Spending money on half board?

[ombre123]

Hi all
We are going to Gran Canaria (Porto Rico) for two weeks in August. Staying at a gorgeous hotel half board. We are a family of four including two primary age kids.
We normally do all inclusive but wanted more flexibility this time as we normally go long haul and are confined to the hotel resort.
How much spending money would you say for a couple of weeks? I've literally no idea as we normally do AI.
Thanks in advance!

We've done similar in Lanzarote. The hotel gave us the choice of breakfast and lunch or breakfast and dinner each day - we had to let the hotel know the evening before so they could cater accordingly.

The most expensive evening meal we paid for (2 adults & 2 teenagers) was 80 euros - that was a good restaurant. There are much cheaper options which we used frequently - about 40 euros per family including drinks. Lunches were much cheaper.

Day trips can be expensive - my two like water parks and go-karting. Google is your friend for pricing those - most places will have family rates for young children. Some will also have discounts if you book your tickets in advance - we got a 20% discount to a water park doing it that way.

We had 1500 euros with us (and access to more if we needed it) but still came home with money left over from the original 1500 euros. Enjoy your trip.

I’d probably budget about £1k. Fill up at breakfast, get a light snack at lunch and evening meal provided. I usually plan in a couple of really cheap days. Beach with picnic food then have a splurge day. Water parks and nice tea out. Wine from supermarkets is excellent and cheap for an evening tipple and stock up in kids drinks from the supermarket too. Have a lovely time.

Thanks so much for your replies! Great idea about the wine, never thought of that. We are all so excited! Thanks again and hope you have a great summer too x

Check with the hotel if you can be flexible about meals and do lunch at the hotel if you have a day at the pool and go out for dinner.

On days out try to get picnic style food from a supermarket and eat back at the hotel.

Stock up on drinks. If your hotel room has a fridge with a freezer compartment then put small water bottles and use them as cool packs for days out. We normally take a small cool bag with us or just a waterproof bag and put the iced bottles in there to keep food and drinks fresh.

Check what kind of restaurants are near the hotel and see if they have menues online. That gives you an idea a out prices.

Thanks everyone for your replies!

It's a good few years since I was last in Puerto Rico but I do remember that there was a good choice of bars, restaurants and supermarkets. So it will be easy to buy items to make a sandwich/snackylunch for beach days. Also buy drinks in the supermarket for when out and about and on the evening once kids are in bed.

Remember that when on half board any drinks you have with dinner in the hotel will be charged at hotel prices. So budget for that - even if it's just bottled water.

Day trips and activities will probably be your main spend. So once you've decided what you all want to do then budget accordingly. Cheap beach days and pool days.

I would agree with other posters and say £1000. I generally take cash, and top up my Cash Passport. That way I don't incur any more fees for exchange, and can add more directly from my bank account if necessary.