Travel on a budget: The all-inclusive vacation
Last year, I was talking with a friend right after she had returned from a relaxing week in the Caribbean. “We did an all-inclusive,” she said to me with a glimmer in her eyes. “A what?” I had no idea what she was talking about. After chatting about it for quite a while, she clued me in on how an all-inclusive vacation works and what some of the perks were. To say I was intrigued would be an epic understatement.
According to my friend, she could travel to any all-inclusive vacation spot in the Caribbean or Mexico and have almost everything included in one low price. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing; my friend and her husband had paid only $700 per person for an entire week at an all-inclusive resort in Cancun. Not only were their flights and lodging included in her cost, but all of their food and drinks (even alcohol) were included as well. She seemed downright enthusiastic about their experience and went on and on about how amazing the whole thing was. I had to find out more.
To satisfy my curiosity, I started playing around with dates and locations on travel sites like Expedia and Travelocity. What I found out was a complete jolt to my system: all-inclusive vacations were cheap. Dirt cheap. Since I love to travel and hate to spend money, I started to wonder if I should go on an all-inclusive vacation myself. My husband and I had been putting off a honeymoon for nearly seven years at that point, mostly due to being stingy with our cash. Could an all-inclusive vacation provide the answer?
Our First All-Inclusive
Once I showed my husband my research, he quickly got on board. Of course. Why wouldn’t he want to travel to a tropical beach and enjoy unlimited food and drinks all day and night? We bounced back and forth between several locations. I initially had my heart set on going to Aruba. However, my enthusiasm waned as the price crept slowly upward with each passing week. Then it was Club Med in Turks and Caicos. Then Jamaica. Then Mexico. We ultimately chose to do our first all-inclusive vacation in the Dominican Republic. When all was said and done, we paid less than $1000 per person, including airfare, to spend 7 days and 6 nights at an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana.
The hotel’s website made it look too good to be true — with tropical beaches and lush landscaping, live entertainment, and six restaurants and seven bars at our disposal. As our vacation date approached, I started to wonder if the resort could possibly deliver what it promised for the price we paid. Regardless, I decided to go with an open mind and low expectations. Even if it was awful, I would still get a kid-free week with my husband and the honeymoon that we never had. “I’m going to have a good time no matter what,” I told my husband as we boarded the plane.
When we arrived at the resort, all worries were completely dashed from my mind. It definitely delivered what it promised, and then some. I nearly cried when I saw the pristine beaches and absolute beauty of the area where we would be staying. It was then and there that I totally understood why my friend had promised that “once you go all-inclusive, you never go back.” It finally made sense.
The Pros of an All-Inclusive Vacation
Most all-inclusive resorts are located on beaches in Mexico and in the various islands scattered throughout the Caribbean. However, some all-inclusive resort chains like Club Med offer all-inclusive vacations in varying landscapes all over the world. Regardless, the general premise for all-inclusive resorts is the same: they offer lodging, entertainment, and all food and drinks for one low price. It is also possible to book a package including airfare which can trigger an additional discount.
The benefits of choosing an all-inclusive vacation are too numerous to count. First, they take the guessing game out of the cost of your vacation by letting you pay for all of your meals upfront. Second, aside from the cost of transportation to your resort and some money to tip the staff, you may not need to fork over any cash during your trip at all. Every all-inclusive resort is different, but some offer live entertainment, live music, and high-quality shows on the premises. Others include some activities in the cost of your trip, such as Zumba classes, water aerobics, kayaking, boogie boarding, and board games.
All-inclusive trips are also incredibly easy to plan. Aside from selecting a resort, choosing flights, and arranging for transportation, very little else needs to be done. Once you arrive at the resort, you also don’t have to worry about how to get from one place to another or where you’re going to eat. Everything has already been thought of and is ready and waiting upon your arrival.
The Cons of an All-Inclusive Vacation
Although an all-inclusive vacation can get you a lot of bang for your buck, it doesn’t really allow you to immerse yourself in the local culture and customs of the country you’re visiting. If all you do is plop yourself down on a tropical beach with a drink in hand, you may not get to experience much of what the country has to offer. However, staying at an all-inclusive resort shouldn’t hold you back from experiencing some local culture. Most resorts offer excursions by trained guides who will take you off of the resort to visit some of the local attractions. If you’re staying in a particularly safe area, you can even take a taxi into town to explore on your own.
