Get the most out of your all-inclusive resort stay
A stay at an all-inclusive resort can make for an appealing vacation. Between the activities, drinks, and food there are to enjoy, all of the work that would normally go into having a good time is already taken care of for you. However, there’s a difference between merely staying at an all-inclusive resort and making the most of it. By taking a few simple, but important, steps, you can make your vacation even more of a value than you first thought.
Make sure airfare is included. Some packages that are billed as “all-inclusive” only pertain to the hotel and its amenities. When choosing an all-inclusive vacation, try to bundle the flight with the cost of the hotel, as it often results in a bigger discount. This is not a hard and fast rule, since various factors influence the market for flights, but it always helps to check this option out anyway.
Book as a group. If you’re going with a group of friends, you could be in for more perks if you book your trip as a group with a travel agent. Designate someone as the point person when dealing with the travel agent, and that person should have access to each traveler’s payment information, as well as any other details, like date of birth and full name as listed on their passport. When all the information is being funneled through one person, the travel agent will be able to better understand the wants and needs of your party, and may be able to guide you towards deals and activities that are great for everyone.
Make plans. With so much to do at these resorts, it pays to have an itinerary. Make a list of all the activities you want to do, and try to group them by preference, duration, or availability. Building something of a schedule while on vacation might sound very anti-vacation to you, but it will also help you to maximize the amount of fun you have, which is really what taking a trip is all about!
While you’re at it, plan downtime. Just because you’re creating an itinerary doesn’t mean you have to pack each moment of the day with some kind of activity. On the contrary, you should build periods of free time into your schedule to read a book or take a nap. To rush from one thing to the next can go from being exciting to anxiety-inducing quickly, so make sure you allow some time for yourself by the pool, in the room, or at the bar.
Disconnect. The resort presents a world of opportunities, and vacation won’t last forever. You don’t need to check social media constantly while on vacation, nor should you spend time catching up on emails. The less time you spend on a screen, the more time you have for fun. By all means, take plenty of pictures, and post them when you can, but set aside just a short period of time to do that every day, if you must. Getting away from your day-to-day stress is what vacation is all about, so detaching from your devices is necessary.
10 Tips for Staying at an All-Inclusive Resort [Simply Stacie]
All-Inclusive Newbie? Try These 11 Tips & Tricks [Huffington Post]