Foodie travel destinations are abundant! There’s so much delicious food in the world. Here are recommendations from seven bloggers who love travel and food!
One of my favorite parts of traveling is experiencing the local cuisine. Culture and history are inherently tied to food, which makes eating in a new place so fun. Not only can you experience new flavors and ingredients but you also learn about the significance of the dish and the traditions that revolve around the cuisine.
I know many of my friends who love to travel also love food, so I reached out to some blogger friends to share their favorite foodie travel destination. Don’t read this if you’re hungry and get ready to plan some trips because we will get you excited about foodie travel!
Kelly of Discovering ATX
Nashville, Tennessee – the Austin Expansion Pack. I didn’t plan any part of this trip, other than our Airbnb, ahead of time. What I did have handy was a well-crafted Yelp list of cool-looking Nashville eateries. Armed with my Yelp bookmarks and recommendations from our many Uber drivers, I ate my way through Nashville, seeing some pretty awesome sites along the way. I’ve vetted Nashville’s hotspots and have a comprehensive list ready and waiting for you!
Kaylin of Enticing Healthy Eating
It may sound like an oxymoron but it’s true: I’m a seafood lover and I recently traveled to Portland, Maine for the first time and did not partake in one bite of seafood while I was there. And yet…I have no regrets. When my husband and I made our first trip to the Northeast we planned on hitting a few major cities along the way to get the most out of our week-long vacation. The city of Portland, Maine, famous for its lobster rolls and scenic ocean views, was on our list of cities to visit but we only planned for 24 hours in this beautiful coastal city.
There were two things the state of Maine is famous for that I had on my list to eat when we were in Portland: lobster and blueberry pie. The blueberry pie happened but the lobster did not. I have no regrets about missing out on the lobster, though, because it was very pricey and I feel like our food budget was very well spent on other fantastic eats that Portland had to offer. We tried the most mouthwatering donuts from Holy Donut – who are famous for their potato donuts (mashed potatoes right in the batter!), delicious blueberry pie from Two Fat Cats Bakery – who are famous for sourcing the wild blueberries locally for their pies, artisanal brick oven pizza from Flatbread Company – the restaurant where Maine Root Soda (the famous soda company) was first imagined by creator Matt Seiler while he was working there, and unique ice cream offerings from Captain Sam’s Ice Cream shop – where our favorites were the blueberry (once again using wild blueberries sourced locally from Maine) and pumpkin gingersnap. Not to mention the numerous free samples of Cabot Cheese and all kinds of dips and spreads from Stonewall Kitchen company – both of whom have roots in the Northeast and shops right in downtown Portland.
The lesson I learned from this stop on our Northeast travel adventures was that you don’t always have to try every single restaurant or famous food item on your list when visiting your destination. As long as you leave with happy taste buds and even happier memories, that’s what matters.
Alyssa of Her Modern Kitchen
When I travel, I collect cookbooks and recipes as souvenirs to bring back home with me. Often times this means purchasing a cookbook from a restaurant I dined at or even coaxing a recipe out of a chef when I ate something exceptionally delicious. On a trip to Greece a few years ago, I dined at a restaurant that served a garbanzo bean salad with a green apple vinaigrette. It was instantly my favorite dish of our entire trip and I knew I needed the recipe. However, no matter how nicely I asked, the chef would not give up the recipe for the garbanzo bean salad. So, the very first thing I did when I landed back home was recreate the garbanzo bean salad based on memory and a few ingredient notes I jotted down from the menu. And, while my version isn’t exactly what the chef served, it is my little slice of Greece that transports me back to Athens and brings about the memories of the trip each time I make it. See some of my Greece photos and get my garbanzo bean salad recipe here.
Rachel of Rachel Lately
Last year, I had the opportunity to go to the city of Seoul in South Korea, and I was blown away by the food scene there! Seoul is HUGE where each part of the city offers something different, including the food, way of life, demographics, and all-around vibe. However, no matter which section of the city I was in, I noticed that eating out is way more of a group activity where friends order a bunch of things and all share; portions are rarely made for just one person (or even two)—which I love! My favorite part of dining in Seoul was finding out where the locals preferred to eat, which was usually at some hole-in-the-wall off the beaten path or simply on a stool next to a vendor at a marketplace (which is where I first tried a traditional buchimgae—a lightly fried Korean pancake if you will). My favorite dishes I had overall in Seoul were bibimbap (a rice dish with egg, kimchi, and a bunch of other stuff mixed in—go to “Gogung” for authentic bibimbap), traditional Kaeseong-style dumplings (you can split a giant portion of these with someone at a restaurant called “Koong” which was the BEST), and of course, Korean BBQ which is one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had while enjoying a meal. You can find good Korean BBQ pretty much anywhere, but I recommend finding a spot in the Hongdae area where the younger generation likes to go. You can check out a few of the food photos here or a recap video of my trip here!
