subject: Caribbean Holidays and Vacations - All Inclusive [print this page] Caribbean Holidays and Vacations - All Inclusive
Package holidays back in the 70's normally included meals and soft drinks. Having been on holiday numerous times during the 70's I regarded these holidays as 'all inclusive'. During the early 80's I lived and worked in Spain for a couple of years, and after returning to the UK I got to like arranging my travel, accommodation and meals independently. From that time I had mainly taken 'independent' family holidays in Spain and the Balearic Islands.
Until good friends, who had been to Antigua, persuaded us to join them in 2004 for a summer holiday at a resort they had been to before, which was Coco Bay in Antigua. The holiday arranged was an 'all inclusive' holiday with Virgin, but I had visions of the 70's type of 'all inclusive'. My fears were unfounded and I would thoroughly recommend 'all inclusive' holidays.
The down side to travelling to the Caribbean or the United States is that, from where we live in Hertfordshire, the flights go from London Gatwick. This means an early morning start to reach Gatwick for a late morning flight or travelling down to stay over night at a hotel local to Gatwick. We have tried both options over the years but you should be aware that either option will add a couple of hundred pounds to your holiday.
Apart from this additional cost we would recommend 'all inclusive' holidays for a number of reasons, especially at this time as the exchange rates are not to our advantage. A true 'all inclusive' booked with one of the major travel companies will include, all meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner at their buffet restaurants. There are normally other 'themed' restaurants you can visit within the resort as a way of change from the buffet. All soft and alcoholic drinks are included. Room service is daily. The staff, without exception, are very polite and friendly.
Coco Bay in Antigua is a small resort with accommodation only for about 80 couples, no children allowed. Your accommodation is a small independent 'hut', it literally has a tin roof, basic, no TV, but wonderfully comfortable. Bathrooms open out onto the verandas as does the bedrooms. All have sea views because the resort is located on a hillside. There is only one restaurant but serves fabulous food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is only one bar but no shortage of drinks and never a queue. There is only one swimming pool but there are two small bays of golden sand and warm Caribbean Sea that are almost exclusive to the hotel guests. We are holidaying there this year with the same life long friends for both of our 40'Th wedding anniversaries.
In 2005 my wife and I had the opportunity to take a two week holiday in January. Knowing that January in the Mediterranean isn't as warm as I would like, we decided to try the Caribbean again. With a limited budget we decided from brochures that the Dominican Republic was the place we would take our two week, January holiday and we choose a resort in Puerto Plata with an 'all inclusive' package. The hotel was right on the beach with sea views from the buffet restaurant. A larger resort, with themed restaurants and again plenty of food and unlimited non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks.
In July 2007 we booked another 'all inclusive' holiday to the Dominican Republic. This time we choose a resort call Punta Cana. We were meeting up with a Canadian couple we had met in the Dominican Republic the first time in 2005. The hotel was part of the Bahia Principe chain and the complex was large but very good. There was even a 'car train' to take you the length of the complex. Again, excellent accommodation with daily room service, good food and unlimited drinks. A resort hotel I so recommend to the point we booked the same hotel chain in Tenerife for January 2009 which was excellent value for money.
We were lucky to be able to take another holiday in October 2007 to Cancun in Mexico. We were invited to a wedding and again it was an 'all inclusive' holiday. Not only did we witness a prefect wedding but the accommodation, food and drinks were five star.
We have had other holidays during this time period notably to Disneyland in Florida, Las Vegas in Nevada, Spain, Tenerife, Majorca, Minorca and but for value for money nothing beats a modern day 'all inclusive' holiday.
