Airline passenger news and views

Not spending more money than you plan to in an all-inclusive break seems to require such a level of cold blooded determination and stress that you may end up thinking why did you go on holiday in the first place.

Thinking of having your favourite beer, a soft drink of a recognisable brand or another meal different to the same night-after-night buffet? Be prepared to pay extra then, an average cost of £21 per head for one meal, or even as much as £90 for two people in some exotic places such as Mauritius.

All-inclusive holidaymakers could also expect to pay £14 extra on average for a bottle of wine and at least £27 per person to have a cocktail every day.

This data has been obtained from a Post Office study. The same one that has found that as many as four out of five holidaymakers taking all-inclusive breaks end up paying for items they expected to be covered as part of their package.

The study, which carried out the poll of 883 holidaymakers in July, estimates the total bill for extra spending on food at £20.8 million, based on an average cost of a meal of £21 per person in the hotels surveyed.

Forget then about a la carte food, drinks, water sports and internet access, which could cost a couple an extra £300 or more on a week's all-in break to Egypt.

The situation gets even worse if instead of taking foreign currency to cover extras one pays with credit card - as 48 per cent of people do according to the research - which potentially accumulates fees and commission charges.

Sarah Munro, Post Office head of Travel Money, said: "Although it is perfectly possible to stick to all-inclusive deals, our research found that in practice only one in five holidaymakers actually spent nothing extra on their trip.

"Our research made it clear that holidaymakers expected food and drinks to be included but in many cases packages only covered basics like buffet food and local drinks."

She recognises that sticking to the original budget is a difficult task, but gives away some tips: "Finding out the costs before you go is difficult. The best advice is to check the small print carefully before booking to see what is included."