The Ultimate VEGAN Travel Guide

You’re going on a holiday soon or plan to see the world as a vegan…
Is a country vegan-friendly? Will there be plant-based food available? What am I going to eat? Those are all valid questions when you choose to travel as a vegan.
From the best apps for researching to useful tips on how to travel vegan, this Ultimate Vegan Travel Guide will help you make your plant-based journey a bit easier.

You already feel ready to take on your next vegan adventure?
Check out MY Vegan Destination Guides!

What to Expect as a Vegan
(traveling the world)

In the comfort of your own home, being vegan usually comes with little to no effort. Yet, traveling abroad or even just to a different city can make things (a lot) harder. Whether it’s foreign dishes with unknown ingredients, different cultural beliefs, or language barriers making it difficult to communicate your needs. Being vegan on the road comes with several challenges.

And to be brutally honest, as a long-time vegan having traveled around 4 different continents, being vegan doesn’t come without any hardships. Many countries nowadays are vegan-friendly, especially metropolises like Los Angeles, London, and Berlin. Places like that have jumped on the vegan trend a while ago with countless fully plant-based restaurants available. But of course, there’s also the other side of the spectrum: countries that aren’t as developed, small cities or places with stricter traditions around non-vegan food make it quite challenging.

No matter where you travel though, the most important thing is knowing your goals and staying true to yourself. If that means falling back on a salad for dinner or maybe even allowing yourself to have something non-vegan. It’s what you make of it. 🙂
And that’s also why doing the right amount of research and preparations beforehand is important. This Vegan Travel Guide will outline the tools to use and tips to find vegan food while traveling. Ultimately, this blog post will make planning your next trip a little easier.

How to Find Vegan Food

Best Apps/Tools for Vegans

Even if the country you’re visiting is knowingly vegan-friendly, doing research beforehand and being prepared is essential to save yourself time and frustration.

Here are some great recommendations for tools/resources you can use:

Best Vegan Travel Tips

Aside from helpful apps to find vegan places near you and “veganizing” menu items, here are some other great tips & tricks to make traveling as a vegan easier.

Pick a Destination

First things first, you will find yourself contemplating where to travel. If exploring many vegan restaurants and food spots is important to you, consider researching vegan-friendly cities/countries and go from there. Big cities like New York, L.A., London, Berlin, Bangkok, etc. usually always have amazing options. But there are also many less-known spots around the world that are hugely into the vegan scene; you might be surprised!
You’ve already chosen a destination? Continue with the next tips…

Request Vegan Food on Planes

You’re traveling somewhere far away? Don’t forget to request a vegan meal through your airline for your long-haul flight! This is something you either already knew or it comes as a surprise now, but basically all big airlines offering long flights with complimentary meals, give you the option to request a special meal beforehand. It’s easily done through the airline’s website. Mostly, the special meal request needs to be submitted at least 48 hours in advance, so don’t forget about it. Some airlines don’t use the term “vegan” though, so look out for “non-lacto-ovo vegetarian”, basically meaning vegetarian with no dairy or eggs.

Read Vegan Travel Blogs

Researching vegan food spots, planning your stay, and more can become overwhelming quickly. For this reason, take in all the relevant information from designated vegan travel blogs. It doesn’t have to be hard, especially when others have already done the same work and shared it online. My vegan guides list the best vegan (-friendly) restaurants and general tips for many different travel destinations.

Choose the Right Accommodation

This can really make or break your entire travel plans. Here are some of the most important things to consider:

• Location: Choosing a place near vegan-friendly food spots is a great way to explore vegan food while traveling. It will also make finding dinner a breeze.
• Kitchen/Appliances: When booking a hotel room or Airbnb, picking a place with a kitchen(-ette) and basic appliances, e.g. stove & fridge, will save you. In situations where you can’t find vegan food options in restaurants, you can always resort to making food yourself. In general, this is an amazing tip for locations where vegan food isn’t as common or if you choose to stay in smaller towns.

