The three biggest expenses in travel are transportation, lodging and food. If you can get great deals on the first two, and keep the second one on a tight budget, you can actually get away with vacationing without having to sell one of your kids into indentured servitude for gas money to get back home.
The key to staying on budget with your food expenses is actually setting a budget before hand. Know exactly what you want to spend–that way, if something arises that is outside of your budget, it’ll be easier to “just say no,” Nancy Reagan style.
{Monkey Boy and The Girl at a market in Paris, 2005}
Once you have established a budget, you can start to do some research. What type of vacation are you planning? Will you have access to a fridge, kitchen, etc.? If not, how many nights can you afford to do a full sit down meal?
Research restaurants in the area {I like to use trip advisor}, and look at their menu online. Make sure to check out Groupons in the area you will be travelling as well. You never know, you might be able to score your meal up to half off, if you’re not dead set on a certain restaurant.
If you don’t have access to a fridge/kitchen, make sure to stop off at a local grocery store to at least get snacks. Snacks can potentially curb you from stopping off at the first over-priced restaurant you find, due to unexpected hanger {hunger + anger} issues.
You don’t have to go all junk foodie if it’s not your style either. You can opt for protein bars, apples, nuts, etc. If you do have access to a fridge, grab cereal and milk or bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. Just replacing that meal alone will save you big bucks. For additional savings, make sandwiches for lunch. That just leaves you paying the big bucks for dinner.
One of the most under-utilized resources for food while travelling {in my opinion} is the deli at the grocery store. Depending on the grocery store, you can get some pretty delicious stuff, for waaaay cheaper than restaurants, AND you get out of having to tip. Most grocery stores have tables and chairs where you can dine too. It’s a great way to cut dinner costs by at least 20%.
Also, when you hit the streets to sight-see, make sure to get out of your comfort zone and ask the locals. Make sure to be specific about what you are looking for, though. Like, “Where’s a great place for a family of 5 to eat on a budget?” Otherwise, they may think of the BEST place in town, thinking you are looking for a culinary transcending experience, rather than a place to get some calories and not come out feeling hosed.
My final suggestion is to make sure to research touristy places–especially buffet style meals. Lots of places have higher prices on the weekend than on a Monday or Tuesday for their buffet. It’s usually a very similar buffet–maybe minus a few extras, but with significant savings. So, if you plan on staying for a week, and HAVE to try those types of places, you may want to schedule it for a Monday or Tuesday instead.
What are your favorite ways to stay on budget while traveling?
~Mavis
Brianna says
I totally agree with the idea of picking up snacks at the local grocery store. When my husband and I were traveling in Italy last year, we ended up spending more on a single small snack for me at a bakery then we did on lunch for both of us later in the day! After that we made a point of stopping at the local grocery store to get granola bars and other portable snacks to keep us from getting hungry while we were busy sightseeing. It saved us a ton of money. Now I know – The first stop I should make after arriving somewhere for vacation is the grocery store!
Jennifer G says
When we traveled with the girls we typically tried to stay in a hotel that offered breakfasts then eat a later lunch in a restaurant we wanted to try. Lunches are typically a lot cheaper than dinner. Dinner was then eaten out of the cooler we packed, lunch meat, peanut butter, fruit, chips, etc. We also almost always bought drinks in a grocery and ordered water with meals. I really hate paying $2-3 for one drink that costs them a minimal amount. Even though my husband & I weren’t making much when the girls were growing up we traveled a lot & always on a budget.
Laura says
These are all great tips, Mavis! If we want to try a nicer restaurant, we try to eat there at lunch or happy hour when prices are cheaper. Also, I’ve had good luck using restaurant.com to save quite a lot of money. Always look for a coupon code when you buy your gift certificates — I am usually able to get a $25 off coupon for just a few dollars this way. I always use restaurant.com in conjunction with Tripadvisor, Yelp, and Google Maps, which will help keep you from having a negative experience with an unfamiliar restaurant. We’ve found some great restaurants we revisit year after year that posted themselves on restaurant.com when they first opened or when it is during the off season in a more touristy area.
The Gallivanting Gal says
We almost exclusively travel in our glamper/RV, and it has saved us so much money! We pay anywhere from $0-$50 per night for campgrounds (typically more in the middle of that range). This allows us to bring our own food, which is so much of a $$$ saver! We rarely eat out because we usually enjoy the meals we made ourselves so much more! We can also bring our pet along, which saves us a lot of money from having to board or bribe family to watch him.
Other tips:
– Eat out at lunch instead of dinner if you really must try a place
– Look for discount codes or book your tickets ahead of time for attractions — they often offer an online discount
– Find free stuff to do like playing in a park or window shopping
– Don’t be afraid to ask if a place offers a discount (military, student, senior citizen)
Kristina says
Maybe I’m just a big weirdo, but I really love going to grocery stores on vacation, especially in foreign countries. I get a lot of our food/drink there and at street markets when out of town. It gives you a peek into the everyday lives of people in the places you visit, which is so cool! And as a former waitress, I’d just like to put in a plug for tipping based on the total cost of a meal, before the discount taken from the coupon/ groupon you are using. For servers in some states, your tip is the only thing bringing their wage up to the local minimum wage level!
Heather says
I’m glad other people love grocery stores on vacation. When we travel, grocery stores are on my list of places to visit. I love the local, small town grocery for getting to know an area and finding items from the region. I always buy honey when we travel. Agree completely with the tipping comment. If I can’t afford the meal and the tip, I shouldn’t afford the meal.
We like to look for farmers markets and small farms selling along the roadside. It’s super fresh and supports the local economy at the source.
Jeanie says
I just got back from the UK and I have to say that the US is sorely lacking in not having Pret A Manger in every city here. I can’t tell you the number of times I popped in to one in London to grab cheap GOOD food. I also love finding little bakeries and delis along the way and saving dollars for a big splurge somewhere that I might have been dreaming of eating at. I find that I just can’t “eat out” every meal when traveling as most of the options are a lot larger and richer than what I eat at home. I just don’t feel well when I eat that way. Even in London, I filled my own water bottle and carried it around.
In the US when we have traveled, we love to explore regional cuisine (seafood on the coasts, Italian in Little Italy, etc) but tend to stick to fairly easy meals for breakfast and whichever meal we choose to pick up. We have found that if we have a rental car (or our own) it is worth it to pack our collapsible cooler and some gallon ziplock bags and refill it each day from the hotel ice bin. Then we have a way to take along yogurt or fruit from the hotel breakfast and also pick up pre made food along the way as we see it.
I am a huge snacker so I almost always have a bag of goldfish crackers or something in my purse.
Randi says
One of my ‘tricks’ while traveling is to keep an eye out for where the locals line up to eat. That little crepe stand around the corner from the hotel-all locals in line. You know they are on to something!
When we were in China i would ask the guides if we could eat where they did instead of the ‘Americanized’ restaurants (gross!).
They were so surprised. the food was authentic and SO good.
Steph says
Oh the farmer’s markets in France. I miss them. 3 euros for a bottle of good wine. Even when I go abroad for the summer, I pack boxes of bars and snacks for the summer. They usually last for several weeks. In the US, it isn’t as much fun. I try to eat local (no chains) if we eat out when traveling. I go to a farmer’s market if I can find one.