When Going On A Trip, Do You Eat Out?

It depends really on how far the trip is. If it's just somewhere here in our area, then we'd pack up. But if it takes a plane ride or several hours and several days to be in that place, we'd rather just eat out since it would be more convenient than to bring coolers and such. My partner and I did have a short weekend break last weekend, we didn't bring anything, we just bought stuff there. It was a good weekend because we didn't have wasted food nor brought too much. We just brought what we needed (clothes, swimwear, etc.) and relied on the food there. It was a welcomed experience since it was supposedly a holiday for us so worrying about food should be avoided. But still, I do agree that packing, like what you did, when it's necessary is also a good thing to do most especially if you have a kid around because kids don't really like experimenting on new food.

i'm kind of lazy when it comes to packing food and carrying lots of stuff so i prefer to eat out when traveling. my husband and kid also enjoy stop overs to a restaurant or fast food to eat so i guess it worked well for me.

I like to pack my own food. I can feed myself for a few days on the price of two meal out! Also, I know who's touching the food and exactly what's going into it. You set a very good example for your daughter, too!

I always do the same thing like you did. I believe that packing foods from home is cleaner, cheaper and healthier. My husband and I are quite picky about eating out, we always feel that the food sellers don't cook as yummy foods as I do, so we like to bring our home-made foods. And yes, we can save a lot of money from that.

i agree with you,we would get ready all food and water on a trip,because i feel it is diffictult to find a good restaurant on trip,it's likely to bad taste or take much money when you ate out,so why don't we spend the momey to worth things?

I pack some food for while we are traveling in the car. We sometimes have some left and have it to snack on. We eat out for some of the meals. I get lunchmeat and bread when we get to our distination and snacks. Most hotels have a small refrigrator in the room or I can put it in the small cooler I take with us. You are right, It does leave you with more money to do other things and buy some souvaneirs.

My husband and I don't have a car, so we can't just pack a lot of stuff that we can't carry in our hands. We prefer to eat out when we get there, for the experience. If we go someplace neat, we want to eat where the locals would eat. It's a new experience for us. The whole trip is a new experience, and restaurants, especially the neeat little local ones, are an important part of the experience. I was in St. Louis in 1999 on the way to Branson.

I have done both, but then I do not go out very much, now that I am disabled, vacationing is pretty hard when I cannot walk around.

Absolutely,it is cheaper and healthier and it saves time. WHen my son was little playing hockey...we almost brought a kitchen. We cooked up chili and we brought the crockpot. The kids loved chili, chips and cheese and we all ate for the cost of one of us in a restaurant. On a hockey weekend, we would eat out maybe once depending on scheduling the type of tournament -- when the team went to states..we ate out a few times to celebrate.

It really depends. My boyfriend and I like to eat out when we go on weekend trips and whatnot. But one thing that we always do is buy drinks and snacks for the hotel room so then we aren't spending a lot of money...but we do like to eat out. But we don't go out like to super expensive places we'll go to friendly's or something like that...Plus we also figure it's a vacation that's what you are suppose to do...We do like going to busch gardens. When we do go there we will eat out in the Tampa area but we do bring some food/snacks with us into the park because everything is so expensive.

It's been a really long, long, time since I've been on a genuine vacation..not since...gasps...1978 believe it or not and was with my mother. Since most of my vacations were for at least a week, I always ate out for each meal....I relished it as it gave me a vacation from cooking...LOL

My ex and I went to Vancouver, British Columbia several years ago and we packed a cooler as well. We did eat out for dinner quite often but breakfast and lunch were fruit or sandwichs or something like that. There were alot of expenses with Fairies and all so it really helped. It was a lovely trip and we had plenty of money for dinners and all. Smart to plan ahead.

Hey there! Yeah, we do pack food we going on a trip. Like what you said it saves us money and the money we save will be save for some things that we like to buy like souvenirs, etc., etc..

Yes, we usually do plan to eat out, especially on a short trip. I just total that into the total price of the trip. Now, I might look for cheaper ways to do that, like find a hotel that offers a free breakfast or a restaurant that has good specials. On the flip-side, when we go to our timeshare each year for 10 days, we always do a grocery stop and eat about 70 percent of our meals in the unit. It does save a considerable amount of money, but I will admit, cooking on vacation is not my favorite thing to do. With the extra money we save, we get to do more fun things.

Good for you, thats one way to save money for things you want to buy. For us it depends on what kind of trip we're on, like the last trip we went on we took a cooler with us and I had lunch meat packed and chips and sodas and water too, as we were traveling to our destination we would just pull the cooler out and eat sandwiches while going down the road, that way we could save our money for the place we were staying and we didn't have to worry about spending too much, it all worked out good, coming home we still had money left and that allowed us to eat a good dinner on the way home, we didn't have to eat bologna...haha.

Hey singlemommy! I think that your trip sounds like it was just wonderful! Can't wait to hear all about it! I also like to do what you did! Taking food with you is a great idea and a perfect way to save money! I try to do it when my boyfriend and I go somewhere like to the pool or the park! It is too expensive to buy the food that they sell there so we always pack a lunch to save money! And places like the Zoo the prices for the food are outrageous so you did do the smart thing so you could spend money on other things instead! I know you and your daughter had a the best time!

Recently my husband and I have cut back on eating out as most weekends we used to be out and always at lunch time, its the way it just works out. We do however take snacks for our daughter and my husband and I will have a coffee and a snack more often these days, rather than lunch, which although isn't as good as taking your own, but it has cut down our costs. When we go to indoor things like Seaworld etc, we do tend to eat in the cafe because there isn't really anywhere to have your own food, you would still need to buy a coffee to be able to eat in the cafe. During the summer months it is nice to have picnics which we do try and do, it is more relaxed and you don't have to queue.

We usually do eat out when we are away from home.

That's awesome! I think people waste way too much money going out to eat and if you get creative and prepare ahead of time, you can totally eat just as delicously as eating out. Plus it can be more nutritiously. I think money should only be spent on eating out when on tris if you have a chance to go to a really unque special restaraunt where you are paying for the experinece as well.

Good job!! It is money and time well spent!! When you are out visiting places you feel a lot hungry and packing food does not let you go through that. Also most of the places are so crowded that there are long queues and waiting time at the restaurants. Packing food helps you avoid them and gives you more time to see things. Being a vegetarian I always like packing my food for outdoor trips as I get less choice for selection of meal at the restaurants and it gives me more time and money for my shopping:)