Every Friday is Tip Day at The Lean Times
How to make the most out of an all inclusive holiday
1. Consult Tripadvisor about the resort, read the most recent reviews and ask questions on the forums. You should have done this before booking anthing but it is always wise to visit the forums right before going so you have more of an idea of facilities and any extra costs you need to budget for.
2. Bring your own entertainment, ie. books, magazines, lilos, sand pails and shovels – anything that might tempt you in the gift shop where the prices are astronomical.
3. Read all the literature about activities as you arrive, you don’t want to miss any of the fun especially if it is free. On our recent holiday, we entitled to free ice cream in the afternoon which we did not release until the third day.
4. Don’t carry money or your extras card with you because you will be tempted to spend. In our hotel, they had fresh squeezed orange juice at breakfast for a fee but we were just a happy to have the free orange sections. Spending money is a bit of a habit and it feels free not to spend anything for more than a day.
5. Check the price of airport transfers, we decided on getting a taxi which ended up being significantly cheaper. We got to the hotel at least an hour before the bus which made check in a dream and we got to start our holiday quicker than the rest of the people on our flight.
Another selection of great advice here!!
Another good tip is to chat with the locals. Ask them what they would do? You will often find that they know all the tips and tricks when it comes to saving money or avoiding long queues.
We didn’t get a chance to talk to any locals, we would have if we left the hotel but since it was all inclusive, we had no need to go anywhere. We decided that the best way to control our spending was by going the all inclusive route and we did not spend a penny from the time we arrived at the hotel till the moment we left. There was no “let’s spend because we are on holiday” urges.