Katie_H

Definitely agree on the picnics...one of my top 3 meals in Paris involved saucisson sec cut with a plastic knife and a fresh hot baguette on a stretch of lawn near Les Invalides.

FainaAgain

Big lunch, light dinner, make coffee with cookies in room if breakfast is not included. Lots of snacks from home

We are not drinkers, so for us it's easy to skip or minimize wine. Desserts can be skipped, a chocolate bar later will do the trick.

Picnics, if the weather is nice. Fast food instead of expensive restaurants.

Non-food: check local museums for reduced or free admissions, plan your visit accordingly if possible.

FainaAgain

Just don't buy "Tiramisu" dessert in a plastic box in Switzerland like I did. It was butter Went well with bread and tomatoes though.

yk

Another change I have initiated recently:

I order 2 apps instead of 1 app + 1 entree. Not only helps my wallet, it also helps keeping my waistline from growing.

I also will start skipping dessert. Perhaps just sharing one dessert between 2 people rather than each ordering one.

This is partly due to saving $, but I really can lose some weight as well.

Vicky

I love the sweets in Europe but not too interested in food otherwise. Breakfast is my favorite meal and it is nice if included with the hotel cause i can have multiple cups of coffee, plan my day, and go back up to my room to brush my teeth before going out. Lunch - in paris crepes or a baguette sandwich, in italy a panini and gelato. of course sometimes its lunch at a cafe but an omelette and hot chocolate set 2 of us back about $30 at the Cafe Flore en Isle in Paris so don't do that every time. I love popping in a bakery for a snack or in Germany, love the Brezen (pretzel bread). If I have one nice dinner a trip that is fine with me.

SAnParis2

Yes, we have forgone any trips outside of the US this year. Myself, being an unemployed Banker for awhile now, has limited prospects to date (at least anywhere that I would actually consider living). Once I'm working again, we're off to....somewhere. We just got my daughters passport renewed so we are ready to go, Paris is calling.

tzarinna

I'm a recently unemployed union electrician, here in DC. So I'd have to say, yes. My travel plans are on serious hold. I'm 489 on the books down at the hall. Not expecting work to pick anytime soon, hopefully after elections. *crosses fingers*

Timlin

We're both retired (and sorry to read about the unemployed....that's such a hard spot to be in) and so we have to watch carefully so that our money lasts as long as we do.

We've never been foodies anyway so we have a big breakfast if it's included in our room and then go light the rest of the day.

This time we have an apartment and I intend to do a bit of at home cooking. I'll pack a lunch and we'll grab the tube back home for dinner and then strick out again. From where we are to almost anyplace it's a short ride and I suspect we might spend as much time in a restaurant waiting to be served as we would heading home to eat and watch the news. We'll see how that goes.....it sounds good in theory but we've never tried it before.

We don't drink so that's not an issue.....a little ice cream while walking about is always a must.

TPAYT

Just back from Paris. We didn't know if we would go this year(our 6th trip) because of the weak dollar.

Here's what we did:

Shortened our trip from 2-3 wks.to 10 days.

Rented an apartment, which we've done before. We love our creature comforts, and you can get a gorgeous apt. for the price of a medium hotel in Paris.

Made coffee and hit the delicious bakeries for breakfast.

Had only 2 pricy dinners.The rest in small bistros we've discovered through the years.

Only took 1 cab the whole time, otherwise walked and took the Metro.

Our other strategy was going back to a place we know and love. We had thought about going elsewhere in Europe(and we will when the $ is better), but returning to a place you know adds days and $ to your budget.

yk

Hi Katie-

Looking back at what I wrote in June, here's more I have to add given DH & I just returned from a trip to France and Belgium:

1) We have cut down on splurge meals. Our most expensive meal on this trip was €88, including drinks.

2) We ate a number of sandwiches and salads from take-away places.

3) We even packed a small picnic snack one day - using the leftover bread and cheese in our breakfast basket at our hotel.

4) Instead of ordering a €35 3-course prix-fixe, I ordered 2 courses a la carte for a little less. Skipping dessert helps us save a few euros and helps me from gaining too much weight.

I have another trip coming up end of this month, a last-minute decision to go to London. I really will be eating lots of cheap food on this trip, and sadly, no Gordon Ramsay for me (can't justify the ££&pound!

LeaderWorld

Never change or compensate anything with dining habits.. Meal Budgeting on a trip can seem confusing. Buy juice boxes if you have any kids, but I suggest the Capri Sun because others that are in boxes tend to get sogging after being in a cooler for a while. Pack some lunch meat, bread, basically just simple stuff. This will save time and money. While on your trip, $8 per meal is an affordable amount per person. I suggest that if you have a hotel room with a fridge and microwave, take easy prep meals that you can eat for breakfast, or as a late night snack. Buffets are always great money savers. But most definitely, make sure you do have pop, water, juices, etc for your room. Vending machines while on vacation can really dip into your budget. Have a great trip.
http://www.theleaderworld.com

mlgb

My most recent tip..go to Peru. Good exchange rate and fantastic food. Most of my lodgings included a good breakfast. I avoided the well publicised tourist restaurants after a few mediocre experiences.
Portion sizes in South America are huge...I saw a lot of locals sharing.

I had some excellent meals for $5 to $10 US. Cebiche, Alpaca Loin, great gelato. The one thing that I had to work to find was good coffee.