Last Updated on September 10, 2026 by Nadia Halfway

📜 Introduction.

Food is the soul of every culture and it is also one of the best parts for foodie travellers!

However, eating out every single day can be inconvenient, expensive, and sometimes tough on your stomach, especially if you’re visiting an exotic country and aren’t used to strong flavours. Moreover, finding the right places to eat without wasting time or money and avoiding tourist traps can be tricky.

For these reasons, I have collected a list of the best websites and apps for foodie travellers. From local street snacks to fine dining and unique culinary experiences, to apps that help save food from waste, knowing what and where to eat is a game-changer during a trip.

I’ve also included some advice for those with allergies and diseases and son tips to eat smart and on a budget by enjoying also amazing food experiences during a trip.

⚠️Disclaimer: Some of the websites below are affiliate links or require a promo code for receiving a discount. If you book through them or use my personal promo code at the time of subscription or reservation, I’ll earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you), and you’ll get a discount or a special promotion too. It’s a win–win!

Please be aware that affiliate links may expire and promo codes may reach their usage limit. If you find that a link or code no longer works, kindly let me know. I’ll be happy to share an updated one (if available) directly with you.

🍜 Discover Local Restaurants and Hidden Gems.

When I plan a trip, I always research the typical dishes and best restaurants to try them, and structuring a daily plan that suits my schedule, budget, and dietary requirements. You can read more about this topic in step 5 of my post How to Plan the Perfect Trip.

Firstly, identify national or even regional dishes with a simple Google search. Then, find where locals eat to avoid tourist traps. To do so, I use these websites and apps to find restaurants:

• Google Maps. Search “where locals eat near me” or the dish you want to try, then check ratings and photos.
• TripAdvisor. Cross-check the reviews and if they match those on Google Maps, 90% of the time it’s a great choice.
• Yelp. This website is widely used in the US, Canada and Australia for reviews of restaurants and other businesses. In short, it complements Google Maps and TripAdvisor for the English-speaking market.
• HappyCow. If you’re looking for vegan or vegetarian options, this is a great website. HappyCow also features a selection of vegan-friendly B&Bs worldwide. Same rule applies here: check reviews on both TripAdvisor and Google Maps.
• OpenTable. This website is particularly useful for booking restaurants (especially the most popular ones) without having to make a phone call or deal with the language barrier. In the United States, you can also earn points to spend in restaurants, similar to the Yums by TheFork.
• TheFork. Very useful for booking tables in restaurants across Europe, with discounts of up to 50%, or for earning Yums (loyalty points) to spend at other restaurants. 1,000 Yums corresponds to €25! Reviews here tend to be slightly inflated, so make sure to double-check them against other portals.

🎁 Use the referral code below or register via The Fork to receive 1000 Yums and €20 🎁

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🌱 Try Apps that Save Food from Waste.

Would you like to eat great food and reduce waste? You can do both at the same time!

Many bakeries and restaurants sell their unsold meals and treats at a lower price through food-saving apps.

Here are some of the best ones around the world:

• Karma. I’ve never tried this one, but it seems quite popular in the UK and Nordic countries. You can get discounted meals that would otherwise go to waste.
• Olio. Also popular in the UK, it’s a food-sharing app where locals (individuals or companies such as food retailers, restaurants, or corporate canteens) give away surplus food for free.
• Foodobox. This is the first mobile app in Bulgaria against food waste. It’s active in major Bulgarian cities and now also in Bucharest (Romania).
• Too Good To Go. The most popular app in Europe for saving meals. Grab “surprise bags” from local cafés, bakeries, and even supermarkets!

🎁Subscribe via Too Good To Go to receive your first Surprise Bag🎁

🍲 Order Food like a Local.

Sometimes, after a long travel day, all you want is dinner in your room, right? That’s when food delivery apps come to the rescue. Before ordering, always check if your hotel or hostel allows deliveries. And remember to tip the driver if you can!

Here’s the list of the most popular food delivery apps around the globe:

• Uber Eats. Available almost everywhere.
• DoorDash. North America and Australia.
• Glovo. Europe and Latin America.
• GrabFood. Southeast Asia.
• Meituan. China
• Deliveroo. UK and parts of Europe.
• JustEat. Used in 13 countries across Europe, UK, US and Australia
• FoodPanda. Singapore, Taiwan, Southeast and South Asia (including Pakistan and Bangladesh).

🧑‍🍳 Book Unique Food Experiences.

If you want not only to eat but also to enjoy a real culinary experience, there are plenty of options available. For example, you can join a cooking workshop, take part in a food tour, or even share dinner with fellow travellers or locals.

These experiences are not just about food. They’re about connecting, laughing, learning about a culture, and creating bonds that make your trip truly unforgettable.

