Pure Travel
  • About
  • Destination Inspiration
  • Tips & Advice
  • Guide
  • Travel Writing
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  • Conservation
  • Privacy
  • Travel Writing Competition 2025
  • Reviews
  • Travel Resources
  • T&C
  • Contact Us
  • Conservation
  • Privacy
  • Travel Writing Competition 2025
  • Reviews
  • Travel Resources
  • T&C
  • Contact Us
Pure Travel
Pure Travel
  • About
  • Destination Inspiration
  • Tips & Advice
  • Guide
  • Travel Writing
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  • Tips & Advice

Tasty Travels: Top Tips for Safely Saving Money on Your Meals

  • April 6, 2016
  • admin

Piles up fast, doesn’t it?

 The food bill. You have to eat. And, when you’re traveling, you don’t really have a lot of time to make your own food. Most of the time, that sort of thing is impossible. So, you’re doomed to overspending, right? Not really. If you want to save money on your travel meals, here’s what you need to know.

How To Get Free Breakfast

One of the most underutilized ways to save money is to just eat at the hotel you happen to be staying at. No, not at the restaurant or bar downstairs. Eat in the designated dining area or lobby where the free breakfast is.

Most hotels and motels offer free breakfast these days. At one time, this was considered a perk. But, competition being what it is, it’s become more of a necessity than a luxury for hotel chains. If your hotel doesn’t offer this sort of thing, get yourself booked into one that does. You can easily save yourself between $10 and $20 per day just on a big breakfast.

Eat Big or Go Home

Speaking of free breakfast, if you’re the type that likes a big breakfast, load up on the free food before you start your day. You’re already paying for the hotel room and accommodations. Food is part of that. So, load up. That way, you can skip lunch and eat a big dinner. You’re only paying for one meal that way.

And, if you eat at the right restaurants, you can probably squeeze two meals out of one. Ethnic restaurants, like authentic Chinese, Indian, Korean, and Thai often sell large plated meals. And, combined with the sides, you can usually get two meals out of one. Just order a big meal and you’re set.

Pack Snacks

If you’re the super-hungry type, pack snacks for your trip. Nuts, trail mix, and anything that’s high protein or high fat and protein will work. Protein is very satiating and will keep you full for hours. So will fat. That’s why things like nuts and jerky make such excellent travel snacks.

Get The Special

If you’re eating out at local places, ask about specials. For example, let’s say you decide to go out for lunch. Ask for the special, and order lots of it. If you want a simple meal hack, here it is. Eat a huge breakfast, get the lunch special, and order more than you can possibly eat. Then, save the rest for dinner.

First of all, almost all restaurants have a lunch menu that’s a bit cheaper than the dinner menu. And, if you’re saving money by buying the special, you’re paying even less.

Don’t Be A Tourist

Most people who travel end up in tourist traps. Don’t be one of those people. Eat before you leave for a museum or before you go out for a walk in the more touristy areas. You don’t want to be stuck paying inflated prices for things like hot dogs and hamburgers.

Where Not To Eat

While you should absolutely take advantage of the free meals a hotel offers, you should not be eating in the hotel restaurant. It’s way too expensive. Hotels know this, and they offer internal restaurants so that you don’t have to leave. But, you pay for the convenience.

Pay For Everything On A Credit Card

Most of the time, if you’re using something like the chase ink plus credit card, you will get rewards or points that go towards your frequent flier miles or some other rewards system. Always use your card, and you’ll always be saving money – even if it’s not directly.

If you have a cash back rewards card, then the savings are obvious. You’ll be getting cash back at the end of the month or billing cycle.

Eat Near Colleges And Universities

Guess who else is trying to save money? College students. And, businesses that set up shops near universities often offer specials to the locals because they have to cater to people who don’t have a lot of money to spend. So, you’ll find some of the best deals in town in areas near colleges.

Check Out Happy Hour

Even if you’re not a drinker, you can save money by eating early or going to happy hour. The low-priced drinks are obvious wins, but many bars and restaurants also discount their appetizers during happy hour. Fill up on them, and you won’t have to eat much for the main course to be satisfied.

Melissa Bull is having the time of her life travelling the world! Currently in Europe, she enjoys meeting other travelers and spending time with locals alike. She writes about her experiences and shares tips and tricks on long-term travel through her writing.

Share
Tweet
Related Topics
  • budget tips
  • saving money on holiday
  • travel budget tips
  • travel tips
admin

Previous Article
  • Travel Resources

Room Occupancy Trends Show Healthy UK Tourism Industry Growing

  • April 6, 2016
  • admin
View Post
Next Article
  • Travel Resources

How You Can Save Money When You’re Travelling With Work

  • April 12, 2016
  • admin
View Post
You May Also Like
Fun-Filled Family Holidays
View Post
  • Tips & Advice

Fun-Filled Family Holidays: Destinations for a Memorable Summer

  • TotalSEO
  • June 9, 2025
Must-Do Treks in Nepal
View Post
  • Destination Inspiration
  • Tips & Advice

Top 7 Must-Do Treks in Nepal to Explore the Beautiful Himalayas

  • Jules
  • May 29, 2025
Four women celebrating after completing a fundraising challenge
View Post
  • Lifestyle
  • Tips & Advice

Adventuring with a Cause: Fundraising Tips for Ethical Explorers

  • Jules
  • May 19, 2025
Luxury fishing lodge
View Post
  • Lifestyle
  • Tips & Advice

Where To Go For The Ultimate Catch? Top Destinations With Luxury Fishing Lodges

  • Jules
  • May 16, 2025
The Best Destinations for Independent Travelers
View Post
  • Destination Inspiration
  • Tips & Advice

Solo Summer Adventures: The Best Destinations for Independent Travelers

  • TotalSEO
  • May 12, 2025
overseas adventure travel ideas - Nepal
View Post
  • Action & Adventure
  • Lifestyle
  • Tips & Advice

The Ultimate Guide to Overseas Adventure Travel from the U.S.

  • Robert
  • May 8, 2025
travel clipart
View Post
  • Tips & Advice

Travel Clipart: A Simple Way to Improve Your Travel Website

  • Robert
  • May 7, 2025
camper trailers
View Post
  • Tips & Advice

Rolling Home: How to Pick the Perfect Camper Trailer

  • Jules
  • May 1, 2025
Pure Travel
  • About
  • Destination Inspiration
  • Tips & Advice
  • Guide
  • Travel Writing
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

Pure Travel
Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}