Author: Irina
We analyze an all-inclusive vacation: what is it, how much does it cost and in which countries is it considered the best?
I would venture to suggest that you, the reader, are either just going to learn all the charms of all-inclusive, or have already gone to the Turkish coast once or twice or ten and are looking for somewhere else to stay. Understanding the global nature of the problem, and therefore having previously tried all inclusive in three countries, I will try to give a general idea and answer the question whether it is possible to find Turkey outside Turkey.
My analysis will not be delayed, but for those who are impatient to ask the price, take a closer look, I recommend online services where you can profitably find all-inclusive tours:
- Travelata
- Level.Travel
- Onlinetours
Choose the dates you need and do not forget to check the “all” box in the food section - is this what you came here for? 🙂
What is all inclusive?
All inclusive (designated as All / Al) is a service system in the hotel, the price of which includes a room, a 24/7 buffet (breakfast, lunch, dinner and + snacks), local alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, etc. In other words, a pleasant option that provides a truly "vegetable" rest, when the tourist is fed, watered, and amused.
By the way, all inclusive is not only about food: entertainment is also "included" - animation, kids clubs, spa and further on the list (but depends on the hotel). In general, this concept is ideally suited to the format of "beach vacations" or "family vacations with children."
Hotels operating according to the system are resort hotels and are located by the sea. And in theory, this is the only moment that unites them all over the world. In practice, hotels abroad can be:
- modest three-ruble notes / chic fives
- huge in area, with swimming pools and a private beach / compact with a paddling pool and paid sun loungers
- be on a reservation tens of kilometers from the village / across the street from the beach in the city center
- excite with a variety of menus daily / serve fish on Thursdays, chicken on Saturdays, and instead of lemonade - yupi
The concentration of all-inclusive vacationers is in Turkey. Of course, one can argue with this - this product of the mind of hoteliers was first introduced in the Caribbean in the 50s, which since then have collected millions of Americans for vacations. But let's dwell on the choice of the Russians.
What are the prices for an all-inclusive beach vacation?
Of course, all is always more expensive than other service systems. On the other hand, food and drinks are paid in advance - you can give yourself free rein and appease your internal accountant.
On average, all inclusive prices are 30% higher than the same tour with breakfast (BB) and 20% higher than full board (FB). If we start from Turkey, as an oll's “hotbed”, then at the height of the season a ticket for two for 7 days is worth:
- from 65,000 rubles - 5 star hotels, first line
- from 50 000 rubles - 4 * hotels
- from 40 000 rubles - 3-star hotels
Breakfasts at Side Royal Palace Hotel 5 stars - were there during filming
new hotel Side Royal Luxury - hotels are connected to each other
All inclusive in Turkey
The country is open
Holidays in Turkey and all inclusive are inseparable. Moreover, both in the minds of Russians and in practice: most of the hotels are ready to feed a tourist to the bone, so that he can ride a bun to the beach and back to a restaurant.
The Turks are great, they put the foreign system on stream, so much so that you can find an inexpensive all-inclusive vacation, and all 18+ (i.e. without children), and royal service in super-hotels. Mountains of food and rivers of alcohol, a hot country and visa-free travel - do you feel why everyone is in Turkey?
There is also an ultra all inclusive offer - when there are no restrictions on both local entertaining drinks and imported ones.
A typical Turkish hotel is a green area, a swimming pool (several, or even with slides), free sun loungers, the sea nearby, Russian-speaking staff, active movement for both little ones and adults, and a non-stop belly party.
Probably, our vacationer is picky, since there are ambiguous opinions about such a perfect - according to the description - system. They are mostly dissatisfied with economy class hotels: low-quality products (yesterday's sausages, diluted alcohol), queues at the restaurant, lack of sun beds, worn rooms. But even if you remove points 3 and 7 from the paragraph above, then it also turns out well, doesn't it?
View from our hotel Side Town Hotel on the embankment in Side
Briefly about locations (all is everywhere):
- Alanya, Kemer, Antalya - the most budgetary resorts
- Belek - the best hotels (expensive or rich)
- Side - great beaches for kids
- Fethiye - pine, cedar and turquoise water
- Bodrum, Marmaris - cool Aegean, more Europeans and hangouts
Prices for Turkey for all inclusive in 2021 - from 65,000 rubles for two for 10 days in a more or less hotel with good reviews. Need cheaper? Relax in Turkey in the winter - and this is possible - or make an early booking (in February-March).
