We are spending 3 weeks in Croatia and Greece, staying in hotels. While breakfasts are included, we are trying to figure out how much to budget for lunches and dinners. My husband and I are generally light eaters; if we eat a big lunch, we eat a very light dinner. We would appreciate anyone's help in approximating what we might spend per day.
Posted by
6623 posts
I find food prices roughly comparable to at-home prices in a US city, but specifics matter, like obvs a pizza meal is a bargain, but a seafood meal may require splashing out. If you are not used to ordering fish by weight, that is something to familiarize yourself with.
We tend to do outdoor activities during the day in those countries and pack a picnic, then do a big dinner.
It may depend on what kind of breakfast you get also, as if it’s a buffet then I’ll have a light lunch, if it’s continental, then I’m going to need a more substantial lunch.
I’m bad at math and could not venture a guess, but you can likely approximate from your local costs.
Posted by
Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
25485 posts
Its a great question and one sort of impossible to answer.
There are few 1 to 1 comparisons unless you go to Burger King or KFC. Then, in L.A. that salad was good, but you are on the coast of Croatia so how do you say no to the fish?
I assume you are going to Split and Dubrovnik and not too many off the tourist trail places so I would budget $60 for lunch and dinner combined including two beers. Then if I did it for $40 I would be thrilled. The food in Croatia isn't so much to die for so I might actually average $50 a day. In Greece, because typical Greek non-tourist food is easily accessible I would start at $50 instead of $60.
But its all A WAG.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
That's a very helpful reply. Thank you! It's at least a ball park figure, and yes - I will be eating fish every day!
Posted by
6623 posts
Some places can be quite expensive when it comes to seafood, so do mind that when choosing restaurants and ordering!
I found that sides were almost exclusively potatoes and blitva (chard), delicious but can get boring. The grilled fish was always top notch though, and you’ll be able to choose your fish.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thanks for the heads up about typical sides.
Posted by
Republic of Texas / U.S.A. / Magyarország / Budapest
25485 posts
If you want to avoid disappointment, save the fish for the best of the restaurants you go to and there are some great ones. The population is less than 4 million and they are catching fish for over 20 million tourists and sometimes the quality comes up a bit short. Here is my favorite in Split (and probably Croatia) https://maps.app.goo.gl/RpG5MRE3zq2jYsy86 and my favorite in Dubrovnik https://maps.app.goo.gl/nXPwhSwqR2dcB37k9 its a bit of a trip but gets you out of the tourism and you get to see parts of the city. Both of those will break your budget, but the budget is an average. Oh, and my favorite in the Balkans if you get further south https://maps.app.goo.gl/2TKnMbpSVj3kuDfs8 (this one as much for the atmosphere).
For the cheaper streetside places I would look for Cevapi, grilled meats and various stews. One called Istrian Yota is sort of a national dish and while a bit strange is a good experience.