ood comprises a major chunk of your travel budget. Dining out is expensive, especially these days.
But eating while traveling doesn't necessarily mean you need to take out a second mortgage on your house.
There are plenty of ways to score cheap eats while traveling, even in uber expensive places like Walk Disney World.
When my sister and I traveled to WDW on a 10 day trip, we seldom paid for a meal or paid full price on any meal.
USE DINING COUPONS
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​​Before our trip, I'd gone to restaurant.com and took advantage of a special they were running - $40 off your meal coupons for $10 each.
Rather than eat in the parks where a simple Dole Whip will cost you $14, we ate in Disney Springs at restaurants like Planet Hollywood and House of Blues. The only money that came out of our own pockets was a tip for our server.
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Check out sites like restaurant.com and Google Food to see what specials, promotions and coupons you can find.
GO TO RESTAURANT WEBSITES
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Similarly, I checked out the sites of restaurants around WDW and signed up for their customer Loyalty Programs, like the one at Rainforest Cafe.
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While visiting Animal Kingdom I'd found a Rainforest Cafe right outside the Animal Kingdom front gate.
When signing up for their loyalty program I received $50 sign up bonus plus another $25 because it was my birthday that month. This also gave me priority seating at any of their restaurants - a big plus when dealing with the crowds at Disney World.
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This is what my sister and I both ate without paying one cent:
Google Food
Eating lunch inside the Animal Kingdom would've cost us $100 or more for the 2 of us.
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GET NO FEE CREDIT CARDS THAT EARN REWARDS
My no fee Chase VISA Disney credit card awards me Disney Dollars with every purchase I make on it.
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My Disney Dollars completely paid for a meal at Les Chefs du France, the most expensive restaurant in the WDW parks.
I could also purchase Disney merchandise with those Disney Dollars.
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I pay the balance off in full every month so I remain debt free.
EAT FOODS NATIVE TO THE REGION YOU'RE IN
The people on the Eastern Seaboard make their living by fishing so seafood is abundant - and cheaper!
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Sure, you may want that steak...but ordering steak there is going to cost you far more and it will be several days old having been trucked in vs. fresh seafood caught that same day.
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There's anothe upside to taking advantage of foods native to the region - I've discovered I really liked dishes I'd never tried before.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF COUPON BOOKS & DINING GUIDES
Many cities have coupon books and dining guides that contain coupons to their area restaurants.
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Entertainment Coupon Membership offers thousands of dining coupons for anywhere in the U.S. and you can search restaurants by state.
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Restaurants will also put coupons in the local newspaper.​
WATCH FOR COMMUNITY & CIVIC EVENTS
Community and civic organizations often hold fundraisers like all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinners or pancake breakfasts for an inexpensive price. Many churches do this as well. Not only can you save a few bucks on a meal, you're helping that community and can spend some quality time with your family.
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BOOK ACCOMMODATIONS THAT OFFER A FREE MEAL OR RENT ACCOMMODATIONS WITH A KITCHEN
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Many motel/hotels offer continental breakfasts with your booking. B&B's offer breakfast with your bookings and sometimes even things like afternoon champagne brunches. You're at least one meal ahead per day taking advantage of these free meals.
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Similarly, if you rent an accommodation with a kitchen you can save a bundle by eating in rather than dining out. On my trip to Hawaii, we saved thousands of dollars cooking most of our own meals in a location where a simple gallon of milk cost $8.
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WATCH FOR PROMOTIONAL EVENTS THAT SERVE FOOD
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Often new businesses will launch with a promotion that includes some kind of free food, such as gallery openings. Take advantage of them.
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TALK TO THE LOCALS​
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They know where the good, reasonably priced places to eat are! They can also tell you which places to avoid.
There are a couple of ways to do this. First, you can gather local insights through some online research.
Quora and TripAdvisor are excellent resources for getting your travel questions answered.
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However, my favorite way to get advice from locals is by asking them in person. Whether you’re at your accommodation or on the streets, don’t be shy to strike up conversation with those who know the place.
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You can also invite yourself to dine with locals through programs like Eatwith or BonAppetour.com.
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MAKE YOUR MAIN MEAL OF THE DAY LUNCH
It's not at all unusual for a restaurant to serve the same entree for lunch and dinner but raise the price on the dinner hour entree even though it's the same dish.
By making your main meal lunch, you can save a few dollars by paying the lunch time prices.
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EAT STREET FOOD
Food trucks and food truck parks are becoming more and more popular as food prices soar.
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Not only is the food usually good, they're usually pretty inexpensive or at least reasonably priced.
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What I like to do is grab some food from a food truck, then find a park or someplace nice to sit and have a picnic lunch while people watching.
PACK A PICNIC
Rather than eating out, pack a picnic lunch or dinner. We have so many beautiful parks and gardens to eat your picnic in and doing so is so relaxing.
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When we were at Disney, my sister and I would have our free breakfast buffet, snag a few items from the buffet, put them in our insulated lunch bags and find a nice spot to eat our lunch.
Lunch within the Disney parks will run $50 for 2 people. Over a 10 day period, we saved $500 on lunches alone and the food was much better than Disney lunches were.
Even water at WDW was $6 a bottle. We'd brought our filtered water bottles along and filled them before leaving for the parks. If we needed refills, we went to one of the restaurant soda machines and filled them with water at no charge.
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AVOID AIRPORT MEALS
Avoid airport and airline food. It's exhorbitantly expensive. Pack some of your own snacks to take on the plane and put them in your carry on bag.
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DRINK IN MODERATION
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You don’t have to give up drinking alcohol, but your travel budget will thank you for saying no to that second beer or glass of wine with dinner (and sadly, that after-dinner cocktail). If you want to drink, take advantage of pre-dinner happy hours with drink discounts.
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Also be aware of the fact that in touristy areas the booze you're being served is likely bottom shelf and can even be watered down.
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You can also wait to unwind until after your meal. In the U.S., and indeed in most parts of the world, store-bought alcohol is cheaper than booze served in local restaurants and bars. When you arrive at your destination, hit the liquor section of the nearest bodega or supermarket to stock up.
By utilizing these tips and tricks you can very effectively gain substantial savings when it comes to your travel food budget!