Families on all inclusive package holidays could end up spending over £1,000 more on their holidays than those staying in B&Bs in the same resort, according to new research.
Holidaymakers who opt for B&B accommodation and eat out end up spending less than those on all inclusive deals in nine out of 10 popular European destinations, the study found.
The biggest savings are in Turkey where an all inclusive week in Marmaris for a family of four costs £1,208 more than going B&B and eating out in local restaurants.
Holidaymakers relax on a beach in Marmaris, Turkey. A new report has found that an all inclusive week in Marmaris for a family of four costs £1,208 more than going B&B and eating out in local restaurants
Bargain hunters will save almost as much – £1,064.67 – in Sorrento on Italy’s Neapolitan Riviera.
A week’s B&B costs £2,428.88 compared with £3,493.55 for all inclusive, which means it is almost 44 per cent more expensive.
In the Costa del Sol going B&B saves almost £453 or 21.5 per cent, while B&B in the Algarve scores a £595 discount and slashes almost 26 per cent off the all inclusive holiday cost.
While the B&B gains are lower than that in Crete, the Costa Blanca, Sunny Beach in Bulgaria, Cyprus and Malta, they still provide savings of between £169 and £422, making the all Inclusive holiday cost up to 18 per cent higher.
The only destination where all inclusive proved cheaper than B&B was Majorca – where families can expect to save around £202, almost eight per cent less than the B&B option
The study, conducted by Post Office Travel Money, also found that nine out of 10 families on all inclusive holidays spend extra on items such as meals, alcohol, soft drinks, snacks and ice cream.
This costs an average of £292 in Europe and £320 on long haul breaks.
The poll of 2,081 UK adults also revealed that 38 per cent of those who chose to go all inclusive on their last trip abroad did so because it cuts the cost of meals and drinks, with nearly as many (36 per cent) saying they thought it was good value and meant they did not need to take spending money.
A table showing the difference in the amount holidaymakers are spending in 10 European resorts when they go all inclusive or just B&B
But Andrew Brown, of Post Office Travel Money, said: ‘Even though the majority of holidaymakers choosing all inclusive packages do so because they can be a great way to control spending on meals and drinks, the truth is that most people spend hundreds of extra pounds once they arrive in their resort.
‘The numbers splashing out on extras has risen for the eighth year running and while this may reflect a growing acceptance that all inclusive has its limits, the extra costs continue to catch people out.’
‘If you are going all inclusive this year, do your homework and find out as exactly what is and what isn’t included as soon as you arrive in your resort.
‘Avoid falling into financial pitfalls like charges made for drinks late at night and limited periods when ice creams are free. Learn the rules of your resort and save yourself cash.’