All-Inclusive Travel Agency
1) Who has the best all-inclusive vacation packages?
Answer:
The Basics:
Vacation planning can be a lot of work, which is why an all-inclusive vacation can be a good option for those times when all the travel prep just seems too overwhelming. Depending on the resort, most everything will be taken care of and paid ahead of time, and you won't need to keep reaching for cash or credit cards during your trip. Comb through the info, read reviews about dining options, or consult with the best travel agency near me to see if included food choices and restaurant styles (like buffet versus sit-down) will work for you and/or your whole family and if you need to make any dining reservations in advance.
What's Usually Included:
Read the FINE PRINT to fully understand what's included and what isn't. Typically, all-inclusive packages include food and drinks at your
resort, so if you eat elsewhere, you'll be paying extra on top of what you've already paid for. At most all-inclusive resorts, non motorized water sports are included.
What's Usually Not Included:
At most all-inclusives, things like spa services and "top shelf liquor" or "premium brand liquor" are an extra cost. The same goes for tours and activities outside your resort. At most all-inclusive resorts, motorized water sports are not included.
Premium All-Inclusive Resorts and All-Inclusive Clubs:
All-inclusive resort brands that typically offer "top shelf liquor" or "premium brand liquor" and things like daily restocked in-room minibars include: Excellence, Sandals, Hyatt Zilara, Hoteles Xcaret, Le Blanc, Secrets, and Club Med. Many of these same premium all-inclusive
resorts offer clubs or premium/private areas of the resort which typically offer butler service, private beach areas/pools, private club restaurants, and private beach bars.
The Excellence offers properties in El Carmen, Dominican Republic; Oyster Bay, Jamaica; Playa Mujeres, Mexico; Riviera Cancun, Mexico; and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. At the Excellence, top shelf liquors are standard as well as COMPLIMENTARY LOBSTER.
Hoteles Xcaret offers 3 properties in Playa del Carmen, Mexico which include the Hotel Xcaret Mexico, Hotel Xcaret Arte, and The La Casa De La Playa. Each of the 3 properties offers complimentary Unlimited entrance to 9 ECO-THEME PARKS. The Hotel Xcaret Arte which opened in July 2021, offers complimentary instructor based classes in knitting, vegan cuisine, dancing, painting, and pottery. Guests are urged to bring back their artistic works when they return home.
According to the publication, 'Familyvacationcritic.com', the top 7 online travel agents (OTAs) for all-inclusive vacation packages are:
Apple Vacations
Cheap Caribbean
Tripadvisor
Travelzoo
Orbitz
Liberty Travel
BookIt.com
The best travel agency near me can offer you several advantages over the online travel agents (OTAs) such as:
Proprietary Information:
The best travel agency near me believe it or not, has access to information unavailable to you to get better deals. Additionally, they receive daily deals via e-mails and faxes that cannot always be found on the Internet. The best travel agency also can make phone calls and have direct communication with resorts and hotels to bargain for better deals.
Safety:
The safety the nearest travel agency can provide when things go wrong. Travel agents will go to bat for you to fix those issues and save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars if problems occur. Travel agents like Seven Seas Travel will actively pursue refunds on your behalf when dealing with travel companies.
Payment Plans:
Keep in mind that the vast majority of online retail travel booking websites want all their money upfront via credit card or debit card. Deposits are not generally accepted.
2) Where is the cheapest place to vacation all-inclusive?
Answer: Opinions vary on the cheapest place to vacation all-inclusive. Generally speaking, prices are going to be where there are many all-inclusive resorts in a specific area. Specific popular destinations that fit this requirement include Punta Cana (The Dominican Republic), Jamaica, and Cancun, Mexico. Doing a short web search on some of the popular online travel agents (OTAs) reveals dozens upon dozens of resorts fitting the all-inclusive category in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Cancun, Mexico.
3) What is the best website for vacation packages?