If you read vacation reviews, the number one complaint about all-inclusive resorts is the food. Although some all-inclusive resorts have restaurants where you can order off of the menu, almost all of them offer the main portion of their meals buffet style. I personally don’t mind eating at a buffet as long as there is something that I can eat. However, not everyone is a fan of buffet-style dining. If you can generally find something to eat wherever you go, the food selection would probably be fine. However, those looking for a culinary experience should probably choose a vacation where the dining options are more varied.
Tips for Selecting an All-Inclusive Resort
I’ve written about the value of vacation before, and I truly believe that all-inclusive resorts offer a lot of value for your money. If you’re looking for a relaxing trip on a budget, an all-inclusive vacation may be right up your alley. Here are some tips for those looking for the perfect all-inclusive resort:
- Shop around. Make sure to check travel sites like Expedia, Travelocity, and Priceline for the best deal. You can also use these sites to include airfare in your total cost.
- Be flexible with dates. Consider arriving and departing mid-week or vacationing off-peak to get the best deal.
- Be flexible with your location. If you have your heart set on a particular resort, you may end up paying more. Instead, be flexible when it comes to where you stay. Consider a resort that is having a sale or even staying in an alternate location.
Have you ever been on an all-inclusive vacation? If so, what did you think?
Become A Money Boss And Join 15,000 Others
Subscribe to the GRS Insider (FREE) and we’ll give you a copy of the Money Boss Manifesto (also FREE)
There are 61 comments to "Travel on a budget: The all-inclusive vacation".
This is good timing since I just booked my flight last night (through rewards) and will be booking the all-inclusive hotel this week. Some other sites that I like are cheapcaribbean.com and bookit.com.
Since I use my vacation to relax from the busy season at work, the idea of sitting on a beach with a cold drink in my hand the whole time sounds AMAZING. If only I could get my boyfriend on board…
We decided to go all inclusive after going on a pretty cheap trip to the Bahamas last year, but then spending a small fortune on food. I just felt like I couldn’t enjoy it worrying about all the money I was spending.
DH went to one once, as his sister decided to do a destination wedding at an all-inclusive somewhere in Mexico.
As you said, his main complaint was that the food was awful. We don’t have any problem with buffets, but we do have a problem with bad food.
I have found that cruises offer MUCH better food than all inclusives. But for us the all inclusive is not only peace of mind (no searching for the local “good” restaurant) but a better price. We can often travel AI cheaper than airfare alone!
Also check out Groupon Getaways. They have some ridiculous deals on there, including some all-inclusive resorts.
As I started reading the article I was mildly surprised that everyone didn’t know about all-inclusives. I live in NS Canada and so many people go on these trips to break up the winter. I’ve been too cheap thus far but Punta Cana, Jamaica, Cuba, the Dominican are all very popular and regularly posted by colleagues / friends on FB. I’ve never heard anyone regret going (even a secretary in my dept said a week of non-stop rain in Cuba was fun due to the treatment of staff).
One of the most awesome trips we ever took was the Melia Bavaro resort on Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. A true taste of tropical paradise. Good choice!
Getting there was a rough drive through the “cana” Sugar Cane fields, but when we arrived it was this beautiful oasis.
The only all inclusive we ever tried outside of that trip was Jamaica which was practically wiped out by a hurricane before out trip. So we cancelled that trip and went to Costa Rica instead, where we decided to live for three years after having made several visits there. Wouldn’t trade that experience for the world.
We’ve done the all inclusive thing in Jamaica, Virgin Islands, and Cancun with different levels of “inclusiveness”.
For those places that offer various “inclusiveness” packages, you will almost always find it to be cheaper to NOT include drinks unless each person is planning to drink 10+ drinks a day. Make sure to check it out, unless you’re a heavy drinker, just go with the meal option.
Also, a cruise is probably the most expensive “all inclusive” you can get. Please don’t do this option unless you have a lot of money to throw around!
