Pendragons Princess

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/3702336/Travel-advice-finding-a-child-free-holiday.html?source=rss

Travel advice: finding a child-free holiday

Sophie Butler explores ways to escape the clatter of tiny feet on holiday, and answer readers’ travel queries.

By Sophie Butler

16 Dec 2008

One option is to book a “club” holiday, such as you find in Turkey, Greece, Italy, Sardinia and Mauritius (see below). However, the “adult-only” periods are usually limited to the shoulder season and, again, tend to be expensive. But if you’re determined to have a child-free holiday, the following operators are good places to start:

Club Med (0871 424 4044; www.clubmed.co.uk). Kremer in Turkey and Otranto in Italy are both classed as adult villages. There are also resorts where child supervision isn’t provided, such as La Plantation d’Albion in Mauritius, so are less likely to attract families.

First Choice (0871 200 4455; www.firstchoice.co.uk). An adults’ collection called “Escapes and Experiences” includes stay-put hotels and cultural or active adventures. Adult-only logos are used in the Summer Sun brochure to pinpoint places “unsuitable” for families.

Mark Warner (0871 703 3887; www.markwarner.co.uk). The Paleros Beach Resort in Greece is adult-only in September. Clubs at Lakitira and San Agostino in Greece have child-free “zones” outside school holidays.

P&O Cruises (0845 678 0014; www.pocruises.com). Itineraries on two of its ships, the Arcadia and the Artemis, are exclusively for adults, with a minimum booking age limit of 18 years.

Tapestry Collection (020 8995 7787; www.tapestryholidays.com). Click on “Be inspired” and you’ll find a link to its adult-only hotels. There are three properties: the Oasis Hotel and the Likya Residence, both in Kalkan, and The Museum Hotel George Molfetas in Cephalonia. But there’s no guarantee that these hotels won’t occasionally open their doors to families at peak times.

Thomas Cook (0844 412 5959; www.thomascook.com). Publishes an “Adult Escapes” brochure highlighting around 80 hotels in the Spanish islands, the Maldives, the Caribbean and India, as well as gulet cruises, which it describes as “away from the family hot spots”; a small minority are exclusively adult.

Thomson (0871 231 4952; www.thomson.co.uk). The Gold programme is for adults only and also provides gala dinners, entertainment, wine-tasting and walks. The “Exclusively for Adults” breaks are child free, without the extras.

Warner Leisure Hotels (0800 138 2633; www.warnerleisurehotels.co.uk). Nine adult-only hotels in Britain. Short breaks are usually themed – heritage and culture, gardening, music, dance, sport and self-improvement – and prices include half-board, evening entertainment and use of indoor pools.

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This is great information for childfree persons who want to take a vacation to a nice place and not have to worry about children. It can be a challenge to want to get away from work and the drudgery of daily life for some peace and quiet with no kids running around all over the place. The Bodelwyddan Castle Hotel under Warner Leisure Hotels would be my ideal place for a holiday. I could dress up in a period costume and pretend I am a princess waiting for my childfree British knight to take me away with him and set up home right here in this castle. I wouldn’t mind spending a childfree holiday in Kaya Valley, Turkey, either. Those lush beaches plus a ghost town definitely appeals to me. That would come after the childfree castle holiday, of course. After all, if kids were allowed in a place like that, how would adults be able to fantasize about being a major character in a fairy tale story?