Answer: For the large online travel agencies, the publication, 'TripSavvy' has rated the 8 Best online travel agencies (OTAs) of 2021 as follows:
Best Overall: Booking.com
"Booking.com takes care of every aspect of your vacation, offering tours, activities, and even airport taxis."
Best Budget: Skyscanner
"Skyscanner routinely delivered cheaper prices (sometimes by over $100) than the major OTAs."
Best Package Deals: Expedia
"Expedia is a particularly good option for those wanting pay for flights, accommodation, and car rental in one go."
Best for Reviews: TripAdvisor
"Travel services offered by TripAdvisor include hotels and vacation rentals, tours and tickets, flights, and restaurant reservations."
Best in Asia: Agoda
"The company has the best price guarantee that offers to match any price on the web or refund the difference."
Best in Europe: Lastminute.com
"You can book several Europe-specific travel services as well, including Eurostar tickets, and even theater tickets."
Best Secret Deals: Hotwire
"Vacation packages are offered as well, giving you the opportunity to bundle two or more options for greater overall savings."
Most Innovative: Kiwi.com
The Nomad feature helps you to find the cheapest route for a multi-destination trip and also offers pre-planned itineraries."
4) Can you make payments on vacation through a travel agent?
Answer: Keep in mind that the vast majority of online retail travel booking websites want all their money upfront. This is not the case with travel agents. If your trip is at least 60 days out, you may only be required to put down a deposit of 10% to 25% of the trip and then pay the final balance 30-90 days before the flight or cruise. This is especially helpful when booking in the fourth quarter for next summer's vacation. You can save hundreds if not thousands of dollars by depositing 6 months ahead of your trip and then paying the balance a month before trip departure.
5) Is Cancun safe for tourists in 2021?
Answer: Because capacity at Cancun resorts is limited, guests will rarely find themselves among other guests. Even at restaurants, tables are far apart. Guest often carry their own hand sanitizer and are given health kits which include disinfectant sprays, wipes, hand sanitizers, and masks. Cancun properties run routine temperature-checks, disinfect guest luggage, require resort staff to wear face masks, disinfect plastic luncheon menus, utilize contactless QR codes for ordering, limit gym usage, require social distancing measures at bars/pools, and have closed swim-up bars.
6) How much should an all-inclusive vacation cost?
Answer: Vacation costs are one of the gimmicks of the travel industry. Many secondary online travel agent sites offer almost miraculous bargain-based prices for all-inclusive vacations. Keep in mind many of these prices require you to travel in a very constrained time window and stay at 3 star or lower-star properties. That being said, a budget of $800/person is a good starting price for a 4-night all-inclusive vacation. Prices can move up to thousands of dollars per person from there. One last note of caution is to beware of resorts or properties that throw in a lot of 'resort credits' into the price. If you are not going to use a lot of those services or products covered by those 'resort credits', then you may wish to look elsewhere.
7) What is the cheapest month to go on vacation?
Answer: Most travel destinations have 2-3 pricing plans based upon what is called the High, Medium, and Low Season. Travelers looking to save money are advised to travel in the Medium and Low Season to avoid Peak or High Season prices and sometimes unwanted crowds. Hundreds if not thousands of dollars can be saved in just airline costs alone.
Ask yourself, is there something going on in July that cannot be seen in mid-September or early October? If one does not have school-age children to plan around, this option is even more feasible and can provide even more significant benefits as the crowds are gone and one can experience more in less time at a much lower price.
8) Where is the cheapest tropical place to vacation?
Answer: Opinions vary on the cheapest tropical place to vacation. Generally speaking, prices are going to be where there are many resorts in a specific area. Specific popular destinations that fit this requirement include Punta Cana (The Dominican Republic), Jamaica, and Cancun, Mexico. Doing a short web search on some of the popular online travel agents (OTAs) reveals dozens upon dozens of resorts in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Cancun, Mexico.
9) Are Costco vacation packages a good deal?