Cruises can be quite cheap! We took a $400/week cruise from New Orleans to three Caribbean destinations. With tips, it was just over $500 for each adult, and our son was maybe $200. It was a steal, especially considering free child care.
We were just considering some from Seattle or Vancouver to Alaska in the $350/7 days range.
We must have done something wrong then, because we don’t drink or gamble and it cost us a ton!
We did a 7-day cruise out of San Juan Puerto Rico…
We’ve done cruises and here’s what we like about them versus an all-inclusive:
1. They take you to several islands, not just one. You get to see a bit of each place and determine where you’d like to visit again.
2. They have good entertainment. Not sure what all-inclusives have.
3. There are a variety of dining options.
As for costs, we found the best deals (assuming you’re not waiting until the last minute and trying to jump on a deal) at Costco of all places.
This said, we’re looking at an all-inclusive for our next vacation (now that we have 3-4 islands we know we like a lot.)
There are some good deals on cruises. I think the cruise lines make a lot of their money on extras like gambling, drinking, spas, etc. If you don’t do as much of those activities, you can save a lot.
Just within the past year we went to our first all inclusive. LOVED it and it makes everything so much easier.
We went to Excellence Punta Cana last year for our honeymoon and it was amazing! I enjoyed the food as well. Except for breakfast, which you could order in room service at no additional charge, most of the restaurants allowed you to order off the menu for lunch and dinner.
That’s where we honeymooned too! I loved the trip even though I usually prefer my vacation to be slightly educational. We could sit around and do almost nothing.
We’ve never been on one ourselves, but definitely plan on it. We’ve had several friends go on an all-inclusive vacation and they absolutely loved it. I usually like to get to enjoy some of the local culture when we travel, but there’s nothing wrong at all with sitting on the beach with a drink in hand. 🙂
My brother and his wife do all-inclusive every year, for free. Apparently they sit through this time-share seminar that takes up an entire saturday for them, which they hate. But when you do that, they give you a free, all-inclusive vacation that rocks. The hitch of course, is that most people who go with the intent of just getting a free vacay end up buying a time-share, but my brother and his wife are pretty strong. They ignore everything that’s said all day, up until the point where they sign off on their free all-inclusive!
Not bad, if you both have the will of steel to walk away as planned. I do, sadly DH does not. He’d cave after an hour 🙂
I’ve done all-inclusive in Jamaica (twice) and Mexico. Food was always delicous, whether plated or buffet style. I agree that an AI vacation can insulate you from the local culture. But it really depends on what you’re looking for in a vacation, so I think AIs have a place.
While all inclusive are great compared to a similar vacation in the US, they are generally quite overpriced compared to organizing your trip yourself.
I have enjoyed the convenience they provide but now that I have more time to travel, prefer to do my own itinerary. Sometimes people don’t get out of the resort because it is paid for, or they don’t take a day excursion because they would lose a lunch. btw excursions from the hotel are generally 20% over priced compared to the nearby travel agency that will pick you up in front of the hotel as well.
I’ve been fortunate to have visited more than a dozen all-inclusive resorts for work, mainly in the Caribbean. (I know, I know, but hey, someone has to do it.)
Most resorts do have sit-down menu restaurants, but the trick is to make your reservations first thing, even while you’re checking in. Most guests try to do it at the spur of the moment, and that’s too late. The sit-downs are solidly booked all the time.
The other thing is to do research ahead of time about excursions. The internet is usually much better at listing all available excursions. The concierge at the resort typically only pushes the trips the resort gets a kickback on.
Overall, though, Holly is right: all-inclusive is hard to beat in terms of value for money.
Cross reference your trip planning with trip advisor. I do this with ever trip, national and international,, all-inclusive or not, that i’ve planned and it has added great value. You typically can find detailed information on every resort, hotel, restaurant, activities, etc in the reviews which are ranked and additional information in the forums plus you can email people if you have specific questions. Having been to many islands and Punta cana for the first time just recently, I have found PC very nice in comparison. Of course I made sure the resort was highly reviewed with great feedback across the board on different topics. If you just take a shot in the dark or go with the cheapest you can be on the receiving end of some very unpleasant surprises including horrific food, service, construction on resort right outside your room, pools closed, etc..
