For many travelers, one of the most exciting parts of any trip is the food. While fine dining experiences have their place, there’s something uniquely authentic about enjoying a meal from a street vendor—whether it’s a quick bite or a complex dish crafted with years of tradition. Street food is an integral part of local culture, offering a delicious glimpse into a region’s culinary history and everyday life. If you’re a foodie looking to take your taste buds on an adventure, here’s your ultimate guide to street food around the world!
Why You Should Try It: No list of street food would be complete without tacos. In Mexico, tacos are not just a meal—they’re a way of life. From the bustling markets of Mexico City to the coastal streets of Cancun, you’ll find taco stands offering everything from simple street-style tacos to more gourmet variations. The beauty of tacos is in their versatility—soft corn tortillas are filled with anything from slow-cooked carnitas (pork) to tender beef, grilled chicken, and even crispy fried fish.
Must-Try: Tacos al pastor (marinated pork cooked on a spit), tacos de carnitas (slow-cooked pork), or tacos de pescado (fish tacos) from a beachside vendor in Baja California.
Why You Should Try It: A perfect blend of French and Vietnamese influences, Banh Mi is a Vietnamese sandwich served on a crispy baguette. It's a fusion of savory meats, fresh vegetables, and flavorful herbs, all topped off with a variety of condiments like mayonnaise, pickled carrots, and cilantro. It's not just a sandwich; it’s a symphony of textures and flavors.
Must-Try: The classic Banh Mi Thit (roast pork) or Banh Mi Ga (grilled chicken). Find a stall in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City to enjoy it in its authentic form.
Why You Should Try It: Crispy, golden-brown, and packed with flavor, samosas are a street food staple throughout India. These deep-fried pastry pockets are stuffed with spicy potatoes, peas, and sometimes meat, making them the perfect snack to enjoy on the go. Often served with a variety of chutneys—tangy tamarind or cooling yogurt—samosas are a must-try for anyone visiting India.
Must-Try: Samosas stuffed with spiced potatoes or minced lamb. Look for them at roadside stalls or local markets in Delhi, Mumbai, or Jaipur.
Why You Should Try It: Thailand’s Pad Thai is one of the most iconic street foods in the world. This stir-fried noodle dish features rice noodles tossed in a tangy tamarind sauce, with peanuts, egg, and your choice of protein (chicken, shrimp, or tofu). The dish is often served with a side of fresh lime and chili flakes, allowing you to customize the flavor to your liking.
Must-Try: Pad Thai from a street vendor in Bangkok, particularly in the busy district of Sukhumvit, where the dish is served piping hot and garnished with fresh herbs and crunchy peanuts.
Why You Should Try It: Arepas are cornmeal cakes that are grilled or fried and filled with a variety of delicious ingredients. Originally from Colombia and Venezuela, arepas are highly versatile and can be stuffed with everything from cheese and beans to meats like beef, chicken, and even seafood. These golden pockets of goodness are often enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Must-Try: Try an arepa filled with shredded beef or the classic cheese-filled arepa con queso. You’ll find them in street stalls or tiny shops in both Caracas, Venezuela, and Bogotá, Colombia.
Why You Should Try It: Satay, a dish consisting of skewered and grilled meat (typically chicken, beef, or pork), is beloved throughout Southeast Asia, but nowhere more so than in Indonesia. The meat is marinated in a blend of spices, grilled over open flames, and served with a rich peanut sauce for dipping. It’s smoky, tender, and bursting with flavor, making it a street food favorite for locals and travelers alike.
Must-Try: Satay skewers from a roadside vendor in Bali or Jakarta, served with a side of cucumber relish and spicy sambal.
Why You Should Try It: While Parisian cafés are world-renowned for their pastries, there’s something special about grabbing a fresh croissant or pain au chocolat from a local street vendor or boulangerie. The flaky, buttery layers melt in your mouth, making for the perfect breakfast or snack while wandering the city’s charming streets. The best part? You can find street vendors selling freshly baked treats just about everywhere in Paris.
Must-Try: A freshly baked croissant or pain au chocolat. Grab one from a bakery in the Marais district or on your way to the Eiffel Tower for a truly French experience.
Why You Should Try It: Poutine is Canada’s ultimate comfort food, and it’s been gaining popularity worldwide in recent years. This hearty dish consists of crispy fries topped with cheese curds and smothered in rich gravy. It’s indulgent, filling, and the perfect late-night snack. While you’ll find poutine in restaurants, the street vendors in Quebec City and Montreal serve up some of the best versions.
Must-Try: The classic poutine with gravy and cheese curds, or try variations like smoked meat poutine or vegetarian-friendly options topped with sautéed mushrooms.
Why You Should Try It: Street food in Jamaica is all about bold flavors, and jerk chicken is the undisputed king of the street food scene. This smoky, spicy dish is marinated with a flavorful mix of allspice, thyme, scotch bonnet peppers, and other spices before being grilled over an open flame. The result is tender, smoky meat with a spicy kick, often served with rice and peas or fried plantains.
Must-Try: Jerk chicken from a street vendor in Kingston or Montego Bay, served with a side of cooling cabbage slaw or a refreshing coconut water.
