November 7, 2003 -- Not enough attention is paid to the unique problems of single parents who want to travel with their children. A good place to get help on that subject is www.singleparenttours.com, where a lot of helpful ideas abound. Brenda Elwell, author of The Single Parent Travel Handbook, who sponsors the site, is a travel industry veteran of some 30 years, and has lived and traveled abroad and traveled to more than 60 countries and 45 states -- half of them, she says, as a single parent with her two children.
One of her great ideas is to host a weekend trip this December 12 to 14, for single parent families to San Antonio, in the heart of Texas. For one adult and one child, the all-inclusive weekend price is $535, plus tax and service charges. And there's no single supplement.
The weekend includes two nights' accommodations at the Homestead Suites by Hilton, right on the famed Riverwalk in the center of San Antonio; a welcome cocktail party Friday evening; hot breakfast on both Saturday and Sunday mornings; a river cruise; a half-day guided history/mystery walking tour of the Alamo area; a buffet lunch on Saturday; and an autographed copy of The Single Parent Travel Handbook.
Back in August, the Single Parent Tours inaugural trip to Beaches Boscobel resort in Jamaica was a success, Ms. Elwell says, with 42 single parent families attending. The outfit offers a series of weekend packages and one-week tours to several destinations, especially designed for single-parent and non-traditional families. Among those planned for 2004 (but details yet to be announced) are vacations in Southern California in February, Colorado in March and April, Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, Playa del Carmen, Arizona, and, once again, Beaches Boscobel in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
For more information, visit www.singleparenttours.com or phone 877/GOGO-SPT (877/464-6778).
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