5 Benefits of Taking a Food Tour while Traveling

Here are the 5 benefits of taking a food tour:

1. Eating seasonally locally grown food
2. Supporting the local economy
3. Getting personalized tips
4. Planned Itineraries
5. Learning about local history, culture and architecture

1. Eating seasonal locally grown food

• By eating local produce in season, we enjoy food that nurtures both us and our environment. One of the benefits to taking a food tour while travelling is that food tours focus on eating local foods.  The term “locavore” is used to describe someone who only eats locally grown seasonal foods. California is blessed with a landscape of summer all year round that is awash with fresh fruits and vegetables. While visiting California one should try to capitalize on this colorful, delicious, and healthy harvest: eat seasonal and local.
• When crops are picked at their peak of ripeness, they are more flavorful. If you harvest the crop early in order to ship to another location, the food is often not at it’s full potential and therefore less tasty.
• Local food also has more nutrients due to the shorter time period between harvesting the food and eating it.  So it is not only tastier but also healthier.
• Sustainability is another reason to eat locally grown seasonal produce. Choosing to buy and eat local food is a large part of the carbon-mitigation solution because local often eliminates the thousands of miles some food travels before it winds up on your plate. Eating local source foods and less processed and packaged foods will reduce our carbon footprint.
• By eating local foods you also help to maintain farmlands and green space in the community.

2. Supporting the local economy is a benefit of taking a food tour

• As local food supports the local economy and the farmlands.
• Local Food Tours also help to support destination growth by focusing on a particular neighborhood or town.
• Shopping at a farmer’s market is another great way to support local growers and to increase your exposure to seasonal, locally grown, and organic produce

3. Getting personalized tips

• Discovering hidden gems that you may not have found on your own.
• Food lovers can research a destination extensively and still not come up with an amazing food experience.
• Local Tour Guides often see themselves as Town Ambassadors, promoting all that is local. Recommending not only places to eat, but also places to stay, other tours and things to do in town.
• Local Guides might also have recommendations for restaurants or activities that you would never know about without talking to a local. Local guides know areas of town tourists don’t normally go to, and they also recommend off the beaten path unique locations as part of their tours.
• Go beyond your own preconceptions on the town or village you are visiting and get your advice from the local food expert.
• Foodie travelers love exploring a town and eating local.  Travel and food go hand and hand, discovering new and tasty bites is part of learning about a new land and it’s people.
• If you are a Foodie traveler, then let me give you a tip for your next travel: Schedule a food tour at the beginning of your vacation, so that you may then return to some of your favorite spots while you are in town.  Not only will it satisfy your cravings for new dishes but it will also nourish you with delicious stories to spice up your whole travel experience.
• Local Food Tour Guides can offer you more accurate and current information about the local culinary scene than any guidebook in the world could provide you.

4. Planned Itinerary

• All the planning is handled for you. Someone else puts together the itinerary with all the best places to visit. All the fun without the work is a great benefit to taking a food tour while travelling.
• If you are short on time, it makes for an easy way to check out a lot of different eateries in one day. Finding your favorite gems along the way.
• It is also an easy way for a solo traveler to join in with the social aspect of meeting other travelers while in town.
• Other foodie travelers will probably be happy to share the food discoveries they made during their trip.

5. Learning about local history, culture and architecture

• Historical information can allow you to imagine an ancient city instead of just a pile of rocks and pillars when you’re looking at ruins.
•  Food tours allow you to learn about a town while eating your way through it. Enjoy stories about the people and places that make the town unique.
• You may also meet local chefs and restaurant owners that are passionate about their work and eager to share with you a bit of their personal story.
• A Food Tour is a great way to explore a city. Learn tidbits about the area and what makes it special.

Food is truly a universal everything experience, a necessity souvenir that gives you a taste of the city.