All-Inclusive Deals With the Lure of the Tropics

When economic times get tough, Americans tend to book vacations at all-inclusive resorts to a far greater extent than they otherwise would. They are the antidote to financial worries: You pay for everything--air fare, room, meals, drinks, sports and entertainment--in advance. Thereafter, the entire vacation is free of money concerns.

An increasing number of hotel resorts, particularly in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, switch to an all-inclusive policy, then face strong competition from other such resorts. Prices fall, and bargains emerge--especially just after Easter, when demand for tropical vacations falls.

Here are five weeklong vacations costing as little as $735 per person, based on double occupancy, for departures in May, June and July:

* Costa Rica: For $970 per person, double occupancy, you’ll receive round-trip tickets on American Airlines to Central America’s most popular and prosperous nation, including seven nights at the Barcelo Tambor, on a fine-sand beach on the Nicoya Peninsula. The package is sold by a reliable specialist, Capricorn Leisure, (800) 426-6544, www.capricorn.net, and includes not only meals but unlimited alcoholic drinks--even outside mealtimes, which many packages don’t include. The $970 price is for West Coast departures in May and June. July travel is $95 more; singles pay $229 extra.

* Negril, Jamaica: On this culturally rich island hard hit by travel jitters, seven nights--with air fare, meals and all else--through June 15 at the cozy Negril Gardens, in a welcoming small town, is going for $869 from Miami or Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (You’ll need to track down a budget fare to the departure point.) That’s from Web-only dealer Escape to Eden, www.escapetoeden.com, and it even includes Jamaica’s $25 departure tax.

* Punta Cana, Dominican Republic: The under-visited Dominican Republic remains a top source of all-inclusive deals. Spend seven nights in the resort enclave of Punta Cana, near the country’s eastern end, in a modest two-floor bungalow of a hotel called the RIU Melao, which supplies all meals and drinks. If purchased from Vacation Express, (800) 309-4717, www.vacationexpress.com, which has the money-saving advantage of chartering its own planes, prices are just $759 from Atlanta or a bit more from one of the packager’s 10 other Southeastern gateways. You will need to get to the departure airport on your own.

* Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico: At the four-star Grand & Club Marival the pace is more relaxed than at the resorts of crowded Puerto Vallarta, 20 miles south. On a huge Mediterranean-style property along the sweeping Bay of Banderas, vacationers have free access to four pools, four restaurants and seven bars. All-inclusive seven-night vacations are $735 from Los Angeles. Get this deal from Baja Motion Tours, (800) 511-4848, www.mexicotravelnet.com.

* Cancun: The Miramar Mision, a beachfront, 300-room low-rise in the heart of Cancun’s popular hotel zone, drops its prices to budget levels for late spring and summer. Seven nights (with air fare, lodging and unlimited use of its four restaurants and a seventh-floor hot tub that boasts a panoramic view) start at $765 from L.A. That’s in May and June from the reliable Vacation Travel Mart, (800) 288-1435, www.vacmart.com. The tour company predicts that prices will dip even lower in the weeks before summer begins.