04-09-2013, 08:26 PM
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#1
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Crash and Bang Winger
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Calgary
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All-inclusive in Europe
Hi guys
I'm a bit sick of your usual Mexico, Cuba, Dominican, Jamaica etc. all-inclusive resorts and looking for an option to go to all-inclusive somewhere in Europe this summer...I'm looking at Antalya, Turkey in particular...anyone been there? how was it? I know it is a bit pricey and definitely higher than your regular "North American" all inclusives but I'm hoping it's worth it. If anyone can recommend anything new (Egypt? Greece? Cyprus?) or have been there and can provide some feedback that will be great.
Thanks,
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04-09-2013, 08:49 PM
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#2
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#1 Goaltender
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Calgary
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To me all inclusive doesn't capture the essence of the reason why you would visit any of these places. If you go to Europe, Egypt or Cyprus (all places I have been), the last thing you want to do is sit in a resort for 2 weeks, eat hotel food and drink your ass off until you pass out. I'm not sure if they do any of that in those places to be quite honest, but even if they do, I would be totally against it.
My brother has been to Turkey, not Antalya, but Istanbul, Izmir and Marmaris. He had an incredible time, but he went with a Turkish friend that knew all the ins and outs of the area.
I went on a European trip almost exactly last year. Germany, Austria and Czech republic to be precise. Also had an amazing time. The year before that I went to Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan and had one of the best trips of my life.
Again, ditch the all inclusive idea. Go somewhere that interests you, stay in a hotel that you can afford, eat what the locals eat and try to make friends. Go out to the bars in the area and again, meet the locals.
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04-09-2013, 08:54 PM
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#3
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Victoria
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Quote:
Originally Posted by _Q_
Again, ditch the all inclusive idea. Go somewhere that interests you, stay in a hotel that you can afford, eat what the locals eat and try to make friends. Go out to the bars in the area and again, meet the locals.
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Maybe don't be such a condescending ######, and let him decide what he wants to do for himself?
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04-09-2013, 08:57 PM
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#4
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First Line Centre
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rubecube
Maybe don't be such a condescending ######, and let him decide what he wants to do for himself?
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Some of us need to know when our personal preferences are incorrect. Oilers fans, for example.
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04-09-2013, 09:00 PM
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#5
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#1 Goaltender
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Calgary
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rubecube
Maybe don't be such a condescending ######, and let him decide what he wants to do for himself?
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The OP came in here for advice on a trip that he's never done before. I'm just speaking from a position of experience.
Anyways, this is a good topic, let's not derail it.
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04-09-2013, 09:07 PM
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#6
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#1 Goaltender
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Back in Calgary!!
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Of all the condescending posts on this forum, that one was odd to target. I didn't really find it that condescending.
I don't really know much about all inclusive. I seem to come across them on vacation websites like expedia, Air Canada vacations etc. I think I have seen some on Dealfind as well.
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04-09-2013, 09:07 PM
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#7
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Franchise Player
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Imo, a good option for you might be a mediterranean cruise. A 10 or 12 day cruise will give you 6 or 7 port of calls and a lot of variety with where you go. It is essentially an all-inclusive as the cruise company can quote you with flights. Food is included obviously in the price, but booze is typically extra. The food can be extremely good depending on the cruise company.
We went on one a couple years ago and it was amazing- no complaints. It is worth mentioning that I lived in Europe for over a year before this trip, making it less important to see the big destinations on this particular trip- we could take it easy and relax a bit more- not so pressured to see everything.
Stops for us included Barcelona, Monaco, Porto fino, Rome, Sorrento, Sicily, Croatia, and Venice.
The industry has been taking a big PR hit lately and prices are very low.
Only advice- do not go in July or August. Going in June or September decreases the heat, crowds, and bloody kids by a considerable amount.
All that said, if you are set on a single location trip, there are so many options and I think they are all amazing-
Malta, Ibiza, Algarve, Greece, Croatia...
Edit- there are cruises that target more of the eastern Mediterranean area you mentioned
Last edited by Flabbibulin; 04-09-2013 at 09:16 PM.
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04-09-2013, 09:08 PM
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#8
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#1 Goaltender
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I went to an all inclusive in Minorca Spain during that epic sale and I enjoyed it! They had wine and beer on tap all day in the main restaurant buffet even during breakfast! My kind of place
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04-09-2013, 09:20 PM
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#9
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Franchise Player
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fundmark19
I went to an all inclusive in Minorca Spain during that epic sale and I enjoyed it! They had wine and beer on tap all day in the main restaurant buffet even during breakfast! My kind of place
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God, I want to get up and do that trip right now. Wish I had a job where I could just take off whenever
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04-09-2013, 09:29 PM
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#10
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First Line Centre
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Locked in the Trunk of a Car
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We did an all inclusive in the Canary Islands. Frikkin great time for sure, of course this is when we were living in Germany...
I wholeheartedly agree with Q, IMO a great time would be to land in London then take a flip over to the mainland and then get a Europass and explore - France, Spain & Italy are incredible, especially the coastal routes.
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04-09-2013, 09:37 PM
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#11
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#1 Goaltender
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flabbibulin
God, I want to get up and do that trip right now. Wish I had a job where I could just take off whenever
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I would also go back in a heartbeat! My parents have done medeterianian cruises and really enjoyed fact you get to see a lot of places. They have also done smaller riverboat cruises in Egypt
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04-09-2013, 10:19 PM
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#12
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Ate 100 Treadmills
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You won't find that many places that are all inclusive in Europe anyways. The reason Mexico, etc.. can get away with it is they have ridiculously cheap labour, food, and booze. When things cost 4x the price in Europe, it's hard to make it economical.
