Cheap Food & Travel

Cheap food is a major selling point for many travel destinations. The idea of eating at the source, in the most authentic way for pennies on the dollar, excites loads of travelers. Some wanderers, myself included, will travel to a destination almost solely based on cheap, local food.

When budgeting for any trip, you have to consider food costs. In some destinations, that can be a hefty piece of the pie. Food is a necessity of life, and it only makes sense to consider places where you travel and eat on the cheap.

The Changing World of Food

Cheap food and travel may soon be a combination of the past.

It doesn’t take an economist or a global chef to notice the changes in food prices. Obviously, inflation plays a factor in the pricing of goods and services. Again, it doesn’t take a financial guru to look at a few menus and realize that prices are beating the hell out of inflation.

The number of high-end dining options around the world is soaring. Michelin stars – and prices – are now found in places like Southeast Asia, the land of cheap food. Even the idea of a “regular” restaurant is taking on a new meaning in recent years. As the focus of food service changes and customer expectations rise, prices follow suit.

Sure, there are countries where you can still eat on a dollar or two per day. With each passing year, these countries are fewer and farther between. As destinations rise in popularity, prices naturally increase. Guesthouses and hostels make way for high-rise condominiums, hotels and resorts. Mom and pop shops disappear, with designer names taking place. After all of this, travel is no longer cheap, especially the food.

Who can blame the seller? All of a sudden, life changes overnight. No more scraping by or worrying about bills. The scary thought is the long-term impact on the destination.

The availability of good, cheap food serves as a barometer of sorts when it comes to the stability of a travel destination.

Goodbye, Street Food

Street food has long been the perfect cheap eating option for travel. Thanks in large part to the late Anthony Bourdain, it’s value is appreciated more than ever by millions of people.

Street food has morphed into a trendy outing for many travelers. For others, it’s just a great way to get authentic, cheap food and stretch a travel budget.

Street food is typically fresh and local. No frills and more sustainable (in theory), cheap street food is one of the best parts of travel. It’s an efficient, no-nonsense affair.

Sadly, street food is disappearing. In the western world, the continuously expanding list of regulations and permits are putting an end to street food, slowly but surely.

The good news for those who plan to travel to developing nations is street food remains prevalent. But prices are on the rise. A few years ago, Thailand was noted as a place to travel for cheap food – and it still is – but prices are rising as the country grows.

As the modernization of cities progresses – cities like Yangon and Kuala Lumpur, where street food is not quite on the same level as a city like Hanoi – street food begins to disappear.

As a measuring stick, Kuala Lumpur is the perfect example. The city is in transition, highly developed and soon to be a fully modern city. Currently, there is a lot of street food in KL, but the transition is evident as food moves indoors. The same is happening in Ho Chi Minh City. Food stalls are being corralled and moved into centralized locations, where regulation is easier and prices rise.

In the United States, street food is largely absent. To clarify, farmers markets and weekend festivals do not quantify as street food.

Along with over-regulation, one of the significant reasons for the decline of street food in the West is the rise of the food truck.

Food Trucks

Food trucks/carts are the next big thing, right? According to some misinformed, perhaps delusional pundits, food trucks are supposed to be the next big thing in the food world. With a kitchen on wheels, cheap food can travel to you!

There’s one problem here, the cheap part.

Food trucks, as a general idea, are supposed to be a convenient, cheaper alternative to brick-and-mortar establishments. Well, they’re not.

The idea is that without the high costs of a building (taxes, rent, utility bills), food trucks can operate cheaper and pass on the savings to the consumer.

Living in Portland, Oregon, a city with over 500 food trucks/carts, I have learned that these are not the places for cheap food. Yes, some are cheap. There are a few carts where a cheap gyro, a $5 burger or an appropriately-priced street taco is available. These are rare, though.

Here’s an example: a popular restaurant in Portland (one block from my apartment) sells a pastrami sandwich for $12. A food cart (one block in the other direction) sells a pastrami sandwich for $14. The restaurant, which is generally overpriced in my opinion, serves the sandwich with a side of your choice. The food cart charges an extra $3 for fries. Neither charges tax (no sales tax in Oregon), and prices do not include tip. Yes, you’re still expected to tip at a food truck.

What’s the difference here? It’s not only the price. The difference is standing in crappy weather for 7 months a year at the food cart, waiting just as long as customers at the restaurant. Without table service. Seating is uncomfortable. And then pay more.

Food trucks are great. They are the epitome of small business. The food is usually very fresh. Variety increases with food trucks, and more cooks are able to showcase their stuff. However, as far as travel is concerned, I do not seek out food trucks for cheap food.

So, if street food is disappearing, and food trucks aren’t the answer, where is the cheap food?

Cheap Food & Travel in the United States

Finding cheap food is easy if you travel to places like South America or Asia. The task is not as simple in North America, specifically Canada and the United States. Locals know where the deals are, but finding cheap food in in the United States can be harder for travelers. Cheap eats are elusive, but they do exist.

Fast food runs rampant in the United States. Every city, town, highway, stadium and college campus has fast food within reach. Americans love convenience, but travelers seeking cheap food sans cardiac arrest will encounter challenges in the US of A.

There are a few bright spots in Fast Food Land that travelers should try. Shake Shack and Whataburger are two of the best. And Americans flock to Chick-fil-A. In California, I search for a Fatburger. Don’t waste your time at In-n-Out. It’s all hype. To the Golden State, sorry, not sorry.

