Do You Really Save with All-Inclusive Vacations?
If you want to do a vacation right, then you need to look into all inclusive resorts. If you’re not familiar with all-inclusive resorts, it means that you will pay an upfront price and everything at the resort will be free. For the resort, it’s a way to stay booked while eating a little cost. For the traveler, it’s a great way to save money and enjoy a vacation without ever taking out your wallet.
However, backtracking a little, the resort is eating cost on some guests, but not all of them. There will always be guests who spend the majority of their time outside of the resort, which saves the all-inclusive resort money and pushes them comfortably into the black. But since you’re likely a traveler, let’s look at things from that perspective:
1. Dining benefits
When you book all-inclusive vacations in the Caribbean, you’re likely going to have many benefits. The most obvious benefit is beautiful turquoise water and white sandy beaches at a discounted price. Then you have the dining situation. Most all inclusive resorts will have a buffet and several smaller restaurants. This will allow you to try different dining establishments and types of food during your stay, but you will likely end up spending most of your eating at the buffet.
2. Drinking benefits
The next big benefit to all inclusive vacations is the swim-up bars. You’re not required to get your alcohol at a swim-up bar. You can also get alcohol at a regular bar, but the swim-up bar is a popular choice at all-inclusive properties because it’s not every day that you can swim up to a bar. You can always walk up to a bar, but you can’t always swim up to one. This unique experience leads to the swim-up bar being a popular and fun area at any all-inclusive resort.
3. Beach perks
The most overlooked benefit to all-inclusive properties in the Caribbean is umbrellas and lounge chairs on the beach. This is often a pain in the neck and an unexpected added expense on a regular vacation, but it’s not something you have to worry about with all inclusive vacations.
4. Other great stuff
Other benefits to an all-inclusive vacation include gratuities, entertainment, fitness classes, tennis, golf (sometimes), and beach volleyball (sometimes). In some cases, all-inclusive vacations will also include scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, canoeing, and sailing.
5. Not free
The following is what you’re not likely to receive for free at an all-inclusive property. The first and most obvious is the spa. This doesn’t include the gym. That will be free. It does include massages, pedicures, and manicures. This makes sense simply because if massages were free, a guest could request a six-hour massage. This wouldn’t work out well for the massage therapist’s hands. The next thing that’s not free is the gift shop. Otherwise, someone could just go in, take all the items, and there would be no more gift shop. The last one is excursions. Sometimes you will find all-inclusive deals that come with a free excursion, but other than that, you will have to pay for excursions off-property.
6. Conclusion
Overall, all-inclusive vacations will save you money assuming you will be spending the majority of your time at the resort and eating most of your meals there. This is the case for most travelers, which makes all-inclusive vacations a win for the traveler.