How to Eat on a Budget While Travelling the World

Written for Bristol Bites by Lisa Smith

When you are travelling, meals can be very expensive, especially when you don’t know where you can get cheap meals. Many travellers love to experience the local cuisines when they are visiting a destination.

For most people, sampling delicious local dishes is synonymous with an inflated vacation budget because their choices are dominated by high-end hotels. But you don’t have to sacrifice a huge percentage of your travel budget in order to enjoy local cuisines. If you plan well, you can find cheap meals and spend the saved money on other things like festival tickets and accommodation.

Plan ahead and be flexible

If there is a specific meal you want to eat when you get to the destination, try to look at several restaurants and see which one offers the best deal. You can also get some restaurant coupons and save money on your favourite meal.

At times, some meals can cost slightly higher on some days than others. If your itinerary allows, you can wait until the price drops and enjoy your meal while you make huge savings. During weekdays, it’s easy to find great deals since there aren’t many customers flocking in. At the same time, eating lunch may cost less than dinner in the same restaurant.

Eat with the locals

As long as you restrict your meals to tourist hotels, you will be paying an arm and a leg for a normal meal. But if you mingle with the locals, you will save a lot of money on your meals. When you visit a destination, try to find good eateries that are located outside the tourist zones where food is expensive.

More often than not, you will find that restaurants in the suburbs usually serve great meals and you will pay less. In addition, you get an opportunity to get away from the city into a serene area. Getting good friends in these areas is easy and you can even connect with fellow travellers who want to save money.

When you want to have a great adventure, you won’t need to dine in expensive hotels. Whenever possible, consider eating street food since it’s cheaper and you experience the local setting to the maximum. However, restrict your options to eateries that have a high influx of people just to make sure you are eating fresh food and avoid food poisoning.

Pack your own meals or cook

Packing your own food when travelling can be a great way of ensuring that you make good savings. Sometimes, you may find that some foods are more expensive away from home and this justifies the extra effort you will make to carry your own. If you are travelling within your local area, consider taking some salads and sandwiches with you and avoid buying food for the day. But you can also pack some snacks to eat on the plane instead of eating at the airport.

If you love cooking, you can find a kitchen at your destination and save a lot of money. When you find an apartment with a kitchen, cooking your meal means you will spend less than you would have spent in a hotel. You only need to buy some groceries and you are set to eat at your own time. However, you have to make sure that you only buy what you require instead of stockpiling groceries that won’t be used.

Find a restaurant that offers meals within your budget

For most people, eating fast foods when travelling is a great option. If this sounds like you, try and identify the specific chains that serve meals within your budget. Most popular fast-food chains are global and there is no difference with tastes.

Of course, it is important to eat the local food but when resources and time are limited; hopping into a fast-food outlet can be your best shot.

Some of the fast food chains offer coupons and you can end up saving some cash besides eating something that you are used to. Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean you should restrict all your meals to fast foods. Whenever you can, find a good local restaurant and enjoy the delicious local cuisine.

Look for free lunch

When you are holidaying with your children, you can find restaurants that allow kids to eat for free. At the same time, you can shop in a grocery store that offers free samples during peak hours. Normally, you will get free meals at art shows and other business events.

In some restaurants, you will receive a free meal when you tell them you are celebrating a certain event. At times, just saying that you haven’t been there before will get you a good treat. Whether you are celebrating your anniversary, new job position or birthday; make sure you let the waiter know.

Take advantage of a rewards programme

If you can find a hotel with a rewards programme, you can easily get cheap meals after accumulating points. Normally, you can earn a point every time you spend a pound in the restaurant and after a while, you can use the points to eat free meals.

You can also get a membership card and get attractive discounts. If you are not sure, always ask if you qualify for the discounts.

While saving money on meals when travelling can be difficult, it is not out of reach. If you can plan early, search for better deals and budget well, finding low-cost meals is easy. When you embrace the tips discussed here, you’ll realise that you don’t need to spend your money inexpensive hotels to enjoy local cuisines.