self catering or all inclusive

prosaver

susieanne wrote: »

We are 2 adults & 3 youngish children just wondering whether to go self catering or all inclusive to spain ? never been abroad before so no idea on prices etc on food & drink , just looking to book an holiday for as cheap as possible . The all inclusive quotes ive been getting are so expensive but i suppose we wont be watching our pennys as much if at least i know we have all been fed well . Just like to know if paying the extra for AI is worth it or can you eat fairly cheaply self catering going to supermarkets ?

I tried going ai and went on holiday with a euro in my pocket vowed not to spend it..however I had to go and buy duty free..bah humbug (sorry dont know the saying for a holiday scrooge)

hethmar

Id never go AI because we dont drink a lot and I think Id be stuffing food all day to get my moneys worth which would spoil the holiday But if its your first holiday abroad and you may be nervous of going to local shops plus, mum deserves a break with three kids - and if you are drinkers, then it is probably the best for you IF you can afford it. Have you compared AI with say half board where you can get a good breakfast and evening meal and make do with just a snack during the day?

Gedtumtwext

Just let the hotel/resort know before hand, they may be able to sort something out. I did that in Egypt and had the head chef cooking me my own meals every evening Failing that, as you say - theres usually loads of salad, fruit, etc, etc on offer Goodluck and enjoy.

melb

had a look at the link to the SusieSie resort or whatever it's called. Took a while of clicking before i could actually ascertain which country it was in. All I can say is Yuck! - in fact it probably doesn't matter which country it's in as it probably caters to people who don't want to know where their plane has landed. Give me a villa with pool in a large mediterranean garden with sea and mountain views, lovely meals in different restaurants each night and maybe a lunch of local cheese and ham on the naya at lunchtime and i'll show you a holiday for 4 in August for 2 weeks costing about £2500. Cheap self-catering - but not as we know it! Horses for courses as they say but I've never been to Butlins or haven and don't intend to even if it is in Turkey

wallbash

matter which country it's in as it probably caters to people who don't want to know where their plane has landed.

Got it in one . I book hotels not countries .

lovely meals in different restaurants each night

As posted how many different restaurants can you visit in one holiday ??
Count how many in my choice.

i'll show you a holiday for 4 in August for 2 weeks costing about £2500.

Sorry but you are not in the same price range ............ dream on.

hcb42

I would be cautious about AI personally. Only done it once in Dominican Republic and I hated it.

I went to madeira last year and we did three nights HB and rest BB. It worked well, as we had some meals paid for (in a very fine restaurant in five star hotel) but still had flexibility to try other places.

jhe

when my children were younger we went sc for quite a few years because it was cheaper, but when we worked out the difference on not only meals drinks, we also used to get an under occupancy charge because there were only 2 adults on the booking.
when we went ai although the holidays were a lot more expensive we did save overall.
we have never booked the cheapest ai hotel and have always checked reviews, usually you get what you pay for,
have only once in many years booked bed and breakfast, we spent an absolute fortune.

MacMickster

It all depends on the type of holiday that you want.

If you want no more than to spend time by the hotel pool, then as long as you check reviews re food quality etc then AI can be OK (but if you end up in a hotel where the food is inedible then you are stuck).

If you actually want to leave your hotel and go sightseeing, to the beach, visit local markets etc, then a lot of the time you are not going to be at the hotel to take advantage of the AI, and will still be paying for food and drink at the places that you visit.

I was once on holiday in Jamaica, and a family we met were staying there on the AI option and took only 50 dollars emergency money. By the end of their fortnight, sitting by the pool all day had become an ordeal, and the only time that they got to see any of Jamaica other than the hotel grounds were the journeys to and from the airport.

happy35

i have booked a 5* all inclusive with a number of restaurants and sports facilities on site and it was fabulous but expensive. I have also booked a 3*+ all inclusive in Spain and thought it was rubbish, food very basic and we managed during the day but eat out a few times, thankfully we were only there for a week

I have been self catering the last few years and have found it to be ok price wise, always eat breakfast in the apartment and buy loads of pop and water from the supermarket. i freeze a bottle of water and take that down to the pool for later in the morning and only buy the odd drink from the pool bar. I usually buy a snack each at lunchtime and eat out most nights, or buy a cooked chicken and salad and eat on the balcony.

I like the freedom of self catering, would go all inclusive but only if I could afford the best

Kedi_Yavrusu

It really depends on what you want to do on your holiday and how much you want to spend.

If you are happy spending most of your time in the hotel then AI would probably be ok. However if you think you would prefer to wander around the town and choose somewhere different to eat each night then go for SC.

By the way going self catering doesn't mean you have to spend your time cooking! We always go SC but we never eat in of an evening.

As for budget, if you have a low nudget be aware that cheap AI will mean not so good accomodation or food. I think you need to pay a good price to get a good hotel.