by Wayne Whicher

Created on: April 23, 2009

DEFINITELY NOT. Three words: Culture, culture, culture.

The issue at hand is a "better overall experience." The only pluses to vacationing in an all inclusive resort are perhaps saving money, and in not having to plan out where to go and find locations to eat at and visit.

That being said, I truly believe that to experience the culture of the location that you are visiting, then you have to GET OUT THERE and explore! By visiting local restaurants, and meandering around the locale you will so greatly enhance your vacation experience, and get a taste of the local culture that will form your memories of your trip.

The most wonderful experiences that I have had were out at local restaurants where I was vacationing. Imaging sitting at a small local table for two perched high above the white landscape of building in Santorini, Greece. Or people watching in the square at a small cafe in Florence, Italy. The sights, people and day to day life surrounding you is amazing to behold and wonderful to be a part of.

In locales such as Cancun or St. Thomas finding an out of the way beach side restaurant is so much more enjoyable than sitting at the pool all day, or simply staying perched on the beach for hours and hours. While I enjoy those activities, getting out to experience the culture is just as important to a varied, memorable vacation experience.

Often times, to keep things simple and not go through the ardors of massive planning, I simply visit other hotels and have lunch or dinner at their oceanside restaurants. This achieves a couple goals. First of all you made the trip out from your own resort and sometimes just the ride to the other resort will give you cultural experiences that you'll never forget. Additionally, you can visit and walk through other resorts to see if you may like to stay there on your return trip.

So, how to go about making this cultural exploration simple? The first step is often your own hotel concierge. Ask them where the locals eat. Where is a good place for lunch in the middle of town? People watching in the town square is fantastic. Consulting your travel books can often times give you further options that are rated by those that have visited the places. Finding what type of local food you want, atmosphere, and in what part of town are all researched for you. Getting out and exploring is all that is left for you to do.

Please be aware of safety concerns and the time of days that you venture out to certain locations. Again, your hotel concierge may advise you not to visit certain parts of the area at certain times of night. Simply ask the question so that you are forewarned.

All inclusive resorts have their place in the travel world. If you don't want to do anything besides sit around and have people cater to you, then I guess those places are for you. I, for one, don't want to spend all the money to travel to a place and not get out and see the people and visit places that have formed my memories on the best trips that I've had.

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