One of the best things about vacations is that you usually find yourself “needing” to dine out…and that can feel fabulous at first, but it’s a very fast way of draining your extra travel cash funds. Here are a few things you can do to help keep the food budget to a minimum.

Book accommodations with at least a microwave and fridge, if not a kitchen suite. It also helps to book places that are central so that you have options like grocery stores instead of being somewhere rural where you’re more tempted to eat and drink at the hotel bar. Check out hotel reservation sites like Travel Set Go for discount hotel rooms and use the search filters to find hotels in fun neighborhoods and book rooms that have kitchenettes.

It’s not always worth it to get hotels that include breakfast—it’s normally much cheaper (and more fun) to walk down the street for a fresh croissant and espresso at the local bakery in the morning. But if you do get hotel breakfasts, try to grab all the protein you can, then sneak a little bit of fruit out to snack on throughout the day.

Pack extra utensils and snack baggies or small storage containers (that can double as bowls) in your luggage, then stock up on snack and lunch items at the grocery store right when you get to your destination. Easy healthy options include: bottled water (if you don’t have your own bottle), snack bars, fruits, raw veggies, instant oatmeal packages, instant miso soup packages, crackers and cheese.

For restaurant savings, try signing up for a site like restaurant.com or Groupon for deals in your preferred area.

Food carts, farmer’s markets and local grocers are your friends! These are great ways to sample local foods without setting foot in high end restaurants.

Go to grocery stores and bakeries either first thing in the morning or just before closing and you’re likely to find some discounted fresh food (eg: day old breads, half-off pre-made deli salads).