Visit Your Local Farmer

The farmers market is a fantastic destination for travelers. A farmers market can be the ultimate for the budget traveler, because you can get affordable local foods, beverages, flowers and more! Find everything from cheese and breads to jams and local crafts. Most markets are in or next to city parks – perfect locations to enjoy a picnic lunch on a bench. I never leave one without a bag full of local yummy foods. Generally, I shop the market down the street from my house, but I always like to hit up ones when I travel. You can easily buy food to eat on-site or to make in a hotel room that has a kitchen.

How delicious does a hand pie sound? Or a fresh bagel with cream cheese and a side of fruit? You could even pick up a bottle of wine or some beer to go with your other goodies. Imagine spending around $20 for your lunch and food for later or the next day? Our farmers market not only had the regular things you would expect to find, but also mixed salad greens and even fresh meat from local farms. You could have grilled up some grass-fed lamb steaks with a side of organic veggies and amazing salad greens and then had a gluten-free cupcake or flavorful gelato for dessert. Many markets I’ve been to also sell spices, too, so you can make even more native dishes, while still saving money.

One of the things I like to take home as a souvenir is local foods and spices from other parts of the world. While you can’t bring back fruits, veggies or plants from many places, you can bring back jarred sauces, jams, coffees, candies and more. Not only are you helping out the local farmers and merchants by shopping the markets, you can get something homemade, home grown and/or unique to your vacation destination.

Often, you can get other handmade products at the farmers market, like clothing, décor, soaps and beauty products. While the packaging may not be totally professional looking, you know it was made with care and you are getting high-quality items, because the vendors don’t have factories full of employees. Even if the products are a little more expensive than you were expecting, it can still save you money over traditional stores and the food will certainly save you over eating in a restaurant, even if you get something ready-to-eat.

A farmers market is also a fantastic place to shop if you are a vegetarian, have food allergies or travel with children. Save money on healthy snacks and know exactly what your food contains, because you can speak to the makers and growers and they are made with as few natural ingredients as possible. If nothing else, you can check out all the fabulous local produce that a city has to offer and you will get to interact with the people of your trip destination, which can always be a rewarding experience and teach you more about where you are visiting. Plus, the markets are a great place to people-watch and even listen to some local musicians.

Do you frequent your local farmers market(s) or make it a point to visit ones when you go on vacation?

4 Travel Items That Save Space

Packing light has become a mantra for many a budget traveler. Unfortunately, it can take a lot of practice to learn to pare down your items until you can take just one carry-on per person. (Eric and) I have perfected it enough to take one large carry-on and one small one that fits under the seat, but it hasn’t always been a smooth road to where we are now. Luckily, I love packing and am willing to pack, unpack and repack a bunch of times before I go anywhere to make the most of the space I’ve got. I may bring a pack-flat extra bag for goodies I acquire along the way, but I make sure that I have some extra space in my bag as well, because having a carry-on that’s bursting at the seams is nothing you want to start with.

So, what are some ways to get your packing under control? Multi-purpose items are important in saving space and getting you closer to being a carry-on-only traveler.

Kindle or iPad

I am a reader and I love using my time on the plane or relaxing before bed reading a good book. I find that I can get a lot of reading done just in my down time, unlike when I’m at home and have many other things to think about. If you’re like me, you may find that you are either in the middle of a book when you leave and then want to start on another during your trip. Instead of packing two or more books or a stack of magazines, download your desired reading material to your Kindle or iPad (you can even do it on your mobile phone, though it can drain your battery fairly quickly) and save quite a bit of space in your bag, plus you won’t have the problem of wrinkled covers or torn pages from floating around with everything else in there. And, for the most part, you can now use your Kindle and iPad for music and movies, too.

iGo multi-charger

I don’t know about you, but I hate, hate, hate having 400 different chargers in my bag, or the drawer at home for such things. Somehow, they are all nice and organized and once you close and open the bag, even if it’s two seconds later, they have turned into a big jumble of wires, like ever year’s Christmas lights. What the hell? Well, I have a solution to this – Not your Christmas lights. Those are still a mystery. I carry around an iGo multi-charger. One adapter (or two if you bring one for the car), small charging tips for each device and a splitter to charge more than one at a time. We have been able to pare down our electrical devices over the years, so this works perfectly for us. I also have a small iGo USB charging plug, which can be used on our netbook or the small power strip we also take, because hotel rooms never have enough available outlets.

Packable rain jacket

It never fails. Everywhere we go, it rains when it’s not supposed to. I mean, there was a hurricane in London. I kid you not. I think it might be us, but it’s always good to be prepared. I never bring an umbrella anymore. They just take up space and if you are in crazy downpours, they don’t help anyway. Umbrellas do nothing against sideways rain and it’s hard to do other stuff when one of your hands is occupied and everyone needs to have their own. A packable rain jacket takes up less space, even if you have to pack one per person, and can be used in the event of a change in weather or it’s just a bit chilly. I get cold pretty much everywhere I go, so I probably get more use out of this than anyone…except for the fact that we end up in monsoon rains everywhere, so it’s almost a guarantee we will use ours. If you are traveling during the winter and already taking a coat with a hood, you can probably omit this one.

Sarong

Not just for the beach anymore! A sarong can double as a billion different items, besides a bathing suit cover-up: a skirt, a top, a wrap, a headscarf (for those really conservative churches), a picnic blanket, a towel, a tote bag. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. A sarong packs down to almost nothing, is easy to carry around in your day bag or pocket and can be super-duper handy in many situations. You never know what might go wrong or when you want to have a picnic in the park and not get grass stains on your khakis!

What are some of your favorite items that save space in your travel bag?

Don't be an "Ugly American"

Do you find it hard to adjust when you travel and find yourself trying to stick to some of your normal routines? It can be hard to touch down and just go with the flow sometimes, especially when things at your destination are so different from at home, but it helps if you've done your homework before you get there. Learning about the language, customs and just how to blend in a bit in general can really help you have a better time and not stick out like a sore thumb, making the locals hate tourists. While this infographic specifies Americans, it is not just Americans who make these same mistakes. 

Have you accidentally (or knowingly) done any of these or found tourists in your hometown acting the same way?