TRAVELING AS A VEGETARIAN – TIPS
Travel Tips For Vegetarians: In one of my previous posts I explained why I have become a veggie. I promised to give vegetarian travel tips to those who think it is too hard to be a vegetarian traveler.
Of course, being a vegetarian means some kind of facing difficulties but this should not be a reason not to become a vegetarian. While some countries make it very easy for vegetarians and vegans others make it harder for them. As a positive side effect, I have started eating healthier since I am a veggie, so I not avoid only meat, but also eat more organic products (but am still addicted to chocolate), more nuts, and fruits.
However, how can you survive as a vegetarian when traveling in those countries without having an unbalanced diet? Especially if you plan to stay in a place for a longer time you should plan a bit ahead. Here are my “Travel Tips For Vegetarians”.
- Check the word „vegetarian“ in the language of your country of destination. I do not have any problems here in Dubai, where I am staying right now, but I will check it when I am headed to Hong Kong (especially on the Chinese part of it) Make sure you have the right word for it, and write down all the words which belong to the field “vegetarianism“. Names of animals, seafood, gelatin, offal, etc.
Learn the vocabulary of those things you love to eat. - If you aren’t sure about that make some small cards which help you to present it to the waiter/the chef etc. (they work universally, but I must admit that I have never used them since I have traveled to places where they mostly speak English)
- Order basics (rice/noodles) and some vegetables as a side dish, if you aren’t sure.
Check out if there are any vegetarian or vegan restaurants. Happycow, for instance, lists vegetarian restaurants all over the world. - Stay in a hostel, apartment, or private accommodation rather than in a hotel without a kitchen which gives you the chance of cooking by yourself. It isn’t only cheaper but if you can cook you are also assured you can satisfy your own cravings. In case I will stay longer in countries like France or Spain I will definitely do that.
- Prepare some sandwiches or have some snacks for an emergency in your bag.
Luckily it seems that fresh juices and smoothies have become extremely popular and it is easy to get them which are mostly vegan. So are nowadays many healthy snacks. I love to have my juices/smoothies combined with superfoods.
You can see there isn’t that much advice. It just needs some preparation and then you’ll survive easily. Even in those countries with meat-based nutrition.
Vegetarians Travel Tips
Want to know why I have become a veggie in the first place? Read more about my motivation.
Want to get more tips on how to stay healthy while traveling? Read this post here.