How to choose the best all-inclusive holidays

Holidaymakers routinely end up spending hundreds of pounds extra on food and drink on holidays from providers that are far from all-inclusive. 

While many of us book an all-inclusive because it promises the security of a total price for a holiday, research from Which? has found that often turns out to not be the case. Guests of Loveholidays, one of the UK’s most popular holiday companies, told us they spent an extra £328 on average during their week-long all-inclusive holidays; a quarter said snacks cost extra, and a third told us that cocktails weren’t included 

It doesn’t have to be like that. Tui guests found almost everything was included in their all-inclusive deal, paying an average of just £181 extra on a week's holiday. So who you book with is crucial. We asked nearly 2,000 holidaymakers about their all-inclusive holidays so we can tell you which companies aren’t really all-in. 

But your first question should always be whether it actually is cheaper to book an all-inclusive holiday rather than doing it DIY? We've done the maths, and it really does depend on where you're travelling to. 

See the full results of our survey of the Best and worst all-inclusive holiday providers.

Is it cheaper to go all-inclusive?

There are many benefits to booking an all-inclusive package – not least that it can be cheaper than buying flights, accommodation and food and drink separately. 

Our research found that all-inclusive beach holidays were cheaper than DIY holidays in seven out of 10 popular destinations. 

Of course a cheap deal is still poor value if the quality of the food, amenities and service is bad, and if you plan to spend much of your time away from the resort.

All-inclusive holidays make the most sense in pricey destinations like the Maldives and the Seychelles where there are few restaurant and activity options outside your hotel. The more time you plan to spend in the resort, the more value you will get from your package.

How much does all-inclusive cost? 

The table below shows 21 of the most popular destinations for an all-inclusive holiday, and how much they cost, on average, according to our survey of nearly 2,000 holidaymakers. 

France, Germany and Turkey are among the cheapest destinations for an all-inclusive package holiday with the most-used providers.

Outside of Europe, Cape Verde, off the coast of Africa offers good value for an all-inclusive break, while Mexico is the cheapest Caribbean destination.

What’s the cheapest all-inclusive destination?

What’s included at an all-inclusive resort?

The most basic of all-inclusive packages will include flights, accommodation and three meals a day. But the inclusion of other benefits comes down to the resort’s definition of all-inclusive.

To find out what you can expect to find at most all-inclusive resorts, we asked holidaymakers what was available on their recent all-inclusive break.

While you might expect excursions, spa treatments and water sports to cost extra at the resort, we were surprised by the percentage of holidaymakers who weren’t even provided with the basics - only 73% of guests got free snacks.

Make sure you check what's included at your hotel before you book.

What's usually included

Does all-inclusive mean all drinks are free?

Unfortunately not. International or premium brands of soft drinks and alcohol usually cost extra. And, as the table above shows, only 79% had ordinary alcoholic drinks thrown in.

Even cocktails, considered a mainstay of the all-inclusive break, were only included 67% of the time.

It’s also common for hotels to impose a curfew on their free drinks at 11pm, and most hotels charge more for nightclub drinks.

Some resorts even limit the number of drinks you can have per day.

What is Spain’s 'six drink rule' for all-inclusives?

The government of the Balearic Islands has introduced rules that limit the sale and availability of alcohol in some resorts as it attempts to crack down on anti-social behaviour.

These rules restrict guests to a maximum of six alcoholic drinks per day as part of your all-inclusive package – three at lunchtime and three with your evening meal.

However, the rules only apply to four resorts:

• Playa de Palma, Mallorca
• El Arenal, Mallorca
• Magaluf, Mallorca
• Parts of San Antonio, Ibiza

The rest of Mallorca, Ibiza and all of Menorca remain free of any government restrictions to all-inclusive packages.

How much can you expect to spend on extras at an all-inclusive resort?

Paying for extras can quickly increase the overall cost of your ‘inclusive’ break. We asked holidaymakers how much they had spent per week on extras at the hotel on their recent holiday:

Do some holiday companies offer more ‘included extras’ than others?

There are stark differences between what is and isn’t included in your holiday depending on the specific holiday company that you book with.

For example, in our survey, most of Tui’s customers got snacks (79%) and local alcoholic drinks (90%) thrown in, but Loveholidays guests weren’t so lucky – just 58% got snacks and 68% got drinks.

Expedia’s all-inclusive customers struggled to even get a can of lemonade. Just 56% of guests said soft drinks were included.

With which holiday companies did guests spend the most on extras?

Budget online travel agents (OTAs) Expedia, Lastminute.com and Loveholidays offer some of the cheapest all-inclusive holidays on the market. But our research shows that booking with these companies can be a false economy.

Guests of these three holiday companies spend the most on extras. Faced with limited food and drink, and restrictions on when they could have them, guests reported spending extra in the resort and also spending more outside the hotel.

Lastminute.com’s customers, for example, whose holidays cost them just £64pp a day on average (according to our survey), ended up spending an extra £239 a week outside the resort, including £88 on meals out, £58 on drinks in bars and £45 on food and drink from the supermarket.

Highest spend on extras

Compare that with Jet2 Holidays and Tui, where the cost of the holiday was a bit more, but customers spent far less on extra food, drink and activities because more was included.

The bottom line is: if you pay bargain-basement rates at the outset, you’ll probably end up paying through the nose for extras when you arrive.

Lowest spend on extras

How we researched all-inclusive holiday companies

In September 2023, we asked 1,918 Which? Connect panel members and the public to complete an online survey about their experiences of booking and going on holiday in the past two years. We only reported on companies when we received at least 30 responses.