Saving Money on Holiday

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 Saving money, a topic very close to my heart.  Holidays.  A topic even closer.

I'm only going to give you one, simple, tip on how to save money on holiday.  One that sounds completely upside-down, back-to-front and crazy to begin with.  But bear with me, ok?

The tip is this.  Go All-Inclusive.  There.  3 words.  I can see you scratching your head, looking at the screen slightly skew, and wondering "what HAS she been drinking?" 

But seriously, think about it for a minute.  If you go self catering, B&B or half board, your biggest expense is likely to be food.  Followed swiftly by drinks, both of the daytime & evening varieties.  And in a close third, entertainment.  All-Inclusive has got all of that covered for you.  Yes, you spend a little bit more at the outset.  I've just run some options through one of the major UK tour operators & found a week's All Inclusive in Majorca for £110 more than the cheapest Self Catering option for the same date, same departure airport.  If you can eat out of an evening, drink, buy water, lunches & breakfast basics for a week for less than £110 per person, that's pretty impressive.  OK, if you want to spend your holiday cooking, on a self-catering apartment stove, then you might *just* manage it.  But that's not a holiday.  A holiday is where someone else does all that for you.

And so the All Inclusive.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks, ice creams, daytime activities, evening entertainment.  Nice little perks like a shuttle bus to the beach if you're not already right there.  OK the entertainment can be a touch on the cheesy side.  And yes, there's probably a club dance and you'll get dragged up to make a fool of yourself at least once. But that's what holidays are about, letting your hair down, not worrying about being cool or what anyone else thinks.  And the drinks are free, so given enough of them you won’t care.

All Inclusive is even more of a money-saver if you're on holiday with children.  Children like ice cream.  Regularly.  And their tastes change with the wind.  That can get expensive when they decide not to like the meal they've ordered and want something else instead.  An All-Inclusive holiday is fine for that.  Don't like your meal?  Get up & pick something else.  That’s what it’s about.  Honest.  No-one will mind.

The reality is, All Inclusive is no different to buying an APEX train ticket.  You’re paying upfront in advance.  That means that the hotel can plan & buy in advance, and get better deals, meaning they can offer you better deals.

There’s ways to save a few ££ shopping around for a cheaper flight, with a different airline, a less convenient airport, annual travel insurance, and all that.  But if you want to save money on the whole holiday experience, do consider All Inclusive.  It works.