Food isn’t like souvenirs. No one goes on vacation without
buying it. You have to make room in your travel budget to eat, but there are
many ways you can make that part of your expenses smaller. Just because you are
trying to save money doesn’t mean that you have to eat fast food or sandwiches
for every meal or can’t experience the best cuisine a place has to offer. Below
is my top 10 list of ways to stretch your food funds.
Ask the locals where they eat
Odds are,
people who live where you’re traveling don’t eat at the fanciest restaurant in
town. You know who eats there? Tourists and people celebrating their
anniversaries. The “normal” people eat at affordable dining establishments that
are also delicious and serve food from the local area. They are going to want
to point you towards some of the city’s gems and impress you because, unlike
hotel staff, they don’t get paid for recommending the crazy expensive
steakhouse down the street.
Look forward to lunch
You probably aren’t
always frugal. While on vacation, it’s okay to splurge sometimes. If that
includes going to a top-rated restaurant that you know is spendy, make
reservations for lunch instead of dinner. The food will be just as tasty, but
cheaper than at dinnertime.
Split an entrée
Most restaurants serve you at
least twice as much food as you can eat. Don’t be weighted down having to carry
around leftovers or feel bad about food left on your plate. Share a main dish
with your travel companion. Most hotels will split an entrée for no fee, but
even if you have to pay for an extra plate, it only costs a few dollars, which
is cheaper than paying for a whole other meal.
Order an appetizer for a meal
Most appetizers can
be plenty to fill you up and can be as little as a third of the price of an
entrée. This is also a great option for you if you like to try many different
dishes. Order two to three for the same price as a meal.
Hit up the food carts
Food carts can offer a huge
variety of different local and international foods, but can be half the price
of (or less) than dining at a sit-down restaurant. With this kind of savings,
you can try fare from several carts with no regrets.
Shop the farmers market
There’s no better way to
experience local cuisine and interacting with residents than a visit to the
closest farmers market. You will find a variety of food, including meats,
fruits, vegetables and cheeses. Purchase enough for lunch and enjoy the
afternoon having a picnic in a nearby park.
Rent a vacation home or stay in a hotel with a kitchen(ette)
This is my favorite way to stretch my food budget, because
there are so many options. Renting can be a great value over hotel stays if
you’ll be visiting for a week or more, plus it gives you the chance to check
out the local grocery store. Make many of your own meals and save considerably.
I don’t often like to spend money on eating breakfast out, so I love to buy new
cereals and pastries I can enjoy in my room.
Stay at a hotel that offers free breakfast
You
don’t realize how much dining out can cost until you go on vacation. A reasonable
breakfast can cost between $8-15 per person. If you multiply that by the number
of people you’re traveling with and the number of days you’ll be staying, that
number can be huge. If you find a hotel in your price range that offers free
breakfast, you’ve hit a jackpot of savings.
Sign up for Groupon
If you haven't been using Groupon, what are you even waiting for? Save 40-90% off food and more, meaning you can eat for way less than you originally planned, meaning you can splurge on a fancy meal, spend that money elsewhere, or actually just stay on budget. Sign up at Groupon for the
destination of your next vacation (they cover many international locations as
well as the United States) and eat for less!
Don’t order off the kids’ menu
If you travel
with children, you’ll notice that most kids’ menus seem to have the same small
rotation of foods. Obviously, little ones don’t just live on hot dogs, pizza,
chicken nuggets and PB&J sandwiches. Not only do they charge an outrageous
amount for these “staples” that cost hardly anything to make, but they offer
hardly any nutritional value and your kids are likely to eat only half of it
before declaring they’re full. Instead, order a meal that you both will eat and
share. This saves you money and might get them to eat a vegetable or two.
While there are other ways to save on dining, these have
proven to be the most useful for my travels and are my first suggestions to
anyone asking how to cut costs on their trip. They are easy to do and will
enable you to try a bigger variety of foods, too. You’ll experience more of the
city and its people, giving you a greater vacation experience.
How do you save money on dining out when you travel?
