How to Decide if an All-Inclusive Vacation is Right for You

Posted on August 3, 2017 by Queen Thrifty

Making the decision to vacation at an all-inclusive resort isn’t always easy. However, with the right questions, you can quickly figure out if this type of vacation is for you. Here’s what you should consider first, before booking your all-inclusive vacation.

Research Top All-Inclusive Resorts

Before you start looking at some of the other questions, you should research the top all-inclusive resorts. This will help you better acquaint yourself with the type of place you will be able to enjoy with an all-inclusive vacation.

Three of the top all-inclusive resorts to consider include:

Sandals Emerald Bay Bahamas

Sandals Halcyon Beach St. Lucia

Sandals Grande Antigua

These three resorts provides all-inclusive packages and plenty more. If this type of vacation seems appealing to you, start by researching these three resorts. A Few Things to Understand About All-Inclusive Vacations. After a little research, you should understand a bit more of what type of vacation this will be. Some of the things you should understand include:

Most All-Inclusive Resorts are in warm destinations, such as the Caribbean
All-Inclusive packages take many of the decisions out of your hands
Your budget won’t be stretched once you arrive

Along with these things to consider, you should also ask yourself the following questions:

Do you enjoy water sports?
Do you like to be surrounded by other adults on vacation?
Do you like to explore the local area?
Is this your first big trip?

These questions will help you figure out which all-inclusive resort fits best for you. If you enjoy playing golf, it doesn’t make sense to choose a resort without a golf course. However, if you prefer scuba diving, you may want to consider that in your decision. When it’s a trip away from the kids, you may want to choose an adult only resort for your all-inclusive vacation. This type of resort may also fit very well for your first major trip. Of course, if you want to explore the local area, it may be wise to add an excursion to your package.

Finalizing your All-Inclusive Vacation Plans

Once you’ve decided an all-inclusive vacation is the perfect choice for you, it’s time to choose a resort and a package. One of the best resorts found in the Caribbean is the Sandals Emerald Bay Resort & Spa. This resort provides a variety of all-inclusive packages perfect for any type vacation.

Please make sure you checkout exclusive offers by visiting http://www.sandals.com/specials/new-years-sale/

and as always explore life and adventure at an economic splurge!

All photos belong to Sandals Luxury Vacations & Resorts

36 thoughts on “How to Decide if an All-Inclusive Vacation is Right for You”

Tammy on January 11, 2017 at 8:37 AM said:

I plan on traveling this year so all inclusive is a must for me as a first time traveler.

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- Queen Thrifty on January 11, 2017 at 1:55 PM said:
  
  We’ve done two and they were amazing
  
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Daria on January 11, 2017 at 10:15 AM said:

All inclusive is all I know. It works for myself and all others I travel with. However, this year I will be doing some additional traveling and it doesn’t look like all inclusive is a choice so we will definitely be doing some research to get the best for our buck. Thanks for sharing!

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- Queen Thrifty on January 11, 2017 at 1:56 PM said:
  
  Enjoy your time away.
  
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Carissa (The Green Eyed Lady) on January 11, 2017 at 10:33 AM said:

I can’t wait to have a chance to visit an all inclusive resort! I always hear such great things about Sandals they are on my list of places to visit!

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- Queen Thrifty on January 11, 2017 at 1:56 PM said:
  
  Plan for you and remember you don’t have to foot the cost all at once.
  
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MimiCuteLips (@mimicutelips) on January 11, 2017 at 1:54 PM said:

This is helpful, I travel a lot but I’ve never had the all inclusive experience. It is on my to do list for this year.

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Queen Thrifty on January 11, 2017 at 1:57 PM said:

I love the all-inclusive experience since I am always lazy while on vacation lol

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21flavorsofsplendor on January 11, 2017 at 8:36 PM said:

When my hubby and I travel to the Carribean or Mexico, we only stay at all-inclusive resorts. We love being able to just go somewhere and not have to do or pay for anything if we do not want to. Kid friendly all-inclusive resorts are great for the kids too.

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SocaMom® (@SocaMomDC) on January 11, 2017 at 9:02 PM said:

We did Sandals in St. Lucia, and Beaches in Negril and Turks and Caicos. We have done others, but all “all-inclusives” are not created equal. The Sandals/Beaches trips have been the best hands down.

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Ty on January 11, 2017 at 11:17 PM said:

Thanks for this. I never really gave much thought to asking myself all the questions you mentioned when thinking about all inclusion vacations. I have to make sure I do this when booking travel this summer.

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Jo on January 12, 2017 at 10:31 AM said:

These are great tips. I’m currently looking for an all inclusive in Cancun. I have stayed at one in Puerto Plata and really enjoyed it. Regular resorts are nice, but I don’t really want to deal with looking around for food and drinks. I just want to relax.

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KenyaRae on January 12, 2017 at 12:07 PM said:

I love all inclusives and I’ve heard great things about sandals. I plan to. Heck them put when hubs and I go to Jamaica.

