How to Eat Cheap When You Travel the World (Updated 2023)

Last Updated: 3/17/23 | March seventeenth, 2023

I like to devour.

In reality, consuming is considered one of my favourite actions, and likewise considered one of my favourite sides of touring.

Food is such an integral a part of such a lot of cultures that to skip out on foods while you commute is to fail to see part of that tradition.

I’m at all times disenchanted after I meet vacationers who cook dinner all their foods in a hostel kitchen.

Why come to Italy and no longer have pasta?

No sushi in Japan?

Avoiding steak in Argentina?

Skipping paella in Spain?

While you don’t want to devour each and every unmarried dish while you discuss with a brand new nation, it’s vital to be as open as conceivable to their meals tradition.

Of direction, many vacationers have a sound fear when it comes to meals. For one, consuming out all the time is costly. Imagine for those who ate out each day — your meals funds can be astronomical!

Additionally, many of us have nutritional issues that save you them from absolutely embracing new meals. And many vacationers are vegan or vegetarian, as neatly, which may affect their choices.

As a backpacker, other people incessantly think that I, like different backpackers, cook dinner all my foods.

However, I don’t in reality cook dinner very incessantly after I’m on the highway. While I like cooking at house, I hate poorly supplied hostel kitchens.

To be certain I will be able to devour out with out breaking the financial institution, I’ve had to learn the way to stability consuming 99% of my foods out whilst nonetheless discovering some way to get monetary savings.

Yes, it takes a little of suave pondering, however it indisputably is conceivable. Here’s how to devour out on the cheap when you commute the global:

1. Eat at Buffets

While they don’t at all times serve the best possible foods, buffets be offering nice price to your cash, particularly since they’re all-you-can-eat. More incessantly than no longer, you’ll be able to refill on one meal for the complete day. They are a just right economical selection and provide you with the maximum meals to your greenback (whilst permitting you to pattern numerous other meals).

2. Visit Outdoor Street Vendors

Small stands that promote sizzling canine, sausages, sandwiches, and equivalent meals nice puts to get an affordable and fast meal. While in Sweden, I lived off some of these distributors. While they’re not anything fancy, they’re tasty and inexpensive!

In Amsterdam, FEBO and their croquettes saved my abdomen complete. In Costa Rica, the empanada vendor crammed me up for a buck and I purchased native meals from distributors at markets for mere pennies in Madagascar.

These fast and reasonably priced foods received’t win any Michelin stars (even though there are Michelin superstar meals stalls in Singapore!) however, they’re going to stay you complete with out emptying your pockets.

3. Eat Street Food

In maximum puts round the global (and particularly in Asia), the streets are covered with little meals stalls and spaces the place meals is cooked brazenly on the side road.

You take hold of a plate, take a seat down in a little bit plastic chair, and revel in a scrumptious meal. Street meals is a few of the best possible meals in the global. Meals at side road stalls (other from side road distributors, who’ve a little extra everlasting set-up) value not up to a buck maximum of the time and are a good way to in reality revel in the native delicacies.

Many puts — like Thailand and Vietnam, for instance, wouldn’t be the similar if the side road meals disappeared.

4. (Sometimes) Eat Fast Food

Fast meals isn’t the right for you, however it’s an alternative choice if you need an affordable meal in reasonably priced portions of the global. For as low as $5 USD (extra in pricey international locations like Norway, house of the $15 Whopper), you’ll be able to get a filling (and massively caloric) meal.

Moreover, the native buck menu will prevent much more. Sure, it’s no longer the largest meals, and I’m going to skip the philosophical debate about touring round the global best to devour McDonald’s to say that it’s reasonable and simply differently to allow you to rein for your spending. (However, word: in Asia, rapid meals is incessantly dearer than native meals.)

5. Go Local

When you’ve been touring for some time, it’s best standard to crave a style of house once in a while. That implies that certain, from time to time I am getting ill of Greek meals after I’ve been touring there for a little. Other instances, I will be able to’t devour any longer Thai meals and simply desire a burger.

And that’s OK.

We are living in a globalized global — devour what you need. However, non-local meals is nearly at all times dearer than native delicacies. For instance, in Vietnam, a bowl of pho is not up to a buck, however a burger is ready 3 times as a lot (or extra!).

Go native and you’re going to save your self a ton of cash in the long term!

6. Find the Lunch Specials

Many eating places, particularly in Europe, be offering lunch specials, the place pieces on the dinner menu are presented at an enormous bargain. You can get an important afternoon meal for a fragment of the value you’d pay for the similar meal in the night time.

I in most cases generally tend to devour my “nice” meal throughout lunch, as a result of lunch specials and plates of the day are about 30-40% off what I may pay at dinner. The choices will in most cases be extra restricted, however the financial savings greater than justify it.

7. Skip the Soda

Grabbing a refreshing can of Coke or Pepsi may appear to be an reasonably priced means to quench your thirst, however it’s a decision that provides up (just like purchasing a espresso each day). Sure, I might splurge from time to time on a Coke, however I hardly purchase soda as a result of it’s so pricey (and it’s so dangerous for you!).

When you’re visiting a tropical location, an ice-cold soda is indisputably interesting. But spending a few dollars each day can in reality upload up over the process a long-term shuttle!

