half dinner?

What is the context? Do you mean Half Board? That means breakfast and dinner ( full, not half) are included in the price.

Lauren, I think Sasha is right,, you must mean "half board" perhaps a bad translation?
Breakfast and dinner.

Yes, what is the context? Probably not what you are referring to, but the first thing I thought of was Portugal, where main dishes are served in full portion or in meia dose (half portion, for a bit more than the price of the full size). The catch is that a meia dose is still big, and a full "dose" serves 3. And, it's standard to serve both rice and potatoes with each main course. I was traveling alone, and even ordering the meia dose, I was often stuffed. Sorry for the tangent. We now resume our regularly scheduled travel questions...

Would be nice if she came back on and confirmed what she meant. She did, pat, at 5/16/12 6:51 AM, 5 posts back.

This is the context from the website that is being used as to what is included on the Europe tour i'm taking.....All breakfasts and half your dinners

I would assume that means that half of your dinners are included in your tour cost, and that you are responsible to pay for the other half out of pocket while you are there.

Yes, what Andrea said. So if you have a 12 day trip, you might have 12 breakfasts provided included in the price of the tour, but only 6 dinners. The other evenings you'll be free to discover your own places to eat and pay out of pocket. EDIT: The above is just an example. Most tours include the travel days in their number of days, so if you really need to know which meals are included on given days, ask the tour operator.

That's correct, and the way the ETBD tours are usually structured.

Ah,, mystery solved,,didn't occur to me lauren was asking about tour information. Would be nice if she came back on and confirmed what she meant.

Whoops, sorry missed that!I literally just skipped over that post , brain burp I guess on my part. Lauren, Did you really think they meant 1/2 a dinner would be served? lol

Half-dinner: what I should be eating...(sigh)...

i actually thought it meant that they would not be paying for drinks or as some mentioned you'd get a half order versus a full order.

I thought half dinner meant you got half and the dog got half.

They never pay for drinks,, well thats not true, out tour guide did buy us all wine on our farewell dinner, and we got to try some liquor in Italy for free, but drinks ,, (except at breakfast where tea and coffee are included) are never included. Its actually a good deal Lauren, we found that we just picked up a small lunch most times, breakfasts , while not huge English style, often were filling ( especially in places like Germany , Switzerland etc, where cheeses and meats were often included) and since 1/2 dinners were included( and that was usually a starter, main course and always a dessert) we didn't spend a ton on food( well we did buy alot of ice cream, lol ) I have only done the one RS tour, but I was really impressed with how much was included, so little nickel and diming( having had an ex MIL and nephew both report back on tours they took that seemed cheaper up front, but had lots of extras they paid for, Globus and Contiki) Even on the tour bus our driver had a fridge stocked with beer, water and pop and it was only 1 euro each,, we saw the prices for those things at tourist sites,, way more, so we often waited till we got back to the bus, or bought on the bus and carried it with us,, ( and on our bus it was on the honor system too, no fiddling looking for coins,, pay up at the end of trip) You will not regret a RS tour ,, unless you really hate tours in general.. its one of the best on the market I am sure,, as long as you don't expect them to carry your luggage!

RS tour was recommended to me by a family member who said it was also one of the best tours she had ever been on as well. This is my first time out of the country really and my first time to Europe. Thanks for the helpful tips on packing small lunches and taking advantage of the beverages on the bus for cheaper. I will be sure to use these!

Lauren a RS tour is the perfect way to wet your feet then,, they not only tour you about ,, but more importantly they teach you how to travel.. they literally teach you how to use the metros and buses, ( in the big cities the group travels on these instead of the big bus) ,, the tour guide is always giving you tips and advice, and for your free time they are always full of suggestions on what else to see or do in a place, how to get there etc. I know you will enjoy it,, you are not herded about, you can always opt out of something,, and its nice not travelling in a huge group of 40-50 like most tours. You feel like you are on a small private tour( which in a way you are of course). As I said, I know its not the cheapest tour out there, but I also know that the value you get for your money is there, ( remember the old saying, you get what you pay for, sometimes ,, cheap is crappy)
The people on our tour were all great, you read that alot on people tour feedback,, and its hard to beleive that every group is so lucky, but I think its because if you read the tour literature it comes right and says "no grumps" ,, they are not tolerated, and no divas and lords,, so everyone is basically nice open minded folks.

I am about to take my 10th RS tour in September and I am hooked on his form of travel and touring. Yes, earlier posts are correct in that you "almost always" are provided breakfast, occasionally a lunch, and about half the the dinners. We always eat a BIG breakfast and then usually do a "picnic" lunch (weather permitting). On the nights that we are on our own for dinner, the guide has "almost always" recommended places nearby to eat. We usually take his advice and have never been disappointed. When you figure out what the tour costs and what all it provides, and what we do not have to worry about, we feel they are a good deal.
PM me if you have additional tour questions. enjoy your tour.

I have the same kind of question regarding Rick's promise of "half your dinners are included". How does it work for 14 days trips (that really are 13 NIGHTS). Do they still provide "half the dinners" (meaning 7 dinners). As well, I've noticed that sometimes lunches are included. I guess that would replace a dinner. Am I right? Thanks.

A dinner is a dinner. On a 13-night tour I would assume that six dinners were included. If they include seven instead, great. Where lunches are included, they don't replace a dinner.

Claire, it has been my experience that on a RS tour you often get more meals than they promise. On a 14 day / 13 night tour, you should get 7 dinners (I've never been on a tour where they rounded down). However, you can always contact the tour staff at the RS Office to confirm. I took the Village France tour last year and we had 7 included dinners and either 3 or 4 included lunches (some of which were picnics).

Lauren, We're going on our 15th & 16th RS tours this September and breakfast has always been included. It used to be that half of your lunches and dinners were included, but now it's half of your dinners. However, some of those dinners are switched to lunch. Usually the included meals are quite large and we often end up getting some fruit, yogurt, etc. from a grocery store for the 3rd meal of that day. Saves money and calories and we've had plenty of food for the day. Wine is usually included on the last group meal of the tour. For other meals, it depends on the tour. Our guides on the Southern Italy and Sicily tours often were able to negotiate with the restaurants for wine to be included. I think wine was often included on the Spain/Portugal tour, but it was very cheap there. The greatest idea, but sadly only done once, was when the guide collected money for a "wine kitty" from those of us who wished to participate. She chose the wines for dinner each night and we were able to enjoy wonderful local wines at a great price, plus we didn't have the hassle of settling the wine bill after each dinner. Enjoy your tour!

On the 14-day Best of Ireland tour last September, we had 7 dinners and two or three lunches (one of the lunches may have been to make up for the fact that we didn't get to go out to the islands).

When you request a detailed itinerary for a tour, each day's description should include the meals provided. Usually listed as a letter in brackets, ie: (B) or (B, D), etc..