All inclusive near to “things to do”?

[Bloome22]

Hi, Mumsnet, wondering if you can help! Trying to find a compromise between an All Inclusive style holiday now we have kids vs what we would use to do pre kids (city breaks etc., exploring, hiking, eating out etc). AI just seems so expensive but the appeal is not having to cook clean etc. But worried we will feel we will have spent a lot of money and not seen the country. DH is a foodie so we don’t want to be disappointed with the food at an AI place either, but not sure if my toddler would cope with having to be patient at restaurants/cafe’s every day if we did self catering. Is there anywhere you can recommend that would give us the best of both worlds? Maybe a AI place near to “things to do”? Budget about £3k max for May (not during half term). Thanks!

Greece will be getting nice in late May. If you look on Tui or Jet 2 you can search by things like great for foodies etc. At most AI places, you can pay extra to do excursions.

Ooh interested to see what responses you get as this is basically our criteria too

Mitsis Cretan Village has loads of excursions www.mitsis.com/en/concierge/cretan-village/1227

I would recommend Cyprus near Paphos. There is a costal paved path (easy and safe for pushchairs) and as our hotel was on the sea front we could use this to walk into Paphos.

You can visit Kato Paphos Archaeological (UNESCO World Heritage Site) - Roman Villa remains. Walk along the harbour and see the fort (admittedly a visit to the fort will only take about 30 minutes), Go on a boat trip, visit the tomb of the Kings (another of Paphos’ UNESCO sites) admittedly no Kings were actually buried here but it is fascinating. You can also visit the Byzantine Basilica ruin and site of St. Paul’s Pillar and the sunset at Paphos is just amazing.

You can do all this without going on any organised trips and enjoy the benefits of being AI.

We visited in October but went HB rather than AI as this was a good compromise for us.

I agree with Cyprus. Plenty of great places to eat during the day so a HB may work better if you plan to be out.

we had a rental car and it’s absolutely no problem.

We visit Austria a lot for skiing but have discovered that many of the hotels are becoming 'all inclusive' , especially in the Saalbach area . This is where we are going in the summer . Reviews amazing . Food, cocktails etc. look fantastic. We are also very into food!

https://www.alpinresort.com/en/premium-all-inclusive-austria/1-0.html

We have gotten fed up of even the high end all inclusive offerings in Greece /Turkey but mainly due to the heat and inability to 'do stuff'.

We have planned kayaking , white water rafting with a guide, lake swimming in Zell am See , mountain biking , tennis etc .

There are other all inclusive hotels in the area too, seems to be a fairly new development .

If your kids are under 15 this is another option locally with equally good reviews .

https://www.hotel-theresia.com/de?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic+&utm_campaign=google_mybusiness+

I would compromise and book half board somewhere like Tenerife where you can easily eat out at lunch time but retreat to the hotel for a buffet dinner each night. Lots of things to do suitable for a family for a week

Another vote for Cyprus!

Holiday Village Aliathon in Cyprus. So family friendly with a range of accommodation options and a few restaurants on site. You’re a bus ride away from Paphos with its ancient sites to explore and lovely marina.

Some of the AI hotels in Egypt would also fit the bill. Sharm and Hurghada are both lovely.

Most people do a bit of both, AI and exploring.
We've often gone AI all over the world, but always explored and eaten at the local restaurants, eg where the Spanish themselves eat, visited loads of the island etc. seen all the tourist attractions, coves, beaches etc. why wouldn't you?

Tenerife has lots of good family day out places and nice promenades for walking.

We tend to go either B&B and then eat out everyday which may not be practical with a tot in tow. Or, as we have this year, go for a budget AI. I don’t want to feel we have spent so much we can’t justify eating out, but the convenience of the teens being able to get themselves drinks and snacks is still there. I carefully check reviews and the location of hotel.

this years in Crete was £2.5k for 4 adults (dds 20 & 17) end of august/beginning of September. We are walking distance to the beach and tavernas. Expecting food to be basic but fine for a day when we’ve been busy and can’t be bothered to go out in the evening. We will hire a car for a few days and go out and about. All in all expecting to spend around £3500 - £3700 once we’ve spent on activities, food out and car hire.

Antalya region of Turkey would fit the bill. Lots of AI hotels with great facilities but you can also do boat trips, there are historical sites such as Perge or Hadrian’s Gate and a theme park called Land of Legends. Many hotels have on site waterparks.

Where did you stay? I'm currently on the annual hunt for September

If you go to an AI in Majorca, especially in somewhere like Palma Nova or Magaluf (which is not exactly Florence, but is a lot less bad than its reputation and has some really nice hotels these days), you will be a half-hour bus ride from Palma, which is a city of nearly 400,000 people with lots of "things to do". In fact as a city break destination in its own right it's up there with Barcelona and Seville.

Both magaluf and palma nova are part of the 6 drinks a day scheme. 3at lunch time and 3 in the evening so knocks a cocktail before or after dinner and a bottle of wine with your evening meal on the head

We did half board so that we weren't always tied to the hotel but we could have dinner then explore throughout the day,

This is not true any more, and was not completely true even when the limits on all-inclusive drinks were in force. 🙏

First, that zone - which is also about limiting off-sales of alcohol and other measures aimed at curbing rowdy tourism - never covered Palma Nova, only the northern half of Magaluf. In fact the off-licences of Magaluf used to complain that places 100 metres away in Palma Nova were still open after 9:30pm, when they had to close in Magaluf.

Second, in May 2024 the limits were altered. They now only include two streets in Magaluf, and there are no AI hotels in those streets. So it now only affects off-sales, and even then only in a very small area (basically, the infamous "strip"). See attached map.

The limits also no longer apply in El Arenal (the "German Magaluf"). But they are still in force in Playa de Palma, which is a different municipality with a mayor who has a slightly harder line on drunken tourism.