One of my favorite parts of planning a vacation is planning what and where we’re going to eat. Knowing that we have several days to explore, try new foods, and relax over meals makes me so freaking excited!! But what about those trips when we’re on a tight budget? I’m not a college girl anymore, and those Jack and the Box tacos and ramen noodles for every meal don’t sit like they used to.
There has never been a family vacation where we have not had a food budget. While I would love to splurge on every meal, that is not our reality. Does that mean we’ve eaten sandwiches in the hotel room for every meal? Not at all. There are lots of ways to save money on food and still enjoy some great meals without breaking the bank. Keep reading if you want to find out our tips for how to eat cheap on vacation!
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Tip 1: Choose a Hotel with Free Breakfasts
Whenever I’m searching for hotels for my family, I always look for hotels that include breakfast, preferably a full hot breakfast. I make sure everyone gets a full belly in the morning. If we were going out to breakfast and ordered meals with eggs, bacon, waffles, yogurt, juice, coffee, etc. we would easily spend at least $50 for my family of 5. Free breakfast saves A TON.
It also means we can eat a lighter lunch. When we fill our bellies up with protein, fruit, and grains in the morning, we don’t eat as much at lunch, which saves more money.
Some of my favorite family-friendly hotels for free breakfast are Springhill Suites and Residence Inn. (We are Marriott Bonvoy members, so we typically stick with Marriott brands.)They can accommodate all five of us, and they always have delicious hot breakfasts.
Tip 2: Choose an Extended-Stay Hotel or Vacation Home
Having access to a working kitchen at your accommodation is going to save you a lot of money. We love staying at Residence Inn on vacation for the free breakfasts and in-room kitchenette. We can eat breakfast for free, plus keep a fridge stocked with snacks and easy meals for when we’re not going out. This saves us so much money!!! It’s also perfect for little birthday celebrations, too.
Renting a vacation home has the perks of having your own kitchen, too. While you obviously won’t get the free breakfasts, you’ll still save a ton by preparing your own meals.
Just make sure one person isn’t doing all the work. It’s not a vacation if you’re still doing all the cooking and cleaning for everyone! It shouldn’t be the sole responsibility of one person to help you eat cheap on vacation.
Tip 3: Bring Snacks
If you’re traveling with kids, it’s probably a no-brainer that you need to bring snacks. Otherwise, you’ll be dropping all kinds of money on hangry kids. Some of my favorite things to stash in my “mom bag” are cups of fruit, peanut butter crackers, granola bars, energy bars, trail mix, and jerky.
If we’re road-tripping, I stock up at Aldi before our trip. If we’re flying somewhere, I bring a few snacks and then find a grocery store when we get to our destination. Even a CVS will work in a crunch. It’s still cheaper than buying food on a whim. You save serious money when you pack your own snacks for each day.
Tip 3: Visit Local Markets
I love to hit the grocery stores or local markets when we’re traveling. It makes me happy to visit HEB or Publix when we’re out of town and try the things we don’t have around our home. When I need easy meals, I can find great options for grab-and-go meals, deli meat and cheese for tasty sandwiches, and delicious prepared salads.
When I have a kitchen at my hotel or rental, I can save even more money by getting inexpensive ingredients for several filling meals. We tend to go super basic for dinner and make things like pasta with a salad and bread, nachos, tacos, stir-fry, or stuffed baked potatoes.
When shopping for ingredients for lunch, I like to try special breads from the bakery and cheese from the deli to up the flavor. I also love making a batch of pasta and chicken salad and a veggie tray we can eat throughout the week.
Eating out is almost always more expensive, so shopping at the grocery store is one of the easiest ways to cut back on my food budget.
Tip 4: Plan Picnics
Are those sandwiches in the hotel room starting to feel a little old? You might just need to change your scenery. Taking our simple lunch outdoors makes a huge difference! When we’re on a beach trip, we eat our lunch by the water every day. When you’re out in the sun for hours, those sandwiches and chips taste so much better!
If you’re visiting somewhere with less than optimal weather, taking your lunch somewhere indoors is still a nice change of scenery. Eat downstairs in your hotel lobby or park somewhere beautiful and eat in your car.
Tip 5: Find Happy Hour Specials
I love finding a good happy hour! And happy hour isn’t just for drinks. A lot of restaurants will offer happy hour eats, as well. Do an online search before your trip and scout out the spots with some great happy hours to save serious money on eating out. Skip the entree and chow down on those discounted appetizers as you enjoy an early dinner out. It’s a fun way to eat cheap on vacation!
Tip 6: Share Meals
If your kids are anything like mine, their eyes are bigger than their stomachs. They just know they can eat that entire meal of pasta, but after 4 or 5 bites, they’re suddenly full. If you’re out and about, you might be able to bring the leftovers home. That’s why try and share meals whenever possible. This works best at restaurants that offer free bread or chips and salsa before the meals because I guarantee we’re going to overindulge in the carbs and not have much room for food.
