All Inclusive - Thinking about trying it next year.

moneysavvy35

Hey Guys

Looking to try an all-inclusive holiday next year either may half term or summer hols. Never done this before so I have a few questions that maybe you could answer for me.

Which time would be cheaper to book? May half term or summer. Can you book do-it-yourself all inclusives holidays? e.g find your own flights and accomadation or does it have to come as a package.

I would like to try either Tunisia, Turkey, Jamaica or Dubai - which would be the cheapest options bearing in mind the dates?

When should I start looking?

Is 2weeks all-inclusive too long? How long do you stay for? 1 week? 10 days.

Anything else to need to consider?

Our travelling background: 2 adults 2 children - (13 & 10), usually holiday in Florida (Fort Lauderdale/Orlando) for 2 weeks once a year. Spend soooo much money on food, we thought maybe try an all-inclusive. I would love to do all-inclusive in a different state of america but it dosen't seem they do it thier. Spain & Portugal do not appeal.

So where do I start? Thanks in advance:)

mick_vandick

Going by what you have said about past holidays, i don't think Tunisia is going to be the right place for you! It would most likely be the cheapest option though.
You don't have to book a package to go AI, you can do the flights and then the hotel separately. Companies such as Hotels4U and Travel Republic have lots of options depending on what kind of star you are after.
To be honest, if i was looking at Jamaica i would probably book a package as there are some parts that are not particularly safe.
Turkey might be a good option. In the Belek area there are some amazing hotels with a lot of things to do on site. You would need to fly into Antalya.
I would pick up some brochures from the likes of Thomas Cook and Thomsons so you can see what you like and then price it up online using one of the accom companies (such as the 2 above) and then flights with the likes of Easy Jet, BA, or Thomas Cook/Thomsons.
I tend to avoid the school holidays so not sure which would be cheaper but at a guess i would say May.
2 weeks is not too long if you have the right place. Depends where you choose and if you want to stay in the hotel or go out?

Obviously_the_best

I always DIY all inclusive holidays, unless a package is cheaper. Both holidays are likely to be similar prices.

Dubai is amazing, and if you're leaving London you can get some good deals on flights with companies like Qantas and Royal Brunei, but Turkey or Tunisia will likely be cheapest.

I tend to do 10 nights, mainly because it normally fits my budget nicely, and I don't know why but it just 'feels' the right amount of time, 7 nights I feel like I'm on countdown as soon as I get there, 14 nights is too long for me.

Just a tip with all inclusive: Buffets are generally very large with lots of choice, so don't vary massively every night. Don't take a bit of everything every night then complain you're bored. Try to stick to a select few things each night and you'll still have new things after 10 nights. And don't make an @rse of yourself with free drinks, we've all done it

moneysavvy35

Thanks for replying. The tip about brochures is a great one....also the buffet meals and choosing wisely. I shall start looking around.

lady1964

We've been doing AI's for several years now and up until last year, usually went in August due to school holidays. We've been to Sharm/Hurghada on AI as well in November.

We have booked most of our AI's separately, flights then hotel once flights are booked. We tend to do 10 nights as like another poster said, 14 nights is too long and 7 isn't quite enough.

I tend to get a brochure or look at online brochures before booking and really do research if we're considering somewhere we haven't been before.

We also tend to book smaller AI's - not more than 300 rooms if we can help it, they tend to have at least one a la carte restaurant but the poster who suggested the buffet tips makes some really good points and I would agree with them.

If you are thinking of Jamaica or anywhere else in the Caribbean, be aware that the summer hols does tend to be 'hurricane' season. However, we've been to Barbados (twice) and Cancun in August and although we had a little bit of rain, we were fortunate enough not to have really bad weather.

mcc100

Obviously_the_best wrote: »

Just a tip with all inclusive: Buffets are generally very large with lots of choice, so don't vary massively every night. Don't take a bit of everything every night then complain you're bored. Try to stick to a select few things each night and you'll still have new things after 10 nights.

That is an excellent tip.

I've only ever been AI once and I was bored of the food at the end of the week but I found myself taking a bit of everything each night.

It is only after reading your post that I have realised where I went wrong.

Gratis

If you’re determined to go All-Inclusive, at least check, by research in proper guides (as opposed to what some tasteless oiks, and/or the hotel itself, may have posted on TripAdvisor) that the food is good at your chosen hotel before you commit to having to eat it every day for a week (or two).

wallbash

Pick an Ai with a few dedicated restaurants on site. My last one had......Turkish/Italian / oriental/BBQ/and a fish one...... never had time to get bored with the food. Saying that my fav was always the buffet.

Buffets are generally very large with lots of choice,

which should vary every night , many having theme nights with 'show' chefs cooking on display.
If you get bored with the food , you have picked the wrong hotel

silvercar

Going AI I would tend to up the class of hotel you stay in, you are more likely to spend longer in the hotel than if you stay somewhere where the food options mean you eat out, and therefore go out, more.

GwylimT

Tunisia would be very cheap, I had a colleague who went there recently and there were quite a few problems as there were a lot of Syrian refugees who were asking for money for food etc, but he said there were a lot and so it was difficult to leave the hotel without constantly being hassled.

Personally I wouldn't go to Dubai as I don't agree with UAE's stance on homosexuality.

I have only done all inclusive once, it was in the South of France, it was a very nice hotel and five star, but after a few days the food became very boring, the hotel advertised that the food varied each day with daily specials but this wasn't the case, and before the days of tripadvisor etc. I only did this all inclusive as my son was quite small and so he would be in bed by 7-8pm so it was easier to have our evening meal in the hotel, but we never bothered with lunch in our hotel.

EmmaParsons

First off I would say May is a better time in terms of cost as generally it would be cheaper, but most schools only get a week off so that might influence your decision. You can do it yourself for all inclusive as there are lots of online travel agents that offer all inclusive deals. Try Last Check Holidays too.

In terms of where to go I would back the idea of Turkey, especially the Antalya region. The Marmaris and Bodrum areas are still very nice but are very commercialized and busy in some places (not all) and have an abundance of cheap and cheerful All Inclusive hotels which may not be quite what your looking for so choose wisely. Tunisia is the same really, make sure you do lots of research on the hotels before choosing one in particular.

Jamaica has a good choice of AI hotels, but generally speaking you would be looking at a hotel based holiday if you choose Jamaica. Obviously there are excursions etc that you can go on and you aren't strictly confined to your hotel, it's just as others have said some areas are not always tourist friendly.

Dubai doesn't offer a great choice of AI hotels so I think you may struggle there.

I would also throw Cyprus, Greece, Croatia, Mexico (Cancun or Riviera Playa) or dependent on how the situation pans out possibly Egypt for next year in to the mix too.

I don't mind All Inclusive from time to time, but I always plan on eating out at least once or twice a week anyway just for a change of scene. As others have suggested a good way to get round this is to pick a hotel that has various a la carte restaurants to choose from too.

I'd recommend the Delphin Imperial hotel in Lara, Turkey as they have loads for the kids and several restaurants etc too. There's also the Delphin Palace which is another good choice for families as it has a mini water park on site too. Or if you wanted to go all out you could try the Mardan Palace, which has the largest swimming pool in the world at the moment!