Answer: Over the last few years, Costco has become a haven for good deals for travelers. On the flip side, there is a long list of horror stories documented on various consumer websites that have resulted when booking with Costco. If everything goes right and you have accurate information on what resort to go to, Costco might be for you. Keep in mind if things do go wrong, you are on your own to deal with airlines, van services, hotel chains, cruise companies, and other service providers. Your leverage is limited as you represent one customer vs. the travel agent whose travel company supplier represents hundreds of thousands of travelers and thus has infinitely more leverage.
10) Are vacation packages worth it?
Answer: Opinions vary on this subject. Many resorts offer all-inclusive rates which are far higher than their normal breakfast included-European Plan rates. Often times if you are not a serious drinker or don't think you will eat that much, you are better off not going with the all-inclusive rate. Vacation packages which include air, transfers, hotel, and resort fees are often far less expensive than buying all the components one by one. One last area of caution is rental cars. Recently, rental car companies have raised prices substantially. If you don't think you will use that rental car every day, you may wish to stick with far cheaper public transportation or ride-sharing services.
11) How do I get the best deal on vacation packages?
Answer: Opinions vary on this subject. The best travel agency near me, believe it or not, has access to information unavailable to you to get better deals. Additionally, they receive daily deals via e-mails and faxes that cannot always be found on the Internet. The best travel agency also can make phone calls and have direct communication with resorts and hotels to bargain for better deals. The best travel agency is going to contact you when these deals arise.
12) What is the cheapest vacation package website?
Answer: Opinions vary. A full list of online travel agents (OTAs) is as follows:
Venere.com
Priceline.com
GetYourGuide.com
LastMinute.com
Kayak.com
Agoda.com
Booking.com
Trip.com
Skiplagged.com
Hotwire.com
Travelocity.com
Trip.com
HotelTonight.com
Expedia.com
EDreams.com
13) Are all-inclusive resorts worth it?
Answer: Opinions vary on this subject. Many resorts offer all-inclusive rates which are far higher than their normal breakfast included-European Plan rates. Often times if you are not a serious drinker or don't think you will eat that much, you are better off not going with the all-inclusive rate. Vacation packages which include air, transfers, hotel, and resort fees are often far less expensive than buying all the components one by one. One last note of caution is to beware of resorts or properties that throw in a lot of 'resort credits' into their all-inclusive price. If you are not going to use a lot of those services or products covered by those 'resort credits', then you may wish to look elsewhere.
14) What is the safest all-inclusive resort?
Answer: Opinions vary on the subject. Generally speaking, the higher-rated the hotel property is, the safer it is. Top name brands like Secrets, Melia, Breezes, Hard Rock Cafe, Palace Resorts, Club Med, Zoetry, Beaches, and Sandals can add a certain degree of safety to your all-inclusive vacation.
15) Where are some of the top all-inclusive resorts?
Answer: Mostly in the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico. Florida, Europe, Hawaii, Alaska, and Las Vegas are generally not known for all-inclusive resorts. Club Med is perhaps the one exception to that rule. Club Med offers all inclusive properties all over the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, the Indian Ocean/Asia, Florida, and Canada. For those in the USA who do not have a passport, the Club Med Sandpiper Bay property in St Lucie, Florida is a good choice for a family vacation with a strong all-inclusive offering.
16) Why choose an all-inclusive resort?
Answer: Itís a lot of work, which is why an all-inclusive vacation can be a good option for those times when all the travel prep just seems too overwhelming. Everything will be taken care of and paid ahead of time, and you wonít need to keep reaching for cash or credit cards during your trip.
All-inclusive packages include food and drinks at your resort, so if you eat elsewhere, you'll be paying extra on top of what youíve already shelled out. The same goes for tours and activities outside your resort. Read the fine print to fully understand what's included and what isn't. Sometimes things like spa services and "top shelf liquor" are an extra cost. In many all-inclusive resorts, non motorized water sports are included while motorized watersports are not.
Comb through the info and read reviews about dining options to see if included food choices and restaurant styles (like buffet versus sit-down) will work for the whole family and if you need to make any dining reservations in advance.
