Which trip would you "let" your new high school graduate go on?

[abdmom]

DS will be graduating high school in June, 2014. He would like to go on a trip with his friends just after graduation. Up to 3 friends would be going. He thought of going to WDW and staying at BLT for 3-4 nights using my DVC points. However, the airfare from here is crazy expensive and there would be no parental supervision. All of the boys would be 18, except maybe one 17 year old.

I came up with a list of 4 options for him and his friends to discuss and run by the friends' parents. The other 3 options would involve myself and my younger two going along and staying in the same condo or room. The other 3 options would also be less expensive than WDW, even though they are longer trips. This is my oldest child and I have no idea if any of these options would be OK with the other parents. DS and one of his friends did go on a 10 day school trip to Europe this past Spring Break, so I know at least one set of parents was OK with their child travelling without them. What do you think?

You can choose more than one answer in the poll.

 

[FlyingDumbo]

I think you should choose an option where you will go but where you Will stay in a separate room from the kids. Like same hotel floor but not in the same room. I would not want kids to go unsupervised, but staying in the same room with mom and siblings will not be fun for the other teens. Disney seems pretty safe unsupervised if you trust all the kids.

 

[Janepod]

I would be fine with any one of them, even without you going, except possibly the one with an 8-hour drive -- depends how skilled a driver the child is, the area the drive goes through, etc.

Congratulations on your graduate!

 

[violetrose]

They are 18. They will want to go alone, without families. I'd choose the place where they could get in the least amount of trouble which in my eyes would be WDW. 2nd choice would be a cruise. My kids all went to the shore for graduation, and my oldest went to Spain in junior year. Assuming your child will be leaving you to go to college, you will have to get used to them going off on their own without parental supervision. The graduation trip is a good taste of what that is like. My kids all 3 came back in one piece! Just make sure he knows you expect him to text you at certain times and that you expect him to carry on as an adult.

 

[abdmom]

The two resorts, in the mountains and in Hawaii, would be a 3 bedroom condo, so we would not be sleeping in the same room. The cruise would be in a large, by cruiseship standards, room, with 3 separate sleeping areas which are separated by curtains.

 

[GS for life]

I went to DC with my sister and 2 friends for spring break during my senior year of HS. We drove alone from upstate NY and stayed at a family friend's house (my mom's friend from HS, who we rarely saw). My sister and I were 17 1/2.
We didn't do anything but take the metro in and sight see. I had already lived on a college campus in DC the summer prior for 6 weeks so knew the area.
I would let them go if you feel that they are mature enough to handle an emergency and will avoid drugs/ alcohol.

 

[Colleen27]

The only one I'd have a problem with is the cruise/Bermuda. With teens that age, I'd be worried about time management in port (not making it back to the ship timely) as well as the fact that if any emergency arises it would have to be dealt with in a foreign country. Domestic travel for an 18yo new grad is well within my comfort zone but I'd want a supervising parent (or school official, in the case of the school trip to Europe you mentioned) along for any foreign adventures.

I agree with FlyingDumbo that if you do go along you should stay in separate accommodations from the grads, not just in your own room of a shared condo. The fun of that sort of trip is that it isn't a "family vacation", and having Mom and a younger sibling in the room negates that.

 

[dakcp2001]

18 is old enough to go alone. I would only say no to the cruise because we have all seen how problems can be covered up by cruise lines and other countries if something should go wrong or someone need medical attention. In the states would be safest. 18 is an adult, they should not need mom along. They should, however, have very specific expectations for behavior outlined before leaving.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Will all the choices for them solo allow 18 yo to check in?

 

[abdmom]

They are 18. They will want to go alone, without families. I'd choose the place where they could get in the least amount of trouble which in my eyes would be WDW. 2nd choice would be a cruise. My kids all went to the shore for graduation, and my oldest went to Spain in junior year. Assuming your child will be leaving you to go to college, you will have to get used to them going off on their own without parental supervision. The graduation trip is a good taste of what that is like. My kids all 3 came back in one piece! Just make sure he knows you expect him to text you at certain times and that you expect him to carry on as an adult.

Oh, I'm perfectly fine with mine going. It's the other kids' parents I'm not sure about. Last summer, ds was in a 1 week college program that involved staying in a dorm. He did come home having acquired his first girlfriend though.

 

[abdmom]

Will all the choices for them solo allow 18 yo to check in?

The only solo choice is BLT. WDW will allow 18 year olds to check in. The other choices need someone over 21 which is why I would be going too.

 

[abdmom]

BTW, we live in Canada, so any of the trips would be "foreign". Most Canadians travel to the US, as well as other countries, frequently for vacation, so it's not really an issue.

 

[dakcp2001]

Before getting into all this planning, talk to the other parents and the kids. Make sure everyone is on the same page.

 

[LittleMissMagic]

I didn't vote in the poll, yet, because I'm not really clear on which trips have parental supervision and which don't.

I'd just like to point out that teenagers cannot go on a cruise by themselves on most cruise lines. They must be in the same stateroom as an adult 21 or older (or right next door or directly across if they are the child of that adult), and must have parental waivers if they are not traveling with their parents. We did a graduation cruise for my younger sister and her friends this past summer, so we had to do a lot of room switching to get the girls in their own rooms together. Also, I don't know about Bermuda specifically, the most of the Caribbean has a drinking age of 18 or none at all.

