Posted by PAT on January 20, 2007 at 11:19:12:
In Reply to: Money posted by Alton Simpson on January 19, 2007 at 20:52:28:
: How much should I expect to spend on meals and gifts per day without lodging.
: Thanks
Dea Alton,
Like the U.S., that is an open-ended question - because costs depend on what kind of meals you will be eating and what kind of gifts you buy.
In most cases, breakfast will be included in the cost of your room, so you only have to buy lunch and dinner. Lunch can cost as little as $5-$6 if you have a cheese sandwich or a bowl of soup and bread, or a salad, with tea or a soft drink, or as much as $20-$30 if you select several courses including hot entrees or seafood. Figure $10 on average for a light meal with beverage, maybe a dessert.
If you eat in a self-service cafe, costs will be low; if you eat in a full-service hotel restaurant or gourmet restaurant, costs will be high.
Dinner varies also by the type and quality of food. You can get a fast food meal for under $10, but most dinners would range between $20 and $40 or higher if eating in a fine dining restaurant.
A safe and conservative estimate would be $35-$40 a day for food; or $50 a day for food and drink (with a modest amount of beer, wine, cocktails). It can be much higher, too, especially in fine dining restaurants or seafood specialty places.
As I said before, it will depend on what you want to eat and where. You can always get fast food or ethnic food for less, but who wants to eat greasy burgers, pizza, chow mein or noddles all the time in Ireland?
Part of the fun of traveling in Ireland is sampling the free-range beef, lamb or chicken, as well as organic veggie and salads, farmhouse cheeses, prawns, oysters, salmon and other seafoods, not to mention the glorious homemade cakes, pies and pastries. Go to my "Money Savers" Page and click to "Value Menu" to get an idea on set menu meal prices in three categories.
As to gifts, this depends on what you are intending to buy. You can get a key chain for a couple of euro but things like handknits, jewelry or hand-cut crystal are much more pricey. The important thing to remember is that there is lots of choice in all price ranges, so set your budget and browse. You can spend $10 a day or $100 a day easily.
Hope this helps,
PAT