Feature

Summer is on its way, which can only mean one thing - it's definitely time for a holiday. Time to escape from reality for a few weeks to indulge in some of the clichéd sun, sea and sangria - but is that where it stops?

If you are single (and even if you're not), it is more than likely that the thought of a holiday romance has crossed your mind since you booked your holiday. Over the years, the idea of a summer fling has become part and parcel with going on holiday, with one in three singles admitting to having frolicked with a fanciable stranger during their few days in the sun.

Sure I've had holiday romances - who hasn't? Although mine have never gone further than holding hands and a kiss under the palm trees, I know many guys and girls whose holidays are now positively geared towards a no strings attached, sexual liaison. If this is your aim this summer - make sure you arrive prepared with contraception and common sense.

However, there are those people who go on holiday and fall in love. There has to be one warning - be careful not to believe every word a sexy suitor says. There are serial holiday romancers out there that will promise a girl anything to get them into bed, and their pledge to call as soon as they get off of the plane might leave you broken-hearted and waiting by the phone for months.

Of course, there are those who actually do call, wanting to rekindle the holiday flame and continue the relationship. Beware, holiday romances usually of fade away faster than your tan. Surely they have no chance of surviving in the real world, do they? Actually yes they do. A survey found that nearly a third of all romances formed on holiday continued back home, and I and two of my friends can be included in those statistics, clocking up two years plus since we met our beaus on foreign soil. It just goes to show you, with a little patience and compromise, great things really can happen when you least expect them to.

My advice would be - don't be on the lookout for Mr. Perfect or Ms. Perfect on your next trip into the sun, because the thing about great romances is, like a great holiday, they just happen.

Verity Burns, MyVillage, 31st October