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Tanya Barnett (@RealWifeCoach) on January 12, 2017 at 8:37 PM said:

We always stay at all-inclusives. It takes the stress away about what we will eat. We do visit local places to eat.

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Kirstin N. Fuller (@thetravelindiva) on January 12, 2017 at 9:02 PM said:

I love all-inclusive resorts and vacations. I love the concept of paying for everything in advance and having no surprise fees once we arrive. #LovesIt I visited the resort in St. Lucia when I was there and it is gorgeous in person!

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Sydni Jackson on January 13, 2017 at 1:06 PM said:

We went to Sandals in Ocho Rios for our honeymoon and it was the best decision! It was fantastic being able to order whatever we wanted at meals and do any kind of activity we wanted without having to worry about any extra fees. I would love to go back, or to another Sandals resort!

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LaQuisha Hall on January 15, 2017 at 11:52 PM said:

Queen, at this point any vacation is right for me, LOL! These are very helpful tips especially since I will be planning more travel this year. Thanks for sharing!

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Lindsey Gibbs on January 16, 2017 at 9:14 AM said:

We’ve been trying to plan an All Inclusive vacation. Thanks for the helpful info!!

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staciesayzso on January 17, 2017 at 8:03 PM said:

An all inclusive vacation sounds great right about now! I need to put this on my must-do list.

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tmy56 on January 23, 2017 at 2:49 PM said:

I’m not sure an all-inclusive would work for us since we like to explore the local area and wouldn’t want to pay extra for those excursions.

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Sarah Althouse on February 16, 2017 at 8:52 AM said:

My husband and I did all inclusive for our honeymoon. It was definitely the right thing to do so we could just relax, but at the same time, we sort of felt guilty spending money outside the resort, too.

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- Queen Thrifty on February 16, 2017 at 8:58 AM said:
  
  Thank you for sharing your experience.
  
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Vany on February 16, 2017 at 3:20 PM said:

I don’t mind the all exclusive experience. But I also love exploring when I go away and supporting the locals.

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Tia | Pennies In My Pocket on February 16, 2017 at 9:15 PM said:

I am considering these very things right now. I want to take my mom on a vacation but I want to be sure we will have a balance of relaxation and exploration within our budget.

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breakfastwithtiffani on February 16, 2017 at 9:23 PM said:

Thanks for sharing! I am planning to go on my first all inclusive in August. I was kind of skeptical only because they can be expensive sometimes and I have been known to travel well inexpensively but the older I get, I want someone else to figure everything out for me. So I can’t wait to see how much I enjoy it!

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Rashida Thompson (@shidaspeakslife) on February 16, 2017 at 10:14 PM said:

I’ve been considering an all-inclusive resort for a while now. I may look into this for my birthday this summer.

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Johanna's Mama on February 17, 2017 at 6:04 PM said:

We’ve only done all inclusive, but I honestly don’t want to anymore. If we do AI we stay at the resort to eat and such, but never eat of the resort. We do excursions, but never live amongst the people. I want to really become a part of the culture!

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Tione on February 19, 2017 at 10:08 PM said:

When I think about all inclusive hotels the first thing come s to mind is the food; not waking up to make breakfast, having to make lunch or cook dinner. Every thing is just right there well prepared for you to enjoy.

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NaysVoice on February 19, 2017 at 11:49 PM said:

the closest I’ve done to an all inclusive is a cruise trip. I’ll definitely be looking into the different resorts you mentioned or a future trip. Thank you.
p.s. Not going passed my budget is something I believe in.

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NaysVoice on February 19, 2017 at 11:51 PM said:

The closest I’ve done to an all inclusive trip is a cruise. I’ll definitely be looking into the different resorts you mentioned for a future trip. Thank you.
p.s. Not going pass my budget is something I believe in.

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- Queen Thrifty on February 20, 2017 at 12:16 AM said:
  
  Keep an eye out I will be post another list of resort soon that are affordable, but highly recommended.
  
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tinmccarthy on May 11, 2017 at 10:43 AM said:

My husband and I did the all inclusive when it was just us two but we cant find it economical with four little kids. Thoughts?

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beccajtalbot on May 12, 2017 at 4:15 PM said:

As a solo traveller (with a travel blog lol), I don’t think All Inclusive is very good value for money when you’re on your own. I have done All Inclusive when travelling with partners and my mum though, and this usually is ok money-wise.

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Katie on May 12, 2017 at 7:35 PM said:

I am abit of a control freak so often book everything separately. However, we have done all inclusive before and it did take all the hassle out of it and made everything so easy!

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alisonrost on May 13, 2017 at 2:40 AM said:

This is so helpful. In the past we haven’t gone the all-inclusive route, more because we wanted to explore some of the local options. We may change our minds down the road though, because it would be nice to go somewhere and not have to think about anything but having a relaxing time

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theflyjetsetter on August 19, 2017 at 10:03 PM said:

I just did an all inclusive in Jamaica and did not enjoy it. The resort was nice and the food was ok. I didn’t like how excursions and basically leaving the resort was so expensive. It was like everything was double the normal rate. Maybe i’m just too use to budget type solo travel.

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