Vegan Travel in Europe
My ultimate list of tips and tricks for vegan travel in Europe through my first-hand experience in Croatia, Bosnia, France, and Switzerland. From snacks, research, grocery shopping, making meals, and overseas plane travel, to ordering meals in restaurants.
Not going to lie, it has taken me 5 months since travelling in Europe to finally finish this post. My first vegan travel experience was through Florida and on a Carribean cruise, but I found it was more challenging in Europe due to the language and cultural barrier. I had so much information I wanted to share and the thought of including it all made me put it off time and time again. But it’s finally finished and I hope I included information that will be helpful for any vegan travellers journeying to Europe or anywhere else in the world. I broke it down into categories including snacks, research, on the plane, ordering in restaurants, making your own meals, and grocery shopping.
Snacks
One of my biggest tips is to be prepared with different snack ideas you can bring with you. This includes packing snacks for both plane trips, for emergencies when you can’t find something to eat, and for everyday snacking. I packed enough snacks to last my entire trip. This way you know you will have healthy and vegan snacks, and it’s also cheaper than buying it there. Having snacks on hand is great for tiding you over until your next meal, and also for bringing on day trips when you’re unsure if there will be food options at all, such as a hiking trip.
Some of my favourite snacks that are perfect for trips include Larabars, Eat Nakd Bars, popcorn, crackers, nuts, and dried fruit. There are also tons of healthy vegan snacks options that you could bring.
I also made some of my favourite homemade healthy snacks. I made a batch of Cherry Chocolate Chunk Energy Bars and Sweet and Salty Peanut Bars. I wrapped individual bars in tinfoil and labelled them with a marker. I brought some in my carry on for the plane, and the rest were packed in my cooler bag in my suitcase. It’s not critical that these are refrigerated the entire time, but I think it helps make them last longer and it’s better in warmer temperatures – if possible. Most hotels and Air BnBs have mini fridges, but on nights I didn’t have one I kept them in my cooler bag and they lasted my entire trip.
I’ve also packed muffins in tinfoil on other flights and it’s worked well. I have a bunch of healthy muffin options on my blog, from these Chocolate Protein Muffins to these Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins, or these Lemon Cranberry Muffins.
Research
Doing research in advance is crucial.
I suggest looking up vegan terms for every country you are travelling to and keeping them written down in the note section of your phone. I looked up words like vegan, no milk, no meat, and no eggs. This is really important when you are ordering in a restaurant with limited English, and is also important when reading food labels on products in grocery stores.
I also looked up vegan restaurants in every city I was staying at before travelling, so I had options and knew which restaurants I really wanted to make an effort to eat at. I also knew which areas had more vegan restaurants so I could be prepared. For example, most places in Croatia didn’t have vegan restaurants unless they were larger touristy cities such as Dubrovnik, but Switzerland had many more vegan restaurants throughout.
I suggest looking at the Happy Cow website – they list vegan restaurants and restaurants with vegan or vegetarian options for almost every city in the world. It’s a great resource for any travelling.
On the Plane
My biggest tip for vegan plane travel is being prepared. Airports have vegan options, but they often aren’t the healthiest or most satisfying.
- Order a vegan option meal if offered. Make sure to order a vegan option meal in advance through your airline provider.
- Pack a backup meal just in case. I like to have a meal packed that I know will be satisfying and healthy. Some options of airplane safe meals include chickpea salad with crackers, pasta salad, sandwiches, overnight oats, this black bean and corn salad, or this creamy thai peanut noodle salad served cold.
- Bring snacks. I brought lots of things to snack on throughout my flight. Dried fruit is a perfect sweet snack without added sugars. Nuts, popcorn, and crackers are all easily portable and provide protein and fibre. Veggies are great for snacking and hydration.
Ordering in Restaurants
Ordering in restaurants was fairly simple. I often asked the server before sitting down if there were any vegan options and to see the menu. Every server I had was friendly and accommodating. Doing research online can also help with this.
