Quite a few religions have dietary restrictions that make their restaurants or religious institutions perfect destinations for vegans. Unfortunately, it can be quite confusing to know which brand of the particular religion provides a vegan diet and which one does only partially, since it may vary from country to country and at different times of year.

The following info is an attempt to systematize the information per religion and per country:

Buddhism:

Mahayana Buddhism:

Countries: China, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan

Restrictions: all animal products.

Exceptions Allowed: none, 100% vegan.

Extra Restrictions: garlic, onion, asafoetida, shallots, leeks, coriander.

Time Of Year: all year, or 1st or 15^th of the lunar month.

Tips: Look for “Pure Vegetarian” food in and around Buddhist temples.

Theravada Buddhism:

Countries: Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Sri-Lanka, Myanmar.

Restrictions: no real restrictions on animal products but vegetarianism encouraged.

Time Of Year: all year.

Tips: food served in and around Buddhist temples is often vegetarian.

Zen Buddhism:

Countries: Japan.

Restrictions: all animal products.

Exceptions Allowed: none, 100% vegan.

Extra Restrictions: garlic, onion, asafoetida, shallots, leeks, coriander.

Time Of Year: all year, or 1st or 15^th of the lunar month.

Tips: Japanese Zen monasteries are vegan and sometimes serve food

Vajrayana Buddhism:

Countries: Tibet.

Restrictions: no real restrictions on animal products but vegetarianism encouraged.

Time Of Year: all year.

Tips: Tibetan monasteries are seldom vegetarian.

Christianity:

Religion: orthodox church.

Countries: Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Ukraine.

Restrictions: all animal products.

Exceptions Allowed: In Russia and Ukraine fish is allowed.

Time of Year: lent 40 days (7 weeks before Easter).

Tips: Many mainstream restaurants serve “Fasting Foods” during lent.

Hinduism:

Countries: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Sri-Lanka.

Restrictions: all animal products.

Exceptions Allowed: dairy.

Extra Restrictions: for Brahmins (priestly cast), restrictions on who prepared the food and how it is stored.
“Pure Vegetarians” in India means dishes need to not have touched meat. Sometimes it means vegans who eat honey.

Time of Year: all year.

Tips: 30% of Hindu population is vegetarian.

Ghee (clarified butter) is the main issue since it cannot be detected.

Dishes can usually be easily veganized upon asking.

Jainism:

Countries: India.

Restrictions: all animal products.

Exceptions Allowed: dairy (except for yogurt).

Extra Restrictions: garlic, onions, root vegetables, vegetables non-native to the country, alcohol, caffeine drinks, multi seeded fruits, fermented foods.

Time of Year: all year.

Tips: Easily veganized.

Rastafarians:

Countries: Jamaica, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Ivory Coast,

Restrictions: all animal products.

Exceptions Allowed: fish.

Extra Restrictions: salt, alcohol, caffeinated drinks.

Time of Year: all year.

Tips: essentially vegan. ask for no fish.

Judaism:

Religion: Kosher.

Countries: Israel.

Restrictions: some animals may not be eaten at all, including pigs, shellfish, rabbits, and reptiles.

Extra Restrictions: total separation between dairy and meat products, at least for 3 hours (mixtures of meat and dairy are prohibited).

Time of Year: all year.

Tips: “Parve” means no meat or dairy (but may contain eggs or honey).

What our experience taught us:

We’ve all been there. You book a decent hotel. You write a comment in the special request section mentioning that you are vegan, hoping they will accommodate your needs. Only to arrive for early morning breakfast and find the regular eggs and toast with butter, jam and if you are lucky, some small pieces of fresh fruit.

As nomadic vegans, we have spent the last two years traveling around the world and compiling info to make our vegan travel website The Veganary.

It is our belief that vegan food can be found in nearly every country, but it might prove to be a hard task sometimes, especially when you are outside of major cities and tourist destinations. Due to the lack of options available to us, we often found ourselves eating unhealthy and unsatisfying foods like plain carbs or snacks and sweets (see our Animated Video).

What changed

Two years ago, before setting off to yet another destination, we noticed that we had some extra room left in our bags and decided to bring along our vegan saviour, the travel blender. Looking back, this decision impacted our travels more the we could have ever imagined!

It was worth mentioning that only later on did we find out the importance of carrying with us a good travel knife. This is essential if you want to have something versatile to easily cut through all your fruits and veggies, while at the same light and easy to carry. If you only travel occasionally then you can probably get by with choosing a light kitchen knife.

Haleluya!!

