My fiancé and I are taking a 2-week honeymoon in the middle of September (this year), a few days after our wedding. We are choosing two locations and doing one week in each place. We have 100% decided that we'll be going to Croatia for one week and are leaning toward Greece for the other week.
We're both deal hunters and will spend many hours searching for the best value. We have done one all-inclusive vacation in Mexico before and not only was it great value, but we REALLY loved that we didn't have to "think" very much the whole time. No carrying around of wallets or whipping out money all the time. I'm reading that there are actually a good amount of all-inclusive resorts in Greece... But having a hard time figuring out what these places actually include.
It's pretty obvious that breakfast is included, but we're ultimately looking for a resort that also includes alcoholic beverages (+ all meals) in the fixed price. Our main questions are as follows:
Looking forward to the recommendations – TIA!
We're both deal hunters and will spend many hours searching for the best value. We have done one all-inclusive vacation in Mexico before and not only was it great value, but we REALLY loved that we didn't have to "think" very much the whole time. No carrying around of wallets or whipping out money all the time. I'm reading that there are actually a good amount of all-inclusive resorts in Greece... But having a hard time figuring out what these places actually include.
It's pretty obvious that breakfast is included, but we're ultimately looking for a resort that also includes alcoholic beverages (+ all meals) in the fixed price. Our main questions are as follows:
- Which islands have A) the best views, B) water activities like snorkeling and C) decent night life?
- Which resorts offer the best all-inclusive deal (food + alcoholic beverages)?
- Is it practical to visit at least 2 different islands within a one-week stay?
Looking forward to the recommendations – TIA!
I don't know anything about them but there are a couple of all-inclusive resort on Santorini: Hotel Makarios on Kamari Beach and Mediterranean Beach Hotel on Monolithos Beach.
The only time I ever used an AI was in Spain, and never again! The food was inferior, and since I had already paid for meals, was reluctant to go out to try different restaurants in the evenings. Worst of all, the hotel served international food rather than the Spanish food I had been looking forward to. Families with young children like AI resorts because it's easier to feed fussy eaters from the hotel buffets. If you go to an AI resort there will be lots of kids.
My idea of a perfect Greek holiday is to stay in a small family-run hotel and go out for meals at a different taverna every evening. If you don't like the food in a particular taverna you don't have to go back again—you can't do that in an AI hotel.
One of the first things to do before deciding on Croatia + Greece is work out how to get from one country to the other—it's not as easy as you may think.
My idea of a perfect Greek holiday is to stay in a small family-run hotel and go out for meals at a different taverna every evening. If you don't like the food in a particular taverna you don't have to go back again—you can't do that in an AI hotel.
One of the first things to do before deciding on Croatia + Greece is work out how to get from one country to the other—it's not as easy as you may think.
An AI in Europe would be gawd awful IMO. You don't want to wander around the village/town exploring different cafes, tavernas, restaurants? You don't want to sightsee other parts of the country or island? You want to spend nearly 24/7 on the same property? If you are tied to the same resort for every breakfast/lunch/dinner you can't travel very far to other sites/towns. Why spend all the time and money traveling to Europe and then completely limit what you can see/do?
There are 1000s of AI hotels in European holiday resorts and they are definitely not all awful. There is a market for it - there are people who want to veg out on the beach for two weeks and not venture outside the hotel, be within a few yards of the bar, Brits & Scandis do it all the time. You can sightsee between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner, you can also skip a lunch or dinner and dine elsewhere, some islands are pretty small. I have had one evening meal in a 5 star AI hotel in Ayia Napa once, it was pretty good, although I can see the appeal, it is not for me. Comparing AI deals you can get in Mexico with ones in Greece will only lead to disappointment, you're not going to get 24/7 room service or restaurants open 24/7. You can check tour operator websites such as TUI or First Choice UK to see the selection of AIs available in Greece plus reviews.
Having said that - AI would not be my personal preference at all in any Med resort. I can't see the point, food is not expensive, in Greece, you want to be in a local taverna, maybe by the seafront, having fresh fish and several glasses of local wine. If you can find a taverna that can actually cook local Greek dishes (many tavernas have the same/similar menu so night after night can be a tad boring), even better. I think you'll miss out on Greek culture by having all meals in an AI, you'll want to see whats going on in the local towns in the evenings. My idea of heaven in Greece is staying in an apartment, shopping in the local supermarkets, bakery and markets or fruit stalls by the road, buying local produce (honey, manouri or anthothyri, real Greek sheeps/goats yoghurt, watermelon & other melons, halloumi (ok that's Cypriot), various pastries/bread from the local bakery, grapes, figs, fruit juices, various cured meats, olives etc), having that for breakfast on my balcony, all other meals in local tavernas and of course a supply of Greek white wine.