The most common meals I ate included vegetarian pizza without cheese, french fries and salads, some rice dishes, and pasta. Cities with more vegan options had everything from jackfruit tacos, to vegan pasta sauces, desserts, and more. Don’t be afraid to bring a bag of pumpkin or sunflower seeds to sprinkle over salads and meals for added protein and healthy fats.
Making Your Own Meals
I suggest staying in some Air BnB’s for at least part of your trip. Not only are they generally cheaper and sometimes nicer than hotels, but they often come with a kitchen or kitchenette. It can be strategic to plan to stay in Air BnB’s especially in areas that you know will have limited vegan options, if possible. Even if I wasn’t vegan, I prefer home cooked meals and I’m not one that likes to eat out multiple days in a row. I like fresh, home-cooked meals whenever possible. Air BnB’s are great for being able to eat some meals at home. It is also much more cost effective than eating out every day.
Breakfast
I wanted to make sure I had a healthy breakfast to start off every day, so I decided to make a massive batch of my Healthy Toasted Granola. I knew this would last me a long time, and it doesn’t need to be refrigerated. I served the granola with store-bought nut milk that I would bring with me from night to night in my cooler bag. Also, I purchased fresh fruit whenever possible to have on top of the granola. I packed this granola in a huge ziplock bag and packed it in my suitcase. I was able to find some sort of nut milk in every grocery store I went to, I think it’s a pretty basic item in most stores now.
Lunch
I often made a fresh salad for lunch if I wasn’t eating out. This is a great way to get in some veggies while travelling, and it’s easy to find and buy ingredients for. I would buy whatever fresh veggies were available and bring them from hotel to hotel in my cooler bag. Salads are also a great option when you’re in a hotel without a kitchen because you can prepare it with just a knife and plate. I brought a container of pumpkin seeds from home for protein and healthy fats on top of salads. Every Air BnB I stayed at had olive oil and often balsamic that I used for dressing. I was able to ask any hotel kitchens for some olive oil and balsamic free of charge. I brought a small paring knife with a plastic lid in my suitcase, and it came in really handy for making salads in hotel rooms or slicing fruit for a snack.
Dinner
If I had a kitchen in my Air BnB, I often made a big meal with some leftovers for the next day or two. Two of my favourite simple meals were pasta and beans. For the pasta, I bought a box of gluten-free pasta, jarred tomato sauce, chickpeas, a clove of garlic, and veggies. Sometimes I also topped this pasta with garlic stuffed olives. I used olive oil and any spices if the Air BnB provided any, but you could make this without any oil or spices if you needed to. I think every Air BnB had salt and pepper at the least.
For the beans, I purchased cans of beans, used the clove of garlic from the pasta, an onion, mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado. I sauteed the garlic, onion, and mushrooms before adding the beans. I served the warm beans over a bed of lettuce with fresh tomatoes and avocado.
Both meals are super simple but satisfying. They need limited ingredients that I was able to find at all grocery stores. They’re also quick to make and store easily in the fridge for leftovers.
Grocery Shopping
Grocery shopping was a fun experience getting to see how the locals live and shop. Make sure you know some common words like milk and vegan in the other language in advance. Countries like France, Italy, and Switzerland have more vegan labelling than countries like Croatia. A lot of products (such as tomato sauce and hummus) often don’t say vegan yet they are. Trying to read labels can be tricky, but google translate works if you can use it. Also don’t be afraid to ask for help from store employees or locals who can help you read the labels. The first time reading labels was daunting in Croatian, but you start to get used to the words used on labels, and you probably already know which items are likely to be vegan or have vegan alternatives.
I already packed all my snacks and any needed ingredients like pumpkin seeds in advance, so I only purchased food for making meals and fresh fruit or veggies for snacks. I bought fresh fruit whenever possible to have on hand for snacks and brought some with me to snack on throughout long days or at the beach.
Happy travelling!