With the combo of the travel blender and knife our travels became a vegan paradise! It allowed us to easily make our own smoothie bowls, savory dips and spreads, fresh fruits and salads, and even cookies at times where our accommodation included an oven. We were blown away by how much our small blender changed the travelling experience for us!

As long as you stay open minded and use fresh local produce, we are sure you will find many other creative ways of incorporating it in to your diet.

We recommend the travel blender and knife to all vegans, but especially for those traveling on a lower budget. This is because you can stop depending on restaurants and start buying your food products in the local markets, potentially cutting your eating costs by half of even more. While enjoying some of the healthiest, tastiest, cheapest food your destination has to offer.

Here are some ideas of how you can use your blender while traveling:

Savory or sweet spreads/dips/sauces:

They are soooo tasty and are real life savers! Ingredients such as nuts, dried fruit, herbs and spices are relatively easy to find in most countries. The sauces are extremely helpful when your only vegan option is a plain carb such as bread, rice or potatoes. By making the right spread / sauce combining it with a few commonly found fresh vegetables, you can turn what would otherwise be a dull meal into a true delicacy.

Smoothies:

Might be the most obvious option, but also one of the most useful. A good smoothie can be a full nutritious breakfast if made with fruits, oats, nuts and seeds. Or instead opt for a hearty smoothie bowl. Fresh fruits, vegetables and greens, can be used according to the country and season. Making also a perfect small snack in the middle of the day to sweeten things up.

Energy Bars / Cookies:

They are real life savers when you are unsure of the amount of the available vegan options in your upcoming day. So many delicious raw vegan recipes for snacks, energy bars and cookies. The ingredients to make them can easily be found in most countries, since they are mostly made out of flour, nuts, seeds and dried fruit or dark chocolate.  These proved to be absolutely vital for all those unexpected times; you cannot locate any vegan food options nearby.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning if do decide to purchase one of the items through our links, we might earn a small commission at no extra cost for you. This helps us provide you with free quality content.

Our Recommended Travel Blenders:

Since you are traveling, you don’t really need or want to take with you a high-end blender. You are much better getting something reasonably priced, So you should not have to worry about if it gets broken or stolen.  Ours survived for 3 years, first at home and then through intensive traveling ! Here are our choices for the best reasonably priced travel blender under 40 USD.

PopBabies

The PopBabies is a Unique Detachable Travel Blender. Cup size is 500ml (17oz). The design is sleek and elegant. Built in USD rechargeable battery of 4000mAh, with the possibility simultaneously blend and charge. The PopBabies is a bit stronger than the Vitamer with 170W and 22,000 rpm. At the same time it is also slightly heavier at 590g (1.3 pounds).

Vitamer

The vitamer blender is a small, lightweight and compact. The size of the cup is 500ml (17oz) making it one of the smaller travel blenders. Built-in you will find a USB port to recharge of your battery of 4000mAh, with 150W and a max speed of 20,000 rpm. Not recommended to blend whilst charging. Total Wight of 550g (1.2 pounds).

Kacsoo

This blender is similar to the others, small compact and handy. It’s main feature is the powerful battery of 5200mAh. Making it last more blends, but has less blending power at 126W and 16500 rpm. This blender will be useful for people who travel to far places where constant electricity might be a problem.

Top Vegan Travel Blender:

Our top recommendation for a vegan travel blender is Pop Babies! This is because we have great experience with their blenders. They are the most powerful in this category, and products includes a silicone ice tray and funnel. Which have proven to be extremely useful instruments for us when traveling.

Travel Knife

We found that a good travel knife comes in handy when traveling. If you do bring your own from home, take a kitchen knife, do not count on your swiss army one. In our mind though, investing 9 USD on a proper travel knife is a wise choice that will serve you well.

This is the knife we have been using for a few years already and still in perfect shape:

ZYLISS

Our top recommendation is a 5.5-Inch Utility Knife by ZYLISS is made of stainless steel and is perfect for slicing, peeling and cutting your fruits veggies. The knife is sharp, easy to sharpen and very comfortable in general. When finished, just slide the blade cover and you are good to go.

For those who are looking for a larger or smaller knifes we can recommend these knifes that are also by ZYLISS.

We are happy to share our interview with one of the leaders in the worldwide Vegan Travel scene. Caitlin Galer-Unti is the author of the successful book Essential Vegan Travel Guide and her blog The Vegan Word. Sharing with us interesting and funny stories about how she started her book and blog, favorite vegan snacks, awesome vegan travel tips and much more.

How do you prepare for your trip before leaving home?