We absolutely LOVED the Dominican Republic….beautiful climate, breathtaking beaches, friendly people. I did a review on the resort we stayed in this February…it was heavenly!
http://clubthrifty.com/majestic-colonial-punta-cana-a-review/
Some years ago I went with a friend to the Bahamas with an all-inclusive deal. While the hotel was nice, the cattle herding that goes with the all-inclusive system was *incredibly* irritating.
Food required standing in line like in some high school cafeteria to eat pepperoni pizza and other atrocious offerings while wearing some ridiculous wrist tag. Drinks also required a wrist tag and hanging around a bunch of tourists like in some college party. The “private beach” was fenced and crowded and far away from my idea of a “Caribbean beach”
Of course we ripped off the idiotic plastic bands, rented a scooter, and fled to empty beaches and local eateries/bars. Good fun.
The thing is, I forget why or how, the all-inclusive was cheaper than it would have been to get a flight and hotel room separately, so this can be a good deal even if you’re not partaking of the slop.
We are going to an all-inclusive in Mexico later this month…and you’re right. The cost of an AI resort was actually competitive with the cost of the regular resorts. Regardless, the resort we’re staying in is a 15 minute walk from Playa Del Carmen where we can eat some of the local food and experience some local culture. When we want to veg out, we’ll just hang out at the resort.
This one was only $800 per person including flights…so I hope that the food is edible. I am a vegetarian and am not a buffet lover.
The all-inclusive experience is not for me. I’ve tried it, and the cattle-factor that El Nerdo speaks of is really off-putting. I don’t want to vacation abroad so I can stand in long lines for bad food.
The other part of this is that the cheapness of the vaccation + free/unlimited booze mean that the patrons can be a bit off-putting if you’re used to quiet, polite, reserved people at a luxury resort like the Four Seasons. If you’re a college student or in your 20s, or with a brood of young kids, probably not bad but a more mature couple may not like borish/loud/disorderly people while sunbathing and relaxing.
As well, Dominican Republic (and Cancun/PV/Cuba) are generally safe places but you hear a few horror stories. Recently a couple near my hometown in Ontario were married at a Domincan all-inclusive resort and the groom got unjustly arrested due to some locals getting in a brawl. The groom spent nearly a month in a nightmarish prison without due process or legal rights we take for granted in the USA and Canada. False economy?
To each their own!
Please note – there are luxury all-inclusives, where you’re not herded like cattle, the food is awesome, and the people aren’t salespeople on a convention.
One of the resorts we went to for our anniversary had Richard Branson in the dining room for dinner one night – he had hoteled his Managing Directors at our resort, and they had dinner served in a private area for his group.
We went to a Cozumel AI for our honeymoon (wedding gift from my dad). It was OK, but we were sold on the idea because we weren’t constantly fretting about the cost of things, and that made for a more relaxed experience.
Once we got into the habit of taking vacations, I put on my research hat, to find smaller venues (typically, under 100 rooms, although one in Mexico was larger).
We find LuxuryLink to be a great resource for these sorts of trips. Average cost for the luxury resorts is about $500 per day as a couple, and that does not include airfare. Note that this is primarily BVI and USVI thus far. Mexico/Nuevo Vallarta was ~ $300 per day, and the resort had 5 sitdown restaurants.
These have been heavily negotiated locales, since my husband refuses to travel to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, some areas of Mexico, Puerto Rico, etc.
Second the rec for CheapCaribbean.com, as well as bookit.com – very helpful.
I second the comments on Groupon getaways, cheapcaribbean.com, and checking out Trip Advisor.
My first AI was this past February in Montego bay, Jamaica. My BF had a mild heart attack and subsequent heart cath & stent, and was released from the hospital less than a week before we left, so sitting on the beach for a few days just soaking up the sun was just what we needed! We’ll definitely do the AI thing again. In fact, we may never do anything else when going to a tropical climate.
