Five Vegan Travel Tips to Help You Survive

Traveling can be challenging for anyone, but even more so for vegans. When it can take all day to get to a destination, you don’t have your usual resources or wonder about available food; you need some vegan travel tips! Because we have been there and we understand the situation, we share our 5 top vegan travel tips!

1. Consider All The Options

Whether on vacation or visiting family, a vegan’s best friend is access to a kitchen. Airbnb and VRBO offer so many options for rentals with a full or shared kitchen space. This can greatly reduce the stress of finding good vegan options when traveling.

If you have to stay in a hotel, inquire about rooms with a fridge and a microwave. We have done this several times and pulled together some great meals with food from home and vegan treats from a nearby market.

2. Do Some Research

Researching health food stores and vegan restaurants before traveling can have a big payoff regarding food options. The website, happycow.net, and the Happy Cow app are great resources for finding restaurants and health food stores and generally making vegan travel easier. I benefit from living with someone who researches almost to the point of obsession before we travel. As a result, we know where to eat, shop, and explore before leaving home. It brings a sense of adventure to our trips that I really appreciate.

3. Be Prepared for Travel Day

Plan for the entire day. This is essential, and we learned the hard way. Since air travel increasingly involves layovers, this is more important than ever. After all, not all airports are vegan-friendly. Recently, we were in a huge airport with dozens of food stands and restaurants. We found just one that offered a legit vegan meal. (Check out the video below to see how we managed!)

Tip: Pack snacks or meals and check airport food options online before traveling.

Another thing we do is travel with rice and cooked beans (cans or cartons). If our flights are delayed, and we are late getting to our destination, we can always pick up a jar of salsa almost anywhere. So dinner can be a meal of rice and beans, and we can leave food shopping for the following day. Shopping when you are tired and hungry is a terrible way to start a vacation. Besides, shopping under those conditions leads to expensive snacks, or fights, or both. Yikes! Hangry on holiday is a bad thing!

Putting some of our vegan travel tips into action:

Clearly, we have had a few mishaps and had to roll with it. Good thing that we found a market at our destination!

4. Be Bold

When you are eating in a restaurant, speak up about being a vegan. We used to look at the menu and try to figure out what we could eat. Now we let the waitstaff know we are vegan right away. We are often delighted when they point out vegan options or substitutions and talk with the chef to ensure we are accommodated. We enjoyed amazing meals because we spoke up.
Of course, when all else fails, you can always get the fries.:-)

5. Plan on Meeting Some Vegans

This one is a little less of a tip as encouragement. Because a non-vegan culture surrounds you, vegans can sometimes feel isolated – even more so when traveling. But, when you start identifying yourself as a vegan and seeking out vegan markets, you meet other vegans. How awesome is that? It is really fun.

For example, on a recent trip to Vieques, Puerto Rico, we discovered a fabulous health food store, Yerbabuena y Mas. We were there a few times, picking up some great vegan staples and treats, and got to know the vegan owner, Mayra Camacho. There is nothing like being far from home, sometimes in a completely different culture, and finding someone who may not even share your language but shares your values of health and compassion.

Conclusion: Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

There can be a lot of stress associated with traveling, whether for business or pleasure. But your vegan lifestyle doesn’t have to add to it. It can be a breeze if you spend a little prep time researching your options, find appropriate accommodations, and pack some essentials. Plus, being open to new experiences can add a whole new dimension to travel. Go for it, and have fun!