How I Saved on My European Vacation....Food

If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know that eating on vacation is one of my favorite things to do. I love food and eating new and different things. You can learn a lot from a place from what they put on their tables. That said, it's hard to travel on a budget when you want to eat every hour. Believe it or not, I do have some self-control when it comes to dining out. Of course, there are times when I don't and I have money-saving tips for those times, too.

 

Bring your own snacks

Eating on vacation starts before you even leave the house. I always bring my own snacks for the airplane so I don't have to pay for those crappy "snack boxes" onboard. It's not so much that they are expensive, though if you travel with several people they can add up quickly, but they aren't filling or healthy at all. Before we departed for the airport, I put together a snack box of my own that I made from scratch: plum bread, granola bars, blackberry brownies, pizza croissants and parmesan chips. (Some of these will be included in my travel cookbook that I'm working on.)

Seems like a lot probably, but I had a very long flight ahead of me and figured anything we didn't eat onboard we would eat when we got there. I also tossed a bag of microwaveable oatmeal packets for some mornings in my carry-on. If we had both bought snacks on each flight that day (short flight to BC and long flight to London), we would have spent $12 each. We made sure to pack snacks on the rest of our flights as well, but since they were bought, I will not include them in my savings. Luckily, our international flights included regular meals. 

Total Cost: $0 - made from pantry items

Savings: $24 -- more if you want something more exciting than a box of "cheese" and crackers.

Eat breakfast at "home"

We rarely go out for breakfast. We don't like to get up an hour earlier than we have to and see no point in paying money for eggs and toast. Generally, we hit up the nearest grocery store when we arrive and pick up bread, eggs, butter, milk, cereal and fruit. We did go out to breakfast a few times while we were gone, but for the most part we ate our oatmeal and pear bread and pastries we picked up. When we were at Disneyland, our hotel included a breakfast buffet each morning, so we didn't have to worry about finding food those three days.

Total Cost: Approximately $30 for oatmeal and food from the grocery store.

Savings: $270 (assuming we average $30 per meal for the 9 days we didn't eat out)

Share entrees

As much as we enjoy eating out, there were times when we were hungry but not hungry enough to eat a whole entree ourselves. First, this saves money, and second, it frees us up to have dessert if we want it. There is no such thing as a to-go box in many other countries, unless you order your food as takeaway. If you have leftovers, that's just too bad. Either eat it or leave it. 

Total cost: $20 per meal

Savings: $120 (based on 6 shared meals)

Go to tea

The other day I blogged about why I love afternoon tea and it's even better when it's half or more off. We were only able to get to two afternoon teas while in London, but both were purchased using daily deal sites, so we saved even more. Having afternoon tea is like having both a late lunch and an early dinner at the same time. I love it!

Total cost: $85

Savings: $113 (If you add $40 per dinner that we didn't have to eat, we saved an extra $80)

Use daily deal sites

Daily deal sites are some of the best ways to save at home and away. We use Groupon all the time, but this time I also used Groupon UK, KGBDeals and Amazon Local UK. I was able to use it not only for food, but activities as well (which we'll talk about soon). Because of our limited time and wanting to eat at a few specific places, we only purchased two daily deals for meals, including one for lunch on a yacht and one for a medieval feast that included themed food and entertainment. Fun!

Total cost: $126

Savings: $198 (it's awesome when you save more than you spent!)

I'm sure we saved more somewhere else, but these were the big ones. And even though the total may not seem huge, you can see that I saved more on food than accommodations. Woot!

What are your fave ways to save on food when you travel? 

Running tally: 

Food: $725

Accommodations: $342-522

Airfare: $1,775

Why I Love Afternoon Tea!

Afternoon tea is one of those thing equated with old British ladies who enjoy crumbly scones and something called a crumpet. If this is how you view afternoon or high tea too, then let me tell you that it is so much more. I'm not old, British or curmudgeony, but I love tea. I want to show you why! 

It saves you money

As a budget traveler, I'm a fan of things that save me money. Though afternoon tea can seem a little expensive (and in some cases it's actually not a deal), you have to compare it to how much lunch and dinner would cost you together. Here's how I like to have my tea: Eat breakfast a little later than usual (10am is good) and then book your afternoon tea after normal lunch times - around 3pm is ideal. There is normally so much to eat on your tea tray that it fills you up and you may not be hungry again until after dinner. This is when we hit up a place for happy hour to have a little nosh and avoid buying a full meal.

