Should we book an all inclusive resort or not?  That is a question we are asked many times a week.  Our answer is always the same, it depends.

Why are you traveling?  Honeymoon or just a quick getaway.  Are you looking for the cheapest upfront price or value?

Not all inclusive resorts are the same.  Not even close in some areas.  Find a good travel agent.  They can help you through this.  Angel and I have been to many all inclusive resorts and can tell you first hand there are huge differences.  Knowing this and finding out what you value is key to answering the question All Inclusive or Not.

Most all inclusive do give you drinks.  The real questions is what?  When we tour resorts we take pictures of the bars.  You can tell me you have top shelf liquor but I want to see it.  We were just in Antigua and the resort we were at had lots of great names, problem was each bar had a little something different.  Usually the more you pay the better the alcohol. 

Like wine?  Is that also included?  What kind and when.  Angel and I are not big drinkers so this really is not that important to us. It may be to you.  An all inclusive will let you know up front what the price will be Vs buying your drinks one by one.

How about food.  Same as before, the more you spend the better the food.  If you are a 3 meal, 2 snack eater then an all inclusive may be for you.  Last year Angel and I were in Mexico at a fairly new all inclusive resort that had one of the best steak houses I have ever eaten at before.  Yes, you could eat their every night if you wanted to, it was all included.  By the way we got our choice of several different cuts of steak and choice of several different kids of seafood. This quality would have been very expensive if you ate out like this nightly.

Activities is where Angel and I look for the most value.  Since we are going to go snorkeling, sailing and diving we want to know up front what those cost are going to be.  These can be a huge value depending on where the resort is located if not included in your price. 

How about getting around.  Does the all inclusive have any shopping tours or other site seeing tours they may add value to your trip?
Maybe the transfers to and from the airport are included with the all inclusive.

There are many all inclusive that are adult only.  Again, this can make for a very quiet time around the pool.  It also tends to make nightly dinner much more subdued without children needing attention.

When touring resorts that are not all inclusive we try and take pictures of  the menus and restaurants nearby.  This gives our clients a sense of how much meals may cost.  We were just in the Bahamas and a mixed drink near Atlantis was $12.00.  Yes, their were places cheaper and more expensive but are you really going to shop around on your honeymoon?

Usually when given a price for an all inclusive that is the whole amount.  Tipping is usually included and so are all taxes etc.  Make sure if you are trying to compare The All Inclusive to the Not,  the Not has added all fees into the price.  My favorite is the dreaded resort fee.  This is usually in the fine print when booking on line.  This fee could add an additional $20 or more per person.  Some hotels let you pay this up front, others require you to pay it directly at the hotel/resort.

If you are on a budget we suggest you look at both choices.  Choose the one that give you the best value.  Many times it will be the all inclusive if you are active and plan to use the resort facilities.  If not consider the not all inclusive resort.

The big lesson here is to ask questions.  Get the answers and have a great time!

Don't forget you can visit our website at http://www.kerryf.allabouthoneymoons.com/