California

MRSTITTLEMOUSE

We've just booked a three week tour of California and never having been to the US before I was wondering what we should be thinking of taking moneywise.
We have no idea of how much anything costs out there and although everything will be paid for we do have to pay for dinner/lunch everyday and a few breakfasts.All trips and the like we've pre-booked and paid for.
We're both vegetarian too,so wonder whether there'll be anything decent on offer foodwise.
Any tips/ideas would be appreciated,thanks.

Nordictat2

Well are you staying in hotels all the time or do you have self-catering or? Eating out is nice of course but buying food at the supermarkets and making you own lunches etc. is nice too (having a picnic for example).
Eating breakfast (should be included sometimes atleast if you are staying at a hotel) Otherwise a dinner and or Denny's (they are all over the US) is a decent place to have American breakfast. They do have vegetarian meals

I also recommend you go here https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g28926-i29-California.html
ALot of "locals" there so they could surely help you out also.

Voyager2002

Note that if you are eating anywhere with waiter/waitress service, you are expected to tip about fifteen per cent. Outrageous I know, but since the waiting staff are not paid salaries they provide service in the expectation of getting tipped, and it would be dishonest to accept the service and then not pay for it (unless it falls below satisfactory standards, of course). You are even expected to tip if you have a drink in a bar!

Factor this into your budget, because over the course of a week or so the amount you spend on tips can really add up. However, do be aware that you are NOT expected to tip for buffets, although some operators try to extract tips from foreigners having these.

Nordictat2

Plain and simple rule to remember..if the service is bad...complain and or don't tip! I don't care wher eint he world I am...If the service is poor. They don't get tipped.

neilbond007

Fast food joints over here are hurting bad.
They all have $1 specials. Wendys being the best IMHO.
Baked potato - 99c
Chciken sandwich - 99c
No tip.
Lunch.... done!
And, cheaper than grocery stores (that are more expensive than the UK in most cases... )

PS - don't forget the price you see is not the price you pay. there's always the tax to add on!!

meletheridge

trip advisor can't go wrong but try city-data.com then you will have to narrow it down to where in california

neilbond007

Also, eating out IS cheap. The expensive part is the beer. It costs $5 - $8 for a beer depending where you are. This is mostly for a pint too (and the pints are smaller here).
If you do like a tipple, drink water (free) and then get some beers / bottle of wine and drink it back at your hotel.

Clowance

We went for 3 weeks in may/june this year, and found it expensive to eat out, partly because of the exchange rate. Buffets in Las Vegas were about $60 for a family of 4 for breakfast with no alternatives if you didn't want to eat much. San Francisco however had much better food quality and much the same prices. We bought a polystyrene cooler for $4 and made picnics for lunch everyday. I have to say, it was a relief when we picked up the RV for the 2nd half of the holiday and could eat in all the time as the restaurant costs completely blew our budget out of the water.

neilbond007

Nordictat2 wrote: »

Plain and simple rule to remember..if the service is bad...complain and or don't tip! I don't care wher eint he world I am...If the service is poor. They don't get tipped.

It's better to leave a $1 (or 1c ) tip. That way the people know they've given you bad service. If you leave nothing they'll think you've forgot to tip them

Zazie

Clowance wrote: »

no alternatives if you didn't want to eat much.

But never be afraid to split a portion between 2 people in US as the portions are so large they are quite happy to do that.

thefenman

Hope you are not flying BA!