• Airbnb Experiences. Many hosts offer food-focused activities, from wine tastings to cooking classes.
• Cookly. Perfect for finding cooking classes around the world.
• GetYourGuide, Klook.com and Viator. In these third-party websites, you’ll find both food tours and cooking workshops pretty much everywhere.
• KKday. While they are mainly famous for tickets, tours and eSIMs, their website has a tab dedicated to food and dining experiences, especially across Asia.
• EatWith. Book home dinners, cooking classes, or market tours with locals for a truly authentic experience.

🎁 Use the referral code below to register on EatWith and receive €10 on your first food experience 🎁

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🍽️ Other Top Foodie Websites for Travellers.

• TasteAtlas. If you want to know exactly what to eat before you even land, TasteAtlas is an essential resource. It is a world atlas of traditional dishes, local ingredients, and authentic restaurants. The platform features interactive maps and rankings, making it perfect for travellers who want to dive deep into the food culture of a specific region and find the most iconic versions of local delicacies.
• FoodieTrip. For those who prefer a more personal touch, FoodieTrip connects travellers with local food guides. It is a brilliant platform for booking authentic culinary experiences, from market tours to private dinners in local homes. It is the ideal choice if you want to skip the tourist traps and discover the real, hidden food scene of a city through the eyes of someone who lives there.
• IGCAT. If you are looking for sustainable and culturally rich experiences, IGCAT (International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism) is a fantastic point of reference. They focus on empowering local communities and preserving food heritage. Their resources are perfect for conscious travellers who want to support regional gastronomy and discover European Regions of Gastronomy that offer unique, high-quality culinary traditions.

🩺 Eating Safely with Allergies, Coeliac Disease, or Diabetes.

Travelling as a food enthusiast is one of the greatest joys, but if you live with food allergies, coeliac disease, or a condition like Type 1 Diabetes, eating out abroad requires an extra layer of preparation. The good news is that the right tools make it a little bit more manageable.

FindMeGlutenFree a fantastic app available for both Android and iOS, offers a search map for gluten-free restaurants around the world, covering many different countries. You can even filter your search by specific items like pizza, pasta, or dessert.

HappyCow (already mentioned above) is a reliable resource for finding vegan and vegetarian restaurants, which are naturally more likely to accommodate allergen-free requests and label their ingredients better.

AllergyEats is a US-based platform that helps travellers with food allergies find allergy-friendly restaurants, rated specifically by people who share the same dietary needs. It is not available worldwide, but it is invaluable for travel across North America.

For destinations where the language barrier makes communication difficult, AllergyTranslation and SelectWisely both offer printed and digital allergy translation cards in dozens of languages. You hand the card to the server or chef, who can read exactly what you cannot eat in their own language. I don’t have allergies myself but I consider these essential for travel in Asia, where cross-contamination is common and the concept of gluten-free or nut-free cooking is often unfamiliar.

Type 1 Diabetes.

Managing blood sugar whilst navigating unfamiliar cuisines is one of the trickiest parts of travelling with T1 Diabetes. However, there are a few tools that genuinely help.

MyFitnessPal is an extensive food database that includes many local and international dishes and it’s useful for estimating carbs before you dose. It is not perfectly accurate for every dish, but it gives you a solid baseline to work from.

Carb Manager is a more diabetes-specific alternative with a dedicated carb-tracking function and a barcode scanner for packaged foods, which is very handy in supermarkets abroad.

Nevertheless, when in doubt about a dish, a quick Google search for “[dish name] carbs per 100g” combined with your own experience of similar foods is often the most reliable tool of all. And don’t forget to always carry fast-acting glucose with you as no app replaces that.

🎲 Travel Hacks.

Travelling doesn’t have to break the bank, or your stomach. You can enjoy amazing meals anywhere with a few smart strategies.

• Opt for lunch menus as many restaurants offer the same quality dishes at lower prices during lunchtime.
• Mix restaurant meals with supermarket takeaways or street food.
• Use TheFork or Too Good To Go for daily deals.
• Share dishes with travel buddies to taste more and spend less.
• Choose accommodation with shared kitchens to cook your own food and save money.
• If your lodging includes breakfast, ask if you can pack some leftovers for later.
• Join a cooking class so at the same time you learn new recipes and save some money on that meal, as usually you consume what you have just prepared.
• Earn rewards while dining. Apps like Bestie Bite let you review restaurants and earn points that can be redeemed for cashback or discounts. For now, it is only used in Italy.

🎁 Use the referral code below to register on Bestie Bite and receive 100 points on your first review 🎁

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🎈 Conclusion.

Food is more than fuel when you travel. It’s connection, culture, and discovery. From savouring a surprise pastry to sharing a meal in a local’s home, every bite tells a story.

So next time you pack your suitcase, don’t just plan what to see: plan what to taste. The best way to truly know a place is through its food, and every meal is an actual adventure for a foodie traveller!

💬 And you? Do you know any useful apps for discovering food while travelling? Share them below and help us make this list even tastier!

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