This article might be a slightly controversial one. Putting down resort holidays probably touches many nerves. There are obviously millions of people who do love a getaway to an all inclusive resort, if there wasn’t, there wouldn’t be so many package holiday providers.
But, those that class themselves as travel addicts, rather than just occasional holiday goers, will often do their best to avoid resort holidays. Why? Here are some of the reasons. If you’re a frequent resort goer, you might not like to hear some of these!
There’s not normally any culture to be seen in a resort
All inclusive resorts might be fun and cheap, but they don’t offer much by way of culture. Travel addicts love to learn about the culture of the places they visit, and immerse themselves in it.
In a resort, you’re kept very much separate from the culture and reality of your destination, and so authentic cultural experiences are hard to come by. If you’ve had a few different resort holidays, you probably noticed that they’re all much the same. Okay, so some might have a slightly better pool, or a wider choice of buffet items, but basically, all resorts boil down to a pool or two, some sun loungers, free food and amateur entertainment.
There are always excursions, but often these ‘cultural’ excursions are staged, showing you perhaps an overly put-on representation of local life. They’re also often pretty costly, and quite frankly, not worth it at all. You might pay hundreds to visit some local town, when you could quite as easily catch a bus, or walk there by yourself, and learn about the town from those who really know it, the locals.
You don’t get to experience life as a local
Part of the fun of traveling is that you experience different places, and imagine what it’s like to be a local. But when you’re kept completely separate from local life, you don’t actually see what life in your destination is like.
The novelty of exploring local facilities and lifestyles is what makes a holiday. Even exploring a foreign supermarket can be exciting. But in a resort, you see the same things most days, things that you could find anywhere, none of which really represent local life at all.
You don’t get to meet as many different people
When you go on an all inclusive holiday, you’re normally packed into a resort with hundreds of other people from your home country. And they’re usually all there for one reason and one reason only: to soak up the sun.
There’s nothing wrong with this, it’s just that if you’re used to traveling to different places, you’ll know that half of the fun is meeting new people from all over the world.
Sure you might meet the odd person from somewhere you’ve never heard of, and have a quick conversation about what their life is like. But you’re not going to meet such a diverse group of people when the only place you’re traveling to is a resort.
Actual experiences are hard to come by
With any other type of holiday, you’re going to come back ranting and raving about all the amazing and maybe even life changing experiences you had on your travels.
A lot of actual experiences happen as a result of spontaneity – maybe you stumbled across an undiscovered lake to swim in, or decided to take a train to somewhere completely random. You’re not going to find experiences like these in resorts. In a resort, your excursions are usually planned right down to the minute. There’s no room for adventure or spontaneity.
You’re limited to the all inclusive dining options
At first, people are amazed by the amount of choice at all inclusive buffet, but after a few days, you start to realise that it’s all much the same. You start to recognise yesterday’s leftovers in today’s mashup of food options. And in fairness, more often than not, you can get some pretty decent food at an all inclusive place. The only trouble is that you’re eating pretty much the same thing each day, in the same environment, with the same people.
If you’re a travel addict, you probably prefer the excitement that comes with trying out new dishes in local restaurants. You get to meet some of the locals, and try authentic local food. And what’s more, rather than grabbing a plate yourself, and piling as much food as physically possible on it, you actually service. You get to interact with waiters and waitresses, be served delicious dishes, and maybe even have a chat with them.
I live in the UK, in the country’s most uneventful city, where the most interesting story in the local paper is about banning dressing gowns in supermarkets.
I travel and I write, because surely there are more interesting stories than that to write about and share.
