ABD and couples

[DarlingDumbo]

Would you recommend ABD trips for couples without children?
We are both teachers so the adults only trip times are no good for us.

 

[abdmom]

It may depend on which trip you do. Some of the trips have minimum ages of 4, some 6, some 8. The more child friendly the trip, and the less expensive it is, the more likely there are to be smaller children. We were on the China trip, at the beginning of June. There was a minimum age of 8. Out of the 31 guests, about 7 were 12 and under. The rest were older teenagers or young adults and their parents. The younger kids had fun, but there were not disruptive It was a very adult friendly group, but there were no child-free adults.

If you call up ABD and ask, they will let you know what the composition of the guests that are currently booked- how many children in certain age groups and how many adults. That way, you could choose a departure where the demographics may be to your liking.

 

[Phil1019]

Would you recommend ABD trips for couples without children?
We are both teachers so the adults only trip times are no good for us.

Hi, I went on the backstage Magic trip in April 2008. It was school vacation week . We had two families in our group with children. The youngest child was 9 years old. The children were very well behaved and added a special joy to our trip! My daughter (25 years old) and I went on the trip together and had a great time. We are now booked to go to Costa Rica in April 2009! This trip is an adults only trip. I did not pick that date because it was adults only. I selected it because it is my daughter's school vacation week.She is a teacher too.

 

[Poppins2000]

Most definitely! It's just hubby and me (in our mid 40's)...we did the 1st Ireland ABD trip of the season on May 18 - it was a full tour, 40 people, six of the 40 were children between 8-15...

We had an absolutley awesome time!

 

[Computer Magic]

Wife and I don't have kids and went on Wyoming. It was very nice. We meet a couple without kids and hung out together. I will add the guides tend to cater to the children more especially on the bus. No biggie....

 

[KLondon]

On last year's Knights&Lights we had one couple without children (they are teachers and empty-nesters). We shared a table or two with them through the week and I think they had a great time.

On this year's Costa Rica tour, we did not have any childless couples, but there were enough teens hanging together that many couples ended up childless by default. They ended up forming their own group!

I'm not sure that I'd say the Guides cater more to the kids - at least not in my experience. Perhaps it depends more on the tour (and the Guides), but I've found the Guides cater to everyone.

 

[DarlingDumbo]

Thank you so much for all of your wonderful information.

 

[glassslipper2004]

On our recent Viva Italia trip there were two young couples without kids. One couple were both teachers. We had 8 kids 12 and under, and some very pleasant and well behaved 13-16 year olds. At the end of the trip, while we were saying our goodbyes, one of the couples said that they enjoyed having the kids around. Maybe they were just trying to be nice - but I think overall we all enjoyed each other's company, and the adult/kid relationships between and among families did add some very special, positive qualities to our trip.

Wow, I really miss our group!

 

[kjd469]

My husband and I are booked on the Peru trip in Oct. - when we booked there were 20 people already and only 1 child booked. The ABD reservations person said October was not a popular time for children on the trips, and that there should not be too many...as long as I don't have to look after them...great!!

 

[eva]

My husband and I are booked on the Peru trip in Oct. - when we booked there were 20 people already and only 1 child booked. The ABD reservations person said October was not a popular time for children on the trips, and that there should not be too many...as long as I don't have to look after them...great!!

Totally agree! We enjoy having children around as long as they are not absolute snots and we don't have to take care of them. I only take care of my grandkids!

 

[DarlingDumbo]

Well we definitely love kids, I teach 2nd grade and my boyfriend teaches high school. I just didn't want people to think we were strange going on a "family vacation" without children.

 

[glassslipper2004]

No one will think you are strange!!

 

[Lizardbeth61]

exclusive! DH and I went two years ago and we didn't feel awkward at all and we left two kids behind. There was one family with two very well behaved children and they fit in great. The rest of us were adults. That Mom did ask me at one point if I missed my children. My response was that I most certainly did especially watching how much theirs seemed to be enjoying it. However, it was my husband's 50th birthday present and we were enjoying ourselves far more alone than the kids would have enjoyed being with us. We do lots of family vacations, but this one was for us! You'll enjoy it as a couple . . . not to worry.

 

[eva]

I actually feel a bit sorry for the couples that bring their children and there are very few if any children on the tour. I just called ABD to confirm our airline information for our Viva Italia trip on the 14th. And I asked the CM how full the tour was. She said there were still a few openings, but they are about 90% full. I didn't even ask about the number of children, since it is just DH and me. But she did inform me that there were only a couple children on the trip. Do the kids still have a pretty good time even if there no other kids their age on the trip, if any kids at all?

 

[abdmom]

On our ABD trip, DD9 hooked up with another girl her age and had a great time. DS12 did not hook up. The kids in his age group were mostly girls. He had a great time too. The ABD guides were really like big kids themselves and were fun to be around. I think that although having a new buddy to pal around with enhances the experience, having other kids around is not necessary for the kids to have a great time.

 

[PatriciaH]

Our Viva Italia trip had 37 and 8 were kids. There was a nice mix of families and couples. Our Knights and Lights trip had 18 people only couples. The first trip was much more fun!

 

[Turtlemom]

Just curious. . . what about the first trip made it more fun????

Turtlemom

 

[PatriciaH]

Just curious. . . what about the first trip made it more fun????

Turtlemom

Well, the Viva Italia group (37/8 kids) was a good mix of families and couples. One mom and son, a few families with older daughters, (20's) and extended families. They were a great rowdy group. We hung out after dinner and talked and had wine. Nice people. Very excited about seeing the sites and happy.

The Knights and Lights group was only 18 total-all couples. Very quiet and reserved. We met a few nice couples and hung out a bit with them. I felt bad for the guides because they were not very excited most of the time.

 

[lin555593]

We just returned from Ireland last Thusday. We we're on an adult only trip and it was pretty reserved and the guides were awsome. It totally depends on what you want in a trip. We found the trip to be less crazy without kids.

 

[redzinner]

I find these comments very interesting. We were on the Adults Only Viva Italia tour in September and had an absolutely wonderful time and yes it was crazy, crazy fun. I'm beginning to think it depends on the guides, the personality of the adventurers, the country in which you are touring and how you perceive the holiday.
We weren't reserved but hopefully no one found us obnoxious either. There were some in the group that were quiet and did not mingle so they may have a different take on the experience. We were pleasant with everyone but it is natural that you pair up with kindred spirits.