FAQ's

Many destinations are well served from regional airports. Logistically we are not able to meet everyone at their departure airport but rest assured, you will be met at the destination airport on your arrival. If other families are travelling from the same regional airport on the same flight, we will let you know so you can meet up at the airport if you wish.

Our holidays are open to any single parent familiy and we have clients from all walks of life, (with many repeat families), however, we find that most of our parents range from around 25 to 45 years of age.

When we have families on the same flight, we suggest a meeting point in the departure lounge for people to meet up for the first time and say hello prior to boarding the flight but this is not compulsory, (you may prefer to indulge in some retail therapy instead), you will all meet up on arrival or on our transfer coach anyway, it's entirely up to you.

Quite understandable and a comment often mentioned to us but as we specialise in single parent families, our holidays are just like one big family with everyone in the same situation. You will find all the friendship and support you need from both our host and from the other single parents in the group, this is the Small Families Concept. If you still have concerns, we are always happy to chat to you first and answer your questions - feel free to give us a call.

No. We won’t mislead you; THE PRICE YOU SEE IS THE PRICE YOU PAY* Many travel firms quote the basic price which looks inviting but don’t usually include costs such as any surcharges, airport or single supplements, airport/airline charges, UK & foriegn taxes, transfer costs etc. but then hit you with all these unavoidable ‘extras’.

*Excluding travel insurance, any excursions (except where included) personal expenditure and unexpected government tax, fuel, currency fluctuations which exceed 2% of the holiday cost.

We 'package' your holiday, meaning all elements of your holiday are purchased by us under one single transaction so your money is completely safe*. In accordance with EC regulations, your payment to us is fully protected under our bonding agreement - Air Travellers Operators Licence (ATOL 5801). For more details please visit www.atol.org.uk.

From October 2012, we are required by law to issue an ATOL certificate for all new bookings, this is sent immediately on receipt of your first payment.

*Under financial protection regulations, anyone electing to purchase their own flights, are not protected under ATOL arrangements

When the main group is travelling on the same flight, you will be met at the departure airport by your Small Families host* we also have a private transfer coach to our hotel.

There is no regimentation on our holidays and you are obviously free to do your own thing, although we do find many in the group, spend time together during the day, simply because they've made friends, both adults and children.

Each evening we suggest meeting up for a pre-dinner drink before dining together at our reserved tables; dinner is a great social time for the group. Your Small Families host is always on hand to ensure your holiday runs smoothly and any problems are dealt with.

*Sometimes your host will already be in the resort, however, you will still be greeted at the main UK airport by a Small Families representative, (this may not apply if flying from a regional airport) and by your host or our representative at the resort airport on arrival.

Our youngest has been 12 months and the oldest 22 years! The age mix is usually between about 3 and 15 but we generally we find that once in the resort, age does not matter too much, as all children tend to get along together quite happily together and the older children like to care for the younger ones. However, we are happy to tell you how many children, their ages and the boy/girl split, to help you make your decision.

To make the travel experience as comfortable as possible, we prefer to use scheduled flights. Charters always suffer a higher risk of delays and cancellations and many of the flight timings operate at unsocial hours. Scheduled flight timings are generally more social (always important where children are involved), have more legroom and, when delays occur, will always have take-off priority over charters. That said, we do use charters sometimes where destinations are not served by suitable scheduled services.

They are joint party / re-union weekends we hold once a year, early in the New Year and at good quality UK hotels. The weekend enable families who travelled with us in the past to get-together again. It’s also a good opportunity for anyone who has not taken a holiday with us but maybe thinking about doing so and would like to learn more, meet us and chat with other single parents in a social environment. It's a great weekend for adults and children alike. We have a private dining suite, disco and our own children's entertainer on party night.

Most of the hotels we offer have excellent children’s clubs and accept children from about the age of 3 or 4 and have sessions geared up for different age groups. Experience has shown us that most children generally prefer just to play in and around the pools / beaches and getting involved in hotel sports and games.

All of our hotels have beaches very close; most are actually ‘on’ the beach. Other resorts beaches are just a few minutes walk away, but still close. All the resorts we use are in good quality family locations.

Yes, we get plenty of fathers and the numbers are growing, although we do tend to have more ladies than men in most groups.

All our holidays are accompanied throughout by our own tour host. Their job is to ensure everything runs smoothly, gather information, host the Small Families evening meals, deal with any problems for you and arrange private tours if requested. However, your host is not there to dominate or regiment your holiday in any way.

Please note, that while your host may well choose to spend time playing with the children (usually in the pool), they are not employed as baby-sitters or childminders and cannot be held responsible for the personal safety or welfare of your children.

Deposits on overseas holidays - £250, UK holidays - £100, UK weekends - £30. Cruises and long haul holidays may require slightly larger deposits. All deposits are per person. If booked within 8 weeks for overseas holidays, full payment will be required at the time of booking. Payment due dates are shown on your confirmation invoice. Some tour operators cancel your holiday if balance payments are late, we will never do that - we will send a reminder if necessary. We are often able to offer a low deposit of just £50pp for early bookings, please see the relevant holiday page.

The balance is required no later than 8 weeks before departure (5 weeks for UK holiday/weekends). We are happy to accept payments by instalments as often as you like and as much or as little as you like and we will email you an updated invoice each time, a method favoured by many of our clients to help them budget and there are no extra charges for this method.

All travel documents, luggage labels etc will be sent to you no less than 2 weeks prior to departure, although we generally try to send them earlier where possible. You will also receive a detailed information itinerary from us which should answer all your questions, plus some you may not have even thought of!

Yes, no problem. The deposit is required intially to secure your holiday but after that, you are welcome to pay off any amount at anytime, just give us a call, we will then simply update you with a new invoice each time. You may also make payments by bank transfer if you prefer. Please note that full payment must be in by the due date. There are no additional charges for paying by installments.

Unlike the main-stream tour operators, your Small Families host will not try to sell you excursions; however, in most resorts there are a number of interesting tours and attractions available which you can book if you wish. If you wish to do a tour as a group or part group, the host will be happy to make the arrangements where possible, in such instances; we can usually arrange our own private transport which gives us total control over the tour schedule - a very useful advantage!

All the hotels we use will change money and most have ATM’s, banks are also usually close by. All the hotels and many local shops accept major credit cards and you can usually charge hotel purchases to your room if you wish.

That rather depends on your personal spending habits. You will need less cash on a day to day basis if on an All-Inclusive or full board holiday. In the hotels, the most popular way is to charge items to your room and settle with either cash or credit card, (note: credit cards usually attract bank charges) Personal cheques are usually not accepted.

Generally, All Inclusive means you get all meals, soft drinks, beers, wines and *spirits included. Some hotels also include all daytime snacks. All-Inclusive Lite means beer & wine with lunch and dinner but are chargable at the bars. Some facilities, such as room safes, sports equipment, cocktails, etc, may not be part of the all-inclusive deal and vary from one resort to another. Please check with us if necessary *Occasionally, spirits in some resorts may not be included

That depends, during the summer weeks our groups usually consist of a maximum of about 30 (approx 10-12 adults and the rest children), other times this number could be smaller. Our ever popular skiing holidays to Lapland and Canada, generally has a larger number of families as does our annual UK re-union/party weekend.