Amy of Sushi Girl ATX
Denver, CO is one of my favorite cities to explore. During one of our visits to Denver, CO, our flight was delayed, causing us to not only miss our dinner reservation at a swanky restaurant, but it also had us coming in so late that most restaurants were closed for the night. Disappointed and famished, I did a quick search and found an industrial-modern pub was open and serving bar-bites until 1 a.m. Upon arriving, I quickly learned the building was built in 1883 and rich with history. Euclid Hall was once the home of the Masons, the Colorado Women’s Relief Corps, and rumored to have been a brothel.
We found a spot at their cozy bar next to the open kitchen and as we enjoyed a local craft beer and wine on tap I noticed a COCHON555 award dawning the name of the same award-winning chef of restaurant Rijoa where we originally had reservations for that evening. Euclid Hall happens to be one of their sister restaurants! Shortly after this realization, the kitchen breaks out in song “You can’t always get what you want, You can’t always get what you want, But if you try sometimes you find, You get what you need.” I was delighted by the entire experience which has changed my outlook when traveling. Sometimes things don’t go as planned but we may end up at the very place we were meant to experience. Now I never visit Denver without a stop at Euclid Hall.
Yulia of That’s What She Had
Food is one of the primary reasons why I love to travel. Yet, I never expected Sri Lankan food to blow my mind away before I set foot on the island. Exploring and truly understanding this exotic to my Russian palette cuisine took not weeks but years.
First of all, Sri Lankan food is like nothing you’ve tried before if you are coming from the Western part of the world. Rice and curry — the base of local cuisine and everyday lunch for locals — is an elaborate meal that includes a generous helping of rice and at least four or five different curries made of meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, and even nuts. It tastes best if you follow local traditions and eat it by hand instead of using a spoon.
Although it might seem that eating rice and curry on a daily basis can get boring, curries usually don’t repeat day in day out. Sri Lankans can prepare a curry from pretty much any ingredient, including such unusual choices like cashew nuts, pineapple, or even cucumber.
Mind you, rice and curry is only one aspect of Sri Lankan cuisine, there are also all the different types of kottu (dinner-time dish prepared by cutting up flatbread and mixing it with vegetables and meats on a grill), kiribath (coconut milk rice), street food snacks and sweet treats, so it might take a while to try it all. Read about the 50 dishes you should try in Sri Lanka here.
Anita of Fearless Captivations
From biscuits with pimento cheese in Charleston to street tacos in Mexico City, I’m lucky to have so many great food memories! For my recommendation of the best foodie travel destination, I’ll give you one for the U.S. and one international.
In the U.S., I’d go back to San Francisco in a heartbeat. On top of being a fun city, it has so many food options, from restaurants to cuisines. Where else can you get top-notch seafood, Asian cuisine, and local ice cream all in the same city? Eating at Hog Island Oyster Co on the pier was satisfying both times I went. Dish after dish of Thai food at Lers Ros was a hit and I would gladly wait in a (reasonable) line for another morning bun at Tartine Bakery. See my full San Francisco restaurant post here.
If you want to go international, book a trip to Thailand. Thai food is incredibly rich, complex, and fun! Their flavors are delightful, and they excel in providing dishes that have many levels of flavor, especially spice. While you can eat all the dishes in Bangkok, I also recommend visiting Northern Thailand (Chiang Mai is a popular destination) to try the best khao soi, a curry noodle dish. Thailand is also a great place to take a food tour or cooking class. See my Thailand food post here.
Which of these destinations is calling to you?
I’m curious – what’s a travel destination you’d recommend for foodies? Share it below!
P.S. That first photo shows scenes from three places I loved eating in also! From left to right: Spain, Fort Worth, Belize.
Keep up with my travel posts and adventures. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Bloglovin’. You can also subscribe to the exclusive email list.
You might also like
