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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

#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!

Picture courtesy of Alex

10 Simple Ways Single Parents Can Travel On A Budget

barryk — 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.