. It is particularly important when your child has no siblings.

If you want more information on single parents vacations, please feel free to email me at Jennifer@travelbyvip.com

Jennifer Doncsecz
President
VIP Vacations Inc
www.travelbyvip.com

Why Single Parents Pay More to Travel

admin — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 12:57:29 +0000

By Jennifer Doncsecz

Solo parents face special issues when traveling, such as: how will a vacation be priced, given that rates are usually based on two paying adults? And how comfortable will a parent feel, if most other vacationers are two-parent families?

The good news is that with many holidays, single status hardly matters: car trips, camping, Disney theme parks, even European odysseys (with hotel rooms priced by number of beds) — there are many situations where neither price nor social ease is affected much by being solo with kids.

Many families, however, dream of a Caribbean resort, or a cruise… and on these holidays, being a solo parent c

an mean a whallop to the wallet.

My 10-year-old Child is an Adult???

Single parents may get a big shock when a child gets charged an adult rate.
This occurs because resorts/hotels base room prices on two adults sharing one room, i.e. the resort expects to charge, say, $300 a night for a room, but expresses this to customers as “$150 per person based on double occupancy” — “person” meaning an adult guest. Kids can then stay for free or pay a discount rate.
Unfortunately, if you’re a single parent the resort still wants its $300. So your child will be charged an adult rate.

Single Supplement Blues
The other bane of single parent travel is the “single’s supplement fee”, which is again a way to bring the room price up to the $300 that the hotel/ resort wants. The single parent is charged the “per person” rate of $150, but is also charged a supplement of 50% to 100%. How do these common industry practices play out, when you’re traveling with one, two, three, (or more) kids?

One Adult, Plus One Child Traveling
How nice it would be if the adult were charged only the regular “per person” rate per night, and the child paid only the regular kids’ price. A few resorts do offer this kind of price break during special promotions at low-volume times of year.

But more likely, the adult will be charged a single supplement, and can consider him/herself lucky if the child gets a discounted children’s rate. As Sally Black notes, “many resorts insist on collecting the two-adult rate, even if you’re traveling with a three-year-old who doesn’t eat much or water-ski.”

One Adult, Two or more Kids
Add another child to the equation, and the extra child(ren) should get the discount child’s rate. If, for example, a dad were traveling with a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old, he’d probably pay two adult prices and the 3-year-old would pay the kids’ rate.

Price by the room – Yay!
Fortunately, some resorts charge by the room, no matter what age of occupants: at Disney World Resorts, for ex., room rates are the same for up to four people. (And the Value Resorts start at under $100/night, with many perks.)

Likewise, many hotels price by the room. The trick is to read prices carefully: look for prices that say “per room per night”, rather than “per person per night”.

Time for a Change
Until recently the travel industry has done little to make vacations easy for single-parent travelers. But change has started.

· Single Parent Tours tracks deals for solo-parent travelers, has bulletin boards, and organizes trips several times a year.

· Beaches Resorts– popular Caribbeanall-inclusives– has Single Parents months each year.

· Other resorts– such as Breezes and Franklyn D. Resort all-inclusives– offer deals for single parent travelers. (Franklyn D. Resort in Jamaica assigns a “vacation nanny” to each family during their stay– terrific for solo parents!)

Feeling Comfortable as a Single Parent
Besides pricing, the second major issue faced by single-parent travelers is: will I feel comfortable with other holiday-ers?

I often say. “Many single parents feel like an outcast at family resorts. Although these resorts offer the best children’s programs, parents sometimes feel peculiar trying to socialize with married couples.”

· One solution is to sign up for Single Parent Tours (above) or visit Beaches or another resort during a Single Parents promotion.

· Some Club Med all-inclusives have a good ambiance for single parent vacationers: traditionally, at meals, guests sit at round tables that seat eight, which encourages friendly chat. (However not all Club Meds have this seating any more.) Club Med has terrific kids’ programs and baby care, and there’s a resort right in Florida.

· Smaller resorts sometimes offer a friendlier atmosphere and more opportunities to chat and meet other guests for company.

The bottom line:
The travel industry still has a long way to go in encouraging single parents vacations, but some progress is being made. If you want more information on single parents vacations, please feel free to email me at Jennifer@travelbyvip.com

What has been you experience traveling with your kids? Any tips you discovered along the way? Let us know.

Air Travel with Kids

admin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:21:43 +0000

by: Jennifer Doncsecz, President

Air travel is challenging under the best of circumstances, but when you add children and/or pets, things can get downright hairy. Not to mention smelly, messy, and noisy! While I do not make a habit of traveling with my dog or cat, I have, but I have a lot of experience with my kids-who can be equally as smelly, messy and noisy. So how do I do it? Actually it is pretty simple

