{"id":12862,"date":"2023-08-29T01:44:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T07:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/?p=12862"},"modified":"2024-05-02T15:43:47","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T21:43:47","slug":"how-to-eat-cheap-on-vacation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/how-to-eat-cheap-on-vacation\/","title":{"rendered":"How to eat cheap on vacation (hint: Ask the locals)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Your first buttery taste of a perfectly flaky Parisian croissant, the way a rich Italian hot chocolate melts in your mouth, the best Indian daal of your life\u2014food memories are often the longest lasting. And for good reason: Tasting new cuisines is often why so many travelers love exploring the globe<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem impossible to dine well and<\/em> eat cheap on vacation, but it can be done. The secret is to act less like a tourist and more like a local.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Eat<\/p>\n\n\n

Venture outside the tourist areas to eat cheap on vacation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A surefire way to save money on food while you travel is to venture outside the tourist zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica van Dop DeJesus learned this lesson early, and it\u2019s served her well. As a major in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve living abroad, she made friends in many countries and grew to love traveling. Now, whenever she\u2019s headed to a new destination, she asks friends who live there to recommend places to eat cheap on vacation that are outside the tourist-heavy city centers. Not only do the neighborhood restaurants she discovers that way serve less expensive and delicious food, they also provide a refreshing change of atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUsually the spaces are a bit more quaint,\u201d says DeJesus, who left active duty in 2009 and has been writing a food and travel blog since 2012. \u201cIt\u2019s less noisy than when you\u2019re dining with a bunch of tourists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask locals where they recommend eating<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Word of mouth is another effective way to eat cheap on vacation. Find out where the locals like to go when they dine out, says Erik Wolf, executive director of a nonprofit that promotes the food tourism industry. Three of Wolf\u2019s most interesting trips took him to Sweden, Spain, and Ecuador, where he made a point to ask hotel employees and other locals where they eat. \u201cI was able to find some real gems,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Ask<\/p>\n\n\n

Baristas, bartenders, and passengers on local buses and trains are among the favorite sources for dining tips for Sarah Schlichter, a financial writer. On the other hand, she says the hotel concierge isn\u2019t always the best guide to eating on a budget while traveling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes they\u2019ll give you good recommendations, but a lot of times they kind of have their standard places they recommend that are tourist-friendly,\u201d Schlichter says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Lean on expert reviews from trusted sources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another way to find the can\u2019t-miss restaurants where you can eat cheap on vacation is to check out dining websites that share restaurant reviews from local patrons around the globe. There are also restaurant discover apps that let you in on where some of the world\u2019s best chefs like to dine when they\u2019re not at their own restaurants, Wolf says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you can read more than one language, try using the \u201call languages\u201d option when you check out restaurant reviews on dining apps and websites. DeJesus and her husband, who speak five languages between them, will often read the tips in the local language of their travel destination for insights into how to save money eating out on vacation. Even if you don\u2019t speak the local language, you can still benefit from local reviews by pasting them into a translation app, DeJesus says.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Try these 10 tips to eat cheap on vacation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Along with tapping locals for dining tips and exploring neighborhood restaurants, another secret to eating on a budget while traveling is having an attitude of adventure and flexibility. Carry that mindset with you and follow these 10 tips for how to eat cheap on vacation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Rethink your definition of fine dining. <\/strong>The idea that great dining automatically means gourmet food and expensive wine is \u201cold school,\u201d Wolf says. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to spend a lot of money to have a great meal.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Have lunch instead of dinner at your splurge restaurant.<\/strong> If you\u2019re trying to save money on food while you travel, note that lunch menus tend to have lower prices, often for just slightly smaller portions than the same dishes you find on the dinner menu.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Opt for cafes over more formal restaurants.<\/strong> \u201cA lot of times cafes will have cheaper food than higher-end restaurants,\u201d Wolf says. Going the cafe route will go a long way toward eating on a budget while traveling.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n

    \"Trying<\/p>\n\n\n

    1. Grab some groceries.<\/strong> Visit a local supermarket or farmers market to pick up the ingredients for a simple picnic meal to take to a park.<\/li>
    2. Eat light and share.<\/strong> Ordering an appetizer in place of an entree, or splitting one entree between two people, is another good way to save money on food while you travel.<\/li>
    3. Taste some tax-free home cooking.<\/strong> If you sign up for a peer-to-peer dining program\u2014or get invited to the home of a newfound friend in your travel destination\u2014you won\u2019t pay any taxes or service charges on your meal, Wolf says.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n

      \"Sign<\/p>\n\n\n

      1. Eat on the street.<\/strong> It\u2019s a fun way to eat on a budget while traveling, but be careful where you grab a bite. \u201cStreet food is very affordable and very local, but you do, of course, want to take safety precautions,\u201d Schlichter says. \u201cI always make sure I\u2019m going to a stall that\u2019s really busy, with a high turnover of the food so it\u2019s not sitting around.\u201d<\/li>
      2. Be water wise.<\/strong> Instead of buying bottled water at a souvenir shop, it\u2019s more economical to get it at a local grocery store, Schlichter suggests.<\/li>
      3. Rent a place with a kitchen.<\/strong> <\/strong>Cooking some of your own meals is a great way to eat cheap on vacation. Choose lodging that comes with a kitchen, such as a vacation rental or hostel.<\/li>
      4. Keep snacks in your pack.<\/strong> Carry something to nibble on\u2014like fruit, nuts or a baguette\u2014when you go out on a tour or excursion. With a snacking strategy, you won\u2019t be starving every time you sit down to eat\u2014and you\u2019ll be less likely to over order.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        It\u2019s not always easy to eat cheap on vacation, but if you dine and shop like a local, you can find some great bargains\u2014and some of the best bites around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Now that you know how to save money eating out on vacation, learn even more ways to travel on a budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Articles may contain information from third parties. The inclusion of such information does not imply an affiliation with the bank or bank sponsorship, endorsement, or verification regarding the third party or information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Traveling on a budget? You can still eat cheap on vacation while exploring the unique flavors of the local cuisine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":3885,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[84,87],"tags":[136,105,100,39,49,140],"class_list":["post-12862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-planning","category-travel-leisure","tag-frugal-living","tag-money-saving-tips","tag-quick-tips","tag-saving","tag-spending","tag-travel-tips"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12862"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19165,"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12862\/revisions\/19165"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.discover.com\/online-banking\/banking-topics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}