All inclusive - so bad for the host country

[nothingoldcanstay]

Did you not see that series on TV high lighting just how bad for the economy AI is? Aside from that it seems a bit odd to go to a different country and then eat hotel food. Most wine and beer is cheaper abroad so shouldn't we all try at least to help the country you holiday in rather than just one corporation?

bunbaker we are going to Peschiera. Do you knw what its like?

Our AI five star with swim up room this year is £3700 for DH, DD and I . So it's around the same price as an air conditioned caravan in Spain. No wonder I am choosing the former.

Mosschops We didn't get to Peschiera, but I have just looked it up on google. It look like a really interesting place to visit so do go and have a good explore around the town. We found the ideal way to see the lake was to get the local ferry. Although it is a ferry it is the tourists that use it the most in the summer months and it is easy to get tickets on the quay. The ticket sellers understand English. The land at the southern end is flat, but as you go further north it gets very hilly and more dramatic looking. If you are flying to Verona you will have a nice short transfer time as well. Sirmione which is nearby is supposed to be stunning. We didn't get there either, but if we go again it will be on our to do list.

We found eating out in the evening pretty expensive and were glad that we had gone half board (although the hotel food was a bit stodgy). Do try an Aperol spritz - it is the drink to have over there.

Pescheria is fab we stayed at Bella Italia just on the edge of Pescheria two years running and it was fab !
We found eating out not to bad but we live in Ireland - probably not so different to London prices. Sirmione is gorgeous as it is castellated - walk through the gate. we met one family who went to Sirmione and thought it was closed ! :-)
You are near to gardaland also which was fabulous. We went in the evening as it was cooler and cheaper.
Would also recommend a visit to Malcesine and a trip on the cable car. there are cows at the top with cow bells. very sound of music.

Malcesine is lovely. We didn't do the cable car as DD doesn't like heights, but we looked around the castle and witnessed a wedding while we were there. It is a fair old hike up from Pescheira though. I would be tempted to get the express ferry for that distance. We got the slow boat back to Garda from Malcesine and it took nearly 3 hours.

Thanks for all that info. We are really looking forward to something different this year after the last 4 years in the balearics.
We have been to Malcesine for a wedding it was beautiful.
We are flying into Verona, will try and get to Simione and definately do the ferry. We have free tickets to Gardaland with our booking, is it worth going to?

Don't mean to hijack this thread with Garda information but for Mosschops we spent a week in Peschiera last year and are going again this year in April (Easter hols). You may be at the same place we were as although we didn't go AI some people there were. Regarding Gardaland - yes - definitely go (especially if you have tickets already). My 6 year old thought it was the most wonderful place on earth - cried his eyes out when they threw us out at closing time! This year he is beside himself with happiness as we are going for two days! There are lots of rides there for all ages by the way. We also went to Venice - easy trip by train for a day from Peschiera, and Sirmione (go into the castle if you do go and climb up the tower for great views. There is also a wildlife park there which was pretty good but not sure about going there if you don't have a car. Sure you will have a great time there.

Blu I'll need the 20p bags of samosas to feed the family after I've paid the £4300 flight charges to fly in the school holidays! Do you think a family of 5 could do a full meal from one bag and could we just sleep on the beach...?

All those who say they like independent travel - I agree, I've been to China, Kenya, Bolivia, Prague, Poland, Spain, France, Greece, Germany, Belgium, the States, Canada, all independently, not through tour operators, but now I have 3 kids at school (and that is the issue, the price premium in school holidays) it is just too blummin expensive to do it that way. So I have given into pressure from DH and reluctantly agreed to an AI this year...I hope that I don't live to regret it...

bacarrat ive pm'd you

bunbaker and jen127 if you can pm me ny tips for garda that would be great.
Apologies for the hijack

Off to do evening meal. Will pm later. I'm jealous that you are going. In fact we are thinking of going again as it was just so fantastic.

I know, malakadoush, why do you think I am such an expert on the cheap food to be found! (we have to go - family live there).
And, you could camp on the beach, yes - camping on the public beaches seems to be allowed!

To get back to the point of the OP - it isn't just the AI that is bad for the local economy. Most of the hotel chains are owned by overseas companies, formerly, in the Indian Ocean by South African companies, but nbow the big new hotesl being ripped into the remaining cooastline are owned by Russians. The big profits leave the country. The hotels also use enormous amounts of water for pools, power showers, lawn sprinklers etc, and it is very common for the locals to experience terrible water shortages. When we were there last the water was only available in residential areas from 5am til 7am, and then an hour in the evening. All the water was being pumped - or taken by tanker - to the hotels.

There is employment in the hotels, of course.

To be honest this thread has made me think as I hadn't thought about the ethics of AI and probably should have.

Mosschops30 I have pm'd you - hopefully successfully!

Have always travelled independently and usually on a budget, but for an extended family holiday we stayed as a group in Pineapple Beach resort in Antigua in Nov/. Don't think this was a cheap option for AI but I have to say with a 14 month old who was wanting to try lots of different food and then, um... throw it on the floor, by heck it was nice to have someone else cook it and clean it up for once. I didn't feel guilty about this - the ingredients seemed pretty local to me. We are foodie types and it was really good considering it was buffet - you could book at the poncy restaurant but it was over air conditioned and not that great. Our DD ate loads. If you can ignore the bloated sunburnt whales other guests hogging the sunloungers it was a great place to stay. And quite relaxing for a frazzled mum, once you get past the long flight and jet lag...

Ok choirgirl I can see why it's a lovely easy holiday for you.
However your hotel uses massive resources which the country isn't up to providing. Huge amounts of clean water are needed to run such a resort. Huge amounts of waste water/sewage are produced as well. Where do you reckon that all goes. I think another poster lived on a similar island and was saying locals only get electricity now for limited hours because the hotel takes all the power.
I'm sure the food is local but seeing that we have problems with Tesco ruining our local suppliers do you imagine the massive resorts are doing the growers any favours? This is not a attack on your holiday choices BTW but more to consider using environmentally friendly resort holidays.

I don't usually go on AI holidays, mostly because I like to get out and experience different places, and find eating at the same couple of restaurants for 2 weeks extremely boring.
But we did go AI when we went to Kenya; we wanted to go on safari and Kenya isn't the type of country you go and find an independent hotel in, and then stroll down the road for a meal. Largely for safety reasons. The resort was very nice, but it did get tedious in terms of food and evening "entertainment". However, those resorts provide pretty much the only employment in the area, and there is vast poverty which really is helped by any type of tourism, even if it is an AI resort.

I can see how in places like Spain/Greece they would be detrimental to the local economy though, where there already are bars and restaurants trying to make a living.

From my experience AI holidays have been terrible. The food is never that great and I always like to mix with the local community when I travel - which is never the case when staying in these terrible places with thousands of rooms! Plus the economic leakage of course - the worst cases are in the third world countries where the staff are paid peanuts and the profits all end up back in the western world.

I usually get tripbod.com to advise me on where to travel now as it's usually a local who provides a trip planning service so always have great ideas of where to travel and where to stay with kids if you want to benefit the community (no AI in sight).

We're heading to Thailand next - again, local suppliers all the way!