As far as I can tell it depends on where, what hotel and what airline. That's why ur getting mixed messages.

As far as I can tell it depends on where, what hotel and what airline. That's why ur getting mixed messages. :)

Do you know of any particular places we could go? We are looking for (obviously) somewhere hot.

Legally you are both under age (17) to book a holiday. You will require an adult to make any booking.

fwh

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=95519 more info here

My dad would make the booking, just as long as we can get in. And I saw that thread before.

Hi Pandora

Olympic Holidays will book a package holiday for those between 16 and 18, you need to get their brochure have a look through or go on their web-site and do a few searches.

18 of my DD's friends went to Kos last summer, when they finished their A levels. Many were still 17 at date of travel & it had been booked for nearly a year i.e. since some were 16, to ensure they got decent apartments, near each other in the same resort.

The other thing you can do is book an Easyjet flight & a hotel direct, but as you are so young a Package Holiday is better & hopefully safer you will get a rep & if there is a disaster like an ash cloud they are obliged to get you home whereas with Easy & an hotel you would have to sort it yourselves - and possibly pay again for a flight.

Make sure you book holiday insurance as well, you never know when there might be a medical emergency or a lost suitcase.

Doe

doe wrote:

Hi Pandora

Olympic Holidays will book a package holiday for those between 16 and 18, you need to get their brochure have a look through or go on their web-site and do a few searches.

18 of my DD's friends went to Kos last summer, when they finished their A levels. Many were still 17 at date of travel & it had been booked for a nearly a year i.e. since some were 16, to ensure they got decent apartments, near each other in the same resort.

The other thing you can do is book an Easyjet flght & a hotel direct, but as you are so young a Package Holiday is better & hopefully safer you will get a rep & if their is a disaster like an ash cloud they are obliged to get you home whereas with Easy & an hotel you would have to sort it yourselves - and possibly pay again for a flight.

Make sure you book holiday insurance as well, you never know when there might be a medical emergency or a lost suitcase.

Doe :sun2

Ah I see. Thanks for the info.

Is a rep really necessary? And what do the reps actually do?

Not sure, it depends on what you want, if it is a 'club' type holiday they probably organise evenings out/events but that may not be the kind of holiday you want.

That wasn't really where I was coming from though, being a Mum I was more thinking of if anything goes wrong hopefully they would help or at least have a 24 hour helpline if you need any guidance, or a Dr, or lose a passport etc.

If you book a flight & a hotel you are kind of on your own with that type of stuff.

Generally speaking if nothing goes wrong you don't really need one.

Your getting mixed messages because you should be married before you take a girl away
Seriously, i can't see why you can't just book and go, after all ,you must be an adult, as the prices you pay will be adult prices.

tried posting 4 times over the last few days so will keep it short.. first hurdle is to find a tour operator and airline to take you, second is that as british passport holders under 18 yrs old you are still minors under British law and will need permission to travel from both sets of parents/guardians, good insurance will be expensive [but cheap isnt worth the waste of paper] read terms and exclusions thoroughly , remember in most of the world the age to purchase/drink alcohol is 18 yrs or higher,

members will not try and be obstructive with their answers but will try to offer the best advise they have

wizard

I think you may find that not being 18 when you go on holiday abroad becomes a problem because it is the legal age of majority in many of the countries in which you're considering taking your holiday.

I'm not sure what you mean Alsacienne, legal in what respect ?

The group of my daughters friends had no problems getting booked for Greece (Kos) last summer and many of them were only 17 coming on 18 so why is it a problem?

They could also have gone to Rhodes or Zante, which are traditional destinations for young folk.

Also my friends son went to Sharm el Sheikh at age 17 last October, no problem whatsoever at all with travelling at 17, but he went with his girlfriend. Having been there myself it would be boring for a group of friends, OK for a couple though.

It is just that his Mum paid for it on her credit card then he gave her the cash - he had been working full time from 16.

I'm also not sure why people are trying to put this person off of booking a holiday it seems like some are making a lot of assumptions rather than just answering if it can or cannot be done.

Doe

Doe

no one is trying to put anyone off so far all information given appears correct,

wiz

I'm not sure what you mean Alsacienne, legal in what respect ?

Depending on the country, being under 18 can potentially cause problems re whether the person as a minor is legally able to give their consent for medical treatment, drink alcohol etc.

I don't think that people are necessarily trying to put Pandora off - they're just concerned and wanting to make sure that this couple are going into this fully aware of the implications. If everything goes according to plan then that's wonderful but a lot of people on here are parents and probably approaching this from the perspective of 'How would I feel if it was my 17 yr old son and his girlfriend on their own and something went wrong?'

I know that the thing that I always re-assure myself with when travelling is that in the event of anything going wrong then I can always rely on flashing the plastic to get me home again etc - I pay off my cards in full each month and because of that I have large credit limits on more than one card. But two 17 yr olds travelling on their own won't have a single credit card between them because you have to be 18 in most of the UK in order to get any sort of credit. In Scotland you can legally enter into a credit agreement at 16 but that doesn't mean that the banks will give a 17 yr old one. In the rest of the UK you have to be 18 anyway. So their ability to buy their way out of trouble is going to be limited to whatever cash they've taken with them plus anything they have in a current account with a debit card - not very much in the the case of most 17yr olds I know.