Full disclosure: I am an airline employee so not only can I fly for next to nothing (have to pay taxes on flights outside of the US), but I also have access to a special vacation website for airline employees. The price we paid for a vacation in February was very close to the cost of the off-season Groupon deal. I didn’t check any other websites prior to booking our vacation, but maybe I will the next time to make sure it’s really a good deal – and if it is, I’ll feel good about how much I’m saving!
Is so much better with a trip advisor, every tim all-inclusive. Is just so much better.
It really depends on what you want in a vacation. All-inclusives have their place and we enjoyed them. Sit on the beach, go horseback riding, boogie board, etc. Eat at the buffet or in an on-site restaurant. Maybe take a tour of a local town. The value is certainly there.
But they don’t interest me now. We like to travel to uncrowded, natural places, live like the locals, shop and cook for ourselves, walk around and meet people and see whatever country we’re in. It’s a totally different way of travelling and can be equally full of value, but you aren’t as likely to get a marble bathroom & service on a beach (but that’s not what we’re after now).
I guess I had ruled out all inclusives because of subconscious biases.
But realizing that can go to one of these places for a week for less than what it would cost to stay at the beach 3 hours away in same state, that’s crazy. If true that makes the trip inexpensive enough to budget for outside resort activities, so can have both relaxation and experience a different culture.
Before we booked in Mexico for the end of this month, I looked into renting a condo in Florida for a week. I thought it would be cheaper since we could drive and prepare all of our meals at “home.” I’ve never been to Florida in July but apparently it’s peak season. I couldn’t find any oceanfront condos for less than $2,000 for the week! That made booking an all-inclusive a no-brainer….at least this time!
Holly,
It probably depends a LOT where in FL you’re looking. It’s definitely off season down in our neck of the woods and beach front condos are listed on Craigslist for $600+ per week. A friend from work rented one for a “staycation” this week!
We typically vacation in the pan handle because it is a 12-14 hour drive for us. With two little kids, that’s about as far as we can go. If we were to vacation further south, we would have to fly and rent a car which would cancel out any savings for us.
My wife and I have done All-Inclusives in Montego Bay, Jamaica; Cancun, Mexico and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic… Our favorite so far is Majestic Elegance in DR (great resort and spectacular spa). We’re doing The Hilton Rose Hall in Jamaica, this year and planning to do St. Lucia next year with the kids.
Make sure you do the research and READ READ READ lots of REVIEWS!
We love all inclusives and are planning one later this month in Mexico. I agree that it’s a very simple way to plan and budget a vacation. I’ve tried all different variations of vacation budgets and can’t find a better deal for my family needs.
For the upcoming trip which we’re paying $4500 for, we get:
– 5 nights in a 5-star hotel
– Adjoining rooms (1 for the kids)
– All drinks, food, etc…
– Resort credit for extra stuff (spa, golf, etc)
– Flights and transfer from airport to hotel
For us, I could not put this together for that price for a hotel as nice without going all-inclusive. Besides, it’s very convenient to not pay for anything. The other benefit is that you stop worrying about what stuff costs because you’ve really already paid for it.
Again, for our needs, all-inclusive is the absolute best. When we plan a vacation, we almost exclusively look at resorts with this option.
I think the all inclusive vacations are great if you just want to hang out at the resort (and especially if you plan to drink many alcoholic beverages). If you plan on going into town or going on excursions, then you are better off just booking a hotel and paying for things separately. Sometimes because it is so hot I have found that I don’t nearly need to eat and drink as much as they offer at the all inclusive resorts, anyways.
Thank you, Holly, for this timely article. All too often most of the travel/vacation related articles I read on personal finance websites usually include some amount of discomfort to save money. I don’t want to sleep in a room full of strangers or carry a heavy sack on my back to save a dime. For me that defeats the whole purpose of relaxation which is my definition of a vacation. For those reasons all-inclusive sounds great to me.
The cons you mentioned is worrisome for me, especially food. As someone with food allergies I can’t leave it up to them to pick out my meals so I would have to do a lot of research before booking anything. Also my chronic illnesses has me very heat intolerant so vacationing in a hot humid climate will not work for me. I will have to see if they are any all-inclusive vacation spots in temperate climates, but I doubt it since tropical vacations are still very popular.
