How To Eating Well On A Travel Budget.

When you're traveling it can be difficult to find good food at
reasonable prices especially if you happen to be staying in a
big city that has an established food and restaurant culture.
When you're faced with a budget, you want to try and maximize
your enjoyment per buck. If you want to eat well and sample the
local cuisine for a budget price, you'll need to do a little
research to find that perfect restaurant that offers a balance
between quality and price.

First, check with your hotel or hostel and inquire whether
breakfast is included in your stay. In Europe many hotels
provide breakfast. If you're hotel does provide breakfast,
don't skip it in favor for paying for food elsewhere. Some of
my most memorable meals were hostel breakfasts that were
nothing more that a roll, butter, jam and some coffee with milk.
Hotel and hostel breakfasts are also a great way to get to
know other guests.

One option for budget eating is to eat at a chain restaurant
that you a familiar with, such as McDonald's, Burger King or
Kentucky Fried Chicken. You can find a McDonald's about anywhere
world-wide. I made my way through Rome using a free McDonald's
map that in addition to indicating all the tourist attractions
had a mark for every McDonald's in Rome. However, if you want
to become familiar with the culture of the country you are
visiting, eating at a fast food restaurant is not a good option.

Another option is to buy groceries and make your own food. If
you don't have a fridge or hot plate in your hotel room, this
option may not be very feasible. Still, you can buy items that
don't need to be heated and make a meal out of those. When I was
in Florence, a loaf of bread, parma ham and cheese coupled with
a Chianti made a very nice picnic that I enjoyed thoroughly.
Make sure you try to sample items from the local cuisine.

Eating one or two meals a day from a street vendor or take-out
restaurant may also be a good way to still eat great, but save
some money. In Paris, I got great ham and cheese sandwiches from
a street vendor for lunch. They were delicious, kept me going and
didn't break the budget. When I was at a conference in Washington
D.C., I discovered a little convenience store that made fresh egg
and cheese sandwiches on toast to order. They sold them for only
$2.00 and I ate there every morning.

In Rome, I discovered a little take-out pizza shop around the
corner from the Pantheon. The restaurant made pizzas on huge
rectangular sheet pans and put them in a deli case with a clear
glass window. You could order by pointing to the kind you
wanted, motioning for how big you wanted your piece (they
charge by weight), and asking for it to be heated. Then you
happily take your piece of pizza over to the square, sit on the
steps and enjoy.

Being friendly with other guests in the hotel, the concierge
and the locals, is another great way to discover good food
that won't break the budget. Ask a local if they know any good
restaurants that aren't too expensive. They should be able to
come up with a few good options for you. Make sure you indicate
that you want to sample some local cooking. I've even known
friends that have gotten themselves invited over to dinner
(not that this should be your objective).

Another good way to find inexpensive restaurants is to always
be looking for a good place to eat. If you're out visiting a
tourist site, stop by a few restaurants and read their menus
(usually posted in the window). Even if you are not hungry,
you may decide to come back later. I've had better luck with
this technique when I'm in an area of the city that is not
your standard tourist destination.

Eating in a sit-down full service restaurant is the most
expensive dining option, so if you are really on a budget, you
may want to limit the number of full service meals you eat.
Also, in some countries eating at the counter is less expensive
that sitting at a table. By listening to recommendations and
doing a little research, you can avoid the expensive
restaurants that cater to tourists.

If you're on a budget, you can still eat great during your
travels, you just need to be aware of all your food options.
Ask around with locals for recommendations. Make sure you know
the price before you eat. Most important of all, try new
things. Stretch your boundaries and try something that you
would never eat at home. After all isn't the reason you travel
is to discover something different.

About the author:

Dencho Denchev love traveling during any season. He is created
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