The gap between board basis names and what lands on your bill, explained plainly.
Room only
Just the room. Common in European cities where breakfast is better and cheaper outside the hotel anyway.
Bed and breakfast
Breakfast included, usually buffet. Our default for city and touring itineraries.
Half board
Breakfast and dinner, drinks excluded. Sensible in remote locations — safari lodges, Swiss mountain villages — where leaving the hotel for dinner is impractical.
Full board
All three meals, drinks still excluded. Mostly seen on cruises and island resorts.
All-inclusive
Meals plus a defined drinks list, which is where the detail matters. Premium spirits, bottled wine, speciality restaurants, and anything at the dive centre are commonly extra. In the Maldives, ask specifically whether the house reef excursion and the seaplane transfer are inside or outside the package — they are the two biggest line items.
Our rule
We put the actual inclusions in writing on your itinerary rather than relying on the board-basis label. If something is excluded, it will say so before you pay.
