One of the main questions I am asked when people come to learn about my lifestyle is if I find it difficult travelling as a vegan. The short answer is not at all- but I can assure you it’s not always been easy! I have learned the hard way the best and the worst ways to travel as a vegan (so you don’t have to) and thought I would share some of my best tips and tricks with you all on the matter.
For context I would just like to add, a huge part of what has made this easier over time is the ever- growing amount of vegan options that are appearing on menus all over the world. This is very different to what it was back in 2015 when I became vegan (and decided to travel Europe shortly after). However, it was possible to do then and thankfully even more possible to do now, so shout out to every cafe, restaurant and independent store that have embraced vegan options over the past few years and have made the lives of not only people, but animals drastically better.
1. Always be prepared – Trips often take time and effort to plan, so why not take the extra 5 minutes to look ahead at the food options that you might have available on your route/ when you reach your destination? Should this information not be available to you, it’s always a good idea to prepare for the worst – be sure to pack your favourite cruelty-free snacks and favourite drinks for a long journey. Alternatively, you could eat before you leave to save yourself the trouble of taking food with you (which also helps to lighten the load). What about longer journeys you ask? Road trips that could take days to weeks? My best advice would be take some cool bags/ cooling equipment to keep your food fresh. Stock up on all your favourite non perishables – especially the ones that are usually a staple in your diet. If you have the luxury of having cooking equipment with you this should make things a lot easier! Make sure you shop in a bigger town that is more likely to have a wider range of options before you head back onto the road to more remote areas!
2. Do your research – Depending on where your travels take you, the options available to you could differ massively. For example: a lot of Asian countries tend to use fish sauce in their cooking and quite often this won’t even be listed as an ingredient. Make sure you research the traditional cuisine of countries your visiting to be sure there won’t be anything you’re accidentally consuming. If you want to go a step further you could always translate the word ‘vegan’ and have it written down with you wherever you go. I had some wonderful people offer to do this for me for my trip around Thailand and it made things so much easier! If you aren’t sure about a menu item it’s always a good idea to look up the recipe or ask for advice from whoever you are placing the order from. Alternatively, you could try and scope out entirely vegan restaurants and venues before you even leave for your trip. An absolute game-changer that I used for this (not only around Europe but in Thailand and Australia) is: https://www.happycow.net -which now has customer reviews as well as locations and opening hours!
3. Don’t be afraid to ask for help – Quite often when I’m travelling I like to join the local vegan groups on social media – especially if I’m going to be staying in one place for a while. This is a great way to get the best community advice as to what food places are the best to check out, where local activism may be and in general the location of any cruelty-free or zero waste stores. Even if the advice isn’t already there, never be afraid to put a post out and ask – you may be surprised at the amount of responses you get! You could always be the person to create such a social media platform and see how many other plant-based backpackers you might be able to help.
An added tip would also be to travel with likeminded people- or at least people who are open to veganism/ vegan eating. This will just make the trip so much easier if you can eat out at restaurants together, cook meals together and of course pass around the much needed car snacks. Maybe have an informal discussion before you leave for your travels to see if they would be open to the idea of eating plant-based foods on your adventures together. Obviously if you’re travelling solo you don’t have to worry about that but always something to keep in mind for future trips!
Hopefully some of these tips may be of use to some of you! Should you have any advice on travelling as a vegan yourself please feel free to share your wisdom below!
Be Kind 