So would you choose self catering or all inclusive in majorca?

[alfielooloo]

We haven't been abroad for a few years & are thinking of going to majorca next June but can't decide whether to go self catering or all inclusive. AI holidays do seem so expensive but then if you go SC do you just end up having to spend lots on food & so in the long run would end up spending less on AI holiday?? There is me,dh & 2 dc. Any thoughts on this anyone?

self catering, its nice to go out for meals

Yes, it is nice to try different places to eat, more interesting than eating at the same place for two weeks maybe?
Anyone want to convince me otherwise?

Bump

We have just come back from an AI in Majorca and i loved it. We have been AI 3 times now and much prefer it.The dc can have drinks and ice cream all day and you dont have to worry about how much meals cost,I agree it is nice to eat in different places but with kids i think AI is a better option.

I think if you've got older kids (6+) it's worth it, if it includes the drinks and ice cream all day.

Also just because you are AI doesn't mean you can't still eat out, although I appreciate you won't have as much spending money.

However most importantly will it not be more of a holiday for you, if you're self catering who does the dishes?

Good point Redtartanlass! It would be nice to not be constantly at the sink washing up
Leander, where about in Majorca did you go? We have been looking at Alcudia, seems very family friendly.

we were in Alcudia, it was a last minute thing we were going camping but the weather put us off,we booked a week before and piad just under £1300 for the four of us.

That was a bargain price! Who was that with?

it was with teletext online, then we had to phoneup.It was for 1 week and we probably spent abot £250 most of that was on a trip to see Pirates which i deffinately reccomend.

I haven't tried Teletex on-line, just been looking at the regular Companys, will look at that later, thanks.

I much prefer self-catering - more flexible, taking advantage of local foods and delicacies, trying different restaurants, and not relying on food that has been kept warm for hours in a buffet.

oh self catering without hesitation

I have done all inclusive once, years ago, pre kids

same meals all the time, buffet overdose, horrid

and tbh mine can't have drinks and ice cream all day anyway [prim]

with s/c, make life easy, do easy breakfast, sandwich lunch, eat out at night

Do you find that you spend more money doing it that way?

We went to Soller - there is a little tram down to the Port and also an old steam train through mountains to Palma - the kids, especially ds, LOVED it. Feels very Spanish -with so many of the resorts in Majorca you could be anywhere. Rented a villa - but then I'm quite anti-social on holiday and it's my worst nightmare having to spend two weeks making polite conversation with people I wouldn't normally want to pass the time of day with. Think self-catering is good with small children as you can have what you want when you want it and also put the children to bed while you have a nice meal yourselves (or whatever takes your fancy!).

Thanks for all your opinions everyone,am still undecided though
I suppose it all boils down to personal choice at the end of the day doesn't it.
We have never taken dd abroad, only ds when he was little. They are 7 & 4 now & we quite fancy a holiday on the beach & round the pool where they can make new little friends.

We he have recently returned from a half board holiday to Cala Bona in Majorca ( v nice resort).

We only had to find our lunches but ended up having them at the pool bar as it was easier with the children as they didn't want to leave the pool for more than five minutes.

We have already booked next years' holiday half board again but have decided to go all inclusive in 2009. There is a really nice resort in Sa Coma (Protur Hotels) which is 4 and 5 star and has a water park on the complex. It is flexible so you can go either self catering, half board or all inclusive.

The hotel we went to this year (also a Protur Hotel) was self catering and we upgraded to half board. You could buy 'meal tickets' at reception and do self catering some nights and then pay to go into the buffet on others.

Another vote for self-catering - you just have more flexibility especially with very young children. The big plus is that you have more space/room/privacy - I've found that generally, I can rent a pretty decent apartment/house for less than 2 hotel rooms. I was always a hotel person pre-kids but have totally converted to renting places direct from their owners in the last few years.

Forgot to say that we stayed in Puerto Pollensa last May with our then 2.5 yr old DS. Booked budget flights to Palma, pre-booked car hire from airport, booked 2 bed garden apartment with shared pool for the last week of May (5 mins walk to the beach & 15 mins to the main square - weather was glorious BTW)- all for under £700 so plenty of indulgence money including 2 pairs of Camper shoes at their factory outlet!

I would go all inclusive. Anything that cuts the work out!

However, if you still want flexibility to go out for dinner etc, you could go half board.

What to do?? I have just found a really good wesite called hotels4u. The prices for the four of us seems unbelievably cheap. There is one hotel on there which I had already got the price from Travel agents for self catering, so much less if you book direct. I got flight prices from Thompsonfly which again seem very cheap. Never done it this way before, always done packages so would be a bit nervous about booking all the separate things myself, would probably get to the right resort then have booked the transfer to totally wrong place I don't know of anyone who has used this website so how do you know if it is genuine & they are not going to take your money & disappear into the ether (sp??)

if you go to puerto pollensa go self catering, there's an excellent bakery for breakfast (encemadas drool) and really nice restaurants for evening meals

Only ever done one package holiday. Disaster. DS broke his leg, the reps were crap, the hotel was crap and everyone came down with salmonella.

Go self-catering. And book it yourself. Don't trust Thompson... they treated us very badly when DS broke his leg.

We now always book flights with easyjet, Jet2 or BMI baby. Hotels we book through travelsupermarket.com but check each one out on holidays-uncovered.com first. Then airport parking, insurance and car hire all on line.

Done this loads of times with never a problem.

Another vote for self-catering, get an apartment with a dishwasher and washing machine, makes life a whole lot easier. We like the extra space and being able to choose somewhere different to eat every night.

Definitely book it yourself, apartment and flight, you'll save a fortune and have much more choice.