All-inclusive holiday deals that cost you £650 extra

ALL-INCLUSIVE holidays with the drink, food and ice cream offered ‘free’ alongside the sunshine may not be the bargain they appear.

Sales of the deals have soared in the past decade on the basis that, in theory, families can control their spending.

And they are genuinely cheaper for those who never leave the gated resorts to enjoy the local culture, cuisine and attractions.

However, research has found that most families routinely do go beyond the walls for meals, drinks and snacks. As a result, any savings are more than wiped out.

Almost two-thirds spent an avera age of £271 on food, soft drinks, wine and beer outside their allinclusive hotel last year.

And seven in ten who went on a long-haul trip to places such as Mexico or the Dominican Republic typically spent an extra £321. Post Office Travel Money looked at summer prices for a week’s holiday for a family of four at threestar all-inclusive resorts in ten European hotspots.

Surprisingly, it found it would be cheaper to book a similar hotel on bed and breakfast basis and go out to eat at seven of the ten destinations, once all the extra spending on a supposedly all-inclusive deal are added to the equation.

For example, an all-inclusive package to Sliema, in Malta, came in at £2,554.31, once the average spend outside the hotel is added.

The price when booking on a B&B basis at a similar standard hotel, factoring in all the extra spending beyond the gate, added up to £1,908.18 – a saving of £646.13.

There was a similar pattern with holidays to the Costa Del Sol and Costa Blanca, Sorrento in Italy, the Algarve, the increasingly popular Sunny Beach resort in Bulgaria, and Cyprus.

Only Crete, Majorca and Marmaris, in Turkey, proved cheaper for an all-inclusive holiday, even taking into account the extra spending.

Andrew Brown, of Post Office Travel Money, said: ‘All-inclusive holidays are becoming increasingly popular. However, holidaymakers should be aware that spending on top of paid-for packages is on the increase.’