Some Food for Thought

Considering the cost of eating abroad as well as the uncertainty of how much the dollar will be worth, travelers could pay more attention to the type of meal plans offered on tours.

With the dollar not doing well, prepayment of meals to be eaten abroad can save money.

You may be able to buy packages where all, some or none of the meals are provided. Be sure to find out what kind of meal you are getting. Can you order anything on the menu (a la carte) or are you limited to only certain dishes (table d’hote)? Will you get a full breakfast, including at least one hot item, or is it continental style, which is usually just coffee and a roll?

Similarly, will all or most of your meals be at your hotel? And if so, where? In the dining room or a cafeteria? Buffet or sit-down? Will you be with other diners or set off in a special banquet room?

Eating regularly at hotels means experiencing fewer local restaurants. And dining in separate rooms and only with your own group can be limiting as far as absorbing local color and customs.

Dining Around

Some tour operators may offer dine-around plans. These generally connote that you can eat anywhere at any time, and order whatever you want. Nor do you have to dine with other members in your tour. But there may be price limits and having only a selected number of restaurants available, plus menu limitations.

Brochures seldom tell the whole story, so ask questions, regardless of what kind of meal plan is involved.

Hemphill Harris, based in Los Angeles, is an example of a tour operator that allows participants on its worldwide tours to order whatever they want at any restaurant at their destinations.

“Our clients get reimbursed while on their tours, and they have a choice of repayment in U.S. traveler’s checks or the local currency,” said John Hemphill, executive vice president. “All they have to do is present a receipt for their meal.”

Gratuities are also reimbursed. “And our people don’t have to present vouchers to the restaurants, which can be awkward,” Hemphill said.

A Caveat: Caviar

While you can order anything on the menu in the Hemphill-Harris plan, liquor, including wine and beer, is excluded, as is caviar. “Some people overindulged on caviar once and for three weeks ate us out of hand,” Hemphill said.

Obviously, the cost of such meals is structured into the basic price of the package. “We track the cost of meals closely at each city on our tours,” Hemphill said, adding that most people don’t overstep reasonable dining bounds.

While this type of meal program offers a maximum of dining independence and graciousness, there are no savings as there generally are with accommodations, where the tour operator usually can offer rooms at lower than regular rates through volume purchasing.

However, more limited meal plans can mean lower costs. As a rule, the more structured the meal plan, the less it costs. This means less freedom about where, when and with whom you dine. Some tour operators provide vouchers, with dollar cut-off points, which you use to pay for your meals.

There may be other limitations. For example, check whether beverages are included. Coffee and tea are often included; wine and beer are usually extra.

Quality Considerations

Quality of the meals can be another consideration. “We’ve had clients come home from tours and complain that their meals, presented on a table d’hote basis, weren’t as good as those that people got dining independently at their hotels,” said Martha Scott of Glendale Travel. “The hotels may be trying to save a little money.”

Los Angeles-based Jet Trek Tours is an example of a tour operator that uses meal vouchers in some of its packages. “Full American breakfasts, which can be eaten on your own, are included in all of our packages,” said Don Lorenzini, director of marketing for Jet Trek. “Lunch or dinner is also included, and when our clients have the option of eating either of these meals independently, we provide vouchers which have a dollar limit.”

The value of these vouchers ranges from $18 to $25 in Hong Kong, depending on the hotel, to $20 in Rio de Janeiro and $60 in Japan, Lorenzini said. No refunds are provided if you dine for less than these dollar amounts and you pay for any difference if you go over. Service charges, imposed at many destinations, can increase the price of a meal. Any tips you give are extra. The vouchers are only good at the hotel.

Hotels in areas where there is a good supply of labor are more likely to allow people on a package tour to dine on their own and use vouchers, Lorenzini said.

The image of table d’hote dining as strictly a fixed menu is not necessarily true, Lorenzini said. “Some hotels don’t want to accept vouchers because they feel their table d’hote menu offers enough selection on the first course. Travelers should realize that the number of options on a table d’hote menu can vary a good deal. Sometimes you have a choice between two or three entrees; sometimes there is just one entree available.”

On programs where two meals are part of the package, one way to dine inexpensively on the third meal (which is at your own cost) is to ask the tour guide, the hotel concierge or front desk personnel for good places to go. Try to eat where locals go if budget is a primary consideration, and look for specials of the day.

Often this unscheduled meal is the one where travelers on escorted packages get away from hotel restaurants and explore cities on their own. Doing a little research can insure an inexpensive and safe experience.