Truth time. This blog initially sprung out of pure fear. As you may know, I am still a relatively new vegan. So I am still sometimes uneasy when I leave my home or town where I know I can eat like a boss on a vegan diet. My husband and I recently booked a trip to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the anxiety instantly began to bubble up as I began to think “will there be any vegan options or will everything be doused in butter?” and “will I have to live off of French fries from the beach bar?” and worse yet “will I give up my vegan diet just due to no other option?” – the ladder being the worst fear. I knew I couldn’t be alone here. So I took a deep dive on the Internet to bring the information I needed to the surface. Thankfully, I asked and the vegan community answered! After an embarrassing amount of research I went into my trip confident that I could turn what felt like an impossible feat into a grand reality – traveling on a vegan diet IS possible! I have trimmed down my research into the 5 most valuable pieces of advise I could offer from personal experience on a vegan diet. I hope this information helps you as you travel about the globe confidently that you will not be missing out on any opportunity to eat well the whole way through! Please comment below if you have any other recommendations that you have had success with on your vegan filled adventures!

1. Plan restaurant visits ahead 

You have a big trip coming up and you have been planning what museums/exhibits you are going to visit, the hikes you will be going on and where you are going to be staying – why should planning your food be any different? Please hear me though – I am not saying that every day has to be planned to a T. What I am saying is that it would be wise to check out if there are any specific vegan-friendly restaurants near where you are staying or where you are planning to go. If you are able to have a handful of options ready to go, you won’t feel stressed when you find your self exhausted and starving! Here are a few links I used to find vegan options at the airport, and at local restaurants: https://www.peta2.com/vegan-life/vegan-airport-guide/  https://www.happycow.net/  

2. Stay somewhere with a kitchen if you can!

Air bnb’s are so great because most of them come with access to a full kitchen. This is perfect for traveling on a vegan diet because it gives you control. My husband and I were staying in an air bnb in St. Thomas for a 10-day trip so once we got there; we hit the local market (that I found in advance!) and loaded up on ingredients for meals to fill up on during the trip. Vegan or not, we almost always make a few meals at “home” (aka whatever air bnb we are at) to simply save money. It is expensive to eat out for every meal! With this method, I was able to save a ton of money by buying fresh and local ingredients to cook meals for us, and above all I was able to control what was in it because I was the one who was making it so I knew that for those meals I did not have to think twice about whether or not it had any hidden animal products within it.

3. Snacks, I repeat, snacks!

This is going to be KEY. You don’t need to be over the top with fancy snacks, but if you always have bag of mixed nuts like almonds or trail mix you will at least know that you will not get exhaustibly “hangry” during your trip and you will be sustained until you either get home to cook or make it to a restaurant with vegan-friendly meals. Before you even get to your destination this is extremely helpful while at the airport or the train station. Besides the fact that food at airports is crazy expensive, it may have limited vegan options, or you will be stuck eating nothing but French fries or chips. Not to mention when you are on your flight or train, the list of food options just dwindles further. If you make it a point to not go anywhere on your travels without a few snacks on hand, you will not need to stress if you end up having to wait longer than expected to have a real meal. Great snack options ideas could be mixed nuts, vegan protein bars, vegan pretzels, carrot and hummus packs, celery or fresh fruits. 

4. Learn a few key phrases ahead of time

I did not need to worry about this one on my trip to St. Thomas since the primary language is English there, however from all the research I did on the subject I know this to be an important one! You don’t have to find yourself fluent before flying in anywhere, but just have a few phrases like “I cannot have dairy, egg or meat”, “can this be made with no egg/dairy/meat?” and “I am vegan” on hand in whatever the local language is. You can also preload those phrases into a translation app so you are ready to go if you need to use an app to help with the language barrier. Aside from asking the servers about excluding egg, dairy and meat, you can also scan the menu to see for yourself what is likely to be vegan. For example, if you see any vegetables that are fried in batter, it is likely that they used egg. Keep an eye out for words like “grilled”, “steamed” or “baked” because it is likely that the food has not been fried by an egg so at that point you really just want to know if it was cooked (or if they can avoid cooking with) butter or animal fat. I was definitely nervous about making so many demands of my server, but I learned to above all stay nice to your server when ordering! If you remain calm and smile all the way through, I find they are much more willing to help!

5. Get connected with people who know the area!

If you are staying in an Air BNB, contact your host ahead of time! More often than not they are happy to help if they can. Most hosts are eager to do anything unique to help their ratings and helping with food sensitivities is a big help. If you are lucky they will have a few spots in mind that are vegan friendly, but at the very least they will be able to recommend a local market to buy your own ingredients. The same goes for resorts or hotels. Contact the concierge ahead of time and request vegan-friendly recommendations – that is literally their jobs to know or find out that information so it is very likely they will be able to give you a few suggestions.

6. Social Media is your friend

I saved the best for last on this one. In all likelihood in your research preparing to go on this trip you looked up your destination throughout your social media platforms. Use those resources for food! Instagram and Pinterest are my top platforms to serve this task. For example, use hashtags like #veganrome or #romevegan and you will instantly find hundreds of posts from people who have already traveled to your destination and found share-worthy vegan dishes. The best part is that most posts will share exactly where the restaurant is and you get to see photos of the food ahead of time!

Final Thoughts

You need to admit that your trip will not go perfectly, no trip ever does and you do not want it to! Part of the fun of traveling is going off plan and creating memories out spontaneous alterations to your schedule. You want it to be that way! Do not be too hard on yourself and let me save you the stress- you will not starve and you will find delicious vegan options. Follow the tips listed above and then focus on having a great trip!

Stay Chill my Vegan Friends – Elli