All-inclusive vacations-anyone?

[T Bone]

The wife and I are thinking on a vacation just for us to see if we still like each other.

We need to go somewhere tropical, and I want to go fishing and maybe do some other trips.

So we see all-inclusives advertised at very reasonable prices down on the Yucatan Peninsula area.

Are they really all-inclusive?

Who has gone and what was your experience?

 

[BigHornRam]

I included my wife on an Alberta deer hunt once. She had a great time. Is this what you are talking about?

 

[MN Public Hunter]

About 8 years ago I did an all inclusive with my family to Mexico(Playa Del Carmen) and it truly was all inclusive(and adults only 16+). You did have to plan day trips thou outside of eating/drinking and some of the provided activities. At the time is was a great value and we had a great time. Personally, I would not set foot in Mexico now though

 

[vanish]

I never thought I would do one of these types of trips, as we're total DIY type of people. My parents do that kind of stuff every year, and their descriptions never made me want to go.

HOWEVER.

Now, my wife and I have gone to a place (the same one) in Cabo San Lucas, twice. I'm honestly not sure we could have DIY'd that one much cheaper, and we could eat and drink as much as we wanted. It depends on your definition of all-inclusive, but for us that mostly meant food and alcohol ( and of course the room/hotel facilities ).

Our daily schedule consisted of waking up before sunrise, heading over to the marina and hopping on a panga. Sometimes we'd have them arranged before the trip, other times we haggled the day before. Very inexpensive ($160-$260 half day of fishing for two people) and a real chance at a marlin. We also caught dorado, yellowfin tuna and shark. Get back around noon, head over to the pool for a ridiculous amount of ceviche and sushi, plus a "few" mai tais. Time for a nap, then more mai tais, dinner and some entertainment.

This was perfect for us, and I would absolutely do it again. We were going there to relax and fish, so we didn't want/need anything else. There was no stressing over where to go for lunch/dinner (I do realize that some places, that's what you go to do ) after a long morning of fishing.

Be warned, every place down there is going to try to sell you a time share. That's how they do their other "free" trips. We just ignored them.

 

[YankeeHunter66]

Going to Punta Cana in July, staying at the Majestic Elegance

 

[Mthuntinfool]

We did something similar in Hawaii a few years ago, but it is a little more expensive. it is nice that you don't have to worry about exchange rates and passports though.

 

[8andcounting]

Me and the wife Just got home from vegas . Did a helicopter trip over the Grand Canyon . Was the best part of the trip although I did come out ahead on the slot machines . Negative of the trip was watching our team ( the Vikings) get absolutely crushed . Oh well still great time in vegas , was cold tho highs only around 50

 

[T Bone]

Bighorn,

I invited my wife deer hunting once. She is no longer invited.



Tropics and a beach are required. The Yucatan area of MX is fairly safe. Other parts of MX, not so much. I speak the language.

I'd be happy if "all inclusive" covered airport transfers, a nice room with a decent bed, great food, and safe water.

Alcohol doesn't appeal to me.

The thought of catching a Dorado from a smaller boat on light tackle turns my crank.

 

[T Bone]

One more question for those that have gone.

Does the resort/motel typically have entertainment shows every evening like a cruise?

 

[fishing4sanity]

I've been to Mexico and Hawaii. Hawaii was more money, but I'll go there again. Mexico, never again. The police are definitely part of the problem there and after my experiences with their crooked system, I'll go elsewhere. I also know a couple of people who were kidnapped there. It's a shame because it's a beautiful country. Wherever you go just say NO to their 'freebies' for attending the time-share sales push.

 

[MN Public Hunter]

One more question for those that have gone.

Does the resort/motel typically have entertainment shows every evening like a cruise?

Mine did, but pretty much by 11 pm it was all done. Nothing spectacular, but something to do.

 

[Flatrock]

We've done a few all inclusives and I'd never want to do it any other way. For the most part, they're a very good value.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Kauai (part of Hawaii) is one of my favorite places in the world. Beyond basic resort/beach stuff there is saltwater fishing, hiking and biking. Far less commercial than Oahu or Maui.

 

[mplane72]

We've done all inclusive in Jamaica, Mexico a couple times. Liked mexico better. Heading to Punta Cana next month. Only way to do that kind of relaxing, need warm weather and a beach trip IMO. You've spent your money already and nothing to worry about except what to eat or drink. We have never put together much for outside trips like fishing. Most good places have people to help you out with that type of stuff.

