Veganism is on the rise. Between 2006-2016 the UK saw a 350% increase in the number of vegans while in the US, consumers identifying as vegan grew from 1% to 6% between 2014 and 2017, a 600% increase.
Even with this jump in the number of vegans around the world, there is still often a misconception that traveling as a vegan is hard. Sam Wood is here to tell you that it really isn’t.
Sam is a vegan travel writer, blogger and social media manager based in Berlin. In his free time, he enjoys yoga, cooking and performing as a drag queen. You can connect with Sam on GAFFL and also follow his adventures through his blog Indefinite Adventure.
How I Became A Vegan
It was actually while travelling that I decided to go vegan. In 2013 I was travelling in South America and was so surprised by all the vegetarian options and range of local fruits and vegetables that I didn't even think about eating meat most of the time. When I came back to Europe and moved to Berlin, arguably the vegan capital of Europe, it just made sense to me to go vegan. Since then, I've been inspired to find great vegan food wherever I go, and I actually enjoy the challenge of showing people that it's easy to be vegan more or less anywhere!
How I Choose Where To Travel Next
Really, it's often based on where the food looks good! I love finding vegan food in unexpected places and showing that it's really easy to travel as a vegan, but I also love going to places that are known for their vegan-friendly food. Whenever I'm planning a trip with someone else, and the idea of where to go mostly comes from them, I immediately start looking for the best places to eat there, but if I'm deciding on the destination entirely by myself, I'll often start by thinking about what kind of food I want to eat! Of course. there are other factors that are interesting to me too: interesting history, beautiful landscapes, accessibility of nature, queer culture and langauge are also things I consider and weigh up in the decision process. Right now, some places on my list are Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Guatemala and Vietnam.
In the past, I was often travelling for a couple of months at a time, usually over winter in Europe to somewhere warmer so I could avoid the coldest part of the year in Berlin. Nowadays, I'm a bit more settled in Berlin and have more reason to stay here through the winter, so I prefer trips of just a couple of weeks. But of course that's all flexible and could change again in the future.
I feel very fortunate to have met people all over the world and that now, through the internet, I have contact with people in Asia, South and North America and all over Europe as a result. I've mostly met people and made friends on my travels using apps but also just hanging out at places long enough to become a regular and meeting people that way.
