It’s been over two years since I’ve been vegan now and as much as the planet is evolving to a future which is much more inclusive and non violent. Travelling can be a challenge when you draw a hard line where other countries don’t have the marketing, understanding, resource or knowledge to understand the complexities of the movement.
With big brands now offering entire vegan menus, and a significant rise in convenience and fast food, it’s never been easier to be a vegan at home. It can be a bit daunting to think about going to places where the language barrier makes explaining dietary requirements very challenging.
Whether you’re staying at the Burj Al Arab or going for a great bargain holiday using NetVoucherCodes.co.uk, if you’re traveling all inclusive, you might want to contact the tour company supplying your holiday to let them know that you are vegan. That way, the resort can accommodate your needs.
If you’re using a shared Airbnb, let the host know about your dietary requirements. They might be buying food or drink in specifically for you, and it will save any drama further down the line. If they struggle to be able to help, because they don’t understand, offer to help out by buying some suitable food when you arrive.
Happy Cow
The Happy Cow app is a godsend to all vegans. It uses your location to let you know about vegan restaurant, cafe and supermarket choices close by. Each option that the app provides will have a rating that will let you know how well they cater to vegans. Sometimes you hit the jackpot and find a vegan owned business, in those situations, there is no need to make your decisions based on the ingredients. You can eat anything and everything.
Some restaurants will be listed as offering some vegan options, and the app might provide details of menu options that are suitable, or for any substitutions, the restaurant has been able to provide in the past to be able to offer a vegan version of a meal.
The Happy Cow app only works because of the community that uses it. Be sure and always leave a review of anywhere that you’ve visited as it will help lots of other vegan travellers who are following in your footsteps.
Plan Ahead
Go online and find vegan groups on Facebook for the country or area that you plan to visit. If you say whereabouts you are staying, you’ll hopefully get some good suggestions from local vegans, or people who have recently traveled to the area.
Plan a bit of an itinerary, that way you’ll have meals planned for each day of your holiday.
Use Instagram and search vegan hashtags within the country you are visiting. Get some ideas of meals or restaurants that you like the look of.
Take Vegan Treats
Packing a few essential items that don’t need preparation will help you out in an emergency.
You might not be able to pack full meals, but every little you can bring will help you by giving you snacks to keep you going.
If your hotel does not keep any plant milk in, ask if you can store some of your own in their fridge.
Create A Vegan Card
Learning enough of the language to be able to say that you are vegan can be very difficult. There are some countries where veganism is still pretty rare, or where the term is not used. Explaining what veganism means in terms that people understand is even trickier.
Understanding a few essential words can be helpful, however, if you struggle with pronouncing words in different languages, you may want to try something a little more universally understandable.
To save the confusion in restaurants, you can create a pre-made card to hand to the restaurant staff that explains your dietary requirements in their native tongue.
Keep it simple. Use Google to translate a message along the lines of “I am a vegan. I am unable to eat dishes that contain any meat, fish, dairy, egg, gelatin, or animal fats.”
Helping the restaurant staff out will make life much easier for you and them.
Once I was in Cuba and they put bacon in the minestrone soup which is a challenge, but it’s trial and error, just make sure you check what they give you even if you do hand in a card!
Learn The Ingredients
Using the local language, find out what the words for milk, eggs, beef, chicken, etc. are. If you can read the backs of food labels and understand what is in a product, then this will help you lots.
Also, just because an item you buy back home is safe for vegans, doesn’t mean that it will be when you’re traveling. Even products made by the same brand may differ in ingredients depending on the territory. It’s always best to check. Many brands at home may have adapted their ingredients to drop items that are not vegan-friendly but are yet to do it abroad.
Be Polite
It can be frustrating to think that your ethical choices seem perplexing to others. And if you’re dealing with people without any experience of veganism, you might feel as though they are purposefully unhelpful, or awkward. Some cultures are yet to reevaluate their relationship with animal agriculture as we have begun doing. It is unfair to believe your situation is personal or to take out your frustration on the staff member that doesn’t understand.
Use the opportunity to help them learn, so that the next vegan they meet, they’ll understand better.
While traveling may not be as convenient as finding your next meal back home, you certainly should never feel as though you can’t travel if you’re a vegan.
Remember, wherever you go, make it easier for fellow vegans who follow you by shouting about any finds that are worth sharing. And, if the demand rises, next time you go back, there may be lots more options.
This is a contributed post, edited by Nik