Men: beware the single sex holiday

The single sex holiday is on the rise, it has been revealed, with 67 per cent of Britons now more likely to go on vacation with people of the same gender than they were five years ago.

According to a survey by Halifax Home Insurance, men are more likely to go abroad with their boyfriends than ladies with their girlfriends, with levels of 26 per cent and 19 per cent recorded respectively.

Do bear with me, because this is where things start getting (reasonably) interesting - especially if you are, as Jimmy Hill is known to say, a "mere male", as the reasons for this segregation are illuminating. While men are often reluctant to travel with their friends' partners because of a simple dislike of their mate's spouse, women, it seems, choose to trip off without their other half because they are fed up with them - one of the most prevalent explanations given to Halifax Home Insurance for the likelihood of women going on same sex holidays was "I see my husband 51 weeks a year, sometimes it's nice to have a break".

Now this leads to all sorts of questions. Surely a 'break' spells trouble for any couple in a relationship - and especially those who are married - because it if women can't stand to be with her partner for a whole year at a time, what chance have the duo got of spending the rest of their lives with each other? So just what should a break actually involve? Because clearly - and certainly if Friends is anything to go by - a 'break' in manspeak means something completely different to the very same word uttered by the fairer sex. For men, a break is just another opportunity to play the field until the missus comes a-calling and the relationship can re-start exactly where it left off. However, women, if Rachel is anything to go by, see it rather differently. They consider a break a chance to get a bit of "personal space" and to "think things through". If you ask me, this is equally as dangerous, but Rach didn't think so: Ross was up to his neck in it when he strayed at break time, and it took years, and an accidental baby, to sort things out.

But is the blame all one way? Not according to the Halifax data. For another excuse for an all-girl holiday is that ladies prefer sunbathing in the presence of their peers rather than the opposite sex. However, I get the impression that should a dashing hunk be spotted on the other side of the pool, the girls wouldn't rush for cover. As a result, here's a list of three suitable places I would consider it acceptable for any girlfriend of mine to go on single sex trip safe in the knowledge that she's likely to be as good as gold.

Germany
Moustaches, leather, sausages, the Hoff. The safest of havens.

The Arctic Circle
Would have to be sold well: tell you partner to treat it as an opportunity to observe the effects of global warming at first hand. The bonus here, of course, is that it's unlikely they'll be doing any sunbathing.

A health farm
This one is particularly appealing. It's bound to be considered a good idea - a bit of pampering never goes amiss - and they're likely to stay loyal, as any potential suitors will be either grossly overweight or gay. Genius.