When you’re vegan, traversing the globe becomes slightly more challenging. Aside from all the usual planning to find suitable travel arrangements, accommodation and days out, you also have to factor in how well each step of your journey can accommodate your dietary requirements.
Amsterdam is fast becoming a hotspot for vegan tourists, largely due to the local council’s healthy and sustainable eating initiative that is pushing the city to become more plant-based. As a result, restaurants and supermarkets here are introducing an ever-growing amount of vegan options and sourcing their ingredients from local producers.
But how does a vegan traveller navigate this progressive city to find and book these places? Well, luckily there are numerous technologies available to help make finding places to dine a breeze whilst in Amsterdam. Let’s explore.
USE A SPECIALIST RESTAURANT SEARCH TOOL
With a growing number of fully vegan cafes and restaurants, plus plenty of others offering high-quality vegan options, there are eateries to cater for all cuisines in Amsterdam. Restaurants of all kinds offer mouthwatering vegan twists – from ramen, sushi and street food to cashew cheese specialties and dairy-free bakeries.
To find the best of the bunch, you can use a vegan-focused search tool. There are a number of great apps and websites that can help you find vegan eateries in Amsterdam. With reviews from other vegans, and the ability to hone your search to your local area, these tools are invaluable when it comes to finding places to eat abroad.
GET SAVVY WITH YOUR DUTCH
As a primarily Dutch speaking city, it’s wise to try to learn a few key phrases to aid you on your travels here. But if you need some technological assistance, you can use a digital translation service such as Google Translate, V Cards or Veganagogo that can quickly help you find key phrases to communicate your requirements to the waiter and establish which dishes are vegan.
Whilst most restaurants have helpful colour coded symbols beside vegan and vegetarian dishes, it’s helpful to practise saying, “Ik ben veganist” (“I am vegan”) and “is dit veganistisch?” (“is this vegan?”) so that you can always communicate if your phone runs out of battery.
If you’re shopping in a local supermarket for snacks, the app ‘Foodsaurus’ is a great tool that will quickly translate food labels so you can ensure there aren’t any animal products.
PLAN AHEAD
Successful, stress-free travelling as a vegan comes down to good planning. To assess your accommodation for their vegan compatibility, you can use online tools such as TripAdvisor or VegVisits. Barnivore is a great website that identifies vegan alcohol brands, which comes in very handy when ordering wine at a restaurant or buying some beer to take back to the hotel.
Using online booking platforms to make restaurant reservations ahead of your trip means you’ll never be caught short looking for somewhere to eat. These digital platforms can make it easier to inform restaurants of your dietary requirements ahead of time, and negates the need to negotiate tricky telephone conversations with a potential language barrier.
Vegan Pocket, Cruelty Cutter and Bunny Free are all apps that have a catalogue of brands that are vegan and cruelty free, helping you stay true to your vegan values whilst enjoying some retail therapy in Amsterdam.
SPOILT FOR CHOICE
As far as vegan travel goes, Amsterdam is definitely highly ranked. Rather than struggling to find places to eat in this vibrant city, you’re far more likely to be spoilt for choice. With these helpful apps and tools in your pocket, you’re sure to find travelling through Amsterdam as a vegan thoroughly enjoyable.
