Savvy Vegetarian Travel Resource Guide

Travel If You Must, Travel Lightly, and Go Green

The way things are these days, with terrorism, global warming, extreme weather, high fuel prices, endangered species, delicate ecosystems, scary governments, and airport security out the wazoo - it's debatable whether we should travel more than ten miles from our homes - and that on foot or by bicycle.

On the other hand, the urge to travel seems to be mapped in the human DNA. So what can you do when you get the itch? Here are a few ideas for socially responsible, green vegetarian travel.

Bicycle Beano Vegetarian Cycling Holidays

Vegetarian Travel In The UK with Bicycle Beano: 'Cycling holidays in the idyllic lanes of Wales and the Welsh Borders of England. Delicious vegetarian cuisine, using home-grown organic fruit and vegetables. Friendly non-macho groups. Relaxed atmosphere.' Clear, detailed information about their bike holidays, and costs. One very useful feature of the site is the currency converter. The prices seem reasonable, even in $US. The lovely pictures and descriptions alone make it worth visiting Bicycle Beano

Biotica Eco Tours

Vegetarian and Vegan Ecotours: Provides vegetarian and vegan-friendly adventure travel for environmentally-minded travelers. 'Biotica EcoTours hosts nature walks, kayaking trips and outdoor adventures that provide a window to the outside world while respecting and conserving the natural environment on which we all depend. Have fun! Get exercise! Learn more about the wonderful plants and animals that call these wild places their home. Biotica Eco Tours are geared for all skill levels. From Low Gear nature walks, to High Gear ocean paddles, anyone can participate.'

Catskill Animal Sanctuary

Catskill Animal Sanctuary is a 105-acre rescue for abandoned or abused farm animals. The organization encourages the public to meet these amazing, inspiring animals, and also educates on the connection between factory farming/meat eating and environmental, ethical, and health implications. Tours every weekend April-November, and special events all season.

Eats Magazine: NYC Vegetarian Restaurants

New York City is one of the most veg-friendly cities in North America. Eats Magazine counts 76 vegetarian restaurants in Manhattan, as of 3.06. The list is conveniently searchable by region. All restaurants in Eats Magazine are indexed by cuisine, and besides the relatively modest number of veg restaurants, they list well over 1000 ethnic restaurants where you can be fairly certain of several vegetarian options. If you go to New York, you won't starve, unless you run out of money.

Happy Cow Vegetarian Guide

HappyCow offers an international, searchable directory of vegetarian restaurants and natural health food stores, recipes and healthy cooking tips, information on living and raw foods, a travel guide with vegetarian travel health advice and resources, veganism and vegetarian dating. Happy Cow is global in scope, has a site search, and is obviously a labor of love. Highly recommend. Visit Happy Cow and tell them about stores and restaurants in your town!

Organic Tuscany

Organic Tuscany offers week-long "farm to table" organic cooking vacations in the Tuscan hills. The small classes visit local organic farms and learn how to use their fresh, seasonal produce in traditional Tuscan dishes. At least two of the courses are vegetarian and the others are vegetarian friendly. Chef Shilpa and husband Ricardo Piatelli practice sustainable living, and in their cooking classes, help students to leave as small an eco footprint as possible.

PETA's Best Vegetarian Festivals in the U.S. Plus Travel Tips For You and Your Dog

Our thanks to PETA's Helping Animals for their list of this year's best vegetarian festivals across the country. Check out PETA's Helpful Travel Tips — from gear for the road to what you should wear when you'’re there, to taking your dog along!

Porto Club: Vegetarian and Vegan Tours and Cooking Classes

Porto Club is a unique Greek vegetarian cooking and touring holiday run by the George Portokolakis family on the Island of Crete. It sounds wonderful, and hopefully the wine and ouzo are optional. During the Midwest winter, the thought of a vegetarian vacation on hot, sunny Crete is more than appealing. If you have the winter blues, and are up for a reasonably priced travel adventure, check out Porto Club

Socially Responsible Eco-Friendly Travel

Volunteer Latin America: This isn't directly concerned with vegetarian travel, but it's in the neighborhood. Stephen Knight at VLM says that 'being a responsible traveller means more than just offsetting your carbon emissions - it's based on the principles of sustainability ... minimizing the impact of your travel and maximizing the benefits for local economies, environments and host communities.'

'Making informed choices before and during your trip is the single most important thing you can do to become a responsible traveller.' And of course, travelling with a humanitarian purpose through organizations like Volunteer Latin America.

Read Stephen Knight's article on socially responsible travel

Veg News 2006 10 Best Travel Destinations

Veg News Travel: "Once upon a time, veggie vacationers were left to fend for themselves in a sea of omnivorous package tours, cruises catering to carnivores, and clueless concierges who couldn't begin to point in the direction of the nearest veg-friendly dining establishment. Foreign travel? Oh la la! This used to require a PhD in Pantomime to keep beastly bits off dinner plates, and even then, there were no guarantees that a meal would arrive cruelty-free. Thankfully, those days are a world away. Vegetarian travel has finally come into its own."

Unless of course you're vacationing in out-of-the way budget travel destinations like Saskatchewan, the Ozarks, or the Iowa Alps (N.E. corner of Iowa - I do not lie!)

Wanderbird Expedition Cruises

Eco-tourism cruises off the scenic coasts of Maine, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, with Captains Rick and Karen, aboard their renovated 90-foot Dutch fishing vessel, The Wanderbird. Only 12 passengers per cruise, beautiful yacht-style furnished cabins and homemade gourmet food and pastries. Karen, a twenty-year vegetarian, does the cooking, and is more than happy to accommodate vegetarians. Once a year they offer an all vegetarian cruise, and are available for vegetarian and vegan charters. Wanderbird was voted one of the 2005 top 10 vegetarian travel destinations by Veg News

Here's something to keep in mind when coming and going from your vegetarian travel adventures

"Of journeying the benefits are many: the freshness it bringeth to the heart, the seeing and hearing of marvelous things, the delight of beholding new cities, the meeting of unknown friends, and the learning of high manners" - Sadi Gulistan

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