I'd also perhaps feel differently if they were planning on going away with a larger group of friends but they're not. I know that I would be very concerned at the thought of my youngest niece going away with just a boy/friend - I'd be constantly worrying about how she'd fare if something happened to her friend. For example, I don't think that she'd know the first thing about coping on her own if her boy/friend had an accident and had to be hospitalised. Or if they ran out of money. Or any one of a dozen other possible scenarios.

And the recent Channel 4 programme 'Our Man in ... Ibiza' hasn't re-assured me

SM

Having a credit card isn't at all necessary. None of the 17 year olds I mentioned above have one, they still had perfectly good holidays.

Probably better in fact they took a set amount of money plus bank card for emergencys.

Anyone of 16 and over can have a bank card, my son has one, so I dont really see how your 'flashing the plastic' in the form of credit applys. If anything went drastically wrong, I am sure a parent could put money into a current account.

Brian, I've given a lot of the information myself about Olympic Holidays letting 16 + book, , or booking with Easyjet and a bed booker or didn't you notice that?

I also suggested Olympic would be best due to it being a package and therefore covered by the package tour regulations, which I feel is responsible advice.

Frankly I think the bit about not being able to get hospital treatment abroad at 17 is scaremongering, I would love to see a link that shows that to be factual and which particular Countries it applys to.

I just reckon all the 'olds' on this forum dont want to bump into a couple of 17 year olds in their favorite holiday destinations.

My 17 yr old and his girlfriend wanted to go abroad last year and I must admit that I ,too,was worried in case either of them got hurt or involved in an accident.Neither would be old enough to sign consent forms in the event of an emergency operation.In the end we decided that we would go to the same resort but a different hotel,just in case they needed us.
In the end they decided to go with his girlfriend's mum as she had nobody to go with,they are now 18 and thinking of going when they finish college later this year.
If the young couple do decide to go I would think they would be better going with a tour operator who will support and help them if any problems arise,also think it might be better to go AI so that there is always food and drink available,in case they overspend.

As it will be their first holiday abroad as a couple, I'd certainly book a package holiday as opposed to going DIY. Many of us think that reps aren't really necessary, and if all goes well- they aren't. The point is, things can go wrong, and then they would be there to help out, even if it's just to supply phone numbers or local information.

Can I ask how the 18 to 30 company accept bookings from kids who will still be 17 when they go on holiday. Surely this means they will be knowingly breaking the laws of the countries they are operating in?

You will only find out how good your planning is when something goes wrong. Statistically I would bet good money that the chances of something coming unstuck on a holiday increases when the holiday makers are under 18.

Can I ask how the 18 to 30 company accept bookings from kids who will still be 17 when they go on holiday. Surely this means they will be knowingly breaking the laws of the countries they are operating in?

I think that this is perhaps why they won't accept Internet bookings for 17 yr olds but will only allow them at the discretion of a staff member in store as well as requiring signed parental consent. That way they can keep a check on it and make sure that the destination is one where unaccompanied 17yr olds won't have run-ins with the law on account of their age? Even then they exclude AI bookings. In the only instance I have personal knowledge of were 17yr olds had their booking accepted, the party did include a number of 18+ and the lead name had to be one of the over 18s and hence responsible for the whole booking, including the under 17s.

The holidays and other services on this web site are only available for purchase by those who are aged 18 or over, who are making the purchase from within the United Kingdom and who have a UK address to which booking documentation may be sent. Customers aged 17 may purchase a Club 18-30 holiday in a Thomas Cook store at the discretion of the travel adviser and with signed parental consent. This excludes any All Inclusive properties. We are a company incorporated in England and our business and the services we offer are governed by the applicable laws of England and Wales. We are not licensed to trade outside of the United Kingdom therefore we cannot enter into contracts with individuals who are not based in the UK. The Thomas Cook group of companies includes various travel companies that are incorporated in and trade in other countries and consumers who are based outside of the UK are welcome to make bookings via any of the travel web sites operated by any of our affiliate companies. We do not accept bookings made by travel agents or other agents appointed on behalf of members of the public. Any bookings made in contravention of these conditions will be invalid and will be cancelled. In such circumstances, a refund will be given but we reserve the right to charge an administration fee of £100 per booking.

Doe, I guess that if parents are in a position to arrange a transfer of a few thousand £s in the event of things such as the ash cloud crisis then them having theirr own credit card is less important but most bank transfers can still take up to 3 working days unless the parent can go and pay in cash over the counter at the branch were the receiving account is held. Even that isn't much use if the crisis happens between Saturday lunchtime and Monday morning. It's not a position I'd want to be in myself and hence why I would have reservations about putting a pair of 17yr olds into that position. And I think it's safe to say that few of my favourite holiday destinations are likely to be of interest to a couple of 17 yrs olds

I guess that Pandora really has opened the box on this one - and perhaps the choice of user name is significant

SM