Mermaiding on holiday: hotel pools, resorts and the beach

A holiday is often where a child first swims in a tail. The pool is right outside the room, the days are long, and the tail came in the suitcase. It is also where the usual routines slip. This guide helps families enjoy mermaiding away from home without leaving safety behind.

Most of our own students are adults, and our lessons happen in Singapore. This is general advice for families wherever they travel.

Why holidays carry extra risk

Drowning is a real travel risk. The US CDC's travel health service says it accounts for about one in ten deaths of American travellers abroad.

RoSPA, the UK accident prevention charity, found a pattern in children's holiday pool drownings:

• Many happened on the first or last day, while parents were busy arriving or packing.
• Some happened at night or early in the morning, when a child slipped out of a villa unnoticed.
• Toddlers were most at risk, often after wandering away.

New surroundings, excitement and tired adults are a poor mix. Decide your water rules before you leave home.

Unfamiliar pools

Every pool is a stranger. Walk round it with your child before anyone gets in.

Depth

• Find the shallow and deep ends, and where the floor drops. Some pools shelve gently; others step down suddenly.
• Look for depth markings, but check with your own eyes as well.
• Feet first. RLSS UK advises entering slowly and staying within standing depth at first. The CDC advises never diving into shallow water.
• Show your child where they can stand. In a tail, standing takes longer, so the shallow end is where tail play belongs.

Drains and outlets

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission warns that a pool or spa drain with a faulty cover can trap hair, limbs or a whole body by suction.

• Look at every drain and outlet. If a cover is loose, broken or missing, keep out and tell the hotel.
• Keep children away from drains, especially in spas and shallow pools.
• Tie long hair back, and avoid dangling jewellery or loose straps.

Lifeguards

Do not assume there is one. RoSPA notes that many hotel pools have none, and that pool attendants usually hand out towels. Abroad, lifeguards may be there mainly to respond after something goes wrong.

Ask before you book. Even where a lifeguard is on duty, RLSS UK advises keeping children within arm's reach. Our guide to supervising children in the water explains why.

Villas and private pools

With a private pool, you are the lifeguard.

• Check for fencing or a barrier before you book.
• Lock doors and gates to the pool. RLSS UK advises securing doors so young children cannot reach a villa pool unsupervised.
• Put the tail away after every swim, so it does not invite a solo dip.

Pool rules

Hotels and resorts may have their own rules on tails and monofins. Ask at reception, and respect the answer.

Resort "mermaid experiences"

Many resorts now offer mermaid sessions for children. Some are excellent. Some are a tail, a pool and a staff member with other jobs. Ask before you book:

Be wary of breath-hold contests, somersaults, or a push into deep water on the first go. Our guide to choosing a safe mermaid school has the full list.

Why the sea is different for a child in a tail

Royal Life Saving Society Australia does not recommend tails or monofins in open water. Rip currents and swell raise the risk of drowning. We agree: tails are for the pool unless you are trained for more.

For a child, the sea adds:

• Waves that knock them over, when they cannot get their feet under them.
• Currents that carry them away faster than a tail can fight.
• Cloudy water, where a child under the surface is quickly lost from view.
• No edge to grab, and a floor that may be rock, coral or soft sand.
• Sea life, from jellyfish to sea urchins. The CDC suggests asking locally about what lives there.

The CDC also advises obeying beach flags, and swimming parallel to the shore if caught in a rip current. Families for Life asks parents to hold a young child's hand near waves.

So at the beach, the tail stays in the bag. Ordinary swimming, with an adult beside them, is the holiday treat. Our guide Pool or open water? covers what training a tail needs before the sea.

Sun and heat in the tropics

Many family holidays from Singapore head somewhere just as hot. The sun near the equator is strong all year.

• Avoid the middle of the day. Singapore's National Environment Agency (NEA) says UV levels are highest between 11am and 3pm.
• Cover up. NEA suggests sunscreen of at least SPF 30, shade, a broad-brimmed hat and UV-blocking sunglasses. A long-sleeved swim top helps in the pool.
• Drink often, even when in the water. Children do not always notice thirst.
• Watch for heat illness. Doctors at National University Hospital describe heat exhaustion as headache, nausea, dizziness, heavy sweating and a fast heartbeat. Get them cool, give fluids, and seek help if they do not improve. Heat stroke, with confusion or collapse, is an emergency.
• Keep sessions short. Tired, hot children make poor decisions in water. So do tired, hot parents.

A tail lying in the sun gets hot. Keep it in the shade, and check it before your child puts it on.

Packing a tail

• Pack the fin flat, where nothing heavy can bend or crack it.
• Check it on arrival for cracks or tears. Travel is hard on gear.
• Rinse it in fresh water after every swim, and dry it in the shade. Chlorine and salt both wear it down.
• Never leave it in a hot car.
• Check with your airline if the fin is large.
• Practise taking it off in the hotel's shallow end on day one, before any proper swim.

See Tails and monofins for care and fit, and Choosing a tail for a child if you are buying one.

Emergency numbers

In Singapore it is 995. Abroad, it will be different.

• Look up the local number before you go, and save it in every adult's phone. RLSS UK suggests teaching it to your children too. In EU countries, 112 is free to call.
• Note the hotel's own emergency extension, and where the nearest hospital is.
• Read MFA's travel page for your destination. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises noting your overseas mission's contact details. Its 24-hour Consular Response Centre is on +65 6379 8800.
• eRegister with MFA, so it can reach you in a crisis.
• Take a first aid kit, and know CPR. See our supervision guide.

Travel insurance

We cannot advise on policies, but a few general checks are worth making:

• Medical cover. MFA describes a case where an air ambulance home cost S$60,000. A low overseas medical limit can leave you with a large bill.
• Activities. MFA advises making sure your policy covers your planned activities. One insurer's checklist suggests confirming your activity is listed, and notes limits such as depth or certification may apply.
• Health conditions. The same checklist notes that standard plans typically exclude conditions you had before you travelled. Declare them upfront.
• Read the exclusions before you go, not after.

A holiday checklist

• Rules agreed before you leave: tail in the pool only, adult within reach.
• Pool walked round, depth checked, drains checked.
• Lifeguard situation known.
• A named watcher for every swim, with handovers.
• Tail removal practised on day one.
• Bright swimwear packed. RLSS UK suggests neon yellow, orange or green.
• Sun plan: shade, sunscreen, water, no midday swims.
• Local emergency number saved.
• Extra care on arrival and packing days.

Our part

Our lessons happen in a pool in Singapore, mostly one-to-one, with tails, fins and masks lent. If your child has learnt with us, the same rules travel with them: never alone, one length, one breath, and no somersaults or tricky moves outside a lesson.