Is the way to your heart through your stomach but also travel? Well, combining these two wonderful activities happens to make for one culturally diverse, fascinating experience no matter where you choose to travel to. There’s almost nothing that compares to sitting down for a great meal that’s native to another nation while you’re there visiting. A vacation focused on food may include cooking classes, foraging adventures, wine tasting, visiting various farmer’s markets, and anything else that allows a traveler to experience a destination’s culture through its cuisine. Culinary-focused tours are amazing. A travel tip - consider adding a wine-themed (or distillery, or brewery) tour, depending on your destination.
Vacation Activities Best Suited for Foodies
Whether you’re an avid traveler, planning your first overseas vacation, or just curious as to how you can experience culinary travel, we would like to give you valuable insight as to how you can truly explore a culture through its food.
Take a Food Driven Tour of the City
By signing up for a food tour with a professional tour guide will minimize the time it takes for you to find authentic food on your own. Taking a food-driven tour will also provide you with a unique insight that you would likely not receive otherwise. Since many of these food tours are themed, carefully consider your options and perhaps even take more than one tour.
Join the Locals for Dinner
Believe it or not, travelers often seek out a dining experience that allows them into the home of a native family. Since this is becoming a popular unique occurrence, many travel consultants are accustomed to setting up this kind of experience. There are programs that you can take advantage of that let you into the kitchens of those native to the nation. These programs also provide these host families with supplementary income.
Learn to Forage and Hunt for Food with the Locals
If you have an interest in knowing where your food comes from and how it is cultivated, learning to forage in another country might be what you need. By getting involved in foraging you will have a hand in harvesting, gathering, and sourcing the ingredients used to prepare a traditional meal.
Go Somewhere Off the Radar
Of course, great cuisine is abundant in places such as Italy, the Mediterranean, and Spain but traveling foodies often prefer to go to places that aren’t as known by tourists. Try out new places with undeniable culinary delights that are sure to please your taste buds. For example, Southeast Asia, Mexico or India where the foods are flavorful and unique.
Use Instagram to Gain Inspiration
Many travelers use social media platforms (especially Instagram) to show off their culinary delights. You can learn a great deal about a nation’s authentic cuisines by simply searching hashtags to reveal a picture. For instance, #Parisfood or #CCJourneys.
"To travel is to eat." -- Michelle Shappirio
Regardless of why you wish to experience culture through food, there are many advantages that come with culinary travel. Seek out your next culinary experience by booking with CCTP. I will come up with a specialized culinary travel plan based on your desires, religious and cultural restrictions, health, and budget!
If culinary/foodie travel is on your radar now, let me know where YOU would like to go. Let's get a group together!
Erin Smith ~ Affinity Group Travel Advisor