All-inclusive beats DIY holidays on price, new research shows

All-inclusive trips beat DIY holidays on price, according to new research by Which?.

After checking the cost of holidays to 10 popular European and long-haul destinations for a family of four in August, it was found that all-inclusive breaks cost less for a sizeable seven of those.

The most significant price difference was seen for holidays to Mallorca, one of Spain’s Balearic Islands, and the cheapest all-inclusive travel operators were Tui and Jet2Holidays.

Which? reported that the cheapest all-inclusive holiday to Mallorca was £276 per person less than for a DIY holiday, where travellers would pay for food and drink separately. This amounts to a whopping saving of £1,100 for a family of four.

Other countries on the list include Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Thailand, Mexico, Mauritius, and Barbados.

A DIY holiday to Corfu, Greece, was quoted as £955 per person, while the all-inclusive three-star equivalent is £808, saving £147.

Meanwhile, the price of a DIY holiday to Spain’s Costa del Sol is £980 per person and that’s in comparison to £912 for a three-star all-inclusive deal or £915 for a four-star all-inclusive deal. Either way, a family of four could save up to £272 on a week’s holiday in August.

The only European exception is the Algarve in Portugal, where a DIY holiday costs £924 per person vs £964 for a three-star all-inclusive stay. Which? says this is due to flights, food and drinks all being “relatively inexpensive” at this time of year.

Which? used the cost of all-inclusive Tui and On The Beach deals for comparing prices for long haul holidays. DIY holidays to Phuket in Thailand and Mauritius were all cheaper than all-inclusive deals.

For example, a DIY holiday in Phuket is priced at £1,248 per person compared to the far more expensive cost of £1,942 for a three-star all-inclusive stay.

However, all-inclusive holidays to Cancun in Mexico and Barbados were both found to be cheaper than their DIY counterparts.

There is a slight price difference between all-inclusive and DIY holidays in Barbados. The cost of a DIY trip is £2,210 per person compared to £2,165 for a three-star all-inclusive holiday, while surprisingly a four-star all-inclusive deal was found for even less at £2.028.

At the other end of the scale, an all-inclusive three-star holiday in Cancun costs £1,389 and the four-star equivalent…