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All-inclusive or half board in Mallorca?

All-inclusive does not automatically mean the cheaper holiday – any more than half board is the more flexible choice. What matters is how much time you spend in the hotel, whether you explore the island and how far you want to fix your food costs in advance.

All-inclusive is worthwhile above all where restaurants outside are further away.

All-inclusive suits you better if …

✓you spend a lot of time in the hotel or resort
✓you travel with children and need clear meal arrangements
✓you prefer a predictable fixed budget
✓drinks and snacks are important to you

Half board suits you better if …

✓you go on excursions during the day
✓you want to try restaurants outside the hotel
✓you want to explore the resort
✓you value more flexibility with meals

The short answer

All-inclusive or half board – which is worthwhile in Mallorca?

All-inclusive suits you better if you spend a lot of time in the hotel, travel with children, want a predictable budget and drinks and snacks are important to you. Half board suits you better if you go on excursions during the day, try restaurants, explore the resort and want more flexibility with meals. Which is cheaper depends on your overall use – not on the name of the rate.

Board options in Mallorca at a glance

All-inclusive: All meals including drinks and often snacks – bundled into the hotel price
Half board: Breakfast and dinner in the hotel, lunch and drinks during the day extra
Full board: Breakfast, lunch and dinner – drinks usually only with meals
Breakfast: Only breakfast included – other meals your own choice
Cost control: All-inclusive is paid in advance; half board leaves lunch costs open
Deciding factor: How much time do you spend in the hotel – and how much on the island?

Which is cheaper?

Neither option is cheaper in principle – it depends on how you use your holiday.

All-inclusive often looks more expensive in the booking price, but covers many meals, drinks and snacks in advance. Half board starts with a lower hotel price, but leaves lunch, drinks and evening drinks outside the hotel open – and this is exactly where the costs are hidden.

Overall use is what matters: if you spend the whole day in the complex, you often make full use of all-inclusive and come off cheaper. If you eat lunch in a restaurant, buy ice cream and drinks at the beach in the afternoon and try tapas at the harbour in the evening, with half board you only pay for dinner in the hotel – and often less than for an unused all-inclusive rate.

→ Mallorca package holiday: inclusive services and board

What is worthwhile with children?

With children, predictability and short distances are particularly important – all-inclusive often has the edge here, but not necessarily.

Predictable budget

All-inclusive covers the children’s ice creams, snacks and drinks – the family budget stays calculable.
Less organising

No more stress with hungry children after the beach while searching for a suitable lunch restaurant.
Half board for excursion holidays

If you are out a lot – boat trip, water park, island tour – you eat out anyway and pay for unused AI services.
Child discounts

Child discounts are often available with both rates – the specific offer decides, not the board type alone.

What is worthwhile for couples?

For couples, what matters most is whether the holiday takes place in the hotel or on the island.

All-inclusive in a resort

If you spend the day by the pool and eat in the complex in a relaxed way in the evening, you will find AI convenient and completely stress-free.
Half board for food lovers

If you like to eat in different restaurants in the evening and discover the local cuisine, you are more flexible with half board or breakfast.
Boutique hotels

Many small hotels and fincas do not offer all-inclusive at all – here half board is the realistic choice anyway.
Flexibility at dinner

With half board you are not tied to the complex’s buffet times and can spontaneously stay out longer.

When is half board enough?

Half board is enough if you don’t eat lunch in the hotel anyway.

If you lie on the beach, eat a menú del día in town at lunchtime and like to eat in the hotel in the evening, half board is ideal for you. On an active holiday with day trips, hikes or hire-car tours you also spend lunchtime outside the complex anyway – AI services would remain unused.

Half board is also worthwhile if you deliberately want to experience the local cuisine: Mallorca has its own restaurant culture, ranging from tapas bars in Palma to fish restaurants in the harbours. If you regularly eat out in the evening, you don’t even need dinner in the hotel.

→ Mallorca’s gastronomy: restaurants and specialities

When is all-inclusive worthwhile?

All-inclusive is worthwhile if hotel life is the focus of your holiday.

If you use the complex as your holiday base – pool, sun lounger, entertainment programme and evenings in the bar – you make the fullest use of all-inclusive. Especially in large resorts on the Playa de Palma, in Cala Millor or Alcúdia, AI covers breakfast, lunch and dinner, snacks, ice cream and drinks around the clock.

If you want to fix your costs in advance and do not plan to visit restaurants on the island, AI is also the safer option: there are no unexpected bills for drinks or snacks, and the budget is fixed from the start. It remains important to check in the description of services which drinks and services are specifically included – all-inclusive is not a uniform standard.

Which Mallorca resorts tend to favour half board?

Resorts with lively gastronomy and an intact local life make half board particularly attractive – all-inclusive is still not ‘wrong’ there.