And if your tour is not cheap, then here is a promotional code from Travelat for 2000 rubles! |
All inclusive in Tunisia
The country is open, BUT there are no flights
They say that you cannot go to Tunisia without all. I have not checked, but I tend to listen to reviews - and there are many of them. The kitchen is not for everybody's taste, there is a lot of garbage in the cities, unsanitary conditions, you never know ... Therefore, he took the fruit from the market, and for the rest - to the hotel.
All inclusive holidays in Tunisia can be a substitute for Turkey. The system here is quite widespread and inexpensive, the hotels are large and with palm trees, sun loungers for guests on the beach are provided, as well as unlimited alcohol (despite the fact that the country is Muslim) and a conveyor of dishes.
What the Tunisian oll lacks is 1) variety in food and drinks, 2) animation (where it is sluggish in many places), 3) Russian-speaking staff (it is still more German-British). Well, and always subtract one star from the declared level of the hotel - so as not to be disappointed.
But the beaches and excursions here are an order of magnitude better than in the all inclusive capital! About the resorts: Djerba is an island for seal lovers who love spa; Mahdia - famous for its white beaches; Hammamet - for families with children; Sousse is for young, perky and thrifty.
- Prices for all inclusive in Tunisia - from 60,000 rubles per week for two
All inclusive in Egypt
The country is open, there are flights
Egypt is now one of the few vacation options for Russians. Because there are direct flights from Moscow to Cairo, and from there it is not so dreary to get to the resorts on the Red Sea.
All-inclusive holidays here are "indefinite". Out of every ten luxury hotels, five do not work according to the system (they offer bb - breakfast, or hb - breakfast and dinner), and they really do not recommend going to the budget three rubles - scary (for the stomach and memories). Finding a good all and a number for the right price takes time.
The hotel base is poorer than in Turkey, although all of its representatives are rather big, "beach" and with some kind of activity for guests. Plus, the Russian guest is the most welcome.
And all is necessary in Egypt, since the cafe is by no means cheap (≈ $ 30 for a dinner for two), well, in order not to once again stir up the sociable-obsessive soul of the Arabs, he called out.
- Sharm El Sheikh or Hurghada? A link with a separate article will appear here soon! Well, air tickets to Cairo cost from 25,000 rubles for one round trip, an all-inclusive hotel - from 3,500 rubles per night.
Flights >>
Hotels >>
All inclusive in Cyprus
The country is closed
In Mediterranean Europe, all inclusive is not popular, because the priority is given to the level of service. But the wishes of tourists must also be taken into account, so little by little, with a creak, the system is being introduced. Cyprus in this regard is one of the most reluctant.
Despite the limited selection of hotels in olla, Cyprus is all about quality. If there is meat on the menu, then it really is meat; and the local brandy is 100% strong. But be prepared to pay more - the price tag is not Turkish at all.
In general, everything is ok with food (except for tea bags). The service clearly corresponds to the stars, no more (in "treshki" often require a fee for a safe and a refrigerator), but no less (the state of the room is excellent).
The hotels themselves, incl.and 4-5 * - compact and uninteresting: animation is rare, there are almost no water slides, and there are no bars on the beaches. By the way, they are public in Cyprus, so you will have to pay for an umbrella-lounger (or sit on the sand). "What a disgrace!" - Turkey would say, but on the island the hotel is not so important, all the most exciting (and delicious) is outside its gates.
- The minimum prices for an all-inclusive vacation in Cyprus in 2021 are from 80,000 rubles per week. Economy resorts - Paphos and Larnaca; true beachfront - Ayia Napa, Limassol and Protaras
All inclusive in Greece
The country is open to independent tourists from Russia with a limit of 500 people per week
All inclusive 3 star hotel - our trip to Rhodes
Greece is more open to all inclusiveness. Finding the conditions "drink-eat-drive to the sea-repeat" is many times easier and for any finances.
The most expensive all - on the island of Corfu and mainland Halkidiki. The budget option should be followed to Crete, Rhodes and Kos. The Grecotel hotel chain is a kind of Greek all-inclusive standard.
In general, in Greece, a 2 * hotel can serve "in full". True, it will be exactly 3 meals on a schedule, without snacks and variety (plastic muffins and unleavened cheese), but with natural homemade products - vegetables, olives, meat. Nevertheless, it is possible to live, and for an economy holiday this is a good deal.
In 4 * and 5 * hotels, all can upset with "off" entertainment - paid sun loungers and, quite possibly, wifi for an extra penny (but the buffet, as you can see, raises no objections). Although in Greece animation is more developed than in Cyprus, especially in large hotels.
