Comments on: How to Eat Around the World on a Vegan Diet

By: Michela Pasquali

Michela Pasquali — Mon, 07 Sep 2020 15:04:17 +0000

My husband, 11-year old son and I are vegan and when we travelled to Japan in 2018, we used the Happy Cow app and also just searched for vegan/vegetarian restaurants on GoogleMaps and found the most amazing places to eat! We always had wi-fi, mind you, by using a portable wi-fi system you can get across Japan, which made it a lot easier. But, in other places we’ve visited, like Italy, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia, we’ve used GoogleMaps to find vegan restaurants using free wi-fi in hotel rooms and then saved the locations in GoogleMaps to use without wi-fi throughout the day. It just requires more planning ahead to choose where you’re going to eat each meal, rather than being more spontaneous and selecting a restaurant on the fly. We’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many small, independent restaurants there are all over the world that are strictly vegan or are vegan/vegetarian. We’ve had some amazing food and fantastic experiences, which have made traveling as vegans very easy and super fun.

By: Heather

Heather — Sun, 12 Jan 2020 12:24:38 +0000

This was a great article. Thanks for all the links. The only app I’m currently using is Hungry Cow. I’m excited to look into the others. I live in California and during my recent trip to Asia I ran into a few problems. I printed out I’m Vegan and the main things I can’t eat in English and the local language and it was a huge help. I noticed they often thought Vegetarian & Vegan were one in the same. Food would be labeled Vegan, but the bread had butter and the potato salad had mayo. Asking questions and having my list helped me stay Vegan. I always travel solo, but I was with a tour group this time. I had a guy tell me that families are trying to feed their kids and if the food stall on the street says Vegan & Vegetarian I need to realize that I’m in a third world country and they are not going to clean the pan (to make my dish Vegan) and I should just buy food there. And since I’m not Vegan for religious reasons I should be more flexible. It was so odd because I had never complained to this guy or anyone else on the tour about any challenges I was having (I never even ate a meal with him). Clearly me being a Vegan was bothering him. I just told him that I would never ask them to clean their pan and I do realize that the likelihood is that a non Vegan pan may be used when I’m at a restaurant. I always share my list and hope that they have not used any butter or fish oil, for example, in the pan, but that’s the risk I take. There are other choices for me, so I don’t see the need to eat from the food vendor on the street that I know with 100% certainty is not preparing a 100% Vegan meal. I’m Vegan for my health and once I started to do research on how being Vegan helps the planet and the animals I decided I was for sure never going back. I’m really passionate about this and refuse to be flexible on it.

By: Lily

Lily — Sun, 17 Feb 2019 10:22:57 +0000

Glad to know there are so many other Veggie-travelers out there. Sometimes I’ve felt like I’m missing out on the culture in some countries, but traveling is about experiencing the world

By: Micah

Micah — Sat, 22 Sep 2018 16:17:13 +0000

I notice you said Norway was difficult – there is an app and a website called Vegan Norway. It is a great resource. I had no problems finding food- it was actually much more reliable and up to date than Happy Cow

By: Dave Paco

Dave Paco — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 16:16:29 +0000

Yes, it can be done! Traveling on a vegan diet just involves some patience and education. There are many great resources. Learn the local language and ask around for vegetables and meat-free plates. You can always find something!
Check out The Bodyguard Travel Companion Cookbook! Lots of recipe and nutrition ideas.

By: nasir

nasir — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 11:45:48 +0000

Hey,Sometimes I’ve felt like I’m missing out on the culture in some countries, but traveling is about experiencing the world the way only you can, isn’t it? Great read! Thanks guys.
Thanks

By: Sam

Sam — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 10:58:18 +0000

In reply to Jaunting Jen. Actually you can get vegan food in the army! I have a friend who is vegan and was in the army for a few years. At the mess halls he just ate the vegan stuff (like tons of bananas/other fruit) and then negotiated to get a grocery allowance to buy food himself off-base. His bigger problem was that he had piercings that he had to close up (he sewed up his gauge holes himself, eek).

By: Tabby

Tabby — Fri, 13 Oct 2017 10:49:32 +0000

Vegan Passport and Happy Cow have definitely become my travel essentials since going vegan! I’ve been pleasantly surprised by what an abundance of vegan food there’s been in some places where I thought it was all going to be meat and cheese (looking at you, Barcelona) but the language barrier and awkwardness of being offered food gifts you can’t actually eat in some parts of the world has definitely left me feeling anxious more than once! Really great article

By: Ethan

Ethan — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 21:52:23 +0000

Being vegetarian is quite difficult when you are on travel on a country who loves to eat meat than vegies. I will definitely have the vegan passport to travel. Thanks for the tips.

By: Lexi

Lexi — Wed, 31 May 2017 01:15:13 +0000

Vegan while globetrotting, who knew?! I thought achieving this would be near impossible, but I’m so glad to see how many resources are out there for that lifestyle. I’m not vegan, but I definitely have a lot of health-conscious readers that will appreciate this. I will make sure to share this with them! Thank you so much for searching out this story, Matt.