How Can I Eat Vegan While on Vacation?

How easy it is for you to eat vegan on holiday depends mainly on the region you are traveling to. Because while plant-based foods are widespread in some cultures, meat and dairy products are basic components of every meal in other countries. But even in a holiday destination where purely plant-based products are hard to come by, there are ways to eat vegan. It is important to find out about the local conditions in advance. Vegan travel guides, relevant websites, or special apps for vegans can help with this, for example.

If you go on holiday to India or Asian countries, you usually have a variety of vegan dishes to choose from. In addition to various purely plant-based vegetable dishes, you can also get vegan meat alternatives such as tofu or tempeh in many restaurants in such countries. In the Mediterranean area, there is a lot of fish on the table, while Eastern European cuisine is known for its meat specialties. If you travel to these countries, it is advisable to find out more about the respective holiday destination beforehand.

There are websites where you can search specifically for vegan hotels in the desired region. Vegan restaurants, bistros, or cafés can also be identified in advance in this way. If you don’t want to research everything before you travel, you also have the option of downloading special apps onto your smartphone. With these, you can easily find vegan restaurants in the area. There are apps that point the way to vegan restaurants in Germany, as well as international versions that can be used to find the best vegan locations abroad.

But even if you can neither stop at a vegan hotel nor see a wide range of relevant restaurants at your holiday destination, it is possible to eat vegan on holiday. Because some classic dishes are vegan by nature. These include, for example, pasta with tomato sauce, spaghetti aglio e olio, or gazpacho. However, since these dishes are not prepared in the same way in every restaurant, it is advisable to ask again when ordering whether the dish is actually vegan. Some dishes can also be turned into a vegan version without much effort, for example by omitting the sauce or the meat it contains. Abroad, the “Vegan Passport” of the German Vegetarian Association (VEBU) can be helpful. In this, you will find the term “vegan” explained in 70 different languages.