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Travelling Solo as a Vegan in Europe

I have been floating on a cloud - planning for my potential 3-4 month trip to Europe has been an outright obsession as it becomes more and more real. I’ve finally begun to look at the detailed, practical planning aspect of the trip and have to keep reminding myself that nothing is set in stone yet, there’s still a chance it won’t be possible. At the same time, it is still lots of fun to work out the details.

I am traveling alone, which gives me the rare opportunity to have the unique kind of trip that I will love (without any complaining from others!). I am doing the traditional student budget conscious and hostelling-style adventure, attempting to pack as light as possible and see as much as I can while penny-pinching. This time I am focusing mostly on Western Europe (saving Eastern for a separate trip).

I’ve begun to identify the things that I really care about exploring as I travel - my travel priorities, you could say. I have been brainstorming a tentative list of things I might like to do:

• Explore the nooks and crannies of every city (taking my time to walk and observe). Find unique cafes, contemporary art galleries, quirky shops.
• Seek out impromptu performances - budget theatre shows, concerts, or other public venues.
• Book exchange. I’m not bringing my iPod with me, just a great book or two. I plan on swapping books in cities via used book stores or people I meet along the way.
• Record the journey. I am thinking of blogging in here, so for my trip this blog will turn into a kind of travelogue of sorts. There are very few resources for vegan eating in Europe, and I plan on collecting as much info as I can to help fellow vegans - so will give what reviews I can as I go along the way. I also want to take a photographic portrait of each person I meet, write a paper travel journal (of course), and take a plethora of photographs of things I encounter.
• Stay active. This trip is a great opportunity to take advantage of the natural aspect of each place I visit - every chance I get I would like to bike, hike and swim. Already found lots of great biking tours and mountains I can climb for hiking expeditions.
• Of course - explore the great art and architecture of every place.

I am in the middle of reading several resource books to help me as I plan:

Somewhat ignoring the ubiquitous Lonely Planet guides, I heard that Let’s Go guides are more veg friendly. I’m already liking the larger and friendlier fonts. I have checked out the Lonely Planet guide from the library, and will be comparing them to see what the differences are.

This book is wonderful so far - more of a travel “theory” sort of book, covering the principles of travelling light and living for travel. It’s fuelling my excitement - well-written, full of delicious quotations and a great travel starter guide. A quote from the book:

But beyond travel, vagabonding is an outlook on life. Vagabonding is about using the prosperity and possibility of the information age to increase your personal options instead of your personal possessions. Vagabonding is about looking for adventure in normal life, and normal life within adventure. Vagabonding is an attitude — a friendly interest in people, places, and things that makes a person an explorer in the truest, most vivid sense of the word.

This book also looks great, catering to finding tips and tricks to exploring Europe in a not-so-typical way. Exactly what I want! I love how it directly and accessibly talks about travelling in all of its practical aspects, and will be reading this next.

From the Preface:

This ‘Back Door-style” is better because of - not in spite of - your budget. Spending money has little to do with enjoying your trip. In fact, spending less money brings you closer to Europe. A lot of money forces you through Europe’s grand front entrance, where people in uniforms greet you with formal smiles. But the back door is what keeps me in my wonderful European rut.

While many of my non-vegan friends like to terrorize me into thinking I will not be able to eat in Europe, I beg to differ. I know there will be delicious veg food there and I am determined to find it! Since I am on a budget trip either way, I anticipate eating lots of raw food via local fresh food markets that I will hunt down in cities. I will rarely have the money to eat in expensive restaurants, so will be picnic-ing and cooking as I go - but when I do get those chances to eat out I am going to use some popular websites such as happycow.net and previously mentioned Vegan Guide map to locate choice vegan grub. I am purchasing the little Vegan Passport with its simple and comprehensive explanation of veganism in a portable format and in up to 56 languages.

i had never heard of the vegan passport!! thanks so much for sharing that!

Where in Europe are you going? I know there are good vegetarian and vegan restaurants in Berlin, and I obviously know of a few good ones here in my part of Sweden. You should be able to get falafels in many countries, we have tons of immigrants that have brought their food culture with them and falafel should be plentiful (yay!). I know it’s possible to eat vegan in Copenhagen aswell, most big cities will have vegan food. It’s also always possible to just grab a pizza and tell them to hold the cheese.

When are you going?

Traveling is so exciting!

Hi Emmie,

So far I’m going to London (for about 1 week), Spain for 2-3 weeks, France for an entire month (WWOOF-ing), then pretty much all over Western Europe: Italy, Germany, Austria, etc. Not sure if I’m going to get to Sweden though. Also still trying to decide if it’s worth it to swing to the bottom of Italy and see Greece and go all the way back up.

Thanks for the tips! So far I definitely have seen lots of falafel restaurants. And also I think that Germany will surprisingly be the best place to eat as I’ve found lots of great restaurants.

Heading out in April or May - still deciding when to leave - which is why it is either a 3 or 4 month trip. Please share any other suggestions of things you wish you knew before travelling veg! I am pretty much travelling solo for the first time, so I have lots to learn.

What an exciting trip you have planned! I’m looking forward to living vicariously through your blog!

My only travelling experience where I struggled to find vegetarian food options was at Walt Disney World. Epcot was pretty good, with all the “countries” to choose from, and most of the other places were in the process of adding more vegetarian options to their repetoire. Amazingly, the hardest place to find ANYTHING to eat was….. ANIMAL KINGDOM. Odd, eh?