Palma

Dense restaurant culture from tapas bars to fine dining – if you go out to eat in the city in the evening, you rarely make full use of AI.
Port de Sóller

Harbour promenade with fish restaurants and cafés – dinner out is part of the holiday experience.
Cala d’Or

Small centre with many restaurants and bars – the evenings take place in town anyway.
Port d’Andratx

Exclusive marina with upmarket gastronomy – ideal for half board or breakfast.
Port de Pollença

Pine Walk promenade and town centre with restaurants – you spend the evenings out anyway.

What about full board?

There are clear gradations between breakfast, half board, full board and all-inclusive – the table shows what each option covers.

Full board adds lunch to half board, but usually does not include drinks and snacks throughout the day. All-inclusive goes furthest: it covers three main meals plus snacks and usually local soft and alcoholic drinks during a defined period. Exactly what is included is stated only in the description of services of the respective hotel.

Service	Breakfast	Half board	Full board	All-inclusive
Breakfast	✓	✓	✓	✓
Lunch	–	–	✓	✓
Dinner	–	✓	✓	✓
Drinks	with breakfast	with dinner	with meals	all day
Snacks	–	–	–	usually included
Flexibility	highest	high	medium	low
Cost control	low	medium	high	highest
suitable for	Self-caterers, city breaks	Active holidaymakers, excursions	Hotel guests with a morning by the pool	Resort and family holidays

Which board suits my type of holiday?

A short decision finder – depending on what your holiday day looks like.

Beach and resort holiday

All-inclusive: if the day takes place in the complex, AI covers all meals and drinks.
Active and excursion holiday

Half board: you are out at lunchtime and eat in the hotel in the evening – AI would remain unused.
City break in Palma

Breakfast or half board: you spend the evenings in the city’s restaurants anyway.
Family holiday with children

All-inclusive: predictable budget, no discussions about ice cream and drinks.
Tour with several places

Breakfast: maximum flexibility, you eat wherever you happen to be.
Gourmet and food holiday

Half board or breakfast: you want to try different restaurants on the island.

→ Resort finder: which holiday resort suits my type?

Description of services instead of rate name

What ‘all-inclusive’ or ‘full board’ includes exactly at the respective hotel – which drinks, which snacks, until when – is stated only in the description of services of the offer. Only there is it bindingly defined what is included.

No overall winner

No board type is cheaper or better in principle. Whether all-inclusive or half board pays off depends on your actual use – how much time you spend in the hotel and whether you want to eat out.

Compare & book · Package holidays Mallorca

Compare Mallorca package holidays by board

In the booking system you filter package deals by travel period, departure airport and board – from breakfast to half board to all-inclusive – and compare the respective descriptions of services.

Comparable: flight, hotel and transfer as a complete package from German-speaking departure airports.

Compare Mallorca package holidays by board

Which resort suits your board choice? Start the resort finder →

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Package holiday comparison

Compare board rates side by side

The comparison shows package deals for the same hotel side by side – so you can see the price difference between breakfast, half board and all-inclusive for your travel period.

Flight, hotel and transfer are compared as a complete package.

Compare package holidays

Which resort suits your board choice? Start the resort finder →

This might also help you with your booking

Mallorca package holiday What is included and when it is worthwhile Read more → Which Mallorca resort suits you? Resort finder for beach, peace and quiet, restaurants and mobility Read more → How much does a Mallorca holiday cost? Budget for accommodation, food, getting around and extras Read more →

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Frequently asked questions

Is all-inclusive or half board cheaper?

Neither is cheaper in principle. All-inclusive covers many services in advance, but starts with a higher hotel price. Half board has a lower base price, but leaves lunch, drinks and snacks outside the hotel open. Overall use decides what pays off.

Is all-inclusive worthwhile with children?

Often yes, because the children’s ice creams, snacks and drinks are covered and the family budget stays predictable. But if you go on a lot of excursions, you eat out anyway and pay for unused AI services.

When is half board enough?

If you don’t eat lunch in the hotel – for example at the beach, on excursions or in a restaurant. If you are out all day, you will hardly use all-inclusive services.

What is the difference between half board and full board?

Half board includes breakfast and dinner. Full board adds lunch. With full board, drinks are usually only available with meals – drinks and snacks throughout the day are reserved for all-inclusive.

Is the transfer included with all-inclusive?

Not automatically. The transfer depends on the offer booked, not on the board type. Whether a transfer is included is stated in the description of services of the respective offer.

Which resorts in Mallorca are worthwhile for half board?

Resorts with lively gastronomy such as Palma, Port de Sóller, Cala d’Or, Port d’Andratx or Port de Pollença. If you want to eat in town in the evening, you are often more flexible with half board or breakfast – all-inclusive is still possible there.

Which board suits an excursion holiday?

Half board or breakfast. If you are out and about on the island at lunchtime, you eat outside the hotel anyway and would hardly use all-inclusive services.

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