Traveling Tips for Vegans

Traveling Tips for Vegans

Traveling can be stressful enough without the added stress of figuring out what you can and can’t eat. Fortunately, I’ve had a lot of luck of finding vegan restaurants while I travel that are not restrictive choices. This may change depending on what location you are visiting but hopefully, these tips can make traveling a little less stressful. 

Airplane and Airport Tips

I find that the worst spots to find vegan food is actually when you are at the airport and airplane. Some obvious tips is you can pack snacks and food during your flight. My favorite snack is making a trail mix with nuts, pretzels, and chocolate. This keeps me full at the airport while I am ready for a bigger meal. A sandwich is always my go-to option if I have a longer flight or when I know my flight lands during my meal time. Be aware that you don’t pack anything that cannot go through security!

Let’s say you don’t pack food before your flight because if you’re like me, you’ve overpacked and there’s no more space for anything else. Luckily, airports mostly always have a Starbucks or any other big coffee chain. If I find myself hungry and with no food at an airport my go-to food is a plain bagel and avocado spread from Starbucks. Occasionally, I order oatmeal from coffee shops (making sure that it was made with water instead of milk). You’d be surprised how many accidentally vegan things you can find at airport stands. 

During flights, I usually find myself denying most of the food and snacks they offer which is why packing food can be useful. However, that is not your only option. In fact, most airlines I’ve traveled with offer a vegan meal and you can request it before your flight. 

Pro tip: Download the Is it Vegan? app on your phone before leaving. This an app that allows you to scan the barcode of an item and it tells you if it’s vegetarian or vegan. 

Arriving at Your Destination

As I mentioned, I usually overpack and don’t have a lot of room to pack snacks for my entire stay. That’s why when I’m booking my hotel I make sure to find a grocery store nearby. This is a great way to save money and guarantees some food for the rest of your trip. I usually end up buying breakfast items and making it in my hotel room before I start my day. Another useful tip while looking at hotels is making sure the room has a fridge, luckily most of them do.  If you have a busy schedule you probably won’t find yourself returning to your hotel and making lunch and dinner. Which is why I buy snacks and take them with me in case I need to eat before finding a restaurant or shop that offers vegan food. 

Now my biggest and most helpful tip is downloading food apps. My first is obviously the WhattaEat App. It’s a fool proof way to filter what type of food you are looking for.  It’t been helpful in letting me know what is in the area. The next one that has also been helpful in my domestic and international travels is the Happy Cow App. This app has come in handy so many times while traveling. It not only tells you what restaurants are vegan but what restaurants offer vegan options. It’s a bit rare finding fully vegan restaurant in certain areas so this feature is helpful especially since you can alter a lot of meals that the restaurant is offering. If you take only one tip away from this it is to download your apps. These will do all the work for you so you have one less thing to worry about during your trip. 

Food Gallery 

Vegetarian Plate in a random restaurant in Costa Rica. Made sure the food was made with oil instead of animal fat/stock

Breakfast offered by the Noah’s Forest hotel in Costa Rica. Communicated with the staff I don’t eat animals or dairy and they altered this for me.

Vegan Pasta found in a restaurant in Costa Rica that had a separate vegan menu. Found in Happy Cow. 

Mission Cafe in Madrid with vegan pastries.

Vegan breakfast offered by the The Great Hallingbury Manor Hotel in London. No alterations.

Vegan dinner offered by the The Great Hallingbury Manor Hotel in London. No alterations.

Vegan Plate at a random restaurant in Florida. Found in Happy Cow. No alterations. The staff communicated there was cross-contamination since they handle a lot of meat. 

Veggie Warp in Florida with alterations. Swapped out the goat cheese with avocado.