Travel Food Hacks: How to Find the Best Cheap Food While You Travel

What are the best places to eat in the town I am visiting? How do I eat cheap yet well while I travel? How do I eat on a student budget while I travel? These are all travel food questions we have received from fans, friends and followers. Here are our 6 tips for eating cheap and well while you travel.
Filmed in Granada, Nicaragua
Copyright Mark Wolters 2017

1. Don't Eat: don't feel like you have to eat three big meals each day, sometimes it is best to have one big meal and only smaller other meals or two meals and a snack to save your budget.
2. Use Lunch Specials: a lot of countries and cities have lunch specials where you can experiment local cuisine for a fraction of the price during lunch time.
3. Use the Grocery Store: getting cheese and a baguette is not just a cliché, it is something everyone should do in France. Also, when you visit the grocery you see how the locals shop and eat and at a very cheap price.
4. Eat Where the Locals Eat: look around and see where the locals are eating and go there. If you are not sure, just ask a local or at your hotel and they will help you find good local places at a good price.
5. Use Kiosks, Imbisses and street food: you can eat a local treat at a great price and keep sightseeing while you enjoy your meal.
6. Only have breakfast at your hotel if it is free. If your hotel wants you to pay for breakfast you may be better off just exploring the surrounding area of your hotel for a café that will give you ambiance and a good price with local food.

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[carltonvaughn]

I thought I was the only weird one that like to go to grocery stores in foreign places to experience their culture!! Great video :)

[christopherwilson]

Walk 2 blocks away from the tourist area- we did this in Prague and almost always found a place for 75% less and more interesting too.

[Slashplite]

GREAT TIP: In Poland you can go to Milk Bar (Bar Mleczny) where you can eat normal big dinner for 1/4 of the restaurant price. And the food is traditional cuisine too!

[shawngladue]

Another good tip is, go near universities.restaurants knows that students are on a budget.

[buckybarnes]

Great tips! we always get a hotel with a free breakfast -- sometimes it's so big it can feed you for the day. and there are always items from breakfast you can take with you, like bread and cheese or fruit.

[rlund]

When I went to London in March. For dinner one night I went to a local bakery and had a mozzarella, basil, and tomato baguette sandwich with a chocolate croissant with a coke for only five pounds. It was delicious and was much better than the forty pound dinner I had a upscale restaurant the next day.

[silviadinoia]

In Italy se have stuff like "menù operaio" (workers menus) for lunch for about 7-12€ with a full meal (it means pasta, main course, dessert coffee and water), you can spot it because you find truck drivers and old people in there (sometimes we call this placese "where truck drivers go" XD) and for dinner we have apericena: you have aperitivo and dinner in the same time between 6.30 and 7.30 PM and for the same price you have a big fat buffet and a drink (alcoholic or not is your very own choice). Easy and cheap : )

[Jan.]

Another tip could be to avoid eating at touristic places

[yesorlando]

My family and I really enjoy your videos. But we really enjoy your presentation as well. The format is great, you're very interesting but not over-the-top, everything flows well, the videos are the perfect lengths, and you come across as a really nice, personable guy. Our youngest son who's 21 and in the Army has just started his own podcast and really enjoys your channel. Your personality and presentation is what sets you apart for us. It makes you (other than our son, lol) our favorite podcast host. Not trying to be too sappy, but it's really refreshing to see someone who is genuine, honest, interesting, not trying to put on a "show", and comes across as the guy next door. Thanks for the wonderful information and perspective you provide.

[lalilulelo]

This is connected to "use the grocery store"...Stay in a accommodation that has a kitchen guests can use. Cook your own local food. If you're in Nicaragua, simply google "easy to cook Nicaraguan food". Buy the ingredients then cook it! :)

[tshadow]

The Holiday Inn in Key Largo, Florida charged $12.00 for breakfast. I walked across the street (US1) to Doc's diner and bought breakfast for $6!

[marquelethenstrom]

I've been to 25+ countries, and I have a great time going to the markets to check out the different foods, and to get fresh fruits and vegetables. I also take advantage of lunch specials. And where possible, I prefer to rent an apartment so I can cook my own meals with cheap ingredients from the markets!

[KartoffelHundin]

So true, especially about Spain. I pigged out at lunch when I went as a student, really got my money's worth.

[ppzdrge]

I have been binge watching your videos nonstop for the last day, I wish I found your channel sooner! Great content and its keeping me sane and my wanderlust alive between travels. Keep it up!

[johndecriscio]

My wife and I definitely go to the grocery stores and make sandwiches etc. Saves a lot of money. And I love going to the central markets. Great way to see how the locals live and cheap places to eat.

[Curiouscalifornians]

Such great tips!!! One of my favorite videos from you guys! Thanks for sharing! We can even use these tips at home. Yesterday we went to a local restaurant and had happy hour and appetizers, don't know why we never did that before instead of going out to a full dinner! It was so cheap and fun!

[annamcarthur]

One of our "must do" things to do when travelling is going to the local supermarket. There are so many different types of things a available. Asian supermarkets are always interesting as you are sometimes not sure what you are buying unless you can read the country's alphabet. It all enhances the experience of travelling.

[misscindypalacio]

Went to the grocery store in Rome for some cheese and prosciutto BEST desicion EVER!!! And asked the locals for the best souvlaki in Athens, Greece and omg, my mouth is watering just thinking about it :'(

[islandgirl]

Wolter, thanks for your tips. I never have breakfast at the hotel if I have to pay for it. There is always a little place near to the big hotels to get breakfast and it is much cheaper. I do the grocery trips too and buy juice, milk, fruit and yoghurt. I also pick up the small meals that they put together in some groceries. Sometimes, I pick up food in malls and have that for lunch or dinner. Good tips for budget travellers which I am. It is good to know that I have been on the right track. That leaves me money for my tours and shopping.

[Europrolanguage]

Yep, definitely do what the locals are doing, and that includes shopping at a local grocery store. Gosh, I still have that skillet I bought in San Francisco over 20 years ago ;-)