Theres an excellent programme on BBC 3 on Tuesdays at 9pm called Sun,Sex and Suspicious parents
There are 2 groups of parents that sneak off to the resort where their teenager is having a holiday with their mates.
They spy on them and watch the antics on a video link and reveal themselves at the end of the holiday.
The 2 teenagers this week behaved themselves but future participants may not
It may just give the OP some ideas of where is suitable for her son and his friends.
Last week the teenagers went to Malia in Crete which looked very lively. Next week the programme is from Ibiza.

Is it on iplayer, if it is, Ill get me and my son to watch it, to see what happens

I was just about to post the same thing Jay Trip, made for some interesting viewing, reminded me of my youth, but also feeled me with dread because I know that at some stage that will possibly be my kids in 10 years time .

I was lucky when my 2 were teenagers as my daughter went camping to Brittany on her first holiday abroad with friends aged 19 and my son was happy wandering the Lake District fells and youth hostelling.

My eldest has only wanted one group holiday abroad and that was just after he'd finished his A levels at 18. They were a mixture of 12 girls and boys and went to laganas.

My youngest went on his first lads holiday when he was 18 and has been on one every year since (he's 24 now). He's visited most of the places Val mentioned plus Kavos, Corfu. They have been the sort of holidays the OP is asking about and he's had a whale of a time. He's been fortunate in that he's only had one bad experience (so far!). When he was in PDLA he was walking home from a nightclub in the early hours with a mate when another lad (stranger to them but British) fell into step with them and started chatting. Before they knew it, he was up and away with their wallets which had been in their pockets They tried giving chase but since they were in flip flops it was hopeless. Tbh, I'm glad they didn't catch up with him. He had his bank card in the wallet as he needed it to withdraw from the ATM before going out so had all the fuss of phoning the bank from abroad.

Lyn, one bit of advice I'd give would be to get the money before hand, leave cards and all essentials in safe and tell him to only take out enough cash for that night.

Thanks for the tip Shirley . I think he would probably do that but it would be a good idea for me to start a list of those nagging reminders .

One danger that stood out on Sun Sea and A&E was many Brit lads ended up in hospital through those kick/punch machines. Although not as bad as those that were simply walking home & ended up getting a good thumping, their holiday was still spoilt as they couldn't go in the sea/pool etc due to having casts on their arms/legs.

Oh and another one - balcony jumping - say no more
I know we can't wrap our kids in cotton wool but we still want and need to protect them. I'm terrible for this I know. Even now when my 26yr old goes out I tell him to leave his card at home, in fact he's now got a 'going out' wallet where he can just put some cash in it and go, rather than take all his cards out.

On holiday make sure your teenagers have some form of zip pockets in their shorts/trousers - it's easy when your a bit 'tiddly' for someone to sneak something out of an open side pocket.

Even now when my 26yr old goes out I tell him to leave his card at home, in fact he's now got a 'going out' wallet where he can just put some cash in it and go, rather than take all his cards out.

I've noticed that my son takes his cards out of his wallet before a night out here too Glynis. Probably as a result of that bad experience in tenerife.

TenerifeLover69 wrote:

Oh and is it better to do self catering or bnb or half board or all inc

I think it will be better for them to get an apartment. They can be cheaper and more flexibile.

In hotels you have annoying things (well they would be to teens) like maids knocking on the door wanting to clean the rooms while they will probably want to sleep. Apartments will probably only get cleaned once every 3 days.

Some 1 bed apartments sleep 4 and some 2 beds sleep 6 as they allow 2 on a sofa bed in the lounge part.

Cant imagine them wanting to sit down to lots of meals in a hotel dining room at set times. I guess if they go for a hotel it should be AI but they might be given kids wrist bands if they are under 18 which they would hate.

Club 18 -30 used to operate round apartment holidays.

I recall someone mentioned 18-30 holidays where the kids are out all night and then in bed all day.....

However, it's wise to mention that the club rep will go around the hotel in the morning hammering on doors to get them up to join in the fun by the pool!

If TenerifeLover69, who I'm also sure is the same 15yr old posting under a different name is considering all nighters and sleeping it off in the daytime - be warned!

Best to book an apartment that's not in one of these "club" type holiday brochures.

I recall going away with the girls when I was 22 (I was the elder by about 3yrs) and we went to Ibiza (San Antonio, of course!).

