Turning Holiday Tour Into a Movable Feast : Dining: Travelers have several options to consider when setting up their meal plans for overseas group tours. Prepaying saves money, but limits your choices.

Planning your meals when you’re part of a group tour headed overseas has budgetary and geographic--as well as culinary--considerations.

In most cases, prepayment of meals can save money. Tour operators also may offer optional meal plans, which is one of the ways to avoid a consistent regimen of hotel food.

However, information on these optional dining programs is often skimpy, and consumers should explore the subject thoroughly before investing their money. Generally, these optional meal plans must be purchased prior to departure from the United States.

“People don’t always realize how remote their surroundings may be at the hotel they stay in,” said Chuck Winn of Brendan Tours in Los Angeles. “There may not be much of a choice on where to eat. This can be particularly true in some parts of the South Pacific.”

Misconceptions about cost also come into play. “Some travelers balk at buying optional meal plans and then discover how expensive meals can be overseas,” said Winn. “They have no idea of the real prices of meals overseas.”

“In some countries around the world, tour groups may possibly get a more Americanized menu at hotels,” said Don Lorenzini, the Western region director for General Tours.

“However, this depends on the country. In the Soviet Union, you still get local cuisine, but in other parts of Eastern Europe, the trend with newer hotels is for more standard and Americanized meals for tour groups.”

One of the reasons for the trend is the notion that chefs abroad have about American dining habits.

“Hotels often do try to provide meals that Americans will be comfortable with,” said Dawn Suart, vice president of operations for Olson-Travelworld in Los Angeles. “Americans are less likely, as a rule, to be adventurous or want exotic cuisine.”

Similarly, when you’re on a tour, you may get similar meals on successive nights, though at different hotels. “You often get the standard chicken or banquet dinner when you’re eating on a table d’hote basis with a group,” said John Hemphill, president of Glendale-based World Travel Consultants.

Make sure you understand in advance whether your meals will be provided table d’hote or a la carte. With the former, you’re limited to a choice of dishes, while with the latter you can choose anything on the menu.

Coffee or tea are often included with the meals, while wine and beer are generally extra.

“Americans are used to water with their meals, but overseas, water may not be served,” Winn said. “And if you request water, you’re likely to get a bottle of mineral water, which you’ll be charged for. It depends on the tour operator whether this charge is part of your meal or not.”

Similarly, will you get a full breakfast that includes at least one hot dish? Or is breakfast strictly continental-style? Are meals served buffet or sit-down?

Most tours offer table d’hote dining. Options can vary between two and three entrees; in other cases, just one entree may be available.

Generally, the more structured the meal plan, the lower the price. With the lesser tab comes less choice about where, when and with whom you dine. Try to find out whether you’ll be dining in the same area as other hotel guests or in separate areas such as banquet rooms.

Dine-around plans are an option with some upscale tour operators. There are several variations, all of which allow guests to break loose from the group and eat independently.

Some plans permit eating at any restaurant in the city, anytime and whatever is on the menu (though some limitations might be placed on more expensive items such as caviar or lobster).

The usual procedure is to bring your receipts back to the tour manager and get reimbursed in the local currency. “The refund would be in a strong currency,” Suart said. “We wouldn’t give someone rupees on their last day in India.”

Another possibility is that you keep your receipts and receive reimbursement from the tour operator after returning to the United States.

Some dine-around plans may offer a la carte dining, but only at specific restaurants in the city. “There may also be special hours you can dine at these restaurants, as well as special menus,” Hemphill said.

The plans generally exclude alcohol with meals. Service charges are included, but if you tip extra, that’s your expense.

“One of the questions consumers should ask is if their dine-around plan permits them to use the hotel’s room service,” said Suart.

Though this type of meal program provides more latitude in dining, it costs more than the programs offered at hotels where the tour operator, as with accommodations, can get some sort of volume discount. And you can count on the cost of meals in a dine-around plan being structured into the cost of the package.

“We track the cost of meals at restaurants at each city on our itineraries,” Hemphill said.

Meal vouchers is another method used by some tour operators. Find out if any refunds are offered if you dine for less than the amounts the vouchers are worth. Generally, there are no refunds; if you eat for more than the voucher is worth, you pay for the extra amount. Service charges/tips may be up to you, so lay aside extra money in your budget for this expense.

Vouchers are usually offered on a table d’hote basis, though there may be some that allow you to order a la carte.

If you’re on a package where two meals are included, one way to save money on the third meal is to find a restaurant where locals eat and to look for specials of the day. Ask your tour guide, the hotel concierge or front-desk personnel for suggestions.

Frequently, this unscheduled meal is the chance for travelers on escorted packages to separate themselves from the group and explore cities on their own.