Vacation Meal Planning: Save Time & Money 2024

Vacation meal planning can save a lot of precious time and money. By planning ahead, you can make the most of your time at your destination, enjoying sightseeing and keeping your expenditures in check. Depending on when and where you travel, food prices may go through the roof, so having a meal plan can help you avoid unnecessary expenses.

Besides high prices, you may have to deal with long wait times and midday closures of restaurants if you're visiting some European countries. Further, it’s not uncommon to witness steep price increases in grocery stores during the transition from a shoulder to a peak tourist season when vacationing in certain locations.

There are factors that may inflate the cost of your stay wherever you go. But there are things you can do to cut down on unnecessary dining costs, and our in-house certified nutritionist gives her tips, too. So continue reading to learn how to research the destination and the top tips for vacation meal planning.

1. Set a Budget & Plan Which Daily Meals to Cook

Set a budget and plan which meals will be eaten out and which you’ll be cooking. Carefully plan your budget based on the number of vacationers and your itinerary. If you’re staying at a campsite, it’s likely you’ll be cooking most of the meals yourselves, but if it’s an Airbnb, you might choose to cook 1 meal per day and eat out for the others. If you’ve chosen to stay in a hotel, chances are that most meals will be provided by the hotel, or you’ll be relying on nearby restaurants.

Once you’ve decided which meals you’ll be cooking each day, you can come up with a meal plan and subsequent grocery list.

Whatever amount you think will be sufficient for groceries and meals out, consider adding an extra 15% or 20%, or even more if possible. Remember my comment about price changes in high season? Always set aside some extra funds for last-minute plan changes or unforeseen circumstances.

2. Bring Some Meals & Ingredients

Bring meals or ingredients to cook if you're vacationing in a remote area where stores and dining venues are scarce. So, make sure to research if the cabin in the mountains, woods, or wherever you go has a functional kitchen or kitchenette. If you go on a road trip, take a camper with a refrigerator and, optionally, a freezer.

How much you can bring with you depends on how you’re traveling. If you’re in a car, you can bring ingredients from home to save on grocery costs at your destination. It’s best to travel with items that won’t spoil if you’re stuck in traffic. You could even invest in a portable fridge or freezer. 

It’s worth finding out in advance what the storage is like at your holiday home, particularly the refrigeration and freezer space. There’s nothing worse than arriving with a car packed full of produce and finding you can’t store it.

Some properties have advanced kitchens, and others are more basic. Check what cooking equipment you’ll have before you plan your meals, so there are no nasty surprises when you arrive.

If planning and cooking meals on vacation is too much of a hassle or your kitchen is too basic to make anything more exotic than beans on toast, consider ordering food from the best meal delivery services, as rated by our expert reviewers. You can choose from freshly prepared and frozen ready-to-eat meals and meal kits and have them delivered to your vacation address.

You can usually serve prepared meals in a few minutes if you microwave them. If you opt for meal kits, most services have recipes you can serve in between 10 and 30 minutes, which includes assembling the ingredients and cooking meals.

Obviously, bringing meals isn't an option if you fly or have booked a room or an apartment in an all-inclusive or some other property providing meals. 

Ingredients to Focus On

Various meals suit different modes of transport. If traveling by car, bus, or other ground transport, you can bring spreads, cheese, tomatoes, ham, pasta, and similar items. Or you can prepare sandwiches, bake pies, or bring complete meals. If traveling by airplane, where most items aren't allowed, bars and other snacks will come in handy.

If you're staying in a rental home with a kitchen, prepare quick but healthy meals. Bring pasta salads, cooked individual proteins like fish, poultry, or other meats, and ingredients for easy dishes like burritos. This way, you can enjoy homemade meals without much hassle.

If you plan to spend a day at the beach, in a city center, or other places frequented by travelers, consider bringing sandwiches, homemade pizza, or other convenient foods. That way, you'll avoid the typically overpriced meals and have more time for your planned activities. If you travel with your significant other, you may find our Meal Planning for Two article useful. 

3. Vacation Meal Planning Tips

Here are a few top tips for meal planning on vacation:

• Bring canned meals, like fish and seafood, to have at hand in case of emergency.

• Bring resealable bags so you can safely store liquids and other items you don't want spilled over everything else.

• You may want to bring spices and seasonings, as they could be unavailable at your destination.

• You can save time on cleanup by using paper plates and plastic utensils, but use them responsibly to lessen the environmental impact.

• Check the weather forecast as you can plan to cook on the days when weather conditions mean you're spending more time inside.

4. Vacation Cooking Ideas

Focus on simple and quick meals for vacation cooking. When possible, batch-cook or prep ingredients that won't spoil before you reach your holiday home. Still, I wouldn't mind taking time to cook when camping with friends, especially with the beautiful nature around.

