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South America and Veggie Travel

What to Expect as a Vegetarian Travelling the World

Aug 31, 2008 Alison Turner

Any vegetarian travelling in South America needs to be prepared. It's easier in some countries than others but ordering carefully is essential.

Travelling South America’s bigger cities doesn’t pose too much of a problem. Buenos Aires has a whole selection of restaurants to choose from and most of them offer at least one vegetarian option on the menu. Santiago is even better, boasting a couple of vegetarian-only restaurants. This is a great opportunity to vary your diet a little.

Rio de Janeiro is a little trickier. Brazil is a country that loves meat and finding vegetarian food can be difficult. Pizza is widely available, but vegans will struggle. There are vegetarian restaurants but they can be difficult to find and sometimes operate unconventional opening hours. Eating in is a little easier, tofu products are widely available in health food stores and there’s certainly no shortage of cheese.

Peru is a mixed bucket. Hidden in the capital, Lima, are a number of vegetarian-only restaurants. However, dining anywhere else may be hard. Meat makes its way into most dishes and strict vegetarians often find seeing traditional meals like cooked guinea pig difficult.

Then there’s Bolivia. This is an extremely difficult destination for vegetarian travellers. Most dishes contain meat, even if they don’t openly say so. There are a few little lifesavers though. La Paz has a number of continental restaurants and they usually offer a range of vegetarian food.

Vegetarianism Outside the Capitals

Travelling outside of South American’s capitals makes finding good vegetarian food more difficult. In many of these countries, vegetarianism is almost completely unheard of. So there is often a lack of vegetarian food. What's more, the whole concept of vegetarianism may be completely foreign to local people, making ordering food more difficult.

Remember, in Spanish “carne” refers to beef, not meat. So ordering must be done carefully. Listing all unacceptable meats is often the best way to make yourself understood and it helps to avoid misunderstandings.

What to Expect of Vegetarian Food in South America

Though finding food can be diffiuclt for a vegetarian travelling through South America, it isn't impossible. Don’t expect high quality vegetarian options or much variation. Cheese will play a massive role in the vegetarian traveller’s diet and it can get a little tiresome. While vegans will struggle outside of vegetarian-only restaurants.

There are some tasty vegetarian dishes available. Salads, pastas and pizzas are a popular choice with vegetarians. And the empanadas give vegetarian travellers an ideal opportunity to try some of the local delicacies – something that’s rare in many parts of the world.

Even the Strictest of Vegetarians Won’t Starve

Though the prospect of finding vegetarian food in South America can be daunting, the experience is definitely worth it. It's important to be careful when ordering and vegetarian travellers should make every effort to be prepared. Investing in a set of vegetarian translation cards could be a good idea.

The copyright of the article South America and Veggie Travel in South America Travel is owned by Alison Turner. Permission to republish South America and Veggie Travel in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.