Planning, packing well and planning some more! I’m not a particularly organized person in general, and often leave things to the last minute – everything except researching vegan food on my travels, that is. While I can often be found on the plane frantically reading through saved travel guides on my phone, trying to work out what currency is used in my destination and how to get from the airport to where I’m staying, weeks before my trip you’ll find me poring over lists of vegan location dishes and restaurants, spending hours plotting what I want to eat.

I might not have any clue whether I need to exchange currency at the airport, but you can bet I have a list of vegan phrases on my phone and restaurants starred on my Google maps.

I also always have snacks with me – both when I travel around my home city and further afield! Dried fruit and nuts have saved me many times.

What supplies and products do you bring from home when you travel?

Dried fruit and nuts! Bars (like Nakd bars) can always be found in my hand luggage. If I’m going to stay somewhere with a kitchen, I’ve been known to take some harder-to-find ingredients like nooch, or even a small jar of spices to kick-start cooking. And if I’m going somewhere longer-term, I bring my blender and food processor (See more info about our recommended portable travel blenders).

How do you locate the vegan (or Veganizable) dishes in a new country?

I love reading about different cuisines from around the world so as I mentioned before I do a lot of research before visiting a new country and a lot of that is reading online about the cuisine and accidentally vegan traditional dishes.

I also love learning ‘secret’ phrases, like ‘de post’ in Romania or ‘nistisimo’ in Greece for Orthodox fasting, which excludes meat, eggs and dairy but may include fish so you need to ask separately about fish. Find more info about eastern european food on my blog.

How do you communicate your vegan needs in countries where English is not commonly understood?

I usually write down and learn a few key phrases (I save them on my phone in a note), and I learn any of the ‘secret’ phrases the unlock vegan cuisine (e.g. ‘de post’ in Romanian). I also own a Vegan Passport, put together by the Vegan Society, which has proved to be helpful.

In your opinion what are the most vegan friendly country in the world?

My favourite place to visit as a vegan is Taiwan. It’s become a lot more well-known as a travel destination in the last few years but I think still not that many people know how vegan-friendly it is. I’ve heard around 13% of the population is vegetarian, largely due to Buddhist influences, and vegetarian and vegan restaurants are incredibly widespread – and something that everyone enjoys (vegan or not). See guide to Taiwan

I was there in 2010, when declaring you were vegan still tended to raise eyebrows even in London. But when I told the owners of the Taipei hostel I was staying in I was vegan, they said ‘Oh, we love vegan food, you should try the vegan place across the street!’ and proceeded to recommend their favourite dishes.

I soon discovered walking around Taipei that there were vegetarian restaurants on pretty much every block. It was probably the only place where I didn’t plan where to eat or star vegan restaurants on Google maps. I just walked around until I saw a vegetarian or vegan restaurant that looked good! It helps a lot if you know the traditional Chinese character for vegetarian, and if you learn a few phrases (I studied Chinese at university and I think it helped a lot).

Pick 5 of your favorite vegan snacks or sweets, that you have discovered through traveling?

Ooh, it’s tough to choose! In no particular order:

-Kroki kroket (Croatia): These are a total love it or hate it snack and I love them! They’re like Cheetos, but covered in peanut dust instead of cheese. I have to have some every time I go to Croatia! (See vegan snacks in Croatia).

-Bajadera (Croatia/Serbia): Another Croatian treat (made in Croatia but also sold in Serbia and possibly other countries nearby), these are the BEST chocolates. They’re like Nutella, in the form of a box of chocolates, and I tell everyone who goes to Croatia or Serbia they must try these – and bring some back for me! (See vegan snacks for Serbia).

-Pita (Serbia): Okay, I seem to have a little obsession with Serbia and Croatia here but I can’t help it. During Lent (and I’ve heard outside of Lent, too), there are so many vegan pastries in Serbia! Ask for ‘posno’ or look for the posno label – many bakeries have a few options. Pita are unbelievably flaky pastries, wrapped around a variety of fillings, savoury or sweet. The filling can be apple, cherry, spinach, mushroom or potato. (See Serbia local food page).

-Freddo espresso (Greece): Not a snack per se, but…if you’re in Greece in the summer there’s absolutely nothing better than sitting down mid-morning or mid-afternoon to cool down with this iced shaken coffee. Espresso is shaken with ice in a cocktail shaker until a thick foam appears on top. It’s like a cocktail, minus alcohol, and it’s really refreshing when it’s hot outside!

-Hagelslag on toast (Netherlands): The Dutch are the largest consumers of sprinkles (hagelslag) in the world, and how do they eat them? On toast! For breakfast or for a snack, sprinkles are put on buttered bread. Yep, sprinkles. Beter & Leuk in Amsterdam do a great fancy version with vegan butter, sourdough toast and dark chocolate shavings. Find the full guide to the Netherlands on my blog.

