Quick question with a million answers.

Planning a Sept trip with some newbies, and they have a million questions. Their biggest one is how much to budget for food and drink a day? I am ashamed to say it's been nearly 6 years since we were in Negril and I'm rusty on the prices of things. General idea is decent breakfast, pattie's for lunch, big meal for evening bout every other day (8 nights, and I wish it were longer). We enjoy spreading things out and visiting a different place for dinner. Drinks, just for giggles lets hear the going price of Red Stripe, rum, and rum cream.

Haven't officially started the count down yet, but it's close..

Just got back from Negril last week. I budgeted $100 Canadian a day. Worked out to $8700 Jamaican per day. Where we stayed (CCLP) provided a Continental Breakfast. I usually only had the coffee to get the day rolling. I would grab a bacon/egg/toast/ coffee breakfast on the road at either Blue Mountain Coffee Shop or Café Goa. There are many places to go for food on the road to keep the budget in check. Anyways Breakfast cost anywhere from $800-1500 Ja with tip. Grabbed a Patti in town at Hammond's Bakery for $130 Ja. Patti prices vary according to filling and size. Beach prices are higher but reasonable say $200-400 Ja. Cheapest beer on the beach I find is Sunnyside Bar $160 Ja for a cold Red Stripe. Beer prices vary place to place $200-300 Ja. Always ask before you order. Dinner meals always depend on what you order and where you are budget around $1200-1600 Ja. The daily budget needs cushion built in for cabs, extra rounds on you and other incidentals. Some days I had to restrain others I had extra! Hope this helps.

The biggest thing there is to remember is to budget the taxes and automatic tip that is added onto your bill at resturants. It makes a big difference to the end cost. I can't remember the rate but I am sure someone here can and give the info on the rate.

We usually figure $100 US per day, per person. Most days we don't spend the entire amount, but I would rather make sure I have enough budgeted per day to make sure I have as much fun as possible, rather than feel strained while on vacation. I think that our daily plans pretty much match what you described. Sunnyside is probably about the cheapest for RS ($160J). Yellow Bird has awesome all day happy hour specials until 6:00, I believe. 2 for 1 drinks (5 choices) for $500J if I remember correctly, and $200J RS. White Sands also has a daily 2 for 1 happy hour(1 choice). I haven't been there in low season so you might find even better deals, but I can't imagine it being much cheaper. Hope that helps!!

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Originally Posted by WisconsinWoody

We usually figure $100 US per day, per person. Most days we don't spend the entire amount, but I would rather make sure I have enough budgeted per day to make sure I have as much fun as possible, rather than feel strained while on vacation. I think that our daily plans pretty much match what you described. Sunnyside is probably about the cheapest for RS ($160J). Yellow Bird has awesome all day happy hour specials until 6:00, I believe. 2 for 1 drinks (5 choices) for $500J if I remember correctly, and $200J RS. White Sands also has a daily 2 for 1 happy hour(1 choice). I haven't been there in low season so you might find even better deals, but I can't imagine it being much cheaper. Hope that helps!!

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I like simple guidelines, Woody... Is that $100 USD gonna stretch for one or two?

By the way... Kaukauna here...

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Originally Posted by Chris B

I like simple guidelines, Woody... Is that $100 USD gonna stretch for one or two?

By the way... Kaukauna here...

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Oops...just reread... for Two...

Thanks! That seems to fit with memory. And, you're right, I'd rather err on the high side. The newbies are leaning toward AI, but we've only done that once..... food/drink coma. Not that I haven't done that on my own..... I just don't need the extra encouragement (grin)!

I will be back on Saturday...I'm travelling alone and am a party guy...I also do the 'general rule' of spending $100 USD daily....Keep in mind that's just what I budget for meals and drinks....Factor in any tours you may want to do plus all the taxis, tips etc....I'm going for 8 nights and am planning on $1000 for the week to cover everything...Note, it can be done much cheaper! I'm a guy who likes to walk the beach and stop off everywhere....A cooler and a chair would be far cheaper but that's not my style..See you all soon!

I agree with the budget of $100 per person, per day. Some days you will spend more, some days less. I find that my wife and I more often spend less than the $100 budget. On days when we have a big Jamaican breakfast, we were usually not hungry for lunch so we just have a snack in the afternoon before dinner. On our last trip we were more lazy than usual and we found ourselves often getting take-out for dinner (from Jenny's or Pablo's). This definitely helped reduce meal costs.

A nice dinner is going to run around $100 or so for two, more if you both get lobster.
Breakfast averages around $10pp.
Lunch about the same.
We allow for about $100/day pp, that's including buying rum and mixers for the room, subs, taxis.