Save Your Travel Dollars with These Tips for Cheap Eats
We all know that travelling can be an enriching experience, where you can learn about other cultures and ways of life, as well as see the world. But travel can also prove costly: between the expense of getting there (whether it be by air, land or sea), paying for your lodging, and paying for activities to do, you may find that you need to cut your budget somewhere, somehow.
Cutting your food budget is a great way to save money while travelling, while not necessarily losing out on experiencing everything that the city you are travelling to has to offer.
If you are looking to cut your food budget for your next trip, here are a few tips and tricks you can follow:
BYOB (of water)
Have you ever bought a bottle of water at an airport or an arena? They can end up being quite costly! Now imagine if you are travelling with several people, perhaps including your kids, and everyone needs a bottle of water, several times a day. Simply keeping yourselves hydrated can really start to add up. But if you bring your own water bottle, you can refill them in your hotel’s washrooms, or even at water fountains at most locations. Just make sure to pack it in your checked luggage if you are flying, so that you aren’t forced to toss it out at security.
Research Your Location
Before you go on your trip, look into grocery stores that are located near your accommodations. Grocery stores are typically cheaper than smaller mini marts or convenience stores, particularly those located in your hotel lobby. Grocery stores will also typically offer you healthier options as well.
Read More: Travel Here, Eat Here: Best Travel Destinations For Foodies
Find Deals when You Can
A simple search of local restaurants online, or just reading local signs can help you find some great meal deals. Also, make sure to take advantage of anything you can: if your hotel offers continental breakfast, go down and get something every morning, even if you aren’t hungry quite yet. Most places will have fruit or cereal that you can hang on to and eat as snacks throughout the day. Which leads us to…
Fill Up on Cheaper Meals
Most breakfast and lunch menus tend to be far less expensive than their dinner counterparts. With this in mind, if you eat a large breakfast and a larger (later) lunch, you can then sometimes save quite a bit on your dinner, as you simply won’t be as hungry come dinner time. This is also a great way to save on small snacks throughout the day—a cost which can really add up.
Stay Away from the Obvious
The restaurants located in and around popular tourist attractions are often quite costly. Going a little distance away, even just a few blocks, can help you to easily save some cash.
Remember: just because you follow these tips doesn’t mean you have to do every meal on the cheap for your entire trip. In fact, following these tips might allow you to save enough money to splurge on one really special meal that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford!
Happy travelling!