So a few years ago, we took one of those “team building” surveys at work. Â It had 10 questions, and for each one there was a spectrum between 2 opposites. Â Most of the spectrums have been lost from my memory banks, but there are 2 that I remember. Â The first was very eye-opening to me – it was the difference between thinking of time as “fixed” or “fluid” Â That was very eye-opening to me and probably the first time in my life that I realized that other people and cultures just thought of time differently. Â I remember this used to drive me crazy when I lived for 2 years in the Dominican Republic as a Mormon missionary – I (a very “fixed” time person) would set up an appointment to come back and see someone say Monday at 2pm. Â In my mind, this meant exactly at 2pm (or maybe even a little earlier). Â But to most Dominicans (“fluid” time people), Monday at 2pm means sometime Monday afternoon (if you’re lucky!). Â So it was very eye-opening to me later to just understand that it wasn’t necessarily them being rude, it was just a different cultural understanding of time
The second spectrum that I remember was on food. Â The 2 spectrums of our opinion towards food were:
- Food is an experience – something where I enjoy each bite and every part of the experience
- Food is a necessity – calories I have to eat to stay alive
My non-foodie self
So I am very clearly the second of those 2 spectrums.  I honestly would be quite happy to eat the same meal for days in a row.  I can recognize the differences between “good” food and not, but it just isn’t that important to me.  My wife isn’t what I would call a “super foodie”, but she definitely leans that way.  This can cause problems when we try to plan meals for our family.  She always wants to try new recipes.  I suggest why don’t we just have the same 5 meals over and over.  We’re working on it 🙂
Eating on vacation (yes, at McDonalds)
When our family is on vacation, we typically will eat meals at fast food restaurants, and we’ve even been known to cook in our hotel room (without a stove, oven or microwave).
(SEE ALSO: The complete beginner’s guide to cooking in a hotel room)
I actually probably spend more time than I should finding “cheap eats” – when I really should just go buy something. Â This is a clear violation of the $20 rule, and something I’m working on trying to do better at
When our family of 8 was recently in Seattle, we did eat one meal at the McDonalds that was right across the street from the Hyatt House Seattle where we were staying.  After that, we went to the grocery store and got food to cook in our room.  But when I tell people that I eat McDonalds while on vacation, they usually give me dirty, judge-y looks 🙂
And I’m not even eating at McDonalds overseas for the same reason that Gary from View from the Wing does!
Why we eat at McDonalds and other fast food on vacation
There are 2 main reasons we will often eat fast food on vacation
- It’s cheap. Â When you’re taking 8 people to even a mid-scale restaurant, you’re going to be inching up towards $100
- We know what will be on the menu and everyone will like something
Our go-to place while we’re driving is typically Little Caesar’s. Â The pizza isn’t great, but it’s not horrible, and 3 pizzas for $15 (plus tax, sometimes) is about as cheap as I can feed everyone. Â I can feed us for $25-$30 at places like Wendy’s, McDonald’s or Subway depending on if we get drinks and whether or not people share meals (depending on what we order)
I get that we are sometimes missing out on great “local” fare, but that’s a choice that we have (currently) made. Â I agree that it’s good to try out new things / foods, but at least for now, we’ve chosen to not do that when we’re out on vacation with the family. Â Though I will say that when it’s just Carolyn and I we are a bit more adventurous, but certainly not as adventurous as some – here’s Carolyn enjoying an egg waffle in Hong Kong
What about you?  What does your family eat while on vacation?  Am I alone in my shameful existence? 😀
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
Had a Big Mac in every country I have visited except the Vatican (no McD) and Norway ($12 for the meal)
I’m single and always eat cheap when traveling. I certainly can afford whatever I want during my trips although I prefer to spend the money on attractions & tangible things to bring back home.
My family of 4 (sometimes 6 w/ grandparents) ALWAYS eat at McDos abroad. 1 there is wifi and 2 there are always things on the menu unique to each country while also having kids classics like burgers and nuggets.
