 Travelling as a single parent sure isn’t easy. What should be the fun and relaxing holiday of a lifetime can quickly turn into an exhausting, lonely nightmare, with tired, anxious children only the beginning of the battle. Add in a sore back from carrying the entire family’s luggage and an utter lack of adult company, and you’re starting thinking staying at home would be downright luxurious.
So what is a single parent to do? Suffer another stressful ‘holiday’ or just throw away the dream of that perfect getaway? In 2006, Holidays with Kids gave single parents another option by planning the first-ever Single Parent Getaway. The idea behind the getaway was to provide a safe, friendly and fun environment for parents who may be venturing out on their first holiday as a single parent, or those who have felt like aliens on previous holidays!
After extensive research into our readers’ holiday needs, we set our sights on the Gold Coast for five action-packed, fun-filled days. We’d base the holiday at the super-family-friendly Paradise Resort, visit all the Warner Village Theme Parks and still have plenty of time to explore all the Gold Coast has to offer. The holiday was promoted via the Holidays with Kids website and e-newsletters, plus through other single parent groups around Australia.
Interest for the holiday flooded in, and, through all the differing dates with school holidays in different states and work schedules, we ended up with a fantastic group of seven families, with children ranging from 3 to 13yrs. Candy and I were on hand to help out and keep things moving smoothly.
Many of the parents had never travelled alone with their children before, and the ones who had were desperately looking for a way to make it easier! All of the parents were intelligent, outgoing, professional people, who wanted some quality time with their children without having to feel overwhelmed or alone.
As with anything that involves a group of people the challenge is always to keep everyone happy and having a good time. Especially as the children involved ranged from toddlers to teens, the holiday was planned to have a balance between planned activities with the group, and free time for families to spend together. Families were encouraged to go at their own pace and to participate in as many or as few activities as they wanted.
Our first evening at the resort was enjoyed at the Resort’s Tucans Bar for welcome drinks for the parents and games such as musical chairs for the kids. We had a great time chatting and getting acquainted. Those of us who were in a bit of a festive mood were there til closing, participating in the dance contest and enjoying a boogie – and, may I add, our gang represented very well in the Limbo competition! It was a great, laid-back night, and already everyone was getting along really well.
In the morning, we were off to Sea World, for a day of ooh-ing and aah-ing at the adorable dolphins, seals, even sharks! The Quest for the Golden Seal show got the most laughs, but young and old alike were silent with wonder with the views in the underwater aquarium rays, sharks and shimmering schools of fish.
Saturday evening we gathered to watch the resort’s poolside Polynesian Dance show, followed by a group dinner at Sinbad’s. Great food, great company – great way to cap off a busy day! And the kids were already enjoying time with their new best friends – their end of the table was unbelievably quiet as they created new works of art thanks to the colouring-in sheets provided by the waiter. Yet again, we were there chatting the night away until the restaurant closed!
 Sunday was off to Warner Bros. Movie World, where only Karen was brave enough to try the imposing Superman Escape ride (“Best ride ever!”), but all (except for the littlest) enjoyed the Shrek 4-D film. Sunday evening everyone sang their hearts out at karaoke at Tucans Bar. Monday was a day at Wet’n’Wild Water Park, and Tuesday was a day of rest, with families enjoying whale watching, beach going, and enjoying just doing nothing!
The staff at Paradise Resort were kind enough to organise a special late-night kids’ club movie night session for the kids so the adults were able to have a ‘grown-up’ night on the town – a parents-only dinner and a few cocktails at the luxurious Palazzo Versace poolside bar.
On Wednesday everyone had to say goodbye to their newfound friends and head back to reality, though the getaway was a fun and memorable time had by all. Relaxed, refreshed and boosted by the knowledge that single parent travel can be fun, now the only holiday challenge for these single parents now face is having to answer the question, “When can we go back?”!
What our fellow travellers say
Thanks for a well-organised trip and for your enjoyable company. Candy and Jill were very social people, which certainly helped in getting the whole group chatting and comfortable. Jason and I quite liked the resort too, and enjoyed holidaying in the company of other single parent families. It’s a great concept; I hope the company will be doing more in future.
--Kishore Aggarwal
Thank you for a great holiday and all your time and effort in organizing and ensuring everyone was catered for. The three of us enjoyed our time away and hope to do something again next year.
--Steve King
The resort facilities for children were a definite favourite of mine. The Kids’ Club for kids 5-12yrs was specially good in that it was free and you could book your kids in very easily. The rate of $25 for the Kids’ Club for under 5s was also extremely reasonable given they are properly cared for by experienced childcare workers. Also, my youngest would take great pride in telling me that "this was his Kids’ Club" as opposed to his brother's.
--Ella Murkett
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