Traveling itself is a beautiful experience. It opens you up to new sights and cultures and offers many benefits to the body, mind, and soul. But, it is hard not to let your belly rule your mind when you’re a traveling foodie. From small market kiosks to 5-star restaurants, you feel as if you have to try everything. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that because FOOD COMES FIRST.
While most foodies prefer spontaneity, finding the best food when traveling to a different location isn’t an easy task. Even the slightest amount of “not caring about what you’re putting in your stomach” could lead to a major breakdown inside your body. Plus, you don’t want to settle for less and miss out on popular cuisines by not performing your research beforehand.
So, in such a scenario, what is a foodie to do?
Fortunately, we’re here to guide you.
Here are some tips every food-lover should keep in mind when traveling to a different location:
1. Plan and book a food tour.
Think about signing up for a gastronomic walking tour for a portion of the journey. That is a terrific way to try various dishes and beverages, get a feel for the area, and then pick which locations or regional foods you’d like to visit again.
Side-Bar: If you’d rather spend your culinary tour with something a little more special and sophisticated, such as wine, why not make your way to some of the USA’s most exquisite wine shops? Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, offers great wine factories and a few spectacular views. By activating your cell phone’s GPS, you can look for a Pigeon Forge winery nearby and find what you need.
Furthermore, food tours can also be a helpful introduction to menus and local dining manners for tourists visiting countries with a foreign language they don’t understand.
2. Ask the real folks.
Although getting suggestions from the hotel concierge can be a good backup plan, cab drivers can be a treasure of information about late-night food. Staff at well-known tourist attractions may know what restaurants are suitable for lunch nearby. Asking people you meet for more advice and recommendations for your trip might be a wonderful icebreaker. Before leaving, you might post on Twitter and Facebook to see if anyone in your network has other must-visit locations to recommend.
3. For further advice, read reviews and blogs.
Read a few travel blogs and internet reviews of the areas you intend to visit before finding out what other people say about them. Additionally, you can watch vloggers’ YouTube videos about their stories and pay heed to the advice they offer. The benefit of watching video reviews is that you can follow travelers’ experiences while they are already in the area, see the eateries they visit, and determine what you have to do next.
4. Don’t be afraid to try the local cuisine.
It’s also a good idea to eat locally when you’re traveling. Travel should be more than just sightseeing; it should be a full sensory experience, which includes food. Try to locate the eateries where most residents eat between exploring stunning locations. You can sample the cuisine that these locations have to offer here.
5. Don’t be intimidated if the menu is in a different language.
Are you not bilingual? No issue. The wait staff may be able to translate for you, or many eateries may feature an English menu. If the opposite is true, Google Translate can be useful. Choose the language pack for the nation you visit (for example, Italian) and download it to your phone at home to use offline. For example, when you are in a restaurant, you may text, “Can I please order the most well-liked dish?” or “What would you suggest?”. Amazingly, you can use the camera feature to hover over the menu, which will interpret the menu on your screen.
6. You can also use applications.
There are countless food-related phone applications available. Most of them use your location to display nearby locations and customer reviews. Yelp and Zomato are two well-known apps. You may view menus and read reviews from other foodies using these apps. As a result, choosing a restaurant is made simple.
7. Go grocery shopping
Grocery shopping is one of the most enjoyable activities in any new city, especially abroad. Additionally, the locals shop at big-box stores, street sellers, and farmer’s markets. Get some ingredients to prepare dinner one night if you’re staying somewhere with a kitchen. Food-loving friends and family would appreciate the souvenirs you pick up for them at grocery stores and farmer’s markets, such as jams, coffee, and chocolates.
8. Follow the lines
People’s willingness to wait to eat at a restaurant says a lot. We don’t recommend wasting your valuable vacation time waiting for every meal. If you find a place that seems good, do some research to identify a good time to visit or, even better, ask if they accept bookings.
9. Travel in a group
For the best value and to sample more cuisine when traveling, dedicated foodies may wish to travel in a group. To begin with, traveling in a group gives you the opportunity to:
- Share travel expenses, such as hotel and transportation
- Share and divide dishes in restaurants so that everyone gets to sample a variety of dishes
- Take in the company of others; after all, eating is a social activity.
10. Ensure safety
It won’t kill you or even make you sick to eat something you’ve never tried before. However, consuming food that has been handled or prepared wrongly may. Be mindful of food safety practices, just as you would at home. Avoid anything that might be hazardous, including unclean produce, raw or undercooked meats, and unpasteurized milk dairy.
These foods may contain highly hazardous germs. Avoid these high-risk categories since you don’t want to spend your holiday in the bathroom or the ICU.
Conclusion
We hope you found these tips for food-loving travelers helpful. Rest assured, there are a handful of delicious places you can visit while traveling. Remember that it is possible to get too obsessed with food. Things can go wrong regardless of how meticulous you are with your planning. However, by heeding the pieces of advice mentioned in this article and taking the time to plan, you can make the most of your eating experience.