Some of our favorite meals to share are nachos, pizza, a big bowl of pho, noodles or fried rice, and fajitas. The thing to remember is that you can always order extra food if you’re still hungry, but you can’t get a refund on uneaten food.
Tip 7: Find Restaurants Where Kids Eat Free
Who doesn’t love a good Kids Eat Free special?! Do a quick search for “kids eat free” plus your destination and I’m sure you’ll find some great options for a free kids meal with the purchase of an adult meal.
Typically, they’ll offer this kind of special during the week, so you might not find much if you’re strictly traveling on the weekend, but it doesn’t hurt to search!
Tip 8: Avoid Dining in Touristy Areas
Tourist traps will eat your money. Seriously. We have found ourselves in too many tourist traps over the years with mediocre food and overpriced bills. If you want to enjoy some fabulous food and not spend an arm and a leg, search online for “restaurants that locals love.” It will get you out of the touristy area and onto some fabulous local spots. Who doesn’t love a good hole-in-the-wall?!
Even if the cost doesn’t end up being that much lower, you’ll likely enjoy better-tasting local cuisine and will leave knowing that you’re supporting small businesses.
Tip 9: Eat out at Lunch Instead of Dinner
If you’re only planning to eat out for one meal a day, consider dining midday instead of in the evening to reduce the cost of food. You can often find really affordable lunch specials if you choose lunchtime for eating out instead. Lunch will often cost less than dinner for similar-sized portions.
And if you have little kids who are often tired and cranky by evening, you’ll probably have a better time eating out earlier in the day, anyway. I’m speaking from experience.
Tip 10: Order Water
As tempting as those fruity cocktails and sodas are when you’re dining out, they are going to add up quickly. Ordering drinks is a quick way for us to add an easy $15-$30 to our bill. Yikes!
While we do enjoy drinks out from time to time, when we’re on a budget, we opt for tap water at restaurants that don’t include drinks with meals. I do like to keep some tea, flavored water, and soda at the hotel, so the kids have some special drinks to enjoy on vacation. But it’s much cheaper to buy them from the grocery store than a restaurant.
And while I love to enjoy a glass of wine from time to time, it’s a fraction of the cost for my husband and I to share a bottle of wine I picked up with my groceries. Avoiding alcohol at restaurants is a surefire way to eat cheap on vacation.
Tip 11: Bring Refillable Water Bottles
To keep your thirst quenched when you’re out and about, bring refillable water bottles. You can ask for free ice water just about anywhere and refill them throughout the day. Or purchase some lemonade or tea from the market, so you have something cold and refreshing to enjoy in your thermos.
These Ello stainless steel water bottles are my fave for travel! They’re easy to carry, easy to fill, and keep your drinks cold all day.
If we forget our refillable water bottles at home, we’ll pick up some bottled water, which is still cheaper than buying water bottles from fast food joints. And some places have pretty gross-tasting water, so you might opt for gallon-sized jugs of bottled water to refill your reusable cups.
Tip 12: Try Some Street Food
If you’re visiting a big city, you’ll probably notice street vendors selling all kinds of food. These food carts and food trucks often have local food at budget-friendly prices. From tacos to hotdogs to pizza to kebabs to empanadas, street food is delicious and diverse. Most big cities offer a wide variety of street food options!
Plus, it’s so fun to scarf down some piping hot pizza on a New York City street or snack on churros and tacos and you’re strolling in sunny San Diego. You’ll save money compared to eating at sit-down restaurants and enjoy the local food culture at the same time.
Tip 13: Only Eat When You’re Hungry
Okay, this one is tough. When you’re walking around and smell enticing aromas wafting from the food carts and open doors of restaurants, it’s almost impossible not to start drooling on the spot. But if you eat at every whim, you’re going to go bust on your budget.
As difficult as it is, having self-control and only eating around meal times or when you’re actually hungry is a must to save on food while traveling. Those credit card bills are for real and impulse dining is a quick way to rack up those charges.
Wrapping Up: How to Eat Cheap on Vacation
There are plenty of ways to save money on your next trip. What will work for your family all depends upon your food budget and the food costs of your destination. But I can say that planning to eat several meals from a grocery store is going to significantly save you money on your travels.
Keeping to a food budget doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a nice meal or two or that you have to avoid all sit-down restaurants. It’s all about making a plan and sticking to it and finding ways to cut costs in other areas, so you can enjoy a splurge or two in other areas.
The most important part of a trip is the experience and memories you’re making together with your travel companions. Some of my favorite memories are sitting on a beach towel and snacking on Cheetohs and watermelon while my girls dig in the sand and splash in the waves. Those memories are the things that matter.
I hope these tips will help you plan a great trip and help you save money while you eat cheap on vacation!
