Holidays Abroad

[p99gmb]

Just wanted to hear your stories about taking FC abroad. We've just been given permission to take them (2 & 3) abroad - passport photos taken - just waiting for the court order & then SW will apply & pay for the passports.

Not found it easy to find a 2 bed apartment (we don't want to sleep on a sofa bed)... looking for any help/inspiration.

My SSW says we need to fill out a risk assessment, provide flight details etc, and be given a letter just incase we need it at passport control.

All advice & horror stories seriously needed!!

Have you thought of renting a villa we went on hoilday and rented a two bed villa to be honest with. Being able to cook we saved so much money the sw were far more relaxed knowing we were staying were it was just going to be us

Make sure you have the passport in your hand before booking. SW's are notorious for not applying for passports til the last minute and the child missing the holiday because the passport has not come back in time.

Passports can take an age to sort out given all the paperwork that's needed - including bm's birth certificate sometimes.

I'm not an fc but an adopter and have taken all of mine on holidays prior to AO being made. You will need a letter from SS which basically states that you have been given permission to take the children out of the country. We were only stopped and asked once - but because the children's surnames will be different to yours you may be asked by Passport Control.

Not sure where you're looking at travelling to but we found Portugal was pretty good when ours were younger. The nights were cooler and the days weren't too hot. The downside - the pools/sea were always freezing!

We go to Lanzarote now - warmer, warmer evenings, good food and wine - and the accommodation is cheaper!!

thanks all - found a really good website - www.holidaylettings.co.uk which is apartments/villas all over the world including UK and you can specify how many bedrooms you need...

Just waiting for SW to commit to sending off the passport apps asap.

Owners Direct is another good one