A bit about you:

Why did you become vegan?

I was raised vegetarian, and I always naively assumed no animals were killed or harmed for vegetarian food. I was always conscious of not wanting to harm animals, and stopped wearing leather as soon as I found out what it was around the age of 6 or 7, only bought skincare products that weren’t tested on animals, etc. I was really horrified when I discovered otherwise! Thanks to the internet, I started learning the truth about dairy and egg farming, wool and more, and made the decision to go vegan. It was the best decision I ever made!

Do you usually travel alone or with other people? If so, who?

I usually travel solo (sometimes with my dog), although I occasionally travel with friends. Some are vegan and others aren’t but they all get dragged to vegan restaurants with me. Luckily, all my friends love vegan food and even the non-vegan ones pretty much eat vegan on trips with me because I want to go to every vegan restaurant! I had a (non vegan) friend once announce before visiting me in Barcelona ‘I can’t wait for my vegan weekend in Barcelona; I always eat the best food I’ve ever tasted when I visit you!’ I think that goes to show anyone who doubts vegan food that actually it isn’t lacking in flavour at all. My dog is happy to go in any restaurant I want – in case he can find some scraps on the floor. He also insists on greeting everyone.

When did you decide to write your Essential Vegan Travel Guide book? How long did it take?

I started writing it a few years after I started my blog, because I realised there wasn’t anything out there like it. There was no book to show the new (or not so new) vegan how to travel as a vegan. At the time I started writing it (2014) there weren’t a lot of vegan travel blogs out there, let alone books on essential vegan travel, and I kept meeting people who told me they wanted to go vegan, but couldn’t because they were travelling – or that they’d given up being vegan before going off travelling! I wanted to write a book to show them they could be vegan and travel anywhere.

I started writing it when I was stuck working in a job I hated. I used to sneak off to the bathroom to write! I actually wrote most of the book in that bathroom. I finished writing it, edited it and then some friends helped me with the design, and the first edition came out in 2015 (it’s now in its third edition).

Caitlin Galer-Unti is also the author of her award winning blog The Vegan Word. Here you will find tons of great info about vegan travel in general and tips for specific countries and cities.

Find our interview our article about The Nomadic Vegan and her blog Here.

Disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links. Meaning if do decide to purchase one of the items through our links, we might earn a small commission at no extra cost for you. This helps us provide you with free quality content.

Vegan Travel

Traveling to a new destination is always fun. Getting to experience different cultures, traditions and people is truly an enriching life experience. That is why we all love traveling so much! We don’t want this to change just because of our vegan requirements.

How vegan friendly is your destination? Begin by visiting The Veganary’s Snapshot tab for your intended country to get a better understanding of what to expect when you arrive.

In addition, we have compiled a vegan travel checklist for you to go over as you plan your next vacation. Here are the the 10 vegan travel tips that you should always use, no matter your destination.

Tips for Traveling the World as Vegans

1 – Do Your Research

Our first vegan travel tip is also our most important one. Traveling the world as vegans can be fun, easy and simple IF you arrive properly prepared.

When you are at your home, you know exactly what local dishes are vegan and how to ask for non vegan dishes to be veganized. You also know at least several vegan restaurants and are probably also aware of vegan snacks, milks and meat substitutes.

All this useful info is non-existent when you arrive at a new destination. If you are lucky, you can speak the local language. But most time you will find yourself with added an language barrier, that makes it even harder to explain your vegan needs.

This is why research is the most important and time consuming part of your preparation and why we try to provide our data in the easiest and most efficient way possible.

So to properly prepare yourself we highly recommend going over the tabs that are of interest to you in our country guides. Each country has 9 categories of different vegan related information.

2- Meet Local Vegans

The absolute best way to familiarize yourself with local vegan culture is by connecting with local vegans in the country. They will be able to provide you with the most authentic vegan information and experience. They will also help you better familiarize yourself with the local food culture.

Until now, the best way to do this was by joining local vegan Facebook groups and trying to befriend some local vegans. As you can understand it’s not always an easy task.

Soon we will be launching our vegan tours with local vegans. Be sure to sign up to our site if you are interested in taking a tour with a local vegan or becoming a vegan tour guide yourself.

3 – HappyCow and Google Offline Maps

HappyCow is a great app for finding vegan restaurants in your upcoming destination. This worldwide veg friendly app will show you restaurants depending on your diet preferences.  While catering both to vegans and vegetarians.

