How To Eat Vegan While Traveling

I am a Vegan. And so are you if you are reading this. Or you’re a vegetarian trying to take a step further. And you love traveling, so it’s only normal to ask yourself the question, “How do you eat vegan while traveling?”

Ordering vegan at a normal restaurant

Well, I’m not a big fan of restaurants (no, I’m kidding, it’s just too expensive), but sometimes I go out with fellow travel friends to have lunch or dinner. And I cannot ask them to pick a certain restaurant because I don’t eat this or that. So I got really used to this situation.

Take a look at the menu. Most menus have a page of side dishes, which are vegan by accident: potatoes, veggies, or rice. Also, take a look at the salads page.

They may have a vegan salad by accident or at least a vegetarian option. Ask the waiter if the cook can remove certain ingredients from that.

My favorite restaurants are Turkish and Lebanese. They have many traditional dishes which just happens to be vegan. Like the famous Falafel. Maybe it’s not written anywhere it’s vegan food, but it mostly is. Just for your peace of mind, ask about the sauces. Those might be made with yoghurt.

Italian restaurants can be another option. There Italian restaurant all over, no matter where you are. It’s all about pizza and pasta. They should have vegetarian pizza in the menu, or maybe even vegan pizza.

If there is no vegan pizza,  I ask for the vegetarian pizza without the mozzarella. Also, check the pasta list. They should have the basic Penne all’Arrabbiata (garlic, tomatoes, and red chili peppers cooked in olive oil), which I love.

Finding vegan places

More and more people start to understand the importance of their diet for their life, environment and the planet. Therefore the number of vegan restaurants are continually increasing. Vegan gourmet restaurants, vegan fast foods, vegan bakeries, vegan burgers and probably everything you can imagine.

If it’s a bigger city and there are many tourists, probably there are vegan places where you can eat. Most of them are small, cosy and probably hidden, so I google them or use HappyCow app or website to see which are my options nearby. There are reviews, photos and price range listed. I found some really amazing places using this app.

They also list restaurants which are not completely vegetarians or vegan but do have options for that. So you can take your friends.

The prices are normal, maybe even less than expected. Yay!

Check out the grocery stores

For budget travellers, this will be the cheapest meal you can buy. If you are a vegan, I assume you know which things are vegan in a supermarket.

Some countries have supermarkets which label products as vegan or vegetarian. UAusually they group those in one place. But it can be more expensive just because it says “vegan” on it. And it does not mean that you cannot find other vegan stuff, just because there is not the vegan label on it.

Use common sense. And eat some fruit—the best gift of nature.

Stay somewhere with a kitchen

Many hotels or hostels have kitchens which the tourists can use. Or if you are staying with Airbnb or a friend, that’s even better. You can use that kitchen to cook whatever you want. You won’t even feel deprived if you’re not eating out because you can have it when you want, and it will be cheaper.

I believe the best way to know control your diet is when you are cooking for yourself. Only then you can be sure of what is in your food.

Pack your own meals

If you are lucky enough to have a kitchen which you can use, then you can make anything. But even if you don’t have a place to cook, there are so many things to buy from the supermarket which can be packed for later.

There are vegan spreads, bread or take away stuff. Fruits are the perfect snacks. You just need to plan a little ahead.

Every country has a national vegetarian/vegan dish

I’ve noticed that there are veggie dishes in every country with solid cuisine.

Most southeastern European cuisine, Turkish, and Middle Eastern cuisine have a lot of them because they needed to invent different dishes to feed their families with the available foods in those lands.

Southeastern countries are orthodox Christians, and they incorporate a vegan diet into their religion. Fasting is really common before Christmas and Easter, and there are a lot of food options for the people who do it. It’s the same thing: no animal products are allowed. This is how I realized that the vegan diet is not a new idea.

The biggest issues I had were in Western Europe, and I feel they don’t really have great cuisine, or if they do, it’s all about meat and cheese and sandwiches.

Don’t beat yourself up

Being in a foreign country, where you don’t understand the language, may lead to confusing situations. I once ordered a liquor instead of wine.

It may happen the people serving you food don’t understand what your diet is about and suggest you some fish. Yes, some cultures believe fish is not meat. Vegetarians are to blame for that.

They might suggest a certain dish and forget to mention it contains milk or egg. You will probably tell the difference, but it’s not their fault, and neither is yours. You took a bite, you realised is not what it should be, you keep your calm and tell yourself it’s ok, confusions happen.

This is one risk we are always exposed to when traveling, and that’s why we love it. It makes it more challenging.

So many people have managed to eat vegan while travelling, so there is definitely a way.