It's fun

If you've ever gone to tea, you'll know that it's not just a bunch of old people sitting around talking about their 401K benefits and grandkids. There is generally a mix of ages, the room feels completely decadent - plush chairs, silverware, fancy china and artwork - and often there is a group or more celebrating something. Many teas come with a glass of wine or champagne and it's also the perfect time to just kick back and relax.

Get a variety

I'm a fan of variety. If I go to a regular restaurant for lunch, I'm pretty much just limited to individual entrees. Boring. Getting several dishes involves either ordering a bunch of appetizers or sharing entrees with Eric (which I am definitely not opposed to, but then I still only get two things). Your tea tray should have three tiers. One tier is scones, one tier is finger sandwiches and one tier is tiny desserts. Who doesn't love that sort of variety? Some teas have more choices than just your three-tier tray. I've been to ones that have a fruit course and others can include soup or salad. Every tea is different.

It's local

I love trying local cuisine and when you go to tea, you'll end up being served tea nibbles with a local twist. is salmon or cranberries or sourdough something you can find in excess at your destination? Then chances are you will find it in some form on your tea tray. It's definitely exciting to see a traditional tea item served a different way. You'll also find specialty teas on the menu as well. It's all well and good to order Early Grey over and over, but why not try something a little different? 

It's a tradition

Though the British have slacked off on the traditional, all out afternoon and high tea service, tea has not gone out of style. Whether you're in London, Paris, Vancouver or even Los Angeles, afternoon tea can be something to add to your itinerary. You'll feel fancy, leave full and ready to get on with your trip.

Where's your favorite place to have afternoon tea?

Review & Giveaway: Lay-n-Go Lite

Hotel rooms almost never have enough counter space in the bathroom. I don't know what it is about designing a vanity area that makes them think that a pedestal sink and no cabinets or shelves is a good idea. At home, I have the luxury of a medicine cabinet to hid all my cosmetics and other random stuff I need. When I travel I've often resorted to putting my stuff on the toilet tank, which is not a great place to keep things. It only takes someone knocking something over for everything to go rolling onto the floor or, worse, into the toilet bowl. If you're lucky enough to actually get some counter space, you might find all your things just clutter it up and you either have to stuff it all back in your toiletry bag each morning or leave it there and assume the maid can clean around it.

Lay-n-Go was awesome enough to send me one of their Lay-n-Go Lite bags to help me fix this problem. This drawstring bag is a great way to keep a handle on clutter and avoid losing your lipstick under the shower mat. Not only does it lay out flat, but you can use the drawstring to give it a lip and keep everything from rolling out while items out of it and be able to see everything inside.

Does your hotel sink look like this?

Or the back of your hotel toilet?

The Lay-n-Go Lite is reversible and made of lightweight, but tough water-repellent nylon material. This means you can easily wipe it off if anything spills on it. Pretty great, right? That long drawstring cord can be tucked away in the Velcro pocket on the outside, and small items you don't want to lose can be stashed in the Velcro pocket on the inside. 

There is a short nylon handle for holding or hanging on a doorknob to keep it out of the way in the bathroom. 

Traveling with a kid? Why not keep all the random things they like to have out all the time in a Lay-n-Go? It will spare you from digging around in your bag for that green crayon they want, or having to put away everything at the very last second when you have a connection to catch and they think they have to have snacks and games and cars and gum out at the same time to keep them from freaking out. Once the plane lands and you can round up your stuff and get off, you can pull that drawstring and either toss it in your carry-on or let your child tote around their own things. It's a perfect way to travel with all those little toys and other items they insist on bringing with them. 

The same goes for traveling with babies. While you may be carrying around a diaper bag, you can put those always necessary things in the Lay-n-Go for instant access. Pacifiers, crackers, teething rings, baby wipes. You know what you use all the time and your baby's going to want or need at a moment's notice.

There are so many uses for the Lay-n-Go, you may want more than one. They even come in different sizes for different things. The Lite is just right for travel, but you can also purchase one specifically for cosmetics and larger ones for life's bigger organized messes. 

More information:

What is the Lay-n-Go made of? Extra-tough, water-repellent nylon

How big is it? The Lay-n-Go Lite is 18" in diameter

Where can you buy it? The Lay-n-Go website or Amazon 

How much is it? $24.95 (or less)

Colors it comes in: blue (shown) | green | orange | pink | red

Want to win one of your own? Enter now! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was provided with a Lay-n-Go Lite bag for the purpose of this review, but all opinions are 100% my own.