Cook Your Own Food

Assuming you’re staying somewhere with a kitchen, cooking vegan food yourself will help you overcome limitations during your trip. It’s also the answer to how to travel vegan on a budget. Aside from that, it’s a great way to experience local produce and ingredients of the regions you visit. This also eases your mind while traveling to non-vegan-friendly countries. If in doubt about whether you’ll find something to eat when going out, it’s always best to have a plan B ready at home.
Stay tuned until the end to find some quick & easy food recommendations…

Book a Vegan-Friendly Stay

You’re not the biggest fan of making your own food or searching for restaurants around your area?
Why not choose a hotel with vegan options for breakfast or dinner? Depending on the website where you book your stay, it might already tell you about the available buffet selection. Diving a little deeper and actually visiting a hotel’s website or social media can also give you a lot of information on whether the restaurants at the hotel have labeled vegan food. Sending an email or calling the place is not a bad idea either.

(Fully) Vegan Hotels

To go a little further into the topic of having plant-based food at your accommodation, consider booking a vegan/vegetarian hotel! Many countries are opening up fully vegan and sustainable hotels/resorts to accommodate all types of guests. The best thing is, there are some great websites to find vegan stays filtered by destination.
Read more about vegan hotels here.

Call Ahead of Time

Whether it’s the hotel where you’re planning on staying or the restaurant you chose to go to for dinner. Calling places ahead of time can save you from a lot of frustration or surprises. This comes in handy when traveling with others who aren’t necessarily vegan and already made up their mind on where to go. Most of the time, you can tell if a place will be accommodating from just a call, i.e. how they react to your request, what options they offer, and what adjustments they’re willing to make to meet your dietary needs.
Being prepared also means knowing what to expect, and sometimes that entails bringing your own snacks.

Pack Snacks

Speaking of snacks, buying and bringing small food items anywhere you go can be life-changing as a vegan. And the best thing about all of this is, that you can explore some amazing vegan snacks from different countries.
Some go-to snack ideas to bring on the road would be (protein) bars, chips, dried fruits/nuts, fruits like apples or bananas, etc.

Do Your Best

Lastly, don’t be too hard on yourself. Even though being vegan might come with many beliefs and values you hold close to your heart, sometimes not being 100 % is ok too. Traveling and being out of your comfort zone might be hard as is, but in some countries, eating fully plant-based becomes extremely demanding. Whether it comes to the language barrier or unclear ingredients, opting for vegetarian food can always be a solution. It all depends on your own motivation though, and how many restrictions you are ok with taking on.

BONUS: Feeling like Eating In?

Now of course eating out is not always the best or most convenient choice – e.g. if you’re staying somewhere farther away from restaurants, are on a budget, or just want to have a movie night in. Additionally, going grocery shopping in new places can be so fun, especially when it comes to discovering new vegan products you don’t have back home.
Before considering any of these options, make sure the place you’re staying at has a refrigerator, utensils, and cutlery.

Here are some quick & easy food recommendations to have on hand:

1. Avocado Toast
   Who doesn’t love an avocado toast for breakfast? It’s super easy since all you really need is bread and an avocado. Of course, you can top it off with some spices (most Airbnbs will have essential spices already) and veggies on the side.
2. Cereal
   This is obvious, but when grocery shopping, it’s always good to equip your place with essentials. Plant milk or yogurt and cereal should be some of those.
3. Pasta
   Probably the easiest dish you can make for dinner at home. There are so many varieties you can do too – the easiest and quickest way is to get pasta and pasta sauce from the store.
4. Ice Cream
   A great way to end the night is with a jar of ice cream. It’s also great to have popsicles in your freezer when coming back from a long and sweaty day.
5. Snacks
   Pack your bags with your favorite snacks and plenty of them! Whether it’s going to the beach, hiking beautiful trails, or doing a full-on road trip, you’ll be glad to have them ready. If you plan on taking them on the go with you, just make sure they last well in the heat.

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This wraps up the Ultimate Vegan Travel Guide – hopefully, this inspired you to take on your next vegan journey!
Being vegan abroad doesn’t have to be hard, it all depends on how you set yourself up. With this guide, you should be set for an easier experience now!

Let me know what tip surprised you the most…

Feel free to share your experiences & tips for traveling as a vegan in the comments! 🙂

Ready for some destinations? Check out these:
Vegan Food Guide to Maui || Vegan Food Guide to Oahu

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