- In 2021, the cost of an all-inclusive vacation in Greece starts from 65,000 rubles - 7 days, 2 people
All inclusive in Bulgaria
The country is closed
“… Bulgaria is not abroad” - they used to say in the USSR. Now such loud statements are not frequent, but tourists express periodic "phi" about vacation at sea.
Bulgarian all inclusive - typical European: high quality food, but not "for slaughter"; alcohol is reduced to mediocre wine and beer; slides, ice cream cakes and huge green areas are to be found.
Remember, if you go to a cheap All, then a hotel of a good degree of sovietness with renovations from the 80s awaits you - a kind of boarding house on the Black Sea with a queue in the dining room and on the beach (a chaise longue, of course, for leva) Therefore, for a positive experience, it is better to consider everything that is above the bar of 65,000 rubles for two.
Free place in the sun, decent all and cool conditions for children (and perhaps for seekers of Turkey, but no discos) - in Albena; paid place, available to all and get-togethers - in Sunny Beach; just inexpensive - in Golden Sands.
- In 2021, an all-inclusive vacation in Bulgaria costs from 50,000 rubles for two per week
All inclusive in Montenegro
The country is open, BUT there are no flights
Our trip to Montenegro in August
Montenegro is all about walking, traveling and local cuisine, and therefore it is not at all optimized for an all-inclusive vacation.
Firstly, the beaches here are not sandy, but pebble, which already spoils the picture of the vacation. Secondly, the coastal strip is public and compact, there are a lot of people in the summer (especially on the outside lounge area)!
Hotels working for all in Montenegro can be counted on one hand. They are located mainly in the resorts of Budva and Becici; the cost of vouchers is unreasonably overstated.
If we talk about food, then the guest will not remain hungry, but the choice of dishes is rather meager even in "fours" (5 * all are not offered). So I do not recommend being tempted by one visa-free travel - weigh the pros and cons.
- Prices for all inclusive in Montenegro - from 88,000 rubles for 7 days for 2 people
All inclusive in the UAE
The country is open
All inclusive sea vacations in the Emirates are financially "biting": there are few hotels that are ready to serve without interruption, the country itself is expensive, the products are imported.
Laying out an amount of 100k per week, you expect a level. In the UAE hotels, in principle, it is, but sometimes "shoals" slip in the form of average alcohol, paid wi-fi or the inability to drink a cup of coffee during a break before lunch. It is commendable that there are no complaints about food.
Several "Turkish" hotels - in the sense, spacious, with pool slides and sun loungers on the beach - can be found in Ajman, Ras al-Khaimah, Fujairah. In the latter, by the way, it is strongly advised to take all - it will turn out to be more profitable than eating in a cafe.
Should you consider all inclusive Dubai? Yes, if the vacation expenses include at least 150 thousand rubles.
- Starting prices for an all-inclusive vacation in the Emirates - from 90,000 rubles for two for 7 days.
All inclusive in Spain
The country is closed
Searching in Spain for all on the mainland is a dubious undertaking, but on the islands it is another matter, it is easier and the level of the all itself is higher.
1) About the mainland: all inclusive - a feature of the resort areas on the Costa Brava and Costa del Maresme (cheaper) and Costa Dorada (more expensive); in large cities like Barcelona, the system is not represented.
Something like this all is similar to Turkish Alania: they also come to local 3-4 * economy class swell hang out thoroughly, but budget. Only the contingent is not Russians, but Germans and British (by whose standards it comes out on a budget). And since alcohol and food - admittedly, the food is excellent - is the most important thing, then there is nothing outstanding here anymore: the territories are small, the rooms are worn out, from the entertainment - songs under the windows.
2) About the islands: Tenerife and Mallorca are more all inclusive. "Treshka" on the first line with animation (for children and adults) - please; a chic five with oysters and champagne for breakfast is not a problem either. The only caveat is that this is all, compared to "1)" many times more.
Note: Mallorca's Alcudia area is a lazy getaway paradise with a child.
- In Spain, an all-inclusive vacation in 2021 will cost from 80,000 rubles for 2 people per week
All inclusive in Russia
Abroad with all-inclusiveness, everything is clear, but what is at home - the Black Sea, Crimea? In general, an all-inclusive vacation in Russia is the least popular of all the above-mentioned countries, simply because the quality does not keep pace with the accelerating price.
Alas, the lack of service, the sea, which can be called clean in only a few areas (for example, Nizhneimeretinskaya Bay), and the huge price tag for a 3-time buffet are clearly losing out to the same Turkey with the more affordable all inclusive.
- The cost of an all-inclusive voucher in 2021 to the Russian coast in a good hotel - from 55,000 rubles for 7 nights for two
