We spend very little on food when we travel. I am not a foodie. And I make it my promise to you that you will never ever see me ingesting food on video. It baffles me that some of the highest rated travel videos on YouTube are of people eating food in random cities. Watching people chew and moan is not my idea of a good time. Yuck!
Food is certainly a part of the experience. Each destination has its specialties, and I’m all for trying those out (remember to take a picture before digging in!), but it is not at all necessary to eat your way through your bank account. Here are some ways we save money:
Eat Two Meals a Day
Unofficial intermittent fasting during vacation? Why not? Unless breakfast is your jam, sleep in as much as possible and just make yourself a cup of coffee to drink as you get ready. If you need a little bit more, a lot of places have extremely affordable pastries that you can get at the local bakery for under $1 each.
Only Eat One Meal Out Per Day – and Make it Lunch (*Our usual plan of attack)
A/Lunches are cheaper to eat out than dinner, and if your children are little you don’t want to be gallivanting around town in the evening anyway.
B/Eat breakfast (or just coffee) in your hotel/Airbnb in the morning, and find an easy dinner to cook at night. Find a really good restaurant you’d like to visit, or (what I do–>) when your family starts whining talking about how they’re all starving, stop and look around for the most interesting restaurant you’re standing near. If you don’t see anything, pull up google maps or walk a little further.
Grocery Shop
You want to live like a local? You may be in a different country, but the people there need to eat too. And they eat the same way you do when you’re at home (if you eat out 3 meals/day at home, you may be reading the wrong blog 🙂 ). All foreign countries have grocery stores, even though you may have to first *identify* them as a grocery store. Google Maps is pretty good at identifying them for you if you search “grocery store,” although some times you’ll be taken to a mini-mart. Try to verify the listing online by checking out the photos. I once ended up walking 10 minutes to a hardware store in Switzerland, because Google said they were a ‘grocery store’ (they sold soft drinks on one end cap, but otherwise, no food). If you’re worried about being able to read labels/boxes, there are usually many see-through packages and products with photos on the box. The produce section is always available (& healthier!), and the fresh meat section almost always is set up exactly the same as in the USA.
Order One Larger Meal and Share
Party of five? That does NOT mean you’re required by law to buy 5 meals. In many countries, you can get away with ordering 2-3 meals and sharing. If you’re traveling within the USA, you can probably get away with ordering one 🙂 (#everythinghereishuge). Pizza places are great for this, but at any eatery look on the menu for offerings with the word ‘platter,’ ‘plate,’ or ‘family.’ Generally speaking, we’ve found the less fancy a restaurant is, the larger the portions are.
Pack Your Lunch
Really traveling on a shoestring budget? You CAN travel without spending a single cent eating out. Skip breakfast or eat a granola bar or coffee (we used to travel with the kid-sized granola bars for the twins). Pack your lunch the night before and take it sightseeing with you. And prepare dinner once you’re in for the day. I recommend creating a bit of a rough meal plan before you go, so you can efficiently grocery shop and don’t waste money buying items you don’t end up eating. Each grocery store reflects the country it’s located in, so don’t feel like you’re completely missing out. You’ll be truly eating like a local, and get to experience the honest culture of your destination.
Did I miss anything? If you have had your own travel/food experience that you’d like to share, please comment below. We all can learn from each other, or at least be entertained 🙂 Or if you have any questions you’d like answered, please drop that in the comment section too.
Eating while traveling can be an expensive component, but it doesn’t have to be. I hope you use some of these tips, and don’t let the cost of meals be a roadblock in exploring the globe.
