Wiganlad - I'm not positive but I think that the lead passenger has to be 18 or over

some co's let you fly at 16 & 17, i booked a holiday for my daughter and her 3 friends a few years ago, they ranged between 16 & 17, to get round this all parents had to write a letter of consent allowing them to go on the holiday, they were fine, but i didnt worry too much whilst there as my mother lives near the resort they stayed in should any problems have arisen. you will need to ask the co you are booking with, my daughter went to turkey and i know some of the turkish airlines allow 16 &17 yr olds. hope this helps

This question is coming up a lot in my house at the moment - hoping it is a definite no no

the usual scenario is that one of the parents will have to book and grantee the holiday, that in essences means that person WILL be liable for all payments [if one cant find the cash or damage is caused in the hotel].
All participants will need a passport with at least 6 months left on it after the date of travel, and as minors each will need a letter from their parents/guardians giving them permission to travel unaccompanied, [this may never get asked for but its worth taking]
they will need access to emergency funds [debit card]
if they want to hire mopeds they will need to take both parts of their FULL British licence [not provisional]

the problem will be finding a holiday company to accept them

thanks for the info, i now have new scenario, if we can go with a parent booking and acting as gaurantee along with a letter. Then does anyone no of companies that will accept us ?

lets turn it round.. where do you and your cohorts want to go... as you will probably have more joy with one of the independents

easy jet allow passengers over 16 to travel alone, and then you could book separate accommodation

im sure i booked my daughter a package with this co but it was to turkey so i would think it depends on the flight company

http://www.jetlinetravel.com/

good luck

There have been posts on this site where a group of young friends have booked a holiday and then fallen out and one has cancelled, due to the fact that the initial deposit was a special low deposit scheme when the friend cancelled the lead name (plus parent guarantee) were still liable for the remainder of the deposit and they were having problems getting the money from the other party, so please be careful.

My advice is when you book pay the full deposit and don't accept any special offers of a low deposit with the remainder of the deposit due a few weeks later, if you do go for a low deposit then make sure that the other parents are aware that if their son or daughter cancel they will still be liable for the remainder.

When I was 18 and started going skiing with my friends we even has an agreement between ourselves (written and signed by all) that if anyone cancelled then the person cancelling was liable for any increase in under occupancy charges if we were unable to get someone else to fill their space, it actually happened due to the fact he had not saved for the balance payment when it became due, he lost his deposit and he gave us about £75 (Memory?) a few weeks later to cover the extra charges, it was all done friendly because we had agreed and discussed the scenario before we booked there was no trying to refuse payment on his behalf, and we still remain friends nearly 30 years later, in fact he was the first to book the following year and was the first to pay the balance as he was so disappointed that he was unable to go the prevous year.

It may be awkward to raise this in conversation but may save a lot of grief later on.

Hopefully everything will go swimmingly and you will have a great time.

Dave

think Daves idea is a great one. We have a similar thing at work tht we all sign up to for our lottery syndicate.

This post is on the same subject.

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=95519

Dave

An important thing to highlight in Daves post is the phrase "Low Deposit". This is usually a marketing ploy and really means partial deposit. So when the cancellation rule mentions loss of deposit it will mean the whole of it and not just the bit you've paid - so you owe them money. Teenagers without a lot of spare cash will obviously be attracted to those tours which don't need a big early payment - don't fall into the trap of thinking you are only gambling that little bit if you can't get the rest together.

If you're not too fussy about where to go, can I suggest a strategy? Find out which companies will accept you and where they sell their last minute deals (agents/ website etc.). Then just save up as much as you can. A few weeks before your date see what you can get, there ought to be something worth having. Leaving it late means you know how much you've actually got to spend. It also means there's less chance of someone falling out and to wanting to go. Or falling in love and wanting to go with new girlfriend instead of mates - stop smirking, it happens!!

Once you book make sure everyone gets decent insurance straight away (and that's something else you'll have to check for age restrictions) so that one accident at home doesn't wreck everyone elses trip.

And don't forget to apply for passports and EHICs if you haven't got one in your own name.

In respons to people sayin theyd have more help if they new were we wanted to go. Well were hoping to go to turkey as me (1 of the lads, there is 1 other lad and 2 girls going) have family that live in fethiye area so does one of the girls. We wanted to go around fethiye, hisaronu etc... ? Thanks all

Easyjet fly to turkey and they take adults from age 16 up. You could DIY book your flights with easy and an apartment seperately. You would have to pay upfront for the flights so no problems with low/partial deposits or people pulling out at the last minuite, which could be an advantage.

thanks for your reply with the easy flights, just wondering are you protected if you book direct with easy if they go bust. And will apartments/hotels take us at 16/17 ? thnks

when i book with easy jet i always use my credit card then if they go burst you should be able to claim off your cc, so see if 1 of your parents will book for you. there are plenty of hotel only booking sites like, travel republic, quickrooms, findmeaccom,freedomdirect etc you will need to check them out for age limits, or try the company i recommended earlier with the link i gave you, my daughter used them when she was 17

thanks for the help just on their website now, did she book accom only with them or... ?

no i booked an all inc package with them , she was 17 and 2 of her mates were 17 and 1 was 16 , i did check by phone, this was 4 yrs ago, so please dont book without double checking with them incase their policy has changed

Karen is right to say book everything with a credit card. If you are booking DIY ie a flight and accommodation with an accommodation only provider.

If you dont have a CC perhaps a parent or older sibling would let you use theirs and you could give them the cash. Don't book with a debit card as they do not give the same financial protection.

Double check everything before you hit the accept/confirm buttons and take screen shots of everything as you go through the booking process. With Easyjet you dont even get a flight ticket, they just email you a booking reference number to quote at check in, or some people print the email off and hand it to the booking in clerk at the airport.

Make sure all the details are correct, dates, nos of people, nos of rooms you require, correct spellings of names that match up with passports. (not nicknames etc)

If you want to change anything at a later date you will be charged a hefty admin fee for any amendments.

Thats how companys make their money !

Good Luck.

Forgot something. You will also need travel insurance. There is a sticky at the top of the page about this. You can get it in the post office or M&S really easily. It shouldn't be too expensive as presumably you are young and fit and single trip insurance should be enough. But please do take it just in case.

Don't forget the legal age for drinking alcohol is 18 in most countries!