We left the hotel each night at 10.30pm to take the ferry taxi across the bay to the bars and clubs. We frequented Sam Spoon's Irish bar most nights and then ended up after 1am in one of the clubs till 7am next morning. I used to go to bed for a couple of hours then get up in time for the last part of breakfast whilst my mates stayed in bed till after 12 midday. I used to go to the beach below the hotel pool and wait till they surfaced then we would go shopping and grab a sandwich. Back to beach till 4pm and then off for a sleep. The latest we could eat in the restaurant was 9pm and we used to make it - just.... Then, off back to the room to get ready for another night out.

We did that for two weeks and for the next two weeks after our holiday I wanted to sleep every afternoon at 4pm.

I still remember our holiday and my husband never did a "lads holiday". I do feel he missed out.

To be truthful, I would wait until you are 18+ and go on holiday with the lads when you don't have to worry about where you can drink legally. There's nothing to stop you going away with family and taking a couple of your mates along with you though.

My stepson came out to Cyprus with his friend during the first 2 weeks of a 10 week holiday. They went out to some of our local bars and in the 2nd week, we booked 2 apartments for 2 nights in Napa. We let them go up to the Square but they had to take a mobile phone and they had to text us when they got back. They were both 17 at the time and it turns out they weren't out much longer than 2am each night as it seems they were both a little overwhelmed by it all. But, when the others all came back at 5 and 6am, they still got up out of bed and jumped in the pool with them all.

They had a great holiday but were still allowed to to have their own experiences but with an adult on hand, just in case. It's good grounding for later in life.

Before we moved permanently to Cyprus, we used to take my stepson on holidays and to prepare him for his single travels out to visit us - for the 2yrs leading up to our move abroad, we always made him take care of the checking in of the luggage, safety of passports and tickets, working out which gate to go to and keeping an eye on the departure board. When he was ready to travel alone for the first time at 15yrs old - we knew we had no worries that he would get stuck anywhere.

Shell
Limassol, Cyprus

I watched the programme and my son who was watching in a different room, marched in and said he would never talk to me again if I turned up to spy on him! The 2nd episode is on Tuesday and the teenagers go to Ibiza.

I will not lecture you. Each to their own. I would deffinatley reccomend Ayia Napa, it's everything that you just mentioned. My daughter has been going there since she was 13 (not drinking obviously) but after school on a friday to hang out they head to Ayia Napa. A great resort for teenagers.

Some of my work mates age around 18, where looking for some place to go on holiday, they wanted some place different, and lively resort

Now I suggested to them Riccionie in Italy, I promised them they would love the night life here and was told by the holiday rep at the time Rimini is the second busiest night life in europe, dont know if true

Any way they decided to trust my views, and booked there holiday, here and stayed in one of the camp sites, they came back prasing the resort, and they ahd a wonderfull time

My son has now booked 10 days in "Napa" with olympic . 19 I think of them going and staying at the Tsokkos apartments I think it's called. Oh my lordy

Will you be spying on him Lyn

No I'm definately better off not knowing Jean .

I think that after the programmes shown on BBC3 a lot of youngsters will be looking over their shoulders this year.

lynwestie wrote:

My son has now booked 10 days in "Napa" with olympic . 19 I think of them going and staying at the Tsokkos apartments I think it's called. Oh my lordy :yikes

Oh well at least they have booked with a reputable company, so if there are any ash clouds etc they should get back home OK. Pleased to know you wont be spying on them I couldn't work out who I was more embarrassed for the kids or the parents.

I was thinking that it's good that the kids all go to one of two or three places like Napa, Kavos at least it contains it in one area, and probably 15 years later they end up going back to the same places but to family resorts with their partners and kids.

Im 17 and my fience is 22 we have booked our first holiday together this may, i know my mums a little bit apprehencive about it also. We wanted to book somewhere where i was able to drink aswell but also somewhere i would feel secure and thats not too expensive. We looked through many hotels and found one in portugal (where the legal drinking age is 16) that actually has a club and bar in the hotel and very close by so i am in my comfort zone and its safe and at the same time we can have a smashing holiday :)!! hope this helps.. oh and heres the name of the hotel if you would like to check it out for yourself for future reference. xx
Paraiso de Albufeira Aparthotel in Algarve portugal.. Best cheapest prices ive found is directline holidays