Skip to content

🌱

Vegan essentials while travelling

Nomads Productivity Entrepreneurs

Building our businesses has not been Instagram worthy. It's been, and continues to be, brutally tough. We're constantly faced with self-doubt, running into productivity and inspiration walls, and shrinking savings accounts.

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I worked somewhere I initially envisioned digital nomads working. 99% of the time, my desk is someone else's kitchen table, someone else's couch, someone else's guest bed, or a noisy coffee shop. 

But... maybe this reality check prepared us more than anything else. We've been confronted with arguably some of the least productive and least inspirational workspaces, and we're learning to cope with it. Here's our no-BS guide to working remotely.

Loading image: We are Ella & Ryan, digital nomads, exploring the world mindfully. Between getting married, becoming nomads, and starting our own businesses, we’re sharing everything we learn along the way. Here is a picture of us in Evora, Portugal. We are Ella & Ryan, digital nomads, exploring the world mindfully. Between getting married, becoming nomads, and starting our own businesses, we’re sharing everything we learn along the way. Here is a picture of us in Evora, Portugal.

We're Ella & Ryan!

We're digital nomads, exploring the world mindfully. Between getting married, becoming nomads, and starting our own businesses, we’re sharing everything we learn along the way.

Our go-to vegan travel apps

Let’s start with tools. These apps have saved us more times than we can count—from finding vegan-friendly food in rural towns to avoiding accidental cheese in salads.

HappyCow

It’s the gold standard. Think Yelp, but vegan. Search for vegan, vegetarian, and veg-friendly restaurants around the world.

Vegan Maps

Crowd-sourced like HappyCow. It has a lightweight interface and shows restaurants, food trucks, and stores around the world (free + no login required too!).

Google Maps

It’s not just for directions. We use Google Maps daily to save vegan restaurants, local markets, and vegan-friendly coworking spots. You can create custom lists (like “Vegan Lisbon” or “Bali Food Finds”) and share them with your travel partner or followers.

Google Translate

It’s not about being fluent—it’s about surviving the menu. Download offline dictionaries for countries you plan to visit and use the camera function to translate packaging or signs.

Accommodation tip for vegans

Our long-time vegan friends told us about their process for finding accommodation in a new city and we loved it!

Vegan hotspots

Using Google Maps, HappyCow, Vegan Maps, a general online search, or any other method, identify the parts of a city with a high density of vegan restaurants.

Verify research

Identify a particular neighbourhood with great vegan food options and do a bit of backup research (accommodation options, cost, safety, etc.)

Choose accommodation

The first benefit follows the rationale that vegan food options are likely in neighbourhoods where demand for vegan food is higher. Pretty straight forward.

Like-minded neighbourhood

The second + biggest benefit follows the assumption that where demand for vegan food is high, the demand for local goods + shops, boutiques, and artisanal goods is also high.

Vegan food we bring with us

As much as you want to whole-heartedly embrace a new place and it's cuisine, bringing a piece of home can sometimes help.

Loading image: Nutritional yeast is the perfect travel companion since it is lightweight, flavourful, and nutritious. Perfect for vegan nomads and travellers. Nutritional yeast is the perfect travel companion since it is lightweight, flavourful, and nutritious. Perfect for vegan nomads and travellers.

Nooch

Nutritional yeast is likely a staple in many vegans' lives. It's the perfect travel companion due to its versaility, flavour, nutritional properties, and lightweight.

Loading image: Great vegan protein powder with all your nutrients and protein needs, Canadian made. Unflavoured and perfect for on the go smoothies, travellers, and nomads. Great vegan protein powder with all your nutrients and protein needs, Canadian made. Unflavoured and perfect for on the go smoothies, travellers, and nomads.

Protein powder

Perfect for curbing cravings, needing a quick snack, and making up a coloric deficit during a long day of travel.

Loading image: You never regret having snacks with you on the go, especially as a vegan traveller and nomad in a country with less options You never regret having snacks with you on the go, especially as a vegan traveller and nomad in a country with less options

Snack bars

Long bus ride or flight with no vegan options? In a carnivorous town? The absolute best thing to have when you're in a pinch. Somehow Ella's bag always has 1 of these in there.

Plus the supplements...

B12

Support nerve health, prevent fatigue, and boost red blood cell formation.

Omega-3

Boost brain function and reduce inflammation.

D3

Help regulate mood and support bone health through calcium absorption.

Final thoughts

For your own sanity, accept that you'll likely accidentally eat something non-vegan. It happens. Don’t spiral. Learn from it and move on. You're still doing a good thing.

Being vegan on the go, especially with a language barrier, is brutally tough at times. You might be hungry more often, eating beans and rice for a month straight, or forced to eat ultra-processed plant-based meat alternatives to no end.

Find what works for you. If you need to deviate or compromise, do it. If you need to spend more money to remain vegan or if you need to be vegetarian for a while, do it. No one else is in your position and capable of judging you.

Free resources

We have 15+ free Notion templates for your travels.

Mailing list

Join our growing subscriber list for more tips, behind-the-scenes updates, and real talk from the road (sign up below).

Note

Some of the links may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. We only share things we use and love.

Back to top