The surf lapping gently at the shore. The sun sliding slowly into a smooth sea. A dark-skinned stranger whispering sweet words of love in an enchanting accent. The perfect setting for a perfect romance. Is it any wonder that so many singles find love on vacation?

Or if not love, then at least a quick roll in the sand.

According to a survey carried out by condom manufacturers Durex, 88 percent of vacationers consider foreign trips a prime opportunity for a quick fling, and eight out of ten women believe that when love blossoms among the palm trees it's certain to end with a broken heart.  While a sense of relaxation and the distance from daily worries make many people ready for fun, when the vacation ends, more often than not, the relationship ends with it.

But not all vacation romances are emotional nightmares. Provided you can keep your expectations within limits and you're careful to pace the relationship at a speed you can handle, a fling in a foreign land can still be a great way to pass the time.

When Suzanne,* 50, took a Caribbean cruise with her girlfriend early last year, she was expecting only a seven day getaway. On the first night, as the staff mingled with the passengers in the dining room, Suzanne and her friend sat at a table with three couples. Laughing and joking loudly with the waiter, she caught the attention of a senior crewmember who approached her table. "I looked up and there stood the most gorgeous, professional gentleman I had ever laid my eyes on," she recalled. "He took my hand and kissed it. All I could say was 'My God, aren't you a pretty little thing!'"

The two met in the evenings after the crewmember had finished his duties and enjoyed a whirlwind affair enlivened by the cruise atmosphere and the isolation of a romance at sea. "You're in the middle of the ocean," explained Suzanne. "There's no-one around to interfere, no-one to judge you and no problems to get in the way. The entire atmosphere is geared towards fantasy and removing you from the realities of everyday life."

Neither Suzanne nor her sailor harbored any pretensions that their forbidden relationship would last beyond the end of the cruise. While that doomed the relationship from the beginning, it made the time they had together that much more precious. "You know immediately that you only have seven days," she said. "There's no time for game-playing, limited time to waste and not enough time for the relationship to become old and routine."

In fact, Suzanne was lucky. Returning to the Caribbean a few months later, she found the same crewmember serving once again on her ship and the pair were able to renew their relationship for another magical week.

But a quick fling is not everyone's idea of a good time, even on vacation, and there are number of factors to bear in mind if you're looking to turn your vacation romance into a long-term relationship. According to Steve Nakamoto, author of Men Are Like Fish, and a professional tour director who's seen couples come together on almost 60 cruises and Club Med vacations, for a vacation romance to work it's important to consider how far apart the pair live, and how easily one side can relocate. Going easy on the sex is also one way to keep interest alive after the trip ends.

"If a woman wants love to result from this vacation, then go slow on the physical attachments," he advises. "Let the promise of great sex build and give only a taste during the vacation itself - or make it the final night. Commitment is a lot more certain when the attachment is firmly secured emotionally, spiritually and lastly, physically."

Like Suzanne, Nakamoto has himself enjoyed romance on a Caribbean cruise and was able to keep the relationship alive after the vacation ended with long telephone conversations. The couple would relive their moments at sea together and plan their next meeting. Although the relationship eventually petered out, it is possible to keep things going that way for years, he says.

In Nakamoto's experience, while most single people go on vacation expecting to find someone, few expect to land the big one. One way to raise the odds of catching a long term partner, says Nakamoto, is to choose a getaway location close to home so that when the vacation ends, the vacationers will still be within easy reach. Picking a site where the activities are truly to your liking also increases the chances that your partner will be suitable for the long run.

Overall, he says, vacations are ideal places to form romantic attachments. "If you're the type who dreams of thrilling romances, then vacations are the place where these things happen all the time."

Suzanne, who is already booked on her next cruise agrees. "My girlfriend, who was there beside me the whole time, could not believe how this all came together so well and ended with such good feelings," she said. "In my opinion, this is the fantasy all girls hope to have and for some reason I got to live it."
 

*Name has been changed.