Be Well Rested. Get enough sleep the night before. If you’re like me and time always slips away from you, set your target bed time for an hour earlier than the actual time you want to get to sleep. Save the paper or National Enquirer for the plane, train or next night.
Go Slow. This will be repeated-often. But this piece of advice is something that cannot be emphasized enough.
Be Early. Allow plenty of time for unexpected mishaps. Leave your house early. Plan to arrive at the airport early. What’s the worst that can happen? You arrive with a lot of time to spare. That’s ok. That will allow you to take things slow.
Enjoy the Day. If you are early, you may even have more time to enjoy the day.Treat your trip as a fun adventure, not a stressful event. You are on a vacations-all parts of the day are experiences to be enjoyed. Drink it all in. Look at the day with a child’s sense of wonder. If you follow the first steps, this should be easy.
Use Curbside Check-In. Check as much of your luggage as you can with the Skycaps-make sure the right destination tag is on the bags. Make sure you have the essentials and the distractions in your carry on bags. Don’t worry about waiting for luggage on the other end. Trust me, when you have kids to deal with on a plane, the last thing you want is excess luggage. And don’t forget the skycap tip. $1 per bag!
The stroller or baggage cart. These things are wonderful. If you have a stroller, load up the kids and some of your carry-on bags and you are set. When you board a plane, leave it at the gate and they will check it for you and it will be waiting for you when you get to your destination. If you are not traveling with a stroller, rent one of those “Smart Carts” for a few bucks. They can transport kids as easily as bags and you can just leave it at the gate when you board.
Navigating Security. The best advice here is to go slow. That means don’t worry about the people behind you who are in a rush. They are the ones that are late-not you. But make sure you comply with all the ridiculous regulations. Let the kids know what is going on and why. There is nothing worse than forgetting that cell phone in your pocket and tripping the detector. You can ask to go through again, but the answer is “no.” A security tip-send your kids in advance of you to receive your carry-ons while you wait till your possessions are IN the scanner before you pass through the detector.
Car seats. You can bring these on the plane; but you will have to pay for a seat.Check your label to make sure it meets FAA regulations. Car seats are recommended for safety, but not required. Children under 2 years old can fly for almost free (you pay the taxes) on most airlines if they sit on your lap. Consider the length of the flight before taking advantage of this. Holding a baby or small child on your lap for several hours is harder than it sounds both on you and your neighbors. I was the beneficiary on a non-stop from Rome to Washington once-not fun…not at all…in the least.
Entertainment. Bring plenty of items that will pass the time for children (and adults too) such as books, favorite small (non-noisy) toys, music players, coloring books, etc. Inexpensive headsets are also a great investment for those planes that might have onboard entertainment and not enough airline provided sets for your family. Kids need to move. Find ways for them to safely move-a walk around the cabin after the meal service, stretching games, Simon Says, etc.
Snacks. Pack some healthy snacks that will also help with the dehydrating airplane environment. Fruits like apple, pears, and bananas are great. Whole grain crackers are good too. If your child is on the younger side, bring a sippy cup. The free drinks (as long as they last) are fine, but avoid those with caffeine-everyone will be happier. A note on water. Water is the best hydrator for adults and children alike. You cannot drink enough, but if you drink the airline’s water, make sure you get it from a sealed bottle.
Infant needs. It’s always best to check the latest rules ahead of time because they seem to change on a whim. But for right now the TSA will allow you to bring baby formula or breast milk on board. You are not allowed to bring an ice pack so instead use ziplock bags with ice cubes. You can use them up until the security check where you’ll need to dump the ice. When you get on the plane or when you land, you can always get more ice to put in the baggie to continue to keep formula, breast milk or other baby drinks cold.
The Ear Thing. If your child is an infant (or has sensitive ears) make sure they are doing some swallowing during takeoff and landing so their ears can adjust to the pressure. For infants, don’t let them start until the plan is speeding down the runway-falling asleep while nursing defeats the purpose. Older kids can drink, chew gum, or suck on a mint. If a child or baby is sleeping during the descent, you’ll want to wake them up so they can eat or drink. If you don’t they make wake up in mid descent with some pretty severe pain. Listen for the flight crew announcements to judge the time till landing.
Pet Travel. When you book your travel, you’ll need to make sure you book passage for your pet too. Most planes have a 20 pound weight limit for bringing a pet on board with you. If your pet weighs more than 20 pounds your pet will need to be in an airline approved crate and will travel in with the luggage. Always make sure your vet has cleared your pet to fly and that you are aware of any quarantine restrictions of your destination. If you ever see a service animal on a plane, remember that they are indeed working-do not assume you can pet them. Always ask the owner first. I once traveled from Seattle to Baltimore next to the nicest Golden Retriever-he was nicer than 90% of my seatmates!
Pet Carriers. If your pet will be flying with you and not in the cargo hold, you’ll need to have an airplane approved carrier that will fit under the seat in front of you-no Fluffy does not have run of the cabin. In order to make the event go smoothly it will help to give your pet plenty of “practice” ahead of time. Have your pet travel in your car inside the carrier similar to how it will be on the airplane. You can also make their carrier into a day bed in your home so that they will be familiar with sleeping inside there. Make sure you check with your vet for any tranquilizers that may be needed.
Going Potty. This applies for both kids and pets: try to have them go potty as close to boarding as possible. For pets, they will obviously need to do this outside so bring the material needed to scoop the poop. You should also prepare for the worst in case your pet has an accident while on the airplane-wee-wee pads, ziplock bags, and clean up supplies are a must in case of a mess. For children that are potty trained, it never hurts to bring an extra set of underwear and pants just in case. Flight etiquette: gently wake your slumbering seatmate if you need to move across him, hold it till the service carts are away, and wipe the sink when you are done washing your hands. Best time to go? Immediately after the meal service passes your seat. Worst time, when the movie ends.
Wear Comfortable Shoes. When flying, people’s bodies can sometimes retain water which will show up in your feet swelling a bit. If your shoes are not comfortable, it will hurt. On a long day of traveling don’t underestimate the amount of energy that tight shoes can steal from you. Comfy slip-on type shoes equals a happy traveler. Unless you are absolutely sure your feet don’t stink-leave the shoes on and never, never walk around in stocking feet or worse barefoot.
Go Slow. Remember, I told you this was a key point! Enjoy each moment of the day. And as Bobby McFerrin might say…Don’t worry. Be happy! Your on Vacation