How to travel as a vegan
How do you even travel as a vegan? I hear this a lot from people who find out how often I travel abroad. Or that I’ll “have to” give up being vegan if I want to be able to travel to such and such country. And so far, I’ve proven this to be completely untrue. But if traveling as a vegan is something you’re feeling a little nervous about, I’m here to give you some of my tips!
Fully vegan meal at a restaurant on Naxos, Greece.
Visit a vegan-friendly destination
The easiest way to travel as a vegan is to visit a place that is already known to be quite vegan friendly. Think NYC, Los Angeles, Lisbon or Bali. Going to a place that already has a big vegan scene will of course making eating out a lot easier, and is something I do often take into consideration when deciding on a travel destination.
Book accommodations with a kitchen
If you’re worried you won’t find many vegan options at restaurants, or just want to be able to save money, I highly recommend booking accommodations with a kitchen. When I travel, I tend to mainly stay at hostels, guest houses or AirBnbs. All of which will almost always have a kitchen you can use to prepare your own food. There is also a platform, which I haven’t personally tried yet, that allows you to book veg accommodations around the world called “Vegvisits”.
Pasta dinner I made in the kitchen of my Airbnb in Bansko, Bulgaria.
Go on a vegan group trip
If you really don’t want to have to worry about planning, I’d recommend going on a vegan group trip. There are multiple people who host vegan group trips, I went on one to Greece in 2024 with a company called Vegan AF.
I’m also planning on hosting my own vegan group trip to Costa Rica in April 2026 and would love to have you join! Click here for more info about my group trip!
Travel with other vegans
If you don’t want to go on a group trip and already have vegan friends who are able to travel with you, amazing! Traveling with a fellow vegan is great because you’re both going to want to seek out vegan options. It can also make asking around at local restaurants for their vegan options less intimidating when you have someone else by your side.
Vegan street tacos in Tulum, Mexico.
Do your research
This might seem obvious, but always remember to do your research ahead of time. Save your vegan restaurant finds to a list on Google maps. I like to make my lists by each city or town I’m visiting, for example “Lisbon vegan spots”.
You can search on Google, Instagram, TikTok, or ask friends who have been to the destination for their recommendations. Save them all to your list, and then once you’re at your destination, it’s so much easier to just open the list and see whats around.
I’ll often even book my accommodations close to where I see a cluster of vegan-friendly spots. Or even plan day trips that include hitting up some further away vegan places.
Also, be sure to take some time to check if any of the local dishes are “accidentally vegan”, you’d be surprised how many often are depending on where you’re going! I also personally really try to stick to eating vegan versions of the local cuisine as much as I can wherever I travel.
Homemade traditional cuisine from when I was visiting my friends and family in Lebanon.
I hope these tips are helpful and allow you to feel a little more relaxed with traveling as a vegan. As always, if you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to me over on my Instagram. Safe travels!