How to Experience Food Culture While Traveling as a Vegan

Are you plant-based and looking for some tips for making the most of your travels? Keep reading for our guide to traveling as a vegan and how to make the most of gastronomic cultural experiences while plant-based.

Gastronomy is an integral part of both living and traveling. Food is often at the core of every culture and it’s one of the things many of us want to experience as part of the traveling experience. Through the local cuisine, we can learn to taste a country and get to know its landscapes, climates and altitudes.

Unfortunately, if you’re plant-based traveling as a vegan doesn’t always come easy when sampling local foods. In many cuisines meat, fish and dairy products are at the core of food tradition and it can be hard to authentically experience food culture as a part of travel.

This is changing however and as the plant-based diet grows in popularity around the world, so do our options for finding local, authentic vegan cuisine when we travel plant-based. I was a plant based traveler for some 10+ years and I traveled to some of the world’s most remote destinations as a vegan.

Along the way I picked up several tips and tricks to share with you about plant based travel. While vegan travel continues to grow, here are some other ways that you can experience food culture when keeping to a plant based diet while traveling. 

Traveling as a Vegan: Top Tips for Experiencing Food Culture

Take a Vegan Cooking Class

Taking a cooking class is one of the best ways to learn about the food culture of the country you’re visiting. Not only do you get a chance to learn about the ingredients themselves and where they come from, but you’re also learning a new skill which you can take home with you and recreate the meals you learned again and again.

Not to mention you also get to sample the delicious food after. There are many vegetarian and vegan specific cooking classes such as May Kaidee’s Thai Cooking class in Bangkok, Thailand, or many others that can quite easily modify recipes to accommodate plant-based needs.

Always make sure to check before booking though as there many be some dishes on the cooking school menu that can’t be modified. 

Many of these vegan cooking classes can be found on one of my favourite tour and activity booking webistes, Viator.

Check into a Wellness Retreat

Wellness travel is steadily on the rise as we look for ways to check out of our busy, stressful lives and routines.

Wellness retreats are the ideal way to relax the mind, rest the body, learn something new and also experience a new culture and it’s food traditions.

Most wellness retreats offer healthful, more often than not plant-based meals which are normally prepared by local chefs and focus on local ingredients and dishes. It’s a great way to get stuck into food tourism and your own health at the same time. 

Some further reading on our favourite wellness retreat destinations:

Stay at a Vegan-Friendly Hotel

If a full-on wellness retreat isn’t quite what you’re looking for but still want to experience some plant-based hospitality you might want to check out vegan or vegetarian hotels or B&Bs.

Throughout Europe, in particular, you can find quite a few B&Bs that offer fully plant-based meals on-site meaning that after a full day of exploring, traveling as a vegan is easy.

Meals at these B&Bs, especially breakfasts focus on local food traditions that have been modified to be meat-free so you can experience local food culture in the best way possible.

England, in particular, has many vegetarian B&Bs that offer delicious plant-based full English breakfasts in the morning- the highlight of any trip to England.

Some of my top vegan hotels around the world are Koukoumi Vegan Hotel in Mykonos, Greece, Mother Earth in Costa Rica and Mikasa Boutique Hotel in Ibiza.

Sign up for a Food Tour

Another great way to experience the local food culture is through a food tour. Food tours often start at markets and knowledgeable guides explain everything there is to know about the local dishes and ingredients.

In fact, going on a food tour will give you the chance to ask a food guide about the countries plant-based food options- I find there always is something that is naturally vegan that I had no idea about.

On a food tour, you will be able to sample some local dishes, ingredients and even get some great plant-based food recommendations.

Some foodie destinations nowadays even offer specific vegan food tours so make sure to check out apps and websites like Viator and Get Your Guide to see what food tours are offered at your destination. 

Use Directory Vegan Apps

There are so many restaurant apps nowadays that can help us find great quality, local plant-based food and using them really is the way to find local, plant-based food. Happy Cow in particular and also TripAdvisor help you to find the best plant-based and vegan-friendly restaurants in your area.

You can check to see what kind of food they serve and read the reviews to make sure you’re opting for the best choice. There are so many locally-owned, hole-in-the-wall, delicious places to discover through these apps. 

Go on a Vineyard Tour and Wine Tasting

Wine is a very large part of the food and drink culture in many countries. One of the best ways to experience it is by going to a vineyard, taking a tour and exploring the premises and finishing with a delightful wine tasting to sample the best of what the land has to offer.

You can opt for a private wine tour in Chile or an Uco Valley winery tour in Mendoza, Argentina and really explore the beautiful landscapes as well as the rich wine culture.

Interested in a wine tour near Santiago, Chile? Check out The Best Casablanca Valley Wineries You Must-Visit

Top tips for Traveling as a Vegan

↠ Do your research about the local food, plant based food and travel at a particular destination. Researching the most famous dishes in a culture, the culture overall, as well as religion, can really help with gauging how much plant-based food you’ll be able to find. In Buddhist countries, for example, you can often find a plant-based restaurant on temple grounds.

 ↠ Always carry plant based snacks for travel. You won’t always have plant-based options readily available and sometimes it does take a bit of effort to find something good. It never hurts to carry a few GoMacro Bars or similar with you just in case.

↠ Check out the local markets. They are full of fresh fruit and vegetables which you can pick up and snack on or prepare in your Airbnb. Markets are also the hub of food culture in many countries around the world.

↠ At destinations where eating plant based while traveling can be difficult, choose an apartment rental with a kitchen over a hotel. You’ll then be able to prepare your own meals.

↠ Consider learning a few vegan words or phrases in the local language such as ‘I don’t eat meat/fish’, ‘Do you have any vegetarian/vegan dishes’. Knowing some key phrases might help you quite a bit, especially in more off the beaten path destinations.

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Do you have any comments or questions about traveling as a vegan? Let me know below, I’d love to hear from you.

Planning a trip right now? These are just some of my favourite websites I use to book everything from hotels to rental cars!

Rentalcars.com for quick and easy car rentals worldwide

Booking.com for great deals on hotels

Agoda also for great deals on hotels

Get Your Guide and Viator for tours and adventures around the world

Related posts you might like:

The Top 10 Budget-Friendly Wellness Destinations Around the Globe

The Complete Guide To The Best Vegan Restaurants In Tulum

The Secret To How To Eat Healthy While Traveling Or Staying At Home

10 Hacks to make Healthy Travel Easy

7 Delicious Vegan Buddha Bowl Recipes: Ideas from Around the World

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