Looking for a way to save cash on your next family trip? You can find the answer to your vacation budget in the kitchen!

Food is one of the most significant expenses for vacationers. Whereas a family of four may spend less than $200 a week on groceries at home, their food budget on vacation quadruples!

The increase is due to the price of meals at restaurants and other dining establishments. Since vendors need to pay location, staff, and other expenses to run a business, they markup restaurant food between 150 and 630 percent. Eating at restaurants means paying for the dish, customer service, and overhead costs.

Keep reading to find out how you can save hundreds of dollars on your upcoming vacation by doing the same things you do at home.

How much does food cost?

Where you choose to eat and what you eat will greatly influence how much your family will spend. Prices at fine dining establishments are significantly higher than those at fast food joints. The 4 types of restaurants include the following:

1.     Fast food – Quick-service restaurants do not offer table service but have the lowest costs for food items. The average meal from fast-food restaurants is less than $6. However, cheap fast food isn’t typically the healthiest option with high counts of calories, sodium, cholesterol, and saturated and trans fat.

2. Fast casual – These establishments are sometimes confused with fast-food restaurants since you still order from a counter and deliveries of meals are speedy. Yet, fast-casual eateries use fewer processed foods and their sit-down atmosphere is more enticing usually. The average meal from fast-casual restaurants is about $12.

3. Casual – Casual restaurants have sit-down service and printed menus with moderate prices. Servers and wait staff take your order, bring food, and clean up in the hopes of receiving a nice tip. The average meal from casual restaurants is about $16.

4. Fine dining – The highest form of dining is fine because these locations offer the best amenities, such as bathroom attendants. The experience may include staff pulling out chairs and contributing detailed and knowledgeable information about food and wine. The average meal from fine-dining restaurants can range drastically from $30 to $100 and more.

For a single person to eat at one fast-food, fast-casual, and casual restaurant would cost $34 a day, which is $238 for a week’s worth of meals. Even a fast food-only patron would spend $126 a week. Not to mention the physical cost of eating lower-quality food.

Families can spend hundreds – sometimes thousands – very quickly by dining out for all their meals. If a family of four spends $25 on breakfast, $40 on lunch, and $55 on dinner each day, then they will spend $840 in a week!

Reducing Vacation Spending

With a kitchen in-suite at resort accommodations, you can save hundreds each week of your vacation. By spending the money on groceries instead of meals out, you can cut your food budget in half or more.

The most important meal of the day can also be the cheapest. A quick bite out each morning for breakfast could cost families $140 weekly, but picking up inexpensive items at the local grocery store costs pennies on the dollar. Convenient and affordable breakfast options to keep in your resort suite include:

·       Instant or stove-top oatmeal for only $3

·       Pancake mix and syrup for $7

·       Cereal and milk for about $10

·       Eggs, bacon, and toast for $10

You could purchase all of these items for meal variety and still only spend 20 percent of the restaurant cost. Having breakfast foods on hand is the easiest way to take a chunk out of your vacation.

Similarly, having some basic lunch items can help you save money. Just replacing three lunches out with self-prepared lunches can save you about $30 per person; that’s $120 for a family of four! Easy lunch food items to keep your budget balanced include the following:

·       Sandwich supplies (peanut butter and jelly, deli meats and cheese, tuna, chicken salad, etc.)

·      Frozen foods like chicken nuggets, pizza and french fries

·       Boxed macaroni and cheese

Having snacks on hand can also cut down on unnecessary inflated spending. You can postpone a big meal with a few of your family’s favorites available in your in-suite kitchen. If you plan on an all day excursion, you can pack food and snacks in sandwich bags.

Food vs. Budget

Vacations and holidays elicit images of trying new things at cafés, bars, and restaurants, but eating three meals a day for a week at dining establishments will blow through your vacation budget. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a meal out.

The restaurants near our Vacation Village Resorts properties offer wonderful treats, and your resort kitchen can help you enjoy that experience longer. By having a refrigerator, microwave, and stove, you can store and reheat leftovers at your leisure.

Your family’s total number of adults and children – plus their ages (since teenagers eat more than toddlers) – as well as what type of food you plan to eat influences budgeting. 

Below are examples of weekly food costs to help you create a budget for your next family vacation.