If you’re staying at a Sandals Resort in Jamaica, you’ll find incredible jerk stands both on and off property—some of the best bites are just steps from the beach. It’s the perfect way to taste authentic Jamaican flavor between poolside cocktails and sunset views. Book your Sandals getaway here.
Why You Should Try It: Turkish kebabs are a street food staple that’s perfect for satisfying your savory cravings. Grilled meat—often lamb or chicken—served in flatbread or as a skewer, is a staple across Turkey. Whether you enjoy it in a sandwich with fresh vegetables or on a skewer with rice, Turkish kebabs are always juicy, flavorful, and served with a generous side of local sauces and dips.
Must-Try: Try a döner kebab (slow-cooked meat) from a street vendor in Istanbul or a şiş kebab (grilled skewers) from a local stall.
Street food offers a special way to experience a destination’s culture and cuisine, often providing a more authentic and budget-friendly alternative to dining in restaurants. These street foods are more than just a quick bite—they’re an expression of a country’s history, flavors, and traditions. So whether you’re wandering the vibrant streets of Bangkok or grabbing a snack from a food cart in Mexico City, don’t miss the opportunity to savor the unique tastes of the world. Happy eating!
If you’re hungry for more travel inspiration, check out my 40 Favorite Travel Destinations to see where else your foodie adventures could take you next.
Four hours on a train through a canyon you can’t reach by car — such a fun experience! We picked the indoor seats with unlimited access to the open-air viewing car, which honestly felt like the only right call. You’re not stuck in an assigned seat the whole time we bounced between the two, snacks in hand, chasing the best light.
The scenery is the whole point. Red rock cliffs, the Verde River, a 734-foot tunnel, historic trestle bridges views most people visiting Sedona never see, because you literally can’t drive to them.
The charcuterie box that comes with your ticket is shockingly filling ✨ so skip lunch at the Copper Spike Café beforehand, save your appetite for dinner back in Sedona.
Four hours with no stops did start to feel long by the end, but the trade-off for scenery like this? Worth it.
Would I ride it again? Yes. Would I buy lunch first again? No.
Link in bio for the full review cost breakdown, what to pack, and exactly how early to arrive 🚂
I ate chilaquiles while a Cessna taxied past the window, and that’s just a normal Tuesday breakfast in Sedona.
@mesa_grill_sedona sits right beside the Sedona Airport Scenic Lookout, so along with your food you get red rock views stretching in every direction and a front-row seat to tiny planes lifting off. Chef Mercer Mohr runs the kitchen, serving up Southwestern comfort food from breakfast through dinner, chilaquiles, elevated diner classics, burgers, steaks, seafood, all of it.
The view is what pulls people in the door, but the food actually holds its own. Good enough that this place stays packed with locals, not just tourists passing through on their way to the lookout. It also picked up the 2025 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice and OpenTable Diners’ Choice awards, so it’s not just me saying it.
Indoor seating if you want the AC, a pet-friendly patio if your dog’s along for the trip. Either way, get there before plane-spotting turns into a wait for a table.
Link in bio for the full Sedona breakfast roundup ✈️🌵
Confession: my newsletter is where the good stuff lives. Not the polished, edited-for-the-grid stuff, the “here’s the hole-in-the-wall I almost skipped” stuff, the packing lists I actually use, the “don’t book this hotel” warnings before you waste your money on them.
The newsletter is basically me texting you before a trip instead of after one. Sign up and you’ll be the first to know where I’m headed next, plus a few things I’ll never post here.
Link in bio if you want in. ✈️
Yes, it’s only July. Start planning anyway. Fall books faster than people expect, and a few of these destinations are worth getting ahead of. Here are five places worth putting on your radar right now.
Ireland: Cooler temps, moody skies, dramatic coastline fall was made for it. Tourist crowds drop, the green stays, and the whole country feels a little more like itself.
Great Smoky Mountains, TN/NC: Fall foliage in the Smokies is the real thing. The color peaks mid-October and the views from the ridgelines are hard to argue with. It’s also one of the most visited national parks in the country, so going on a weekday makes a real difference.
New York City: Fall is NYC at its best comfortable temps, the energy of the city shifting into a new season, and every neighborhood doing something worth showing up for. It’s also just a great walking city when it’s not brutally hot.
Japan: Fall foliage season is as good as spring cherry blossoms and somehow less talked about. The colors are dramatic, the temples and gardens are stunning, and it’s worth planning around peak dates by region.
Mystic, Connecticut: Small, walkable, genuinely charming Mystic in fall feels like exactly what a New England autumn is supposed to look like. Easy to pair with a broader New England road trip if you want to extend it.
Full guides linked in bio 🍂
There are two kinds of travelers: people who plan a trip and then figure out where to eat, and people who book a restaurant and then build the rest of the itinerary around it.I am the second kind. I will not apologize for this.
The reservation gets locked in first. The hotel search happens within the same 24 hours. The flights get compared around the restaurant’s hours of operation. The rest of the trip exists to fill the days before and after the table I actually came for.
If this sounds unhinged, I completely understand. It has also resulted in some of the best meals of my life, so I’m going to keep doing it.
Drop a 🍽️ if you plan your trips around food too.
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