 

[MNHunter]

I think it depends lot on your budget. Some of the nicer Hyatt AIs are in Mexico (Cabo and Cancun) as well as Jamaica. These are tremendous value if you are in the miles and points game like I am. In the Caribbean (where I travel to frequently) you’ll find some higher end Sandals resorts. I haven’t stayed at a Sandals myself yet ( planning to try the Sandals in Grenada next year) but they generally get great reviews. You’ll also find some cheaper option in places like Mexico but IME the food offerings aren’t great. Still, they can be a great deal. I would read the reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

[MThuntr]

I've never priced out non-outdoors vacations but Costco may have some pretty decent deals worthy of a membership

 

[406LIFE]

FWIW, we looked hard at doing these, but we are going DIY in the Florida Keys. I don't drink and the wife might have some wine, so all you can drink doesn't do it for us. My wife loves to cook and is incredible at it (Think Hank Shaw becomes a southern belle), so she will do our dinenrs and we will go out a few times. Using Air BNB, we found a 3BD house on the beach for $100/night. We are going for 10 days, and with the rental, food, and flights, we are at about $2500 for both of us. That leaves me plenty to throw at guides to do some salt flyfishing. Add in TripAdvisor and some local knowledge, and we have a well planned itinerary.

My wife had wanted to do the all inclusive, but when we started looking at it, we had over half the budget left over to splurge on first class tickets and the like.

 

[smalls]

My wife and I have been on a handful of all-inclusive vacations... Playa del Carmen, Dominican Republic, Jamaica.

My favorite is still Negril, Jamaica. We stayed at a Couples brand resort (Couples Swept Away). They had the best food, the best beach, and the friendliest people. I'd definitely avoid anything middle of the road or lower when it comes to All Inclusives as the food and amenities have left something to be desired when we've booked "budget" vacations. We went fishing out of Negril and caught bunch of yellowfin tuna and amberjack, and had a billfish hooked for a short time. I also wouldn't hesitate to use a travel agency to book a trip like this to make sure your expectations are met (although tripadvisor is your friend, too). Many travel agencies will book charters which is great that you often have less connections/travel time to and from your destination.

The DR was ok, although you want to make sure your are on the right side of Punta Cana if you want calm water... we were on the wavier side and the snorkeling off the resort beach was meh. Although its totally anecdotal, I feel like I hear of a disproportionate portion of people get food poisoning in the DR. There was a huge group of folks traveling with a ag chemical company that went to a resort a few years ago and they ended up with literally hundreds of people getting terribly sick. It was traced back to the ice being used in the drinks.

I doubt I'll ever return to Mexico for pleasure. Food at our resort (a Barcelo property) was marginal and the reefs near our beach were all but destroyed by the commercialization. Our beach was ok, but there were many rocks (my father in law broke his toe by stubbing it on a rock in shallow water).

Since we take our kids with us where ever we go now, we haven't looked at the all inclusive route for a few years. Instead we use Airbnb or VRBO to book most of our vacations. We're headed to Turks and Caicos next December and for the 4 of us we'll have $1700 for flights and lodging on a 7-day trip (I am using airline miles though for several tickets).

 

[NoWiser]

My wife and I did an all inclusive trip to Belize for our honeymoon. We absolutely loved it. We stayed on the mainland (Dangriga) for a couple days to start the trip off and did the jungle and Mayan Ruins stuff. Then we went to a little all-inclusive island and went into full relaxation mode for a week. I fished off shore every spare minute I got for bonefish, barracuda, and snapper. My wife would sometimes sit and watch me, and the employees would bring her snacks and her favorite drinks throughout the day. We did some fishing from a boat, did a bit of snorkeling, and I did a couple dives since I'm certified. I can't imagine a better tropical vacation, but it wasn't cheap. I loved that it's an English speaking country so I could chit-chat with all of the locals and employees. We felt very safe the entire time we were down there. I'll only do all-inclusives from now on for that type of trip.

In college some buddies and I did an all-inclusive to Punta Cana and had a great time. I guarantee we drank more than our money's worth of Presidente. It was much more affordable than Belize, but a much different atmosphere.

 

[beginnerhunter]

In 2014 we went to Playa del Carmen and stayed at the Royal Playa del Carmen all inclusive. We had a fantastic time. Food, service, amenities, drinks, everything was great. The beach was nice but swimming wasn't terrific because of the rocks. I don't swim much anyway. We went into the town which was kinda cute. Took a trip to some Mayan ruins that was interesting. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the shows. We'd like to go back.

In 2015 we went to Punta Cana and stayed all inclusive at the Now Larimar. It was meh. The food was meh. The service...meh. The shows were meh. Seemed like we were hounded a lot more to buy other crap. BUT it was a lot cheaper than the place we went in Mexico.

On trips like these, I'm not too interested in adventure. It's more about relaxing to me. I also do enjoy tropical beverages but I'm sure you could get them NA. Just not sure why anyone would!!

I find TripAdvisor to be very useful.