We went to the Caribbean in February and it wasn’t humid at all. From what I understand, Dec-Feb is their peak season because of the temperate climate.
I hope you find something!!!
Thanks for the heads up. I will check out temperatures in certain areas at various times of the year to be sure. The last thing I want to have happen is to be stuck in a hotel room with the AC because its too intolerable to go out!
We went to Valentine Imperial Maya on the Mexican Riviera. The food was fantastic. Each time someone waited on us we were asked if we had food allergies. It had buffets for breakfast and lunch (both had a chef to cook to order for your) and no reservations al acart reseterants for dinner.
I don’t like these places. They have no character at all. They might as well be in Las Vegas except swap the gambling for a beach. I don’t even necessarily want to see the local culture in wherever I’m visiting, but I want to feel like I’m doing something a little bit different. One of the best places I ever stayed was in fact “all-inclusive” in that there was a flat fee for the entire trip, but it was at a remote corner of a Costa Rican national park, where we had to take a boat in and a small plane out. We had fancy meals brought to us on the lawn overlooking the river (which is how the boat brought us in) and we went on birding trips by kayak and watched sea turtles hatching at dawn. The whole place only had something like 8 rooms.
It was luxury accommodation for tourists, not “local culture”, but it was fantastic. 1,000 room hotels by whatever white sand beach is close to the airport? Not the same.
Be careful when planning a trip to Punta Cana. While many of the resorts will claim to be in Punta Cana, they’re actually located a couple hours away. My wife and I accidentally booked a trip to one of these, and while the stay was nice, it wasn’t anything in comparison to the trips we were told about for the resorts in Punta Cana proper.
I’ve been to a couple all-inclusives. One was in Cabo, Mexico and the other was in St. Lucia. The one in St. Lucia was horrible (it was called Coconut Bay Resort by the way) and the one in Mexico was amazing. I’ve learned to do my research on Trip Advisor when picking out an all-inclusive because of that. One similarity between the two was that the food at the restaurants were mediocre at best.
I’m also one of those that doesn’t like to sit around at a resort a lot and likes to go and find local culture so one thing to keep in mind when looking at all-inclusives is to ask yourself if you’re actually going to eat, drink, and enjoy enough resort ammenities that make up for the overall price that you pay. If not, then you might want to consider another option.
One thing I didn’t see mentioned here is that if you are single and looking to travel alone, you likely won’t be able to get any of these deals. I was surprised to find this out when I started looking last year. I wanted to get out of town cheaply and easily by myself, but it turns out that most of these rates are only good if you are booking for at least double occupancy. If you are going solo, the rates often just about double. It’s there in the tiny fine print, but I’ve never heard anybody mention it before.
Hi Kelly,
I also thought I could not afford an AI due to “single supplement” charges. However I discovered that Punta Cana in Dominican Republic charges by the “room” not the Person. It did not cost me anymore to go there than it did anyone else. It was an awesome trip bing the first one I took out of country on my own.
Hope that helps
Hi Holly. I found that when I was working an all-inclusive was exactly what I needed as there was no time to figure things out and learn the culture. Now that I am semi-retired though, I definitely prefer the holiday where I book my flight and my first two nights (more if it is high season)and then just follow whatever happens. I feel like I connect more and really ‘see’ the places that I go. I also found that the low cost hostels that I stayed in were less expensive than an all inclusive so my money went further and when I am semi-retired that gives me a lot more travel for my money.
I’ve never been on an all inclusive vacation. I’ve always thought that I could do thinks cheaper if I did it piece by piece.
For me, the key to an affordable vacation has always been to not pre-determine where I want to go, and instead find what is financially attractive. Instead of saying, “I’m going to go to Destin, FL and make it cheap as possible”, I approach it from the angle of “sometime this summer, I’d like to go to a beach. Let me see what I can find to accomplish that objective.” It’s a lot easier to find a deal when you have that kind of broad objective.
That’s a great idea. Let the location “come to you” based on the cheapest prices.
I like it!