Having said that - AI would not be my personal preference at all in any Med resort. I can't see the point, food is not expensive, in Greece, you want to be in a local taverna, maybe by the seafront, having fresh fish and several glasses of local wine. If you can find a taverna that can actually cook local Greek dishes (many tavernas have the same/similar menu so night after night can be a tad boring), even better. I think you'll miss out on Greek culture by having all meals in an AI, you'll want to see whats going on in the local towns in the evenings. My idea of heaven in Greece is staying in an apartment, shopping in the local supermarkets, bakery and markets or fruit stalls by the road, buying local produce (honey, manouri or anthothyri, real Greek sheeps/goats yoghurt, watermelon & other melons, halloumi (ok that's Cypriot), various pastries/bread from the local bakery, grapes, figs, fruit juices, various cured meats, olives etc), having that for breakfast on my balcony, all other meals in local tavernas and of course a supply of Greek white wine.
Thanks all. To clarify, AI's are not in my wheelhouse or my preference when traveling to Europe – my fiancé has asked me to look into it (as it's his preference), so I wanted to politely do my due diligence. I've been to 12 European countries on a handful of separate trips and have never even considered booking at an AI resort, so I will take the same approach with Greece. Just figured I would ask!
>>There are 1000s of AI hotels in European holiday resorts and they are definitely not all awful. There is a market for it - there are people who want to veg out on the beach for two weeks and not venture outside the hotel, be within a few yards of the bar, Brits & Scandis do it all the time.<<
I didn't mean the resorts themselves are all awful -- just being tied to one would be awful if it was 1) my honeymoon, and 2) my first time in an area.
Brits and Swedes aren't flying thousands of miles - for them flying to coastal Spain or a Greek island is more like me driving 2 hours to Lake Tahoe. Some parts of the Caribbean or Mexico -- sure, an AI can make a lot of sense.
>>I wanted to politely do my due diligence<<
Yes - research it to get some good ammunition to convince your Fiancé
I didn't mean the resorts themselves are all awful -- just being tied to one would be awful if it was 1) my honeymoon, and 2) my first time in an area.
Brits and Swedes aren't flying thousands of miles - for them flying to coastal Spain or a Greek island is more like me driving 2 hours to Lake Tahoe. Some parts of the Caribbean or Mexico -- sure, an AI can make a lot of sense.
>>I wanted to politely do my due diligence<<
Yes - research it to get some good ammunition to convince your Fiancé
The island of Rhodes has many AI - big resorts - so you may want to check out some of those. An AI would not be my first choice but when I was researching a possible trip, I did see some that seemed quite nice. Not sure about included drinks.
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The island of Rhodes has many AI - big resorts
Yes, and those are the ones to avoid, unless you want to join the hordes of package holidaymakers who want an inexpensive trip with unlimited free drinks in the hotel. The BBC did an opinion survey of AI holidays back in 2011. Some of the replies from people who have actually been on AI holidays are revealing:The island of Rhodes has many AI - big resorts
BBC - Have Your Say: Do you go on all-inclusive holidays?
All that said, one to consider would be the exclusive Costa Navarino in the Peloponnese: The Westin Resort Costa Navarino
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That is a silly comparison, isn't it - the flight from London to /Crete or Santorini is for example is 4 hours & is a couple of 1000 miles, from further north in Europe it is even longer journey times/distance. How is that similar to a 2 hour drive? Why mention Spain? I would not want to stay in an AI anywhere in the Med but there are those who like the convenience of them. Not all hotels are created equal, some are not "AI only" hotels, some simply offer an AI option should you want it along with options for breakfast only or half board. The cheap AI package with charter flights are definitely to be avoided.Originally Posted by janisj
>>Brits and Swedes aren't flying thousands of miles - for them flying to coastal Spain or a Greek island is more like me driving 2 hours to Lake Tahoe. Some parts of the Caribbean or Mexico -- sure, an AI can make a lot of sense.
There are definitely AI resorts in Greece (mostly in Crete), which is a big island and could easily occupy you for a week. However, I'm not sure I'd go that route because in general Greece isn't that expensive, and it's easy to navigate and get around there (plus the local food is so incredibly good I wouldn't want to be limited to an AI buffet just to get free drinks). There are also AIs in Cyprus, which is Greek in character but an independent country. If you are looking for beaches, then I think you'd do better in Turkey, but if it were me, I'd choose a couple of islands in Greece or a single island and would not stay on the beach. Beaches in Greece are not an afterthought, but the fun of being in Greece is being in town and going to the beach with everyone else for the day (that's what you do in Mykonos, where the best hotels aren't on the best beaches); Santorini doesn't really have any good beaches (some are OK, but none is truly great). However, both Mykonos and Santorini have grown ridiculously expensive and crowded of late, and I'd avoid both for a full vacation, but either is good for a quick stop, especially in the off-season like September. If you want a low-key Greece experience for not alot of money, look at a small island like Folegandros (you go through Athens or Santorini to get there) and then spend a couple of nights on Santorini to enjoy the fabulous views.
