Over the past several years, when we stayed in well-populated cities in certain countries, we’ve been able to order meals online to be delivered. Doing so has been convenient and, in most cases, less costly than dining out without extra taxes, higher tips, and the costs of beverages when dining in a restaurant.

We’ve written about the high cost of ordering online in the past, but here in Cleveland, we’ve found it more economical than when we were in Las Vegas and Minneapolis. At times like this, without a rental car and little desire to dine out, ordering online has been a special treat.

Also, when I haven’t been motivated or feeling well enough to cook, and since we don’t eat pre-packaged meals, ordering online has been a convenient relief. No, we prefer not to spend $100+ for delivery meals, considering we always order enough for two nights’ dinner, which often averages a lower daily cost.

As an Amazon Prime member, the delivery fee is free with Grubhub, while other services have special discounts for delivery or low-cost delivery fees. ( It’s simple to sign up for ‘free Grubhub delivery” with Amazon Prime). Also, Instacart and other delivery services often deliver groceries and meals from restaurants. Frequently, online delivery services offer special delivery fee programs by the month or year.

Many monthly delivery packages offer a free first month or discounts on your first order. If you are traveling, these specials may be different from country to country. It only takes a few minutes to check online to see the best pricing for your chosen restaurants and stay with that service throughout your stay.

We jump between Instacart, Grubhub, Uber Eats, and DoorDash, depending on the promotions offered at any given time. In some cases, recently, we’ve preferred food from specific nearby restaurants and, in only minutes, can check for the best pricing. For example, a restaurant I love with healthy Asian salads, Bibibop,  suggested I sign up for their app on my phone. About every fourth order, I accumulate enough “points” to get one complimentary salad, cutting the cost in half.

Sometimes, we pay a delivery fee of less than $5, but we’ve received food discounts that more than compensate for the cost. Also, GrubHub charges a service fee of about $5 for each combined order, but with Amazon Prime, this fee is cut in half. The question becomes: What are we willing to pay for dinners for each of us for two nights?

Yes, it costs more than groceries for those two nights, but the two-night meals generally cost no more than groceries, would be an added $20 for both of us. The convenience and “treat factor” more than compensate for that. Streaming a good movie and dining on our delivered meals creates a delightful evening we both enjoy. Think of the cost of dining out and going to a movie. This total could easily cost over $150 for two, especially in the US.

Here is more comprehensive information about using meal delivery services worldwide.

A Global Taste: Meal Delivery Across Borders

Traveling long-term teaches you many things: how to pack efficiently, navigate foreign streets, and, perhaps most importantly, adapt to new rhythms of life. While the thrill of discovering new foods in tucked-away markets or family-run restaurants is a core part of the experience, there are moments when all you want is the comfort of something familiar or the ease of having a meal arrive at your doorstep, wherever that doorstep may be. Enter meal delivery services—a lifeline for travelers, expats, and locals alike.

In the United States, services like Grubhub, Uber Eats, and DoorDash dominate the food delivery landscape. For someone constantly bouncing between cities, these apps offer more than just convenience; they provide a psychological tether to a place that can otherwise feel transient. Ordering a local dish or even a comforting slice of pizza from a familiar chain can create an illusion of rootedness. This small ritual ties you to the location, if only temporarily.

Then there’s Europe, where delivery services differ by country and region. In Spain, Glovo brings a bit of everything—food, groceries, even last-minute gifts—delivering in a more personal way, almost like sending a friend on an errand. In France, Deliveroo is the go-to for gourmet meals brought straight to your Airbnb, allowing you to indulge in Parisian pastries without braving the crowded boulangerie. However, Europe is special because each country’s service reflects its unique culture. Italian platforms like Just Eat often emphasize fresh, locally sourced ingredients, reinforcing the cultural emphasis on high-quality food.

In Asia, the scene shifts dramatically. In Japan, where precision and timeliness are a way of life, Demae-can and Uber Eats cater to the organized chaos of Tokyo. You could stay in a minimalist capsule hotel and still enjoy a multi-course bento box delivered to you with the same punctuality as a bullet train. In contrast, Southeast Asia—with its bustling markets and vibrant street food culture—has adopted meal delivery with services like GrabFood and Foodpanda. Here, meal delivery brings an interesting blend of local street vendors into the digital age, making it possible to order fresh pad thai from a stall that’s been in the same family for generations.

South America adds another layer of variety. Rappi, the dominant player in countries like Colombia, Argentina, and Mexico, offers meals and a full concierge service. You can get anything from coffee to prescription medications delivered—an invaluable resource for a traveler navigating a new city’s health system or looking for a caffeine fix in Bogotá’s labyrinthine streets.

But what do these services mean for us as travelers? More than just food on demand, they offer a sense of control in environments that feel out of our control. Traveling often forces us to relinquish our routines and familiar comforts, but meal delivery acts as a small anchor to normalcy. You can be in Bangkok one week, and São Paulo the next, yet your favorite foods are still just a tap away. It’s not just about filling your stomach but feeding your sense of familiarity in a world where everything else seems to be shifting beneath your feet.

The psychological impact of these services can’t be understated. They provide respite during bouts of homesickness, offer a break from constant decision-making, and help you maintain a semblance of routine. Whether you order a meal late at night after a long travel day or treat yourself to a Sunday brunch in bed, meal delivery becomes a small act of self-care that transcends borders, cultures, and time zones.

We’ll dine on our second delivered meal tonight, which totaled $64 for the two nights, not much more than we’d paid for groceries at current prices.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, October 5, 2014:

A bottle-nosed dolphin we spotted from the ship! For more photos, please click here.