Although Grand Bahamas Island is a popular tourist destination, travelers will find long stretches of clean-white beaches, upscale resorts, a casino, plenty of night time entertainment, a world class spa, a plethora of  water and sea sports for the novice and adventuresome alike. Many travelers come here not only because it's a great vacation destination but because it offers a variety of vacation options to choose from.  Grand Bahamas Island is generally known as a cheap vacation destination; and understanding how to get the most for your vacation dollar is key to enjoying your vacation.  

First, it's best to understand what an all-inclusive vacation package really means.  Over the years, this term has gotten a face lift, resorts, in an effort to attract younger travelers have taken the concept of all-inclusive vacation package and amped it up to a new level.  An all-inclusive vacation package differs from a traditional European style vacation; also known as a pay as you go vacation in many ways.  All-inclusive vacation packages do mean just that; all your basic travel needs are included in the cost of your vacation and that price is disclosed and paid for up front.  All-inclusive vacation generally includes roundtrip airfare, accommodations, meals, beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, tips, gratuities, taxes, the use of non-motorized water sports at the resort; on-site entertainment and transfers to and from the airport.  When you check out of the resort, your bill will be zero, as you have paid for all of your vacation in advance. This is a great way to manage your expenses up front with no hidden fees or costs.

A European style vacation includes your airfare and accommodations.  Food, beverages, tips, gratuities, taxes, use of water sport activities on the resort, entertainment and airport transfers are all paid for separately and are generally billed to the room. Upon check out you will "settle" your balance with the credit card given upon check-in.

There really are two ways to plan an all inclusive vacation 1) book everything yourself or 2) contact a qualified travel consultant experienced in all-inclusive Bahamas vacation travel.  If you opt for booking everything yourself, you will spend time negotiating the price with different vendors, airlines and hotels and resorts.  Remember, hotels and airlines offer different pricing depending on the time of year and their occupancy at the time you're booking.  You may be able to negotiate a great rate with the hotel and or airline, but remember you are responsible for transfers to and from the airport. One thing to remember; you never really know the lowest price the hotel can go, you don't know when their busy season is, what their occupancy rate is and if there are any special events going on that drive the price up or down during the week (s) you selected.

If you opt to book yourself, you should check out several sites and see what each travel site is offering; some will offer free companion airfare, free airfare upgrades, a free room upgrade, additional nights for staying a qualifying number of nights, or even upgrade your hotel.  The easiest way to find great deals to the Grand Bahamas is to use a search engine like Google, Yahoo or Bing and enter words like "all-inclusive Bahamas vacation" or "cheap Bahamas vacation" or "all-inclusive Bahamas", these phrases will bring up a number of websites to get you started on learning how to book a Bahamas vacation yourself.

The second choice – partner with a qualified travel consultant specializing in all-inclusive Bahamas vacation travel – often travelers think they won't get the best pricing by using a third party to negotiate their travel for them.  Most travelers find that when they contact a reputable travel consultant and get quotes on packages they looked up individually, they find the pricing is much more competitive than what they could negotiate on their own.  There's really a couple of reasons for this;  these travel consultants have been in business for a long time and send thousands of travelers each year to the Bahamas, the resorts will often give them volume discount pricing that is unavailable to you as an individual shopper. This bargaining power can also translate to cost savings on airfare as well. 

This is how many qualified travel consultants offer cheap Bahamas vacations. The quality of the vacation or of the resort doesn't suffer; they're simply passing along their volume discount savings to you.  Remember, these travel consultants do the work of putting the package together, they are responsible to coordinate the dates, airlines, hotels and transfers to and from the airport, this can be a great relief to you when booking and if that comes at a lower price tag than what you could have done on your own; all the better!  Don't misunderstand that because they do all the work of putting the package together that you as the traveler are required to pay them, a reputable, qualified travel agent doesn't charge you the traveler for this service, it's all included in the cost of the trip.  Don't forget that when booking an all-inclusive vacation package, a qualified travel consultant can be a great ally; they are familiar with the islands and resorts.  They can tell you when to get the best pricing, the best weather and help you figure out which resort will best suit your needs and your budget.

Whether you choose to book yourself or contact a qualified travel consultant the Grand Bahamas Island is a great destination for a fun and sun getaway.