How much money for food?

[Golf4food]

Assuming a moderate food budget for an ABD trip in Germany, Italy, or somewhere similar, how much extra do you NEED to take for an ABD vacation above and beyond the listed costs? NOT including souvenier money, just food and necessities.

Thanks.

 

[LauraAnn630]

2 adults
2 children
cereal, bagels for breakfast that we brought with us.

food only $100.00 a day at counter service only

Chef Mickey breakfast and counter service dinner $120.00

We also had plenty of snacks and drinks!
Ice cream
popcorn
baked goods

These can add up

 

[Golf4food]

2 adults
2 children
cereal, bagels for breakfast that we brought with us.

food only $100.00 a day at counter service only

Chef Mickey breakfast and counter service dinner $120.00

We also had plenty of snacks and drinks!
Ice cream
popcorn
baked goods

These can add up

Thanks... but I'm asking about a trip to Europe!

 

[MJGirl]

Hi .. I'm trying to figure out the same thing! I'm doing London/Paris next June/July. I figure 2 lunches and 3 dinners are not included. Tips are about $200 US for the tour guides. I have 3 days in London, so I'm budgetting 100 Pounds a day, and 4 days in Paris, again about 100 Euros a day. Anything extra will go on the credit card . There is always interact if I need more cash. I hope this helps! If you get any other better suggestions, let me know. Kevin may have a better idea as he has taken the Viva Italia Tour already. Good luck.

 

[LisaTex]

Really - the "not included meals" and souv. and tips for the guides will be all you need. On the Hawaii trip we were secluded at times with only the hotel restaurants available - they were great but could be pricey. On your "time off" you'll be able to have more selection I would think.

 

[DisneyKevin]

I think this is going to be a very personal thing. How much you need depends on how much you would normally spend on lunch.

We went to dinner in Rome one night and spent 111 euros and felt that the food was HORROBLE....our fault for not following our own advice. Stay away from the "tourist" spots.

We also ate in a tiny store front in Venice and took up the only two seats in the place. Just us and the guy behind the counter. Two sandwiches (which could be purchased by the half) one salad to spilt and two bottles of Coke Light (diet coke) was 8 euros. It was one of the best and most memeorable meals on our Adventure.

One couple went searching for the McDonalds in Venice....another couple stumbled across a SubWay. I think they said the both ate for under 10 euros. That night we sat in a sidwalk cafe right on the Piazza San Marco listened to an orchestra and watched older couples waltz. Our check was 54 euros and I cant remember what I ate but I wouldn't trade that experience for the world.

I have also told my story about eating in the famous Harry's Bar in Venice...we each had 2 slices of ham sandwich (I'm not kidding ...slices....about as wide as two fingers) and a Bellini and it was 80 euros. Again.....the food was not the important part of that experience. I was sitting in the same booth where Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall used to sit. Was it worth it? Maybe not to some people....but I'm glad I did it.

So...in my opinion....only you can decide what is right for you. I might have been happy eating a SubWay sandwich on a bench in Venice.....but I made other choices.

To make this even more complicated...you might want to check the exchange rate with your credit card. We found there to be a big difference in the rates offered by different cards. We found the best rate and the best protection on purchases made in Italy to be on the same credit card. We charged almost everything and only paid cash when necessary. We also felt safer shipping things back home when we knew our credit card would stand behind us if something arrived broken...or the wrong thing. we also felt better carrying smaller amounts of cash and if the credit card was misplaced our stolen, we were guaranteed a replacement overnight

Hope this helps.

Kevin

 

[nbodyhome]

How much money you want to spend in Europe is very relative. I personally love going to the grocery stores and picking up items there. We had a lovely picnic in September with a bike tour along the Seine. We bought a baguette, jam, a package of turkey, some chips, Coke for my husband, and some sort of dessert and fruit too for about $10 US. I'd go to the Monoprix and get some cous cous for a couple of bucks, much less than heading over to McD's (and really tasty!) The restaurant we really enjoyed near our hotel was pretty inexpensive, not really much more than going to Quick or McDonalds in Europe. But you can also spend a lot more. If you go to the Latin Quarter, you can find food there a lot less expensive than going to the museums.