Well, since our whole intention in traveling is to experience local culture and eat well, it sounds like these types of vacations are not for us. Neither of us is ‘beach people’ anyway; I lived in LA for 9 years and maybe went to the beach three times, while he grew up in San Diego and no other beach on earth can possible compare. 😉
However, we have gotten some pretty good almost-all-inclusive deals on some recent trips. Two years ago we went to Scotland on a package including airfare, car rental, 5 nights’ stay anywhere in the country and 5 breakfasts for just over $2000 per person. Of course we spent a lot more on other meals, gas, shopping, and sightseeing, but we still feel like we got a deal. And we wandered the entire country, stopping where we liked, meeting interesting people, seeing amazing things. This year we got one to Dublin, airfare plus four nights in a hotel (with breakfast) for less than $600 per person. We spent any money we saved on a day trip to Cardiff in the middle of our stay, but it was spectacularly worthwhile.
To each their own. 🙂
We live in Australia, and have been on a couple of (almost) all-inclusive trips, to Singapore and New Caledonia. Both times it was a really easy way to explore a new place, without having to spend too much time or energy planning. It was definitely a nice way to ‘taste test’ places we might want to visit in more detail later.
I have tried all inclusive travel few years ago and since then travel only like this. Just somehow like that service.
If you read vacation reviews, the number one complaint about all-inclusive resorts is the food. Although some all-inclusive resorts have restaurants where you can order off of the menu, almost all of them offer the main portion of their meals buffet style.
I only do all inclusive the best site is cheapcaribbean.com been using them for 10yrs they are the cheapest I go on vacation 3 times a year or 4 due to their prices
Did you ever think to call your local travel agent? As an agent myself, I can guarantee you a better rate than cheapcaribbean.com (who is actually just Apple Vacations in disguise) with our price beat guarantee.
I also wonder why the author advised the use of such OTAs when, again, your travel agent is always going to find you a better deal–consider that they spend a lot of their days comparing their packages to the ones being compared online. Expedia, priceline, orbitz, etc. may offer price beat guarantees, but really all they do is use robot trackers to see what adverts you’ve recently checked. You can always test that theory by disabling cookies and trackers on your browser.
Remember, travel agents are vacation experts and if this “well-traveled” author was using an agent she probably would have had her dream honeymoon 7 years prior. In a Sandals. At half of today’s rate. Because without travel agents, Sandals wouldn’t be a household name (hence the reason they name their buildings after my company’s agents now).
*I speak as an agent who not only sells these destinations, but who has also visited many, and who has a bachelor’s degree in travel and tourism with a focus on tourism sustainability and development.
Great tips and resources, thanks for sharing. I’m not planning on being in Thailand ’til much later in the year so hopefully things will have settled down by then, but I think a lot of this advice is applicable to other situations and destinations so may well come in useful
Your post has been really helpful and you’ve so much good advice. Whenever i m planning to travel, I usually like to look around for cheap deals and mostly i find it on lowendticket.com(think i got it right). They have dirt cheap deals. Also, there are other travel sites that have somewhat similar deals.
Once you go for the all inclusive, it’s difficult to go back. You can find lots of great deals this way but it’s only worth it if you take advantage of what you are offered. Thanks so much for sharing.
We did an AI once and it just wasn’t for us. We were locked into a certain resort and week as it was for a friend’s wedding, but we kept comparing it to our cruise experiences. For folks who just want to sit on the beach and drink, its probably great though! It ended up costing us more (total, everything included for both) than our average cruise, and it was one less night, we barely did any excursions, and didn’t really get to “see” anything. I imagine with comparison shopping it may get to be cheaper, but you can do the same with cruises.
I love waking up somewhere new most days on a cruise, packing & unpacking only once, lots of options (or the option to do nothing), etc. I’d rather pay for just what I want, vs. have everything included (which may include things I don’t want).
Many thanks for sharing these kinds of wonderful threads. In addition, the best travel plus medical insurance plan can often relieve those fears that come with visiting abroad. Any medical emergency can rapidly become costly and that’s sure to quickly slam a financial impediment on the family finances. Having in place the great travel insurance package deal prior to setting off is worth the time and effort. Thanks a lot
I’m surprised you didn’t mention to watch out for those advertised “all-inclusive” but then note that it’s European plan (doesn’t include meals and drinks)!