Essential Tips for Smooth and Easy Vegan Travel
Planning to visit other places is exciting. The world has so much to offer. As long as you have enough time and financial resources to visit those places, the possibilities are limitless. Sadly, if you have decided to go vegan, it is a tougher challenge.
To begin with, until now, a lot of people still frown upon those who have chosen to go vegan as if they can’t make their own life decisions. As a result, there are not so many places offering vegan dishes. This makes your travel plan more difficult. Here are some tips you must take note of to avoid problems on your next trip.
Plan ahead of time
It helps a lot if you plan your trip ahead of time so you can research the places offering vegan dishes. For instance, if there is a vegan restaurant in a nearby hotel, you should choose that hotel and avoid traveling far just to eat. At this stage, you should also join forums online where vegans share travel experiences. You may get tips from them on where to find the best places to eat if you are traveling to a certain place.
Bring your own food
In the event that you can’t find the place where there is vegan dishes served, it would be great if you have backups on your bag. You should also bring some fruits just to be sure. There are preserved vegan foods that you can consume over a longer period of time.
Find a hotel with a kitchen
You might have to spend more for a hotel that comes with a kitchen, but it will at least give you the chance to cook your own food. This is in the event that you really can’t find a good place to eat in the area. You can just shop for the ingredients in a local market and cook inside the hotel. Aside from hotels, you should also check out apartments or villas where the rates are lower. This should also go without saying that you have to learn how to cook. There are vegan recipes online you can easily follow.
Be aware of the local customs and traditions
There are places where shops are closed on certain days during the week as a religious or cultural observance. You can’t starve on these days. It helps if you know when these days are and prepare for them in advance. If you are attending a local event where it would be customary for guests to eat what is served, inform the person who has invited you in advance about your food restriction so it won’t be awkward on that day.
Just enjoy the trip
It would be frustrating to find out that there are still a lot of places that can’t accommodate vegan eaters, or don’t even know what vegan is. Just take a deep breath and be optimistic. There will be a time when your lifestyle will be more acceptable to the society and traveling won’t be as hard as it is now.
Photo Attribution:
Featured and 1st image from http://www.nourishingmeals.com/2012/07/packing-healthy-food-for-air-travel.html
2nd image from http://homewoodsuites3.hilton.com/en/hotels/virginia/homewood-suites-by-hilton-virginia-beach-norfolk-airport-ORFNTHW/accommodations/index.html
