8 Cheap Food Solutions When Travelling Solo Or With The Family
As fun as it is to travel to different places, it can also be quite an expensive endeavour. Between flights, accommodation, and activities, costs can really add up fast. Then, of course, you’ve got to eat.
Funding three meals a day can really blow your budget. But luckily, there are plenty of ways to keep your food budget in check without skimping on culinary experiences.
It doesn’t matter if you’re exploring the Central Coast, road tripping out to Tibooburra (in the far northwest region of the state), or heading to the Hunter Valley, you can save quite a bit of money just by engaging in a bit of forward planning.
In this post, we’ll highlight eight cheap food solutions you can adopt when travelling. Hopefully, it will help you to reduce your expenditure.
1. Cook Your Own Meals
If your accommodation has a kitchen, one of the easiest ways to save money on food is to cook your own meals. Doing this can save you a ton of money, especially if you budget at least $20 per person for any breakfast, lunch or dinner you eat out.
Even if you only cook one meal a day and eat out for the rest, you’ll notice the savings add up. It is also a good way of ensuring you can eat your favourite meals or the ones you most enjoy making.
2. Use a Meal Delivery Service
It is understandable that you might not want to cook every day, especially considering you are on holiday or travelling. For this reason, you should consider engaging the services of a meal delivery company that can pre-make food for you.
For instance, companies like MACROS provide meal delivery in Sydney and offer ready-made meals that cater to various genres, such as Indian, Thai, and Mexican, as well as dietary needs like gluten-free and dairy-free.
Ordering from them can provide you with a healthy, convenient, and cost-effective way to eat, because all you need to do is heat them up.
3. Make Packed Lunches
Another great way to save on food while travelling is to make packed lunches to take with you when you go sightseeing.
If you head to the local supermarkets, you can pick up fresh produce, bread, snacks, and even pre-made salads and sandwiches at much cheaper costs than buying a meal out.
The good thing about doing this is that you can stock up for a good few days, which means you’ll expedite your savings. Additionally, enjoying a picnic by the beach, a river, or a scenic landscape can be a lovely thing to do.
4. Visit Local Food Markets
As well as local supermarkets, food markets are absolute goldmines when you’re travelling.
Not only can you pick up fresh, affordable eats, but you’ll also get to soak up the local atmosphere. Markets often sell things like baked goods, fresh fruit, and cheap meals ready to eat on the spot.
If you are visiting the Riverina Murray region, aka the NSW food bowl, you’ll be able to enjoy some of the best produce in Australia at very reasonable prices.
5. Choose Accommodation with Free Breakfast
Many hotels, motels, and hostels across New South Wales offer a complimentary breakfast as part of their accommodation offering, and it’s well worth factoring this into your booking decision.
At some places, this can be a huge cooked full buffet breakfast that includes the likes of hash browns, sausages, bacon, eggs, and baked beans, which can set you up for a big day of sightseeing.
However, even if it is a simple continental brekkie of cereal, toast, and fruit, it will reduce the need to buy food straight away. This can help you last out for a few hours where you can then….
6. Take Advantage of Lunch Specials
Many restaurants and cafes, especially in bigger cities and tourist areas, often have brilliant lunch deals that provide you with hearty meals at a much cheaper price than they are available in the evening.
Wherever you travel, keep an eye out for lunch menus, daily specials, or happy hours that make eating out a lot more affordable. Instagram is a good way to source them, so make a point of following some of the establishments you can find in the area. If you do this, you should also get a good idea of the quality of the food you will be offered.
Given that lunchtime meals tend to be cheaper than dinners, many travellers actually eat their main meal in the middle of the day, as it provides them with the best bang for their buck.
7. Stick to Street Food
Part of the joy of travelling is tasting street food, and across New South Wales, you’ll find plenty of food trucks and other options that showcase the exceptional produce in the area.
There are over 500 food trucks alone in Sydney, including OzHarvest. Between them, they offer pretty much every cuisine you can think of. Best of all, they are relatively cheap, serve the food quickly, and are usually bursting with flavour.
They also usually come in hearty portion sizes. So, you might be able to save more money by sharing one or two dishes between people.
8. Eat Where Locals Eat
A good tip for if you do want to eat out is to do so where locals eat.
These places are usually much cheaper than other establishments in tourist areas, and the range of foods available at them tends to showcase local produce and specialities that you won’t easily find where you live.