Road trip snacks are fun because they’re unhinged. Really, anything goes. But, they don’t have to be expensive. Find out how to save money on snacks for road trips here.
For more help planning your vacation, check out all of our travel tips.
I saw something on social media once that said (I’m paraphrasing), “Road trip snacks should look like someone gave a toddler $100 and let him loose.”
And that’s how road trip snacks really should be. Just delicious treats that you enjoy all drive and trip long.
And that’s what I do. Any time we’re taking a road trip, I make sure we have all of our favorite snacks and drinks ready to go. Because food costs really add up and that eats into your entire trip budget. I would rather pack food before we go and not have to keep stopping at a gas station with a convenience store when we need a snack.
Of course, packing everything isn’t an option. So we do have tips to save on food when you do have to stop.
Everyone loves going on vacation, but it can get expensive. So people end up not planning them. That’s terrible.
Instead of that, plan your vacation with help from our How To Travel On A Budget post. It’s filled with our best tips to save money on your next trip so you can actually afford to take one.
How To Save Money On Snacks For Road Trips
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Buy snacks before you leave
If you’re a couponer (and if you follow Drugstore Divas on a regular basis, you probably are), you’re used to buying things when they’re on sale rather than when you need them. Then, you just shop from your own stockpile.
When we have trips coming up, I pay attention to snack deals in cash back apps more than I usually do.
Like right now. We’re taking a beach trip this weekend. So I picked up some crackers that were free after cash back with the Fetch app. And I picked up cheese on sale with a digital coupon in the Food Lion app. The night before our trip, I’ll cut the cheese into slices and there’s an easy snack for driving to (and sitting at) the beach.
A little planning can save a lot of money. It’s a lot cheaper to pick up snacks when they’re free or on sale rather than buying them up the day before your trip. You’ll be stuck paying full price that way.
Request free food samples
If you’re a planner, like me, free samples are an easy way to pack snacks that don’t cost you any money. But, free samples can take a while to get to you, so that’s why you have to be a planner to make this work.
Personally, I really like requesting and saving samples of granola bars (there are always so many!) for our road trips.
If you’re taking a family road trip this might be a little hard because it means not everyone will get the same snack. But if you’re just a couple like us, it works fine.
Make food to bring in a cooler
We cook almost every meal at home, which means we are also making a lot of snacks. So, if you make your own snacks on a regular basis, whip up your favorites next time you’re going on a trip.
Last summer, I was obsessed with peach salsa. Of course, that’s not the easiest snack to eat when you’re driving. But, here’s the thing. You’re not going to be driving forever. So, you need snacks for when you get to your final destination or your hotel room. So when you’re thinking about road trip foods, you want to think of those times as well.
So did we eat that peach salsa on our long road trip to a beach last year? No. But did we take it out of the cooler and eat it while we were sitting on the beach with our friends? Yes. And, when we were doing that, I felt so much better about eating some chips and fresh fruit than our other beach option (sitting at the closest bar and snacking on fried bar food).
If you want to make something that you can eat in the car, homemade trail mix is so easy. Mix any sort of nuts (walnuts, peanuts, etc.) with chocolate chips, dried fruit (raisins, crasins, etc.), and maybe some seeds (like sunflower seeds). It’s really easy to customize it to whatever your family likes.
We also like energy balls for when we’re on a long car ride too because they’re delicious and filling.
Use mobile apps when you’re on the go
If we’re taking a long road trip and we’ll be in the car during meal times, I’ll usually pack sandwiches for us to eat. You’ll want to pack a cooler and ice packs with that. And then, when it’s time to eat, pull over at a rest area to stretch your legs and have a quick impromptu picnic. Yes, that will add a little time onto your road trip, but it’s a lot safer than eating and driving.
If you don’t feel like packing a cooler, you could just stop at a fast food restaurant to grab something to eat. If you do that, definitely download all the mobile apps first.
Right now, Burger King is hosting perks week. So every day this week, there will be a new coupon in the app for a free item with a $1 purchase, which might end up being even cheaper than packing your own sandwich.
Plus, stopping at fast food restaurants with play areas is a great way for your kids to get out some of the wiggles before getting back into the car.
There are a few other mobile apps that are really awesome to have when you’re traveling too. The Pilot app has free drinks and snacks all the time, and there are Pilot gas stations up and down the interstate (with some of the lowest gas prices out there), so it’s really easy to pull over, get gas, and get yourself a snack.
Shop in a grocery store when you get there
We took a five-hour road trip to South Carolina to see Pearl Jam a few years ago. Right before we checked into the hotel, we stopped into the grocery store next door.
Pete grabbed some beer and I grabbed a bucket of fried chicken. We took it back to our hotel and had dinner in our room rather than heading out to a restaurant before the concert. Plus, it meant that we had more time to relax and unwind before the concert rather than rushing to get ready, rushing to a restaurant, then rushing to see the band.
And, we actually did this on a road trip with my nephews recently. My mom forgot to grab the back with their lunches, so we stopped into a grocery store on the road and picked up a loaf of bread, peanut butter, jelly, and potato chips. She was able to make them sandwiches with a side of chips for a lot less than the cost of food from a rest stop on the highway.
Plus, we do a version of this when we’re in Las Vegas (which is not a road trip, but still, this is a good idea). The casino hotels don’t have a coffee maker in the room. And sure, many of the hotels have a Starbucks in the lobby, but that’s expensive. And I don’t really feel like getting dressed and heading down to the lobby before I’ve had coffee.
So, the first thing we do after checking in is we will head to the closest drug store and buy bottled coffee to keep in the hotel’s fridge. We have that in the morning and it’s definitely more relaxing (and cheaper) than the alternative.
Other ways to save on a road trip:
One of the biggest expenses of a road trip is gas. But, we can help with that. We have a post about How To Save On Gas On Your Next Road Trip. It’s filled with great ideas, like using cash back apps, cashing in your grocery store loyalty points, and more.
And, if you’re renting a car for your road trip, read our Tips To Save Money On Car Rentals post first.
Which of these tips to save money on road trip snacks do you use? Let us know in the comments.