But if saving time is your primary goal when cooking on vacation, check out the following meal ideas:

• Cheese boards (with ham or bacon, cherry tomatoes, crackers…)

• Scrambled eggs

• Grilled meat

• Quesadillas

• Enchiladas

• Flatbreads

• Pancakes

• Oatmeal

• Burritos

• Salads

• Tacos

• Pasta

• Pizza

5. Build a Destination Meal Plan Around Local Food

If you’re traveling internationally, plan to eat local food to expand your culinary horizons and try something new. If you're visiting Greece, for example, choose local tavernas and restaurants instead of fast food chains like McDonald's. Global cuisines tend to be “Americanized” when cooked at home, so you may find that Greek food is different in Greece itself. The same can be said for other cuisines, such as Japanese or Indian.

If you’re holidaying in North America, Australia, or the UK, you’ll find plenty of home comforts at restaurants (burgers, pizzas, pasta etc), and the grocery store won’t look too different from what you’re used to. Just be mindful that some English words mean one thing in the US and something completely different in another country. 

Be Mindful of Local Tricks

Vacation meal planning isn't just about what to eat at your destination; sometimes it's about how to eat too. While in a location where the culture is different from what you’re used to, especially if there’s a language barrier, keep your wits about you so as not to overpay and make your budget last longer. 

Sometimes you’ll pay less if you sit at the bar in a pub rather than opting for table service. It can be worth keeping a mental note of how much your meal should cost, as some locations will try to charge more for tourists, hoping they won’t notice. Others change the deals knowing that you can’t understand the menu fully. This isn’t the case everywhere, and many merchants are very honest and helpful, but it’s important not to let your guard down in unfamiliar locations.

6. Read Online Reviews

Researching your destination is crucial for smooth meal planning. If you're visiting an urban area, check out restaurants, fast food, and other dining venues in advance. For remote locations, look into available options within a reasonable distance. That way, you can decide if you need to bring more food or rely on local facilities for grocery shopping and dining out.

If you're heading to a popular urban destination, researching local favorites can be a game-changer. These spots are often away from the usual tourist areas, where meal prices tend to be high. What's more, locals should know where to find the best food at reasonable prices.

Checking online for the assortment and price list can help you budget for dining out. You can also find peak visiting times by typing the name of the dining venue in Google and scrolling down a bit. This helps you plan your meals and sightseeing more effectively.

How to Know if Online Reviews Are Genuine?

If you’re dining out, it’s worth reading reviews first. Figuring out genuine online reviews can be tricky. Fake reviews are a matter of fact, but some hints may help you separate the wheat from the chaff.

Google

Google lets people post reviews about attractions, dining venues, hotels, services, and more. However, there's no filtering system to prevent posting fake and biased reviews, even from those who haven't actually visited a place or dined out. So, take most of these reviews with a grain of salt unless you have the time and will to dig deeper.

I advise you to read reviews, but also research those who posted them. I’ve also found that reviews that contain various useful details are more likely to be real than those that include only a rating or a few short sentences. 

Tripadvisor

I find TripAdvisor reviews generally more reliable than Google reviews. While this platform can't completely prevent fake reviews, the process takes more time and requires you to confirm that your review is genuine by ticking a box. This extra step makes TripAdvisor reviews more trustworthy, in my opinion.

Booking.com

You'll likely find booking.com invaluable in reviewing hotels and other accommodation units. So, if you're after a lodging that provides meals or kitchens, you're in the right place. 

The reason why I find booking.com and some other booking platforms great is that only people who have been guests can write reviews. So, you can be sure that booking.com is as reliable in this regard as it gets.

FAQ

How to meal prep for vacation?

Research the destination, its dining options, and related costs, if possible. If you’re self catering, create a meal plan, find out how well equipped your holiday home kitchen will be, and then plan what ingredients/meals to bring. Check online reviews, restaurant and other company websites, and, preferably, get feedback from people you know who have been there. It will help you figure out a budget and decide whether to bring some food.  

What are the factors affecting meal planning?

Factors affecting vacation meal planning include the availability of restaurants, whether your accommodation provides meals, rentals with kitchens, costs, and nearby grocery stores. The number of vacationers, your mode of holidaying (like staying at a beach resort, road-tripping, or exploring multiple towns), and whether you use ground or air transport are other key factors to consider when setting a budget or planning meals.  

How does meal prepping save time?

Meal prepping eliminates meal planning once you get to your destination, freeing up more time to enjoy your vacation. It saves time by avoiding the need to hunt for key ingredients that may be hard to find. Also, it reduces or eliminates time spent in the kitchen altogether, providing you with more time to enjoy holiday activities.