We were walking down the Champs-Élysées once and saw a McD’s. We all stopped and looked at each other and laughed. Yes, we went in and got Big Mac meals to enjoy. It was something we just had to do and we’re still proud we did!
Sorry, but gross. Unless you needed wifi there is never a reason to enter a McD’s. Even in the US. Ever.
Did you ever think that the “judgy” looks you are getting from people are because you are feeding your children absolute garbage? Growing kids need proper nutrition and you are much better off sticking with cooking something healthy in your hotel room.
@TonyM – Great macaroons at the McD’s on the Champs Elysees (we got a tip once to try them) too and at a fraction of the cost of Laduree.
not so bad, our “tradition ” the past few years is hitting burger king in Don Mueang airport before boarding our flight to hkt.
Yeah, well one of the first things I do when returning from China on an extended stay (current one is 4 weeks), is to stop by the McD’s at DTW and get 2 egg McMuffins.
Spent a month on Bali. First week tried to find small local restaurants and each time all the other patrons were Westerners.
Then one hot afternoon we stopped at a McDonald’s for an ice cream. The place was absolutely packed and everyone there, except for us, looked Indonesian.
You should be embarrassed to admit eating McDonalds in any country including the US. Poor quality and unhealthy food. Disgusting.
When I’ve seem a group like yours (8), heading into someplace to eat, I sometimes shudder with the thought of the bill.
I do a lot of solo travel. Going out for a meal is just not a big part of my travel. I’d often rather microwave some Stouffers or something for dinner at the hotel, when I’m actually feeling hungry.
“Seen”, not “seem”, buy probably knew that.
I give up. I can’t type tonight.
Sometimes I think you’re posting these things to try to break your angry comment record 😉
Heh we’ve got a ways to go before we top the angry comments on whether or not you should dress up in first class 😛
We (4-6 of us depending on college, etc) often eat at Wendy’s. They have salads (as many fast food places do) but also have baked potatoes. Once in a while they will be out of baked potatoes but otherwise that’s not a bad start to a meal. Sometimes that is all a few of us get to eat there.
We ate at McDonald’s several times on a trip 20+ years ago. We had a small daughter that wanted the toys that came in the Kids Meal. It wasn’t horrible but we rarely go there anymore.
My wife is a vegetarian so if we go to Wendy’s, she will usually get the broccoli and cheese potato
My husband doesn’t like to try new foods, and we have eaten at McDonald’s in every European country we have visited if they have one. Two important things are: they have a free bathroom and free wifi! Sometimes they have a meal that we don’t offer in the U.S. and I usually like to order that.
You absolutely should be embarrassed. It’s a horrible “restaurant” has no ethics for animals or the planet. Plus it’s unhealthy.
You travel the world, write a travel blog and basically are pretty much bragging that you eat there, while on vacation.
One of the true things we gain from travel is experiencing different cultures and the heart of any culture is food. I understand you don’t always eat there but c’mon don’t give that scum chain any free advertising. There’s cheap food elsewhere other than McDonald’s wherever you go.
My opinion.
No shame in eating at McDonald’s or any other fast food place. And those places are tremendously helpful if you have a kid with serious food allergies.
Aside from their French Fries a few times a year I can’t eat McDs; I’m too aware of what’s in their meat-based products. I have let my kid have it 3 or 4 times when there was nothing else around. But I can see your rationale for it. We eat cheaply by doing pizza or rotisserie chicken or seeking out ethnic holes in the wall, but that does take some adventurousness and your kids have to be willing to go along.
There was one particular month when I ate at McDonald’s in five different countries. I always imagine the person monitoring my credit card bills laughing his/her head off. I’m not particularly proud of it, or a fan of McDonald’s, but sometimes, that’s the only place that takes credit cards when you first arrive. You gotta do what you gotta do when you travel.
We were walking down the Champs-Élysées once and saw a McD’s. We all stopped and looked at each other and laughed. Yes, we went in and got Big Mac meals to enjoy. It was something we just had to do and we’re still proud we did!
While it wasn’t McDonald’s when we were in Chicago we ended up at a few plus times at a 7/11. Free Breakfast at the hotel threw our appetite off