Our advice is to mark any potential points of interest such as: restaurants and health food store on Google Maps. Then download the offline google map of your destination with all your saved locations so you can later navigate offline through town, or to any vegan restaurant if needs be.

4 – Let Your Hosts Know

No matter where you are planning on staying, whether in a hotel or with a family member, make sure to let your hosts know about your vegan preferences.

Obviously when staying in a large hotel you may not get as much of an empathetic ear as you would wish, but from our experience it has helped us in the past even in these. Hotels try to make their customers happy and you will be surprised at the lengths they can go to fix you up with a tasty vegan meal.

If you are staying with some of your family or a family run hostel, tell them about your vegan preferences. This will probably get a positive result. They might even help you to get some vegan supplies before you arrive. You may also get them interested in your vegan lifestyle. As long as you respect them, others will (usually) respect you as well.

5 – Plan Food for Your Journey

First always book a vegan meal option if your airline carrier offers it. If you  forgot, most companies will allow you to call in and change your food preferences at least 3 days prior to your flight.

If your plane does not offer vegan options or food at all, be sure to take enough food from home so you can comfortably reach your destination before going out to find new supplies.

There is no better guarantee that you will have a satisfying vegan meal than packing your very own. Although the vegan lifestyle is becoming more apparent in today’s trends, it not so developed in some countries, so it’s always a good idea to pack some vegan staples and snacks. 

For plane food inspiration be sure to go over Cadry’s Kitchen find Vegan Tips for Taking Food on the Plane.

6 – Plan Your Trip in Places With a Kitchen

Finding a place to stay where you have your own kitchen and equipment to make food is an especially smart choice if:

1. You are visiting a country that is not considered to be a vegan-friendly one, meaning not very accommodating to vegans.
2. You are planning to stay a long time at a certain destination. We all love to eat out, but doing this each day takes its toll. It’s always nice to have at least some control over your food intake and preparation, especially if you are staying long term.
3. When you are traveling outside of major cities, you will most likely not find a large variety of vegan restaurants. It is easier to cook for oneself then, instead of constantly stressing over food options.

7 – Learn Vegan Related Vocabulary in the Local Language

When traveling to countries that speak other languages, take some time to go over the vegan related vocabulary tab to learn some useful words. The locals will most likely laugh at your pronunciation, but will be happy with your attempts to learn their language, making them more open to your vegan requests.

It is also recommended to print or do some screenshots of our vegan vocabulary page and take it with you just for backup, in case some of those new words slip your mind. 

8 – Use your imagination to Veganize Foods

In an ideal world, we would have endless vegan restaurants, or at least vegan options available as we please. This can be the case if you are traveling in large modern capitals where the vegan culture is well-rooted.  Outside of these vegan paradises, it’s more likely that people won’t even know what vegan means.

If you find yourself in a restaurant that offers no vegan options at all, it is time to get creative. Replace meat with tofu, rice, potatoes, or any other vegan-friendly food that you love. Order your pasta dishes with a marinara sauce or ask for grilled vegetables coated in olive oil.

To get some ideas on how to Veganize dishes in your upcoming trip be sure to visit the Local Food tab in your destination country.

Best way to find veganizable dishes

1. Take a look at the menu and find the dish that shows the least amount of animal products. Many times dishes are only garnished with cream or meat, and are not the main ingredient in the dish. Ask if this ingredient can be left out from the preparation of your food.
2. Try to find foods that are made fresh upon order, rather than ready-made foods that are impossible to alter. This way you can ask waiters to leave out the animal products from your freshly prepared food.

9 – Always have a plan B

For unexpected times, such as when you travel a long distance, just to find that your anticipated vegan restaurant is actually closed, it’s good to have a plan B.

Always take with you an extra supply of bars, snacks and other “munchables” to keep you full until you find an alternative.

10 – If Possible Make Sure to Take With you a Portable Blender

Traveling with a portable blender can literally change your travel experience. This is because a blender is a extremely versatile cooking item.

Why not start your day with a homemade fruit smoothie? It tastes delicious, is made only from fresh local fruit and is a true treat.

Not only can you make the obvious shakes and smoothie bowls of your dreams, you can also make a wide variety of raw energy bars, cookies, spreads, dips, sauces and more.
Use your imagination to  its fullest while thinking of the best ways to combine local foods with your small portable blender.
For more ideas about this, be sure to check out our article about Why Every Vegan Should Travel With a Portable Blender. 

With these 10 simple vegan travel tips, you can make your journey much more manageable. Remember, you’re heading out of your comfort zone, to have a good time. So, make sure to plan ahead in order to be able to totally relax on your holiday.