Pack Smart on Your Next Road Trip With Food and Save Cash

Bringing Food on Road Trips

Road trips are my all time favorite. Whether it’s a short one-day or a long road trip, I love traveling, being on the road, and discovering new places. While road trips are fun, preparing for one is not always the easiest. Multiple questions arise when planning a road trip: “Where should you stop on your trip?” ” How many clothes should you bring and what kind?” and most importantly “Should you bring food?”

So, before you decide to pack up your whole fridge, or just get food at your destination, read about some pros and cons of bringing food on road trips.

Do Your Research

First, before moving on to some more specific travel tips on this topic, I’d like to highlight the importance of doing proper research. Namely, you must have enough information about the place you’re visiting before you can decide what types, if any, of food and drinks to bring with you. Below you can find some crucial questions that will help you with your food packing adventure.

Are you allowed to bring certain types of food or drinks or not? – Obviously, if you’re traveling by plane you won’t be able to bring many things with you. Also, certain airports ban certain types of food and or drinks, thus make sure you’re not breaking any laws by bringing something with you;

Is it worth it to bring some things? – Once or twice I’ve made the mistake to bring foods and drinks on a vacation and then find out that this was completely unnecessary. For example, when visiting smaller Greek towns, buying in the local supermarket is pretty much as cheap as buying in my local supermarket. Thus, try to find out prices and living standard before packing three bags of food and a cooler of drinks;

Opinion from other travelers? – I often try to get first-hand information from other travelers before making decisions on packing food. After all, someone who has been in a particular destination one week or month ago can provide relevant information that can help you plan your trip better;

What are the best spots for shopping and dining? – In case you decide to buy everything in the place you’ll be staying; the least you can do is to research the best and cheapest supermarkets, grocery stores and restaurants. This way, you’ll get high-quality and affordable products regardless the destination.

Pasta Always Does the Trick

Everyone loves pasta…well majority of people do. What’s best about pasta is that you can take it everywhere with you without worrying that it will melt or spoil. The options are many and range from simple spaghetti and macaroni to upgraded tortellini. Not only pasta is nicely packed and easy to store, but it is also easy to cook. If you’re a ketchup and spaghetti person, it won’t take you more than 25 minutes to have a tasty lunch. Those that want something more complicated and delicious can always make a sauce or even bring a canned or bottled ready-to-use one.

You Can Save a Lot on Drinks

In the first part of the travel tips, I mentioned that you need to do your research first. The research should reveal whether it’s worth it to bring drinks on your road trip or not. Many smaller travel destinations are quite cheap and buying drinks in local stores may cost you the same as buying them from your hometown.

However, if you’re going to a top travel spot, the chances that everything is much more expensive are pretty high. In such a case, make sure to bring the drinks that you love the most and cost the most; for me personally, that’s Coca-Cola and beer. In some cases, I bring powder drink mix, which is very affordable and makes for tasty beverages.

Canned Food Is a Friend

Anything that doesn’t need to be put in a fridge or frozen and stays good for a longer period is a great option for road trips. Even if you’re not a fan of canned food, you will find it very useful during your journeys. Often, this type of food is ready to be eaten right away, without even cooking it. Therefore, it’s perfect for those that want to eat something on the road or while camping.

No Need to Pay for Expensive Foreign Coffee

Well, having a nice coffee in a local restaurant is always a pleasant experience. However, if you’re traveling on a budget and trying to save cash it’s the best to avoid this pleasure. This applies especially to those that are used to drinking several cups of coffee or tea a day.

Go for making your own coffee. It is a great way of saving cash that can be used on other awesome things. I, personally, often bring sugar, ground coffee, Nescafe Gold and a Frape maker. It saves me cash and I get the perfect morning coffee every single time.

Pick Snacks Wisely

Snacks are crucial for a nice trip. I often choose crackers or croissants that I like for snacks. These are perfect for when you’re stuck on the road or enjoying the beach. Dried fruit also does the trick or various cookies. After all, snacks are what keeps us energized until it’s time for lunch or dinner.

It’s always a good idea to carry some form of sugar or chocolate in case of blood pressure, blood sugar, diabetes, or other medical issues someone might have that is traveling with you.

Extra tip: Avoid dairy products, such as fruit yogurts or chocolate bars, as they don’t do well at high temperatures during the summer seasons.

Don’t Overdo It

Obviously, when you’re going on a road trip and any kind of vacation really the point is to relax and enjoy. Thus, I wouldn’t recommend anyone to overdo saving cash by bringing all the food they need. After all, tasting delicious local dishes is an important part of a journey. So, my advice is to try to bring enough products for several lunches and dinners; but don’t miss the opportunity to try local specialties at least once as these memories are priceless.

Conclusion

I hope that I gave you some ideas when it comes to travel tips related to bringing food on road trips. I often over pack because of this reason as spending cash in restaurants is often too expensive. However, I’d like to point out once again that I enjoy food and local cuisine; therefore, I strongly recommend to everyone to try local specialties once or twice when in a foreign country.

Anyway, did you find any of these ideas useful? Do you tend to bring food on vacations or not? Would you like to add something to the list?

Please share your thoughts with us below!