Although it might exist in parts of Eastern Europe, I'd be shocked to see an all you can drink vacation offered for a reasonable sum in Europe.
Like others have said, much of Europe has cheap (by our standards) good booze to buy locally. You're much better off sampling that than drinking from a Marguerittaville for a week.
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04-09-2013, 10:32 PM
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#13
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Backup Goalie
Join Date: Jul 2012
Exp:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by csnarpy
We did an all inclusive in the Canary Islands. Frikkin great time for sure, of course this is when we were living in Germany...
I wholeheartedly agree with Q, IMO a great time would be to land in London then take a flip over to the mainland and then get a Europass and explore - France, Spain & Italy are incredible, especially the coastal routes.
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This is what I always wanted to do but then someone told me they have incredibly low airfare like in some cases $40 a pop - can anyone confirm this - as opposed to taking the eurorail pass.
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04-09-2013, 10:47 PM
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#14
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Hyperbole Chamber
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1% problems
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04-09-2013, 10:58 PM
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#15
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Franchise Player
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paladium
This is what I always wanted to do but then someone told me they have incredibly low airfare like in some cases $40 a pop - can anyone confirm this - as opposed to taking the eurorail pass.
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There are two main companies that have the low airfare, Ryan Air and EasyJet if memory serve me correct. I have used both and would go with EasyJet every day of the week as it was marginally nicer. That being said the companies make their money on charging you for everything they can and the airports they fly to are the ones that are not the main hubs as the landing fees are lower... this means be prepared to be half an hour outside of the city you are flying to.
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04-09-2013, 11:26 PM
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#16
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Victoria
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sa226
Of all the condescending posts on this forum, that one was odd to target. I didn't really find it that condescending.
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Probably not as bad as others. It just seems that every time someone posts a thread about all-inclusives, the travel snobs jump in and tell them how they're really not getting the "essence of travelling."
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04-09-2013, 11:42 PM
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#17
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Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Now world wide!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rubecube
Probably not as bad as others. It just seems that every time someone posts a thread about all-inclusives, the travel snobs jump in and tell them how they're really not getting the "essence of travelling."
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Well, in fairness, the OP did say he was tired of the usual Caribbean all-inclusives, and was looking for something different which, really, amounts to an oxymoron: all-inclusives are, by their nature, not exactly diverse. In fact, if anything, predictability is their hallmark.
The suggestion of a cruise is probably the most sensible for Europe - or a packaged vacation I suppose. Europe's so accessible I'm not sure why you'd bother doing anything other than your own thing unless sightseeing is what you're really after, which it doesn't seem the OP is.
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04-09-2013, 11:50 PM
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#18
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Victoria
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flylock shox
Well, in fairness, the OP did say he was tired of the usual Caribbean all-inclusives, and was looking for something different which, really, amounts to an oxymoron: all-inclusives are, by their nature, not exactly diverse. In fact, if anything, predictability is their hallmark.
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I think all-inclusives are what you make of them. I've gone to them and sat on my ass and got wasted for seven days straight. Other times I could barely tell you what the hotel looked like because most of my days were spent on excursions.
I don't know, I've done both types of travelling and each has their place. For getting away for a week to recharge before going back to work, an all-inclusive is a pretty safe bet.
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04-10-2013, 12:17 AM
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#19
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Powerplay Quarterback
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: lower mainland
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard
There are two main companies that have the low airfare, Ryan Air and EasyJet if memory serve me correct. I have used both and would go with EasyJet every day of the week as it was marginally nicer. That being said the companies make their money on charging you for everything they can and the airports they fly to are the ones that are not the main hubs as the landing fees are lower... this means be prepared to be half an hour outside of the city you are flying to.
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Yes, and just a couple more things to add. There are other options because bigger airlines like the national ones also have pretty good fares often comparable to the discount ones because it's more competetive there. The big thing to watch out for with all of them is baggage allowances because their allowances for free luggage will be much smaller than what you can bring on your international flight and charges to take more luggage on the discount airlines can basically nullify the low price of the discount flight. I'd always set my laptop on the floor where they couldn't see it while they weighed my bag to help get by but that didn't work 100% of the time. Also, with Ryan Air you need to print out a boarding pass shortly before your flight. They charge 40 euros or something if get stuck without a way to print it at a hotel or Internet cafe.
Besides the cruise which was mentioned you might enjoy a tour like Contiki or something. It's not sitting on a beach at one resort but you'd have accommodations and fun plans worked out an you'd be able to party with other fun people for a reasonable price at local bars.
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04-10-2013, 12:53 AM
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#20
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Powerplay Quarterback
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: England
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blankall
You won't find that many places that are all inclusive in Europe anyways. The reason Mexico, etc.. can get away with it is they have ridiculously cheap labour, food, and booze. When things cost 4x the price in Europe, it's hard to make it economical.
Although it might exist in parts of Eastern Europe, I'd be shocked to see an all you can drink vacation offered for a reasonable sum in Europe.
Like others have said, much of Europe has cheap (by our standards) good booze to buy locally. You're much better off sampling that than drinking from a Marguerittaville for a week.
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Firstly this is completly false, there are loads of All inclusive resorts here in Europe, I should know I work in travel in England and have taken my family to an All inclusive resort for the last 6 years.
You are totally going in the right direction with Turkey for All Inclusives, they do them very well. There are also good ones in the Canary Islands and a few in the Greek islands but Turkey is best. The vast majority of them cater for families with water parks as standard and many also have a golf course, if that is your game. A lot of the rooms are set up American style (ie 2 doubles etc.) but there are hotels with 2 bedded rooms or such like if you are travelling as a family and want some privacy Lots of options at this point.
What type of hotel are you looking for (star rating etc), is it just you and your partner or a family with kids? If you can give me a a bit of info i will try and make some suggestions.
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