This Vacation Food/ Meal Deals Page contains a growing number of money saving ideas for eating inexpensively when on Vacation!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Planning for Discounted Vacation Meals
My husband and I just returned from a vacation and we were able to save a lot of money on food by searching Groupon and LivingSocial.com for meals prior to our trip.
We went to Vegas and about 3 months prior to our trip I started watching Groupon and other sites for discounts on meals. I was able to get 6 meals (one per day of our trip) and they were all on the Vegas strip. They were all restaurants that we had never been to before and our total cost for meals was only $93!
Plus, we were able to pay for them in advance so we spent very little additional on our trip!!!
The best part about these meals was that we had extra leftovers to bring back to our hotel to snack on later. I suggest that you start checking these sites on a daily basis about 3 months prior to your trip to see if they can get some good deals as well.
We use Groupon, Living Social, Double Take Deals, and Get My Perks. It’s well worth the time and makes vacationing way more affordable! Tonya Music – New Orleans, LA
Smart Vacation Food Victuals
Limit eating out to 1 or 2 meals a day by staying in a hotel that offers a decent continental breakfast: cereal & milk, fruit, muffins, pastries, coffee & juice. Don’t be afraid to ask for a detailed menu, hours it is served (i.e. 7 am to 9 am) and if it is replenished.
Alternatively, stay in a place that has a kitchenette so you can cook some easy meals: Cereal, Eggs and toast, Chicken Caesar Salad or a Taco Bar. Pack good snacks to nibble when you are out sightseeing, i.e. trail mix, jerky, nuts, dry cereal, canned fruit cups or fresh fruit from local markets.
Lastly, pack a water bottle like a Platypus or Camelback, without the carrying pouch. Without the pouch, the bottles easily tuck into a smaller space, the water is a little warmer but still wet.
Alana Smith – Redmond, WA
Brown Bagging Your Food for Traveling
I’m terrible about eating at fast food restaurants. Now, when my husband and I travel, even for a day, I pack a small cooler with popcorn, crackers and fruit to snack on. I take a thermos of coffee and water. We have plenty of snack options and aren’t tempted to stop at a convenience store or fast food place. We’ve saved a lot of money. Cheryl R. – USA
Food for the Long Haul
When we take car trips, rather than pay for expensive fast foods, we pack up a small cooler with healthy lunch favorites, snacks – fruit, vegetables, cheese, for example -and drinks. We can eat the snacks in the car or stop by a roadside picnic area and eat at a table.
Besides easing the stress on the pocketbook, we feel good about what we are putting in our bodies too! Kim Hazelrigg – Kingwood, TX
Sandwiches To Go for Easy Vacation Food
I laughed when I read your idea of buying a crock pot from a thrift store on your vacation. That’s a great idea!
When we go on vacation we take one of those sandwich makers. I’m not sure they still have them in the US. They open up and have Teflon coated compartments. You put bread on each side and then put a “filling” on the bread. The most obvious filling is cheese for grilled cheese. Then you close the top and once it is cooked, you have a grilled cheese sandwich.
Fillings are limited only by your imagination. We’ve done eggs and cheese for breakfast, apple filling for dessert, tuna melt, ham, and cheese or even canned beef stew for a kind of pot pie. The crock pot idea is much better since the whole meal is done when you walk in the door. With these sandwich makers, you have to cook one sandwich at a time, and our kids really like that. We take the sandwich maker in our luggage as it is not that bulky.
Debbie Ludwig – Papua New Guinea
