A food budget can take up a significant portion of any traveler's budget. To prevent dinner from becoming a source of stress, here are some tips for saving on your food budget without having to go hungry.
Use Foursquare
There is a new website called Poorsquare that helps travelers find inexpensive meals in exchange for checking in on Foursquare.
"You tell [Poorsquare] what neighborhood you're in, what kind of offers you're looking for, and whether you're hanging out with friends (they come in handy for acquiring friend specials)," according to the blog About Foursquare. "It spits out a list of the freebies in your area that are yours for the taking just for checking in."
The service is currently available in 85 cities, as well as London. It's an easy way to use social media to get inexpensive, or even free, meals while traveling.
Food Festivals
Food festivals have free samples and inexpensive meals everywhere you turn. They tend to focus on seasonal cuisine, homegrown wines and local restaurant. Some festivals charge admission, but it is usually a low price. There is a list of free festivals and market from National Geographic.
Group Deals
Sites that offer group deals, like Groupon, often provide significant savings on meals. There are also other sites, like Living Social, which you can browse based on your intended destination. Both sites have local micro-site versions for a selection of both domestic and international cities.
Follow Food Blogs
Local food blogs are a great way to get an insider's knowledge of the local restaurant scene, including the best places to eat inexpensively. Some of the also have food tours, or can point you in the direction of food tours. Some suggestions are Paris By Mouth, The Skint (New York City), Broke-Ass Stuart, GrubGirl (San Francisco), Good Cheap Eats and Dine Out Cheap.
Join a Dinner Party
The website Couchsurfing now offers meet-ups and events, including free dinner parties for travelers. The listings for these events are on the activities page for your destination. This is also a great way to meet other travelers, especially if you're traveling on your own.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
