Food tourism is a popular way for food and travel lovers to merge their two interests into an exciting adventure.
Do you want to know how you can make your next food travel trip worth remembering?
Consider these six tips.
Define your travel radius.
Decide how far you are willing to travel. Some people enjoy spending hours on the road, taking in their surroundings as they go.
Others begin to get restless after a couple of hours in a vehicle.
Schedule the journey.
Scheduling a culinary trip can be tricky. Delays can happen, some restaurants might be fully booked, and other unforeseen circumstances can disrupt the plan.
Therefore, you should plan as much as possible but remain open to spontaneity.
Book accommodation, reserve in advance (where possible), calculate travel time, and factor in other activities when scheduling.
Plan what foods you want to try.
Once you have your destinations in mind you can begin gathering a list of the foods you want to try and the flavours you want to explore.
When you arrive it is likely you will find a huge amount of flavours, dishes, and ingredients that weren’t already on your list.
Keep a diary of your trip with a list of things you want to explore.
Add to that a list of the new flavours you will discover. This is a perfect way to keep your notes organised ready to recreate your favourite dishes once you arrive home.
Get culinary travel tips from other passionate foodies.
Take advantage of the experiences of others. Join Facebook groups, or check review sites.
You can also post on social media and ask for recommendations or seek advice from local food lovers.
Review sites such as TripAdvisor can also give you an idea of how other travellers enjoyed certain restaurants, food tours, or cooking classes as well, though you need to use a critical lens when using these sites, as you won't know the tastes or experience of the reviewers, which may differ greatly from yours.
Focus on understanding the local culture.
Although this is an opportunity to try exciting new dishes, a big part of your culinary travel experience involves interacting with foreign cultures and people.
Food trips create the opportunity for people from all walks of life to come together through shared interests and experiences, and you must take full advantage of this.
Several destinations arrange fun activities like trips to historical places, the local markets, street food tours, and dining with locals, amongst others.
Prepare your food travellers kit with all your necessary supplies.
When you are out eating street food or are just away from the comforts of home, it is important to not get stuck unprepared.
If your stomach starts to grumble and it’s far from where you’ve booked for overnight accommodation, it’s best to have what you need to make the best of the situation.
Don’t let a small problem ruin your evening or leave you in an uncomfortable situation.