Would your parents allow you to travel alone at 16/17?

RobitTV

So my brother will be 16 in January and he would like to go to the uk to stay with his grandad sometime just for a few days.

Do you think parents will allow this? I think 17 is understandable but 16?

He says he doesn't mind if it's 16 or 17 he goes on his own. He has a good mind and understands the area.

Do you think it's possible?

I will try and ask them but I just want a common opinion first before I go ahead. My brother says if he asks them he won't get anywhere.

Also out of interest what was your first trip alone? Would your parents allow you to fly at 16 or 17?

P. Breathnach

When I was 16 I travelled to France alone as part of an exchange programme. The journey involved finding my way from an airport in France to a railway station, buying tickets (using my rudimentary French) and managing a change of train. I was met by my host family at their local station, and they looked after me for two weeks before depositing me at the local station to undertake the return journey.

I had no problems, and it never crossed my mind that anything might go wrong.

That was decades ago when we all knew a bit less about travel than we do now, and the standard method of communicating with home was to write a letter.

kerry4sam

I assume he would be escorted to the airport but would he be met at the UK airport by someone he knows or would he be making his way solo to the grand-dads house? It does happen that teenagers as young as 16 travel solo, I don't know of many, only a few mind.

My parents did allow me to fly at that age but it was a school-trip and we were accompanied by teachers.

My first solo trip was back-packing around Northern Ireland at 18 much to my parents worry It was initially for a week and only booked a week off work; extended to 2 and onto 3weeks. Then my dad phoned me one day saying 'listen, I've paid your deposit for your on-campus accommodation that's non-refundable so you'd better return in time for college' so I came back! Loved every day of my solo-trip. My job was also kept open for me and I held onto it for another few years after that. Doubt that privilege would be extended in this climate so I was fortunate I done that when I did.

Travelling at 16 and 17 is done, but to ease your parents mind, have his route planned right down to his collection and meeting by your grand-dad. It is not something I would advocate but maybe that's just auld age by me kicking in. Read the terms & conditions of whom-ever he plans on flying with and ensure they will allow it also. Have a definitive length of time that he would actually be solo for your parents also. If it's just the flight-time (& the airline approves), then don't omit that to your parents.

zagmund

Erm . . . at 16 I headed off around Europe with a one month inter rail ticket, about £3.54 in coins in each of 13 different currencies, a backpack and no way to ring home other than going to "the central exchange" in what ever city I was in and booking a phone call to Ireland. I survived, like billions of people before me.

Your brother will also survive.

I gave a lift to two brothers (around 16 & 18 or maybe 17 & 19) who I met on the boat to France a few years back. Their plan was to get to France, hitch & busk for a month or two before coming back for school & college. People do this stuff all the time.

As your brother points out, the challenge might be to get past the parents. Once that is done he should be fine. I don't know your family, so I can't give any good advice other than that you should try to focus with the parents on why this is just like him doing anything else on his own. If they let him go to "the city" (wherever that is for you) to go shopping or if they have let him stay in a friends house then this is no different.

Unless of course your grandfather lives in Afghanistan or some other war zone. Then, it might be different.

If nothing else, at least one of your parents should think this is a good idea as it will mean closer bonding & contact with their father.

z

tricky D

Not quite a helpful answer, but we recently discovered that way back in the day, just after the war, my dad once travelled from Zambia to Cape Town by train and then by liner to Southampton and to the Midlands (Bradford I think) and back again at the young age of 12. That took around 3/4 weeks each way. A few years later it was by the new sea plane service which took about 4/5 days (typical route stages would be: Southampton, Marseilles, Syracuse, Athens, Alexandria, Luxor, Khartoum, Kampala and Kisumu on Lake Victoria, Victoria Falls, Cape Town) . Different times indeed.

Stinicker

I was left off to New York on my own at 17 where I stayed with my sister, one of the best things my parents ever did. It instilled a love of travel into me and I have since traveled to 15 different countries and clocked up nearly quarter of a million airmiles in the last 8 years.

toadfly

I went to London when I was just turned 16 on my own. My mam left me to Knock airport and my uncle collected me on the other side. Wasn't a big deal and only the second time flying.

BostonB

Depends on the maturity of the person too though.

Gatica

as mentioned depends how worldly-wise he is, or savvy. How close to the airport/flight can his grandfather collect him? 16 is not that young and unless he's immature and wide-eyed at travelling alone, I'd imagine he should be fine.
I flew alone at 4, but I was put on plane at one side and met at the other with the airlines hostesses agreeing to look after me for the flight. This might not be something airlines may agree to nowadays. Of course that did not require navigating check-in or getting bags on arrival. Had also flown alone from 15/16 to visit family in Europe, though was always met by them.
There was also a case of a 16 year old sneaking off during school term to watch a football match in the UK about 2 years ago, he was on the radio after. So I'm guessing some airlines may allow minors to travel alone without parental consent, not that I'm advocating it. Just make sure to check with airlines that they're ok with him flying alone or whether he may need a signed or witnessed parental approval form of some sort.

rain on

I flew to the UK on my own at ages 7, 8 and 13, and to France at 16, and I wasn't a particularly worldly wise teenager. Send him through security at one end and pick him up at the other and he'll be fine.