Arrange to stay at hotels that offer free breakfasts. Many hotel chains offer free breakfast buffets for all guests, so before you book ask what's offered for breakfast and when it's served daily.
Purchase everyone's favorite snacks and vacuum-seal them into single-serving bags. Choose foods such as pretzels, cookies, candies, nuts, seeds and dried fruit. If you don't have a vacuum sealer, pack snacks in airtight jars and zip-lock bags.
Pack spices and condiments for your trip if you are planning to cook in the hotel. While cooking for your family is usually cheaper than eating out, it can be expensive if you have to buy the condiments and spices for every dish. Pack things like ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, Italian seasonings, basil, chili powder and any of your other favorites. Also pack cooking utensils and silverware.
Bring a picnic basket and use it. Make several sandwiches on the morning of long sightseeing days. Pack them in your picnic basket with fruit, cheese and trail mixes. Have a lunchtime picnic on the beach, at a park or at a historical site.
Ask your hotel clerk for a local travel guide. These are usually filled with coupons from local restaurants. Plan your meals around these restaurants throughout your stay in the area.
Eat at expensive restaurants for lunch. Prices at many high-end restaurants are much cheaper at lunch than at dinner, so you can savor the local flavors without breaking your budget.
Save your 16- or 20-ounce water bottles and fill them from store-bought gallon water jugs. Also, have everyone in your family order water at restaurants instead of sodas. The savings can be significant over the span of your vacation, and everyone can enjoy their favorite beverages from 2-liter bottles you've bought from grocery stores once you get back to the hotel.
Find restaurants that offer free meals for children. You can use the website Kids Meal Deals to prepare ahead or ask the locals and the hotel staff to direct you to one.