8. Refillable Water Bottle

Water is probably not as pricey as soda, however purchasing a bottle (or 3) each day can upload up. As you stroll round and sightsee, you want to keep hydrated. But purchasing a bottle of water is not just environmentally wasteful — it additionally makes silly funds commute sense.

Assuming every bottle is ready $.75 USD and you purchase 3 an afternoon, over the process a month you’re going to spend $67.50!

That’s some huge cash spent on water! (Plus, in some portions of the global, bottled water prices much more than that!)

Carry a refillable bottle of water (with a filter out) with you as a substitute and simply use the faucet water. I counsel a Lifestraw bottle. It guarantees your water is at all times blank and protected.

9. Don’t Snack

A gelato right here, a gelato there. A soda. A sweet bar. An ice cream. A small pastry. It all provides up.

Since the value is so small (“It’s only a euro!”), we don’t recall to mind snacking as having a large affect on our funds. But purchasing snacks a couple of instances an afternoon will slowly upload up and throw your funds out of whack. Even for those who simply purchase two little snacks for 1.50 EUR in keeping with day, that’s going to be no less than 90 EUR (over $100 USD!) through the finish of the month.

It’s no longer one thing many vacationers recall to mind, however snacking in reality does upload up over the long run. Avoid snacks and stick to large, filling foods as a substitute. If you do want to snack, be sure to account for it for your funds.

If you’re any person who loves snacking right through the day, imagine purchasing snacks at the grocery store like end result, crackers, power bars, and so forth., to take with you to munch on over the process the day so that you’re ready as a substitute of splurging on an overpriced vacationer entice snack.

10. Cook Often

I don’t cook dinner so much on the highway as I don’t like hostel kitchens. They by no means have the whole thing I want, and I hate touring with a conveyable kitchen so I will be able to have all the components I need.

Yet when I’m in a single position for some time (or if I’m Couchsurfing), I cook dinner a couple of foods.

Cooking is considered one of the best possible techniques to stay your commute prices down, and supermarkets also are nice puts to cross to see what the native other people devour. The best position the place cooking your personal foods isn’t the maximum economical possibility is Asia, the place side road meals is in most cases inexpensive.

As I discussed, I’ll incessantly cross out for a nicer meal at lunch when I will be able to discover a just right deal. That will in most cases imply for dinner I’ll be cooking my very own meals. That means, I’ll nonetheless get to check out the native delicacies however I’ll additionally get to stay my funds intact. Double win!

11. Picnic

Another just right self-cook means is to picnic. This is one thing I do so much for lunch if I’m someplace the place the climate is sweet. I in most cases head to an area meals marketplace, pick out up a host of meals, and cross picnic in the park. Not best am I saving cash (sandwiches aren’t pricey), however it presents me an excellent chance to watch the locals scurry about their day by day lives.

If you’re staying at a hostel, it is a nice ice-breaker for assembly new other people. Just invite everybody alongside to sign up for you and also you’ll be making new pals very quickly!

12. Use Tourism Cards

Most other people recall to mind vacationer playing cards like the iAmsterdam card or the VisitOslo move as only a means to get monetary savings on transportation and points of interest. But those playing cards additionally be offering reductions at many eating places. Typically, reductions are round 15-25%, however from time to time lunch specials can also be up to 50% off.

Visit the native tourism place of work while you arrive and ask what meals reductions are integrated. Chances are you’ll be ready to save much more cash for those who simply take the time to know about the tourism move. it’s a profitable funding!

13. Find Free Breakfast

If you’ll be able to to find hostels or accommodations that come with breakfast, you’ve already eradicated the value of 1 meal. Plus, you probably have an enormous breakfast that fills you up for many of the day then you definitely don’t want to devour as many foods out. Moreover, many hostels round the global additionally be offering loose dinners, loose espresso and tea, and different food-related perks. Search them out to get monetary savings and decrease your meals prices.

14. Eat With Students

Where there are universities, there are scholars, and because scholars are in most cases broke, that implies there are probably reasonable puts to devour within sight. Check Google Maps for native post-secondary establishments and spot what you’ll be able to to find in the within sight space. Many bars in the space will most probably have reasonable beverages and glad hours too, so you’ll be able to save much more.

15. Use Supermarket Deals

In many nations, supermarkets be offering lunchtime specials for employees in the surrounding spaces. These in most cases entail contemporary sandwiches or some soup or salads. Additionally, many supermarkets additionally bargain meals that expires quickly, together with bread, baked items, meat, and convey. Buy groceries in the night time and you’ll be able to most probably to find your self some discounted (however nonetheless completely protected and fit for human consumption) meals.

I like a pleasing eating places. I don’t thoughts paying cash for a just right meal with a pleasing glass of wine. But doing that EVERY meal is just too pricey.

But, through the usage of the guidelines above, I will be able to come up with the money for to stay my prices down whilst nonetheless being ready to come up with the money for a high quality meal each and every so incessantly.

And that’s what’s in reality vital — discovering the proper stability.

Because if you’ll be able to set up to stability consuming nice meals with saving cash, each your pockets and your abdomen will thanks.