We live in a world where the cheap food option for travel to (and those at home in) the United States is fast food. That’s a sad realization. The obesity epidemic in the United States can be directly attributed to the issues with cheap food, but that topic is better suited for someone more compassionate and patient.

Aside from fast food, travel in the United States can include cheap food. The goal is to go local. Really local.

Eating local in much of the United States is tedious, trying to make your way through the fast food wall and the thousands of chains at every turn. For travelers, get away from interstates and venture into neighborhoods. Ask a local where to find neighborhood bars, where local restaurants are generally found nearby.

Neighborhood delis, sandwich shops, hot dog stands and pizza by the slice are all solid cheap food options. But the best local option for cheap food and travel to the US is the diner. Diners generally serve typical American food, but tend to offer regional variations on menus throughout the country. All at an affordable price. For the record, no, I do not consider pizza fast food. It is perfection.

Ethnic restaurants restaurants can also be a great place to find cheap food during travel to the US. Family-owned-and-run noodle shops, Mediterranean and Mexican restaurants are common choices for cheaper food.

It will take some wandering, and may lead to some interesting places, but cheap food can always be found for those who look for it.

Rising Food Costs and Backpackers

With rising food costs, wages and cost of living, how will the tourism industry cope?

As long as the people keep coming, no one will bat an eye. Money will come in and cheap food will cease to be an aspect of travel in many regions. No one will care.

Until the next global economic meltdown.

As much as the western world thinks it suffers during a recession, it’s the developing world that takes the biggest hit. When a sizable chunk of your economy depends on foreign visitors spending money, and penny-pinching tourists are staying home, what’s left?

Budget travelers and backpackers travel regardless of the global economic situation. If anything, this group travels more when travel is cheaper. But when these formerly cheap travel destinations transform into something new and expensive, backpackers won’t be there to help them ride out the economic storm.

According to Forbes, “young travelers” accounted for over 20%, more than $200 billion, of the global travel economy in 2012. That’s 2012! With more young people traveling than ever before, the 2019 number is likely twice as high. You can bet a sizable amount, probably a majority, of those “young travelers” were backpackers.

What do backpackers do? They drink and eat. A lot.

And backpackers like it cheap. When places price out backpackers in favor of more free-spending tourists, they cash in on the short term. In doing so, they give up long-term stability. It’s like winning the lottery. The smart thing to do is take the annuity, but most people jump at the lump sum and blow it within a few years.

Tourist destinations do the same thing, dropping to their knees in an instant at the mention of “resort.” A few local big shots and some foreign investors cash in while most locals see little benefit. Then, when the resort closes or the economy tanks – and backpackers have moved on somewhere more welcoming – it’s the local population who suffers the most.

Thanks to the occasional moron in the headlines, backpackers often get a bad wrap. However, millions of backpackers make up the backbone of the travel industry in remote corners of the world. Backpackers are far more concerned with environmentally sustainable travel and supporting a local economy than the average resort-goer who never ventures beyond the gates.

Cheap food is the travel barometer. When cheap food disappears, backpackers disappear. When backpackers disappear, tourism-dependent developing destinations become a house of cards, ready to collapse with the slightest breeze.

How to Eat Cheap when Traveling

Prior travel research is always the best bet for finding cheap food abroad. Proper planning beforehand will give travelers the necessary insight to find the right areas in a destination. Over research can hinder an experience by spoiling surprises, but it’s necessary to avoid some common mistakes. And the right kind of research will lead to cheap food, which makes travel anywhere a little more fun.

Traveling prepared with the right information in mind will help travelers know what to look for or expect. For instance, learn what the local specialties are, then you will know where to focus the pursuit. That kind of research takes a minute or two on Google or Wikipedia. The savings are lasting.

A great way to find cheap food – a great way to travel, in general – is to wander. Wandering leads to the best hidden spots, where cheap local food is found.

Start off a day of wandering by filling up on breakfast at your hotel/hostel, and head out with a general destination or landmark in mind. As you inch closer, let curiosity lead the way. If a street or a park catches the eye, wander! The nooks and crannies within any city are where the authenticity – and the cheap food! – is found.

Along with wandering and research, eating local is a great way to save money when traveling. Not only does the money go directly into the local economy, local food is always cheaper. Hangry travelers often give in to temptation and settle for familiarity. Starbucks, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s are in hundreds of countries around the world. Giving in is easy, but holding out for something local leads to a better travel experience, and, best of all, cheap food.

One consistent way to travel and find cheap food is to find markets. Whether it’s a local market, grocery store, supermarket or even a minimart, these are the places of savings. It’s tough to not stop in every cafe and pub while exploring a new city, but shopping at a market to supply 1-2 meals per day will yield a lot of savings.

Perhaps the easiest way to travel and find cheap food is to choose cheaper destinations where cheap food is inherent. Places that maintain a street food culture are generally more affordable for food-minded travelers. Southeast Asia is an easy choice for fantastic food that is generally easy on the wallet. The rest of Asia has plenty of cheap food, but affordability varies significantly by country. South America also has plenty of options for travelers seeking cheap food abroad.

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Finding cheap food is a constant battle of travel. The best way to eliminate any worry of finding cheap food is to travel with a fat budget. Obviously, that is not an option for most of us, and a challenge on the road makes a journey more fun. The challenge of finding cheap food makes for a more robust travel experience, leading off the beaten path to pockets of authenticity and tasty food.