What is the difference between half board and full board?

Half board is breakfast plus one other meal, in practice almost always dinner. Full board is all three meals. Neither normally includes drinks, which is where hotel bills surprise people — a week of dinner drinks on full board can cost as much as the board itself.

Is all-inclusive worth it?

Only if you stay put. All-inclusive is priced on the assumption that you eat and drink on the property, so it is good value at a beach resort and poor value if you booked it as a base for exploring — you end up paying for meals you are not there to eat.

What does self-catering mean?

You have a kitchen and no meals are included: you shop and cook. It is the cheapest way to eat on a long trip and the format of most apartments. It also changes your packing, because a kitchen usually comes with a washing machine.

Are drinks included with breakfast?

Coffee, tea and juice, yes — that is part of every breakfast type. Anything beyond that, including bottled water in some countries, is charged separately even on half and full board.

Breakfast and board

Continental, half board, all-inclusive — decoded

Booking pages describe meals in a code nobody explains. Here is what each term puts on the table, and when paying for it is worth it.

Board basis

Which meals the price includes

This is the part that changes the total cost of a trip most, and it is usually shown as two letters next to the room name.

Term

Meals included

Drinks

Worth it when

Room only (RO)

None

You want to eat where the locals eat, and the hotel is in a place with options.

TermRoom only (RO)

Meals includedNone

DrinksNone

Worth it whenYou want to eat where the locals eat, and the hotel is in a place with options.

Bed and breakfast (BB)

Breakfast

With breakfast only

You leave early and don't want to find coffee first. Compare it to the café next door — sometimes it loses.

TermBed and breakfast (BB)

Meals includedBreakfast

DrinksWith breakfast only

Worth it whenYou leave early and don't want to find coffee first. Compare it to the café next door — sometimes it loses.

Half board (HB)

Breakfast and dinner

Rarely included

You are somewhere remote, or out all day and back late with no energy to choose.

TermHalf board (HB)

Meals includedBreakfast and dinner

DrinksRarely included

Worth it whenYou are somewhere remote, or out all day and back late with no energy to choose.

Full board (FB)

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Rarely included

You are on a ship, in a mountain lodge, or anywhere leaving for lunch isn't practical.

TermFull board (FB)

Meals includedBreakfast, lunch and dinner

DrinksRarely included

Worth it whenYou are on a ship, in a mountain lodge, or anywhere leaving for lunch isn't practical.

All-inclusive (AI)

All meals, plus snacks

Local drinks, usually

You intend to stay on the property. If you plan day trips, you pay for meals twice.

TermAll-inclusive (AI)

Meals includedAll meals, plus snacks

DrinksLocal drinks, usually

Worth it whenYou intend to stay on the property. If you plan day trips, you pay for meals twice.

Self-catering (SC)

None — but you get a kitchen

What you buy

You are staying a week or more, travelling as a family, or have food you need to control.

TermSelf-catering (SC)

Meals includedNone — but you get a kitchen

DrinksWhat you buy

Worth it whenYou are staying a week or more, travelling as a family, or have food you need to control.

If breakfast is included

What actually turns up

"Breakfast included" covers everything from a pastry to a cooked meal. The word in front of it tells you which.

Type

What's on the table

Lasts until

Continental breakfast

Bread, pastries, butter, jam, sometimes cheese and ham. Coffee, tea, juice. Nothing cooked.

Mid-morning

TypeContinental breakfast

What's on the tableBread, pastries, butter, jam, sometimes cheese and ham. Coffee, tea, juice. Nothing cooked.

Lasts untilMid-morning

English or full breakfast

Cooked: eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, tomato, toast. Coffee and tea.

Well past lunch

TypeEnglish or full breakfast

What's on the tableCooked: eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, tomato, toast. Coffee and tea.

Lasts untilWell past lunch

American breakfast

Eggs cooked to order, pancakes or waffles, bacon, plus the continental spread.

Lunchtime

TypeAmerican breakfast

What's on the tableEggs cooked to order, pancakes or waffles, bacon, plus the continental spread.

Lasts untilLunchtime

Buffet breakfast

Self-service, hot and cold together — the widest choice and the usual format in larger hotels.

As long as you want it to

TypeBuffet breakfast

What's on the tableSelf-service, hot and cold together — the widest choice and the usual format in larger hotels.

Lasts untilAs long as you want it to

What it means for the bag

Board changes what you carry

Self-catering means a shopping trip

Plan the first supermarket run into your arrival day, and pack a folding bag to carry it home in.

Half board means lunch is on you

A refillable bottle and something to carry snacks in — you will be out all day between two included meals.

Continental breakfast runs out early

If your day starts with a hike or a long walk, pack something to eat mid-morning before you leave the building.

Common questions

Meals and board, answered

A cold breakfast: bread and pastries with butter and jam, often some cheese and sliced ham, plus coffee, tea and juice. Nothing is cooked to order. The name comes from continental Europe, where this is simply what breakfast is — as opposed to the cooked British and Irish version.

Open the glossary All types of accommodation