Don't eat much, is it still best to go AI

Still waiting to find out if I can go or not and it%26#39;s killing me.

As availability gets less and less I am looking at different board options. We don%26#39;t really eat that much and often miss dinner, preferring less earlier in the day.

Is it still worth going AI due to free drinks or would it be best just to go HB and pay for drinks (especially as we love cocktails). I am worried about the price of water. I guess the question is would we spend ￡1000 extra on food and drink when we don%26#39;t eat that much?

ED

Don't eat much, is it still best to go AI

ED

If you loved cocktails then very few AI resorts include them as part of the AI or is limited to the cocktail of the day so you will be paying for them anyway.

Water was costing us $3.5 for a 1.5 lte bottle and I go through at least 3 on my own. Coffee and Tea, soft drinks and carton fruit juice about the same.

You may be better going HB but remember if you do get hungry it will cost even snacks aren%26#39;t cheap.

We prefer to go AI as there are no nasty bills at the end of the holiday.

Sg

Don't eat much, is it still best to go AI

Hi ED

It is not really the food - it is the drink!

By way of a guide, last April Mrs D and I went to Biyadhoo. This is a budget island and usually operates on a Full Board basis i.e 3 meals a day. The cost of drinks was not excessive by any means. I don%26#39;t drink alcohol at all and Mrs D doesn%26#39;t consume much either. Most of our drinks were bottled water and cokes, sprites etc.

For the 14 days we were there, our total bar bill, which included mini-bar, drinks with meals and the bar itself, came to $960. At today%26#39;s exchange rates that is about ￡700.

OD

Hi ED,

you mention eating earlier in the day!! HB means breakfast %26amp; dinner - always (some islands may allow you to change this to lunch??) but if not you will then be paying for lunch %26amp; drinks too.

I always go B%26amp;B if I can but that%26#39;s just what we like to do, however in your instance it may be better knowing where you are with funds etc??

Just IMO.

Regards

Emu

We ALWAYS try to go on a B%26amp;B basis as it provides added flexibility to eat in an a la carte restaurant and escape the buffet line, to eat in the bar, room service, etc. Our only reason for AI would be if we drank a lot of well drinks and took advantage of free windsurfing, etc. Even then I think most persons would save money and enjoy the flexibility of B%26amp;B. I remember a number of night we just felt like chilling in our room and ordered off a light room service menu.

We usually find it cheaper to go B and B because whenever we%26#39;ve had a half, full board or AI mealplan we%26#39;ve been disappointed at the concept of eating only in the main restaurant so have had quite a few a la carte or room service meals. Also cocktails and wine are no good on AI. If you%26#39;re beer drinkers and want to sit out drinking til midnight every night you%26#39;d probably get your money%26#39;s worth, but otherwise the only benefit meal plans have is that you don%26#39;t have to think about the cost when you get there.

we%26#39;re off the kuramathi in may and thought the AI was very good as it includes all cocktails!!! so far as i can gather the AI is particulary extensive compared to other islands and not too expensive either.

Thanks for all the opinions. It seems both options have advantages and disadvantages. Maybe I will just have to take what I can get if it turns out I can go.

Thanks

ED

We dont drink much, nor eat much so it was a no brainer for us to go Bed and breakfast. We ate a good breakfast, then sometimes just ate nuts and fruit for lunch (bought at the shop), sometimes an icecream, then bought our dinner at wherever we wanted to eat. Drank quality bottled wine (around $20US a bottle) which was much better than the house wine. Enjoyed cocktails at happy time at half price. Another thing for us is that lunch usually happened when we were right in the middle of swimming and snorkelling; we always thought it a pain to have to go and get cleaned up; and also the beaches are fantastically deserted while everyone else gets their grub.

Also not a fan of buffets - cant imagine having 3 a day for 2 weeks! We did the sums - we came out just ahead than if we had gone AI; but I think we enjoyed better food coz we had a choice.

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