I'd like to take my six-year-old on a vacation, but I'm finding that most packages are booked as two adults. There are no discounts given for the child--it seems that single parents are penalized. My departure and destination are both flexible. I'm at my wit's end. Please help!

The travel industry seems to be a bit slow in realizing that many of its customers don't fit the traditional nuclear family unit. Hey, folks, times are a-changin'. Alas, as you've discovered, single parents are often penalized by the per-double-occupancy rates. But you do have a few fine options:

First, check out Quality Time Travel (call 631-543-4009, 888-758-9386 outside New York, or click here.) This three-and-a-half-year-old firm offers vacation packages designed for single parents, ferreting out resorts that offer single occupancy rates and top-notch children's programs. For further cost-cutting, the company will match up single parent/child combos. Most excursions are offered during school and summer vacation times and run the gamut from Carribean cruises, ski vacations, all-inclusive resorts, ranches, even spa vacations. The biggest advantage, says company president Sharon Saffon, "is making single parent travel more comfortable. No more feeling like the fifth wheel."

If you're looking for a resort, try the Eastover Resort in Lenox, Massachusetts. This all-inclusive property sits on 1,000 acres in the pretty Berkshire Hills and offers informal, inexpensive fun. There are many activities (skiing, sledding, biking, hiking, tennis, golf, indoor and outdoor pools and more), and three meals a day. Adults pay full rate; children ages 3-7 pay 1/2 the adult rate; children 8-12 pay 3/4 the adult rate. The resort also hosts a single-parent-family-only week in July. Call 800-VACAFUN or click here for more information.

Note: If there's a resort you have in mind, always inquire about single parent programs; they may have them. Also ask local tourist offices the same question.

Some types of vacations lend themselves to single-parent travelers. Consider an adventure getaway, like white water rafting, hiking or walking vacations, horseback riding or camping. These excursions are often priced per participant, with discounts for children. For example, sign up for an Appalachian Mountain Club (800-367-3364; www.outdoors.org) family hiking weekend, or hit the trails with Wagons West (800-447-4711; www.wagonswest.com) on a horseback/wagon train ride in the spectacular Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming.

Have a great trip!

Please keep in mind that phone numbers, addresses and prices are subject to change. Originally published in November 2000. Updated September 2002.

Diane Bair and Pamela Wright have worked as a travel-writing team since 1988, when their first book, FUN PLACES TO GO WITH CHILDREN IN NEW ENGLAND was published. The Bair-Wright team has gone on to write more than a dozen more books, including ADVENTURE NEW ENGLAND: AN OUTDOOR VACATION GUIDE and WILD ENCOUNTERS: THE BEST ANIMAL-WATCHING ADVENTURES IN THE U.S. They are frequent contributors to several national magazines, including FAMILYFUN, BETTER HOMES & GARDENS, BACKPACKER, TRAVELAMERICA, PARENTING and NEW ENGLAND TRAVEL & LIVING. Bair and Wright are based in a 200-year-old brownstone in the seaport town of Newburyport, Massachusetts.