rb - You've neglected to pay attention to two of Suki's statements. First, they are willing to let their children go without parents, so whatever anyone else would say to that is irrelevant. Second, in a later post, it was mentioned that the children (actually, adults) are paying for it themselves. Not all 18-year-olds are lazy troublemakers who just want to party on their parents' dime.

Suki - Have you looked into beaches on the great lakes, or maybe even somewhere in Canada? I know you mentioned the US, and maybe with good reason, but since the drinking age is lower in Canada maybe they'd be able to get a rental there as well? Just a thought. The great lakes beaches would be a bit chilly for swimming, but at that age my friends and I didn't mind the cold too much. There are definitely nice campgrounds on the lakes even if they can't find a house or hotel that will let them stay.

There are State Parks with beaches... we camped in Malibu State Park in California. The campsites were not on the beach, but there was a trail you could take right down to the water and it was beautiful. Something like that would be inexpensive, and if they picked the right locale, they could be close to plenty of hip things to do.

jlm, the problem may be that they cannot go without their parents because they can't find accommodations without chaparones.

Come to think of it, my son stayed in hotels at 19 and 20 without a parent.
He was (is) in the Army.
I wonder if it is really up to the discretion of the front desk.
I still say camping, unless the kids are totally spoiled like my daughter who's idea of camping is staying in a condo or cabin at the lake.

Hmm, this may be a bit of a stretch but how about Puerto Rico? There are plenty of quiet beach areas. The age limit for pretty much everything like casinos and drinking is 18 (although now that I think of it, it might not be too comforting to know that, lol). I'm not sure if they want to go that far but at least its relatively cheap. Oh well, its just something else to consider I guess.

My 18 year old daughter and 3 friends went on a Princess cruise in July to the Carribbean. None of them were 21 or over.

Seriously, people are married, holding jobs, even parents at 19 or 20. And they are not allowed to rent a hotel room or go on a cruise? What's up with that? I thought 18 was the age of "adulthood" for contracts and such, and just the drinking age was 21.
Well, if you have to go out of the country... either Puerto Rico or Quebec would be fun, but no beach at the latter!
Of all the ideas, I think the cruise sounds wonderful, especially if chaperones end up required. They would have plenty of independence.

The problem is not that a steady, responsible 18 to 20 year old cannot rent a hotel room or take a cruise or rent a house - with proper documentation and credit card/references. The problem is that no one is willing to do that for a group of 18 year olds on vacation - obviously a very different thing - without some sort of parental guarantees.

In fact, in some vacation areas that specialize in house rentals local governments have laws against 3 or more unrelated young adults renting a property - just to keep out groups of kids - seen as likely to be destructive/troublesome - although obviously not true of all kids - experience has shown this can often be a problem for both house owners and neighbors.

Vivi-I think I have cleared up some of the confusion concerning ages on cruises. I mentioned the over 21 age limit for my daughter and her friends. That is because they were looking at either Carnival or Royal Carribean Cruises and they require that everyone in a cabin either be 21 or be with someone over 25. However there are cruise lines that do allow 18 year olds to travel alone. One of them is Princess Cruises. Doing a search on age restriction I came up with the following information:
"The following cruise lines require that at least one person in each cabin is 18 or older: Cruise West, Cunard, Disney Cruise Line, Orient Lines, Princess Cruises, Radisson Seven Seas and Uniworld." These cruise lines also have different restrictions about drinking age and ages that you can play in the casino. Most of them require you to be over 21 although some allow 18 year olds to gamble.

Suki-It really is a shame they don't want to go to Europe-what a great graduation gift. As mentioned there are probably some hotels that would rent to 18 year olds as long as it is not a huge group and it is not something like spring break. It sounds like your daughter's friends are good kids and certainly responsible to be paying for the trip themselves. It might be worth looking into a cruise on one of the lines mentioned above.

I would second the notion of a cruise with a brave parent along as a chaperone. I would never allow my child to go anywhere there are other young adults unchaperoned. Something in the mind set of that age brings out the beast when they are all together, not to mention the notion of invincibility. Couple that with alcohol and its a disaster waiting to happen. I believe it was last year here in New Jersey, that it was a chaperoned trip to Hawaii where a girl ended up dead after falling off a balcony. Alcohol was involved. My forth child is graduating from HS this year and I have heard my stories from my older children about how even the 'respectable' kids go wild under certain circumstances. I applaude your trust in this children but really, they don't have much in the way of life experience. Thats why I think a cruise with parents around would be ideal. They would have quite a bit of freedom and there are still adults around to temper the enthusiasum of newly graduated 18 year olds.

Add NCL to the list of cruise lines requiring over-21 in cabin. We went with our 2 teenagers this summer (14 and 18)and had to officially register as one adult/one teen per cabin. Therefore, I do not think "one brave parent" would work on some cruise lines either.

As far as hotel minimum age, it is a mystery to me how and who can set rules. Our son, last spring when a senior in HS, was looking for a hotel rooms for he and several friends - 2 were 17, 3 were 18 and one was 19. Hotels they called (and then we called offering to guarantee damage on our credit card) had a variety of age minimums - and many were 20 or 21. In his case, older person per room was not an issue - since my husband rented 3 rooms, he stayed in one, the boys in the other 2.

GoTravel - I was referring specifically to rb's comment 'I tend to say "so what" as to whether they want parents around or not. I'll bet it the parents footing the bill.' Clearly Suki has decided that if his/her daughter and friends want a vacation sans parents that's an OK arrangement for them.

They can certainly vacation as a group of young adults without chaperones if their parents are all willing to let them go. They may not get the vacation they had planned - a beach house rental - but they could camp as suggested or find some other alternative. Perhaps the alternative they'll choose is having the parents stay at another nearby beach house, but who knows?

And my comment was based on the graduates wanting to do something that they just weren't going to be able to do without "responsible adults" as part of the group. If the "kids" want private house but no owner will rent without parents present, then the kids have the choice of parents or not getting the house.

I doubt they would find this suggestion to their liking, but they could consider working together on something like Habitat for Humanity, or some kind of shelter. I know that groups from nearby (AlbanyNY) Siena College to to Philly to work at a shelter (St. Francis?) for a week, and reading interviews it seems like the kids enjoy it.

My niece & her husband, at 20 years old were denied staying overnight at Darien Lakes (NYS amusement park) and to this day she refuses to go there. Yes, one can be an adult, marry, vote, and serve in the military, but still not enjoy all privleges of adulthood.

It's a similar thing with rental cars. I believe that there are some companies that wont rent to anyone under 25 and others that will charge a premium for the rentals.

It is up to the hotel or rental agency as to what the minimum age requirement is. There is no law.

The problem is that too many kids in the past have held to many wild house parties.

You'll find these age restrictions in popular destinations. You will not find them at a motel off I-95 so it varies greatly.