You have booked your hotel and bought the
plane tickets, and you're patting yourself on the back because you've gotten
such great deals on everything. However, the next biggest expense after
transportation and accommodations while you're traveling can easily be food. It
is expensive to eat out at restaurants for every meal. You could bring a stack
of coupons for national chains or eat off the value menu at Wendy's and Taco
Bell, but there are other ways to eat cheap--and healthy--while you're on the
road.
1
If you're traveling by plane, pack small
non-perishable items such as packets of instant oatmeal, granola bars, and
packages of crackers and cheese or crackers and peanut butter in your checked
luggage. You should also include a few fruit and grain bars or baggies of nuts
and trail mix in your carry on luggage. If it will be a short flight, baby
carrots or pieces of fruit such as berries or apple slices are also an option
for your purse or backpack. You will appreciate having something nutritious and
tasty with you when everyone else on the plane is choking down airline
pretzels.
2
If you're traveling by car, pack a small
cooler or an insulated lunch bag. These make perishable items easier to bring
along. Instead of packing sandwiches, which can get soggy during a trip, opt
for small plastic containers of pasta salad (oil and vinegar based may be a
better option than mayonnaise-based), individually wrapped string cheese
sticks, fruit, good quality dark chocolate, and possibly deli-cut lunch meats.
In a separate bag, pack items that don't require cooling. Consider items such
as dinner rolls, nuts, dried fruit, cheese crackers, pretzels, and other snack
foods. Between these two containers, you have the makings of a gourmet picnic
lunch plus half a dozen snacks.
3
Once at your destination, take advantage of
any free food you're offered. Many hotels offer muffins, donuts, juice, and
coffee for breakfast, and some even offer waffles or French Toast. Don't feel
guilty if you'd like to splurge on a nice egg and sausage breakfast once while
on vacation. But, you should keep an open mind about eating breakfast at the
hotel. There's a stereotype that hotel breakfasts are of poor quality. But you
may be surprised at how nice breakfast offerings can be at even modest hotels.
Unless it's explicitly against the rules, you can often bring a muffin or piece
of fruit back to your hotel for a bedtime snack as well.
4
Check with the concierge to see if there
are other options for free or inexpensive food. Some hotels offer free energy
drinks or fruit inside their fitness center. Almost all hotels and resorts have
coupon booklets that provide 10 to 20 percent off meals or drinks at nearby
restaurants. It's part of the hotel job's staff to provide information about
local restaurants and attractions, so if you're on a budget, don't hesitate to
ask for recommendations for inexpensive local Mom and Pop restaurants or good
coupon deals.
5
Consider buying one or two meals from a
local supermarket instead of eating out at a restaurant for every meal. Often,
the deli at a local supermarket can provide you with sandwiches, salads, chips,
and beverages for half of what you'd pay if you bought the same meal at a
restaurant. It's easy to make healthy choices when you buy from a supermarket.
You'll be walking right past the produce aisle, so it's easy to pop a few
pieces of fresh fruit into your basket for dessert instead of filling up on ice
cream or cheesecake.