Also, Europe is the same way with the drinking age. I don't know if you have a problem with them drinking.... they will probably want to drink, as it is their graduation trip, so better to do it someplace where it is legal. Just make sure they're well-educated on alcohol.

The Hawaii trip is the most appealing to me, but it really depends on your family dynamics. Personally, I wouldn't send them off someplace on their own. But I wouldn't helicopter either.

 

[brockash]

I think you should choose an option where you will go but where you Will stay in a separate room from the kids. Like same hotel floor but not in the same room. I would not want kids to go unsupervised, but staying in the same room with mom and siblings will not be fun for the other teens. Disney seems pretty safe unsupervised if you trust all the kids.

I was going to say the same thing. I think any of the options are fine, but if you're going to go, I certainly would allow them to have their own room. There's no way I would have wanted to go away for a week when I was 18 and stay in the same room as even my best friends dad. Even a connecting room would be a lot better than the same room.

 

[lovin'fl]

My senior week, in 1991, 3 friends and I (2 couples) went to VA Beach for a week. It was a rather laid back beach trip (most kids at my school went to OC MD for a wild party week...we didn't know any of the kids at VA Beach so we more just hung out on the beach all day and night and played cards in our room while drinking beer).

I think a cruise is a great option because parents can be there with them, but not really 'WITH' them. They can have their own cabin and plenty of freedom to have fun (and meet girls). Sending them to Disney for a few nights by themselves isn't a bad idea either. I don't think they can get too wild at the World, but yet there will be girls to meet there too (I'd suggest a longer trip at SSR where they can walk to/from Downtown Disney). The mountain trip seems too boring for a HS graduation trip and the Hawaii trip seems a bit excessive (though would be nice if you don't mind the costs of flying there and dining there and whatnot). Another idea would be Atlantis in Nassau for 3-4 nights (with parents of course...too much trouble to get into in Nassau for 18 year olds). I'd go with cruise or Disney though...if it were me (my DS is a sophomore, so this topic is of interest to me).

 

[LittleMissMagic]

BTW, we live in Canada, so any of the trips would be "foreign". Most Canadians travel to the US, as well as other countries, frequently for vacation, so it's not really an issue.

Ohhhkay. Is the drinking age there 19 or 18? Because it would suck for them to go to the US and not be able to drink if they can already in Canada. Same with cruises - the drinking age on the ships is 21 when leaving from a US port which always really sucks for the teens who aren't US citizens because they can drink back home but can't on the ship.

Look into Mexico... Cancun, maybe. That's where I would want to go for a high school graduation trip! I'm suggesting this because I think that the check-in age for hotels is younger there. Or why not a Caribbean cruise? Airfare may be expensive, but they've been running cruise fares pretty cheap ever since the Carnival disasters.

Also, for flights, look into StudentUniverse.com for reduced rates on airfare.

But the WDW trip also sounds pretty great, and I think that's where my vote is going. Because I'm assuming he'll take Magical Express to get to the hotel, and then they can use all Disney transport, so it's actually a great destination for young travelers. That's also the safest sounding trip with the least party atmosphere. They'll feel independent without being in a location that encourages drunken craziness.

 

[Christine]

For a solo choice, Disney, hands down. Sure, you can get into trouble anywhere, but there are TONS of great things to do there that will keep them out of anything weird happening and they are very contained.

The cruise kind of interests me but I would think that the 17 year old could not go without a guardian.

The mountain trip seems like too much "downtime."

The Hawaii trip is too long.

Beach vacations are very popular around here because we can get to a beach within 3-8 hours. Many kids go unsupervised (my DD did--she was not yet 18 though) and she stayed in places that were geared toward seniors renting so they did alcohol checks and stuff like that.

Also, there were many parents who did go along on these beach trips and stayed in a different resort.

 

[Poohs Pal]

I would choose WDW. I would also change BLT to OKW. You could possibly stay and extra night using less points. I would also get a studio for myself. You could even go with 2 rooms in a value or standard at AKV. My DD went with her science club to Florida for Spring break(off property) with adult supervision. The adults all had their own room. The adults were very happy they did so. Apparently all the girls got together and somehow got in the boys room and took all their boxers and briefs tied them together and hung them from the balcony. I was mortified when I heard about this but the supervising adults just had a good laugh. They went to Daytona Beach and WDW for 10 days. It was the longest 10 days of my life but I managed to survive as did DD. She would also go with the same group to Toronto every year at Thanksgiving. It was great experience for her and her friends. The supervision was there but they did pretty much what they wanted. Shopping, Phantom of the Opera and a museum. If at all possible get your own room. If not for the boys then yourself,LOL... This is a trip they will always remember. Enjoy

 

[LisaR]

My DD will be 18 in just a few weeks. She picked Hawaii, hands down. She had very little interest in most of the other destinations. In fairness, we live close to Disney so she goes often already. I wouldn't have any issue sending them without adult supervision as long as I knew the kids who were going.