Backpacking vs. All-Inclusive: The Real Differences

It’s that time of the year again, that time to travel! Do you have a picture in mind of what you want to do? It’s okay if you don’t; it’s often reasonably confusing thinking about all the attractive options. If you’ve thought about having an active adventure, backpacking may have crossed your mind. On the contrary, you may have dreams about putting your feet up by the pool and having your margaritas served on a silver tray, which is perfectly fine too! Let’s discuss the differences between two popular forms of traveling – backpacking and all-inclusive holidays. 

Value for money and inclusions 

It’s easy to presume that backpacking is significantly cheaper than staying at an all-inclusive resort or hotel… but is it? The cost can quickly increase when you factor in the price of backpacking gear, such as clothing, tents, backpacks and other essentials. If you’re staying at hostels, you have the added cost of accommodation. Then there’s food – while you may have enough to take for the first few days, you’ll need to consider the rest of your trip. Food can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars a day, depending on the number of travelers. 

If you choose to stay an all-inclusive resort or hotel, such as Barbados All-Inclusive Resorts, you’ll pay a one-time fee, and then for the whole time you’re on holiday you won’t have to worry about food, drinks, entertainment, traveling from place to place or any other cost that is associated with traveling. All-inclusive resorts live up to their name – they include just about everything that you could need or want for a holiday. 

Satisfaction levels 

High satisfaction is the key to maintaining a happy baseline level. When deciding if you want to go backpacking or stay at an-inclusive resort, ask yourself if you’d rather relax and unwind on holiday because everything is provided to you, or whether you’d rather be active throughout the day and in charge of your meals, accommodation, and entertainment. Keep in mind, you can still be active if you choose to stay at an all-inclusive resort! In fact, many all-inclusive resorts will have a range of activities to choose from, such as snorkelling and water sports, and often times they are included in the price too! 

Eliminate stress

Travelling can be highly stressful, especially if the planning is left up to you and you alone. Choosing to backpack from point A to point B may seem straightforward and simple, but when you take into account the amount of careful organization that’s required, you’ll clearly see it can be quite the opposite. On the contrary, staying at an all-inclusive resort reduces stress because you’ll not only not have to worry about transport and getting around, but everything will be paid for making the hardest decision of your day picking which restaurant to eat at or which bar to enjoy your next margarita!

Comfort 

Which sounds more appealing to you – sleeping in a tent or 2 star hostel, or sleeping in big comfortable beds at a 5 star all-inclusive resort? When you take into account the level of comfort you’ll be experiencing, it’s pretty easy to determine where you’ll be more comfortable. Comfort is a huge thing when traveling, and should be on the top of your list when determining if you are going to go backpacking or stay at an all-inclusive resort.

Amount of sleep

Having enough quality sleep is essential on holiday, and for obvious reasons. How are you going to truly enjoy yourself if you’ve slept poorly the night before? Unfortunately, if you decide to go backpacking, your sleep is likely to be affected due to noise from the outside world, uncomfortable bedding and other people coming in and out of your personal space. When you decide to stay at an all-inclusive resort, you’re guaranteed a soft luxurious bed in a private room blocking the outside world from interfering with your rest and slumber. 

Access to beach and sea life 

When you picture going on holiday, do you picture the beach and the beautiful blue water? Or do you picture living out of a backpack, away from everything? A major highlight about staying at an all-inclusive resort is that you can guarantee you’ll be staying on the ocean with direct access to the beach and sea life. Swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving are all very possible when staying at the resort, and will prove to be an unforgettable experience that you wouldn’t want to trade for anything else!

While backpacking is a chance to get your hiking boots on and stay active throughout the day, staying at an all-inclusive resort is a chance to have your cake and eat it too. Whether you want to go snorkeling in the morning, and then put your feet up with a cocktail at the pool by lunchtime, you can do it all at an all-inclusive resort, and not worry about pesky costs that come up along the way. 

Barbados has a range of all-inclusive resorts, and is only a short 3 and a half flight from the beautiful Miami, but you’ll find all-inclusive resorts around the world, making the choice completely up to you!