Daughter travelling at 18

[Hulahoopingmum]

Does anyone have experience of DC travelling alone straight from school?

DD wants to travel which I'm broadly ok with but today's idea is to go to the Philippines for two months and work in hotels for board and lodgings, no actual salary.

That's after the first trip which is hopping round the Greek islands then on to the canaries and Italy.

I know she wants to be independent but her ideas seem pretty extreme and not always sensible, much of this she wants to do alone.

She's strong willed so if I say no to anything it'll push her further in to doing it (I was similar and went to America straight after a-levels but I didn't go alone and I stayed with people we already knew).

Any ideas or experience with this would be gratefully received!!

If she has the confidence (and insurance!) to do that at 18, then trust her to do it. Presumably she’s not asking you to bankroll it?

@VariationsonaTheme she's got a job and is saving a decent amount, she knows we can't / won't fund it.

I know I have to trust her, I think I'm just scared for her!

Would she consider something a bit more structured for her first foray into independent travel, like Camp America or similar

The first trip sounds great, but The Philippines with no salary is less appealing. Surely she’ll want to do some activities (snorkeling, diving, etc.) and would the resort let her do this for free? What about travelling around afterwards?

My BIL lives in Manila and the COL is certainly cheaper, but you need some cash. If she’s willing to bring her spending money, it could work out if they’re paying her airfare, etc. I suppose she’d get tips as well.

Mine went alone through SE Asia for a few months at 18. She funded it through her part-time job. She did, however, meet up with a friend part way through the trip. She was gone for about three months and was only just 18.

This is making me feel more positive

I've suggested she gets something that pays otherwise she won't be able to make the most of it.

I think trip 1 has a friend meet-up at some point and she's asked me to meet her somewhere for a few days.

I've also just sent her a link to BUNAC working holidays that she said she'll look at!

Yep my daughter did the same at only just 18. SE Asia alone but on an organised tour. She had a whale of a time and came back so grown up. It's so good for their confidence.

My DD went solo to Singapore, Australia and Malaysia aged 17. Loved staying with a friend in Australia, but found the solo travel stop-overs for 3 days either end hard.

Fast forward a year, she went solo inter-railing and came home after 11 days. She found it hard moving from place to place, not having anyone to share the experience with or share the highs and lows, being constantly woken up in hostels and stressing about trains and finding the next hostel or cash point when arriving late in a new city like Budapest (non-euro).

She ended up doing Workaway where she had more stability and people to share the experience with. She also went to Nepal with ICS (sadly this government backed scheme is no longer running). She now always travels with a friend unless doing another workaway placement.

Good for her, I want my DDs to be confident to do this, I did but I was a few years older. I did a mix of travelling alone, with someone or as part of a group tour, I met lots of other single travellers. I think I’d encourage the group thing for a start, I know I’d be happy for my DDs to travel but I’d want them to do it safely especially if they were so young.

@runner2023 I've just suggested workaway and she said that's what she's been looking at!

I could get on board with that 👍

Must admit i wouldn't like the idea of Philippines solo at 18.
How about working on a cruise ship?

I think she may struggle to get what she wants in the Philippines. It's a relatively poor country but with a population who are well educated and speak excellent English. They're not all sitting around waiting for an English 18yo with no experience to turn up and staff their hotels!

DD wants to travel which I'm broadly ok with but today's idea is to go to the Philippines for two months and work in hotels for board and lodgings, no actual salary

Has she actually looked in to how she can legally work in the Philippines? Permits for foreign workers are quite strict and usually (apart from some entertainment roles) need a sponsor from the employer prior to being given a permit. And I would really not recommend she tries to work illegally for no pay on a tourist visa. However, the Philippines would be an amazing place to visit if she’s already got some money together though. Fairly safe, as long as she’s sensible and avoids the obviously unsafe areas like Mindanao. Fairly easy to navigate, people are friendly and helpful and interested. Something like about 60% will speak English, and not just in the cities. Learning a few words of Tagalog wouldn’t go amiss though.

Insurance! medical including medevac and other. And no scooters/motorbikes - I was a biker but one DC managed to crash one in Vietnam mega bucks for reparations and hospital. Vaccinations. Pills. Knowing where the nearest embassy is.

Having said that I was hitching from the age of 19 pre mobile phones in some very strange places. But times have got stranger and more violent.

Agree a few words of the local language would be good but there are translators on smart phones if that smart phone is charged. Also understanding the country you are going to, researching it and going with whatever rules there are.

I went alone at 18 and lived to tell the tale.

I’d suggest she does a trial run first, Europe sounds a better option for first trip. Then if that goes well, head to places on the tourist track where she’ll meet others - Thailand, Vietnam etc

Hmm I'd be proud she wants to do it. You e brought up a confident young woman! I travelled for years from age 18. Sometimes alone and sometimes with a friend. She will have the time of her life!

Tell her to go everywhere and see everything! Before you know it it's too late and you're tied to mortgages and kids. Brilliant kid! Go for it!

Philippines is a really odd choice. I’ve been there a few times, but for very specific diving holidays (lived in Hong Kong at the time). Culturally it’s not as interesting as somewhere like Thailand or Cambodia or Vietnam, and the food is unexciting too. The people are lively but there is a lot of poverty and it feels quite dangerous, and there is a lot of nasty sex tourism over there. There are not really any significant tourist sites and it’s been ravaged by floods. Domestic transport is not great, and you can only get to other SE Asian countries by air or very long ferry. It’s also very very Catholic.

Why does she want to go there rather than somewhere else along the more standard “banana pancake” backpacker trail?

Lovely is what I meant to say about the people, not lively- though some are both lovely and lively!

I've been totting up this evening the number of workaways I've hosted to date - 207 (not including return visits, of which they've been many). This includes some very mature 17/18 yr olds. I've no issue telling people my full address prior to their visit and have happily taken the occasional "check up" call from parents. It's a good system.

@Eyesopenwideawake My DD has been trying to convince me to take in workawayers. I am not sure what I would get them to do for 4 hours a day. DD said some of her hosts just loved the cultural exchange. She stayed with a teacher in Germany for 2 weeks last summer and helped out at school and with marking and prep. She ended up going to concerts with the family, helping to organise a big birthday party and doing lots of sports that she had never tried.

What do your workawayers do?

My DS travelled SE Asia at 18 but in a tour organised by Student Travel Company.
It was great. Youth Hostel accommodation. He met loads of young people and had a great time. I'd be a bit wary about the Phillipines. Not sure how safe it is?

@runner2023 - we have a small farm with horses, dogs, cats, goats and chickens (and a rooster!) so the main work is putting food in at one end and cleaning up at the other 😊

Plus they paint, weed, cook, clean and generally maintain the farmhouse, outbuildings and land. Having said that some have just been good company in the depths of winter when my partner was away working.

Yes, my BIL and his wife have family in The Philippines so they have reasons to live there, but they tend to holiday elsewhere unless they’re diving or snorkeling. Manila’s overcrowded with terrible traffic, apparently.