Half board usually means your accommodation, breakfast and dinner are included in the booking price. Lunch is not included in the standard arrangement. TUI’s board-basis guide uses this breakfast-and-evening-meal definition.
It leaves your midday free for sightseeing, but gives you a reason to return to the hotel for dinner. The key checks are whether drinks cost extra and whether the meal times fit your plans.
Half board versus other meal plans
“Board basis” describes the meal arrangement attached to your accommodation booking. These are the usual distinctions in TUI’s board-basis definitions and guide to meal plans:
| Booking type | Meals included | What to budget separately |
|---|---|---|
| Room only | None | All meals and drinks |
| Bed and breakfast | Breakfast | Lunch, dinner and any excluded drinks |
| Half board | Breakfast and usually dinner | Lunch, snacks and any excluded drinks |
| Full board | Breakfast, lunch and dinner | Snacks and any excluded drinks |
| All-inclusive | Three meals, plus specified snacks and drinks | Anything outside the package’s stated inclusions |
The second meal in half board is not always dinner. Some rates allow breakfast plus lunch or dinner: a Mövenpick Jimbaran Bali offer listed in October 2026 provides that choice. Treat it as a feature to confirm, not an automatic right to swap meals.
Are drinks included in half board?
Do not assume they are. For example, Novotel’s breakfast-and-dinner offer explicitly excludes drinks. Its dinner can be a buffet or a two- or three-course menu, depending on the hotel—half board does not necessarily mean an unlimited buffet.
“Half Board Plus” can add drinks, but it is not the same as all-inclusive. TUI says its Plus arrangements include drinks with meals, with the choice and quantity varying by hotel. Check water, soft drinks, wine and beer individually, including where and when they are served.
Is half board worth it for a flexible trip?
Choose it when you expect to spend the day out and return to your base most evenings. It can also be useful if nearby dinner options are limited or you want a straightforward meal after a tiring day.
Bed and breakfast is a better fit when local restaurants are part of the trip, or you expect late excursions, sunset walks and evenings in different neighborhoods. A prepaid dinner should not become a daily deadline that cuts those plans short. When building a flexible seven-day itinerary, count the evenings you genuinely want to spend at the hotel before choosing the meal plan.
For a simple value check, compare equivalent room rates with the same occupancy and cancellation terms:
Extra cost of half board over B&B ÷ evenings you expect to eat at the hotel = effective dinner cost for everyone covered by that upgrade.
For example, a hypothetical £210 upgrade covering two adults over seven nights costs £42 per evening for both if you use only five dinners—£21 per person per dinner. Compare that with your likely alternatives, then add any excluded drinks. This is a planning calculation, not a hotel price estimate.
Check these details before booking
- Meals and hours: Is the second meal dinner, or can you choose lunch? Can you comfortably return before service ends?
- Restaurants and menus: Which venues are included? Are reservations or supplements required?
- Dietary needs and children: Confirm suitable meals, child pricing and who is covered by the rate.
- Arrival and departure: What happens if you arrive after dinner or leave before breakfast?
- Missed meals: Ask whether swaps, packed meals or credits are available; do not build the budget around them without confirmation.
Keep the written meal-plan description with your booking confirmation. The useful detail is what your specific rate includes, not just the words “half board.”