Are you wondering what are the most friendly places for vegetarian travellers? Sticking to your vegetarian guns while hotfooting it around the world can be tricky. But there are lots of amazing places you can go to sample some of the tastiest food in the world.
Here’s a lowdown of the good, the bad and the downright ugly places to be a vegetarian backpacker.
Europe
Central Europe is an interesting place to be a veggie. Switzerland, the UK and Ireland pose little threat to your herbivorous ways; Italy, Germany and Spain are slightly more difficult. Ham and fish are largely considered to be vegetarian friendly in Spain but tapas bars provide good options in pepper, fried aubergine and potato dishes.
Eastern Europe gets a bad rap too. Backpacking through Russia and finding a decent hot veggie meal is hard, but variniky, or potato ravioli, can be found at most train stations and is particularly delicious. Compared to other continents Europe is fairly easy, though most meat-eaters will look at you like you’re crazy as you pass up the land of chorizo, bratwurst and Bolognese with a mouthful of lettuce!
Africa
The easiest way to make it through Africa without eating meat is to tell people you have a religious objection to doing so. Kenya is notoriously hard and most dishes there are an animal of some sort, but stick to Senegal and other West African countries and you’ll find that due to the expense of meat the staple of rice and vegetables does just fine.
Northern African countries are surprisingly accommodating to vegetarians. In Egypt, fill up on kushari (rice, macaroni pasta, brown lentils and chickpeas) and ful (a broad bean dip usually served with pitta): both are delicious.
Asia and Oceania
Buddhist countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos are a mixed bag; stick to the pagodas and temples and there will always be meat-free dishes on offer. Breakfast in Thailand is always a treat and meat free. Some of the must try foods in south east Asia include lots of vegan and veggie options.
Japan’s heavy dependency on seafood makes it tricky but there’s plenty of vegetarian sushi, salad and edamame to keep your energy reserves high.
Prepare for a rough ride in the Philippines and Australia, where a serious dependency on beachside barbecues makes life as a vegetarian tough. Also watch out for the region’s heavy penchant for dousing everything in fish sauce!
I recently wrote a food guide to Japan for vegetarians which you might want to read.
North and Central America
Home to the foot-long hotdog, you’d expect North America to be a veggie nightmare. Most menus, however, are home to at least two or three decent options. Central America has a staple of rice and beans means plenty of burritos and tortillas, while major American and Canadian cities have such a broad range of cuisine on offer, finding veggie food is seldom hard. Avoid steak mad Texas, where vegetarianism is seen as a sin.
South America
You can ask most kitchens in South America to substitute the meat in dishes and restaurants will – in inimitable South American style – bend over backwards to accommodate. Be wary of Brazil and Argentina, where beef, beef and more beef is the order of the day. Saying that, you can always count on South American countries to provide pizza, rice and a little salad; you shouldn’t go too hungry.
Middle East
The Middle East is one of the best and easiest regions to be vegetarian. Popular local dishes to try in places like Israel and other countries include: Vegan seitan shawarma, Spaghetti with yogurt and garlic sauce, Veggie moussaka, Roasted cauliflower shawarma and Falafel.
Great Veggie-Friendly Countries
Trinidad & Tobago: with doubles (a soft flat bread sandwich with a chickpea curry sauce) to roti, cassava pone to boiled yam and sweet potato, this Caribbean country is a veggie paradise.
Singapore: from Chinese to Indian and everything in between, Singapore has plenty to offer vegetarians with most of its street food giving good bang for your buck.
UK: with some of the finest vegetarian restaurants in the world and cheap veggie-friendly markets, the UK, and London specifically, is a great place for any non-meat eater.
If you enjoyed this article you might like to view our guide to the weirdest street food around the world.
