Intrepid launches vegan foodie tours

Vegans rejoice! No longer will you have to sheepishly approach street vendors to ask if you can eat their food only to be bitterly disappointed.

Travel just got a whole lot easier for those who prefer to steer clear of animal-based products.

Intrepid Travel has launched a range of vegan food tours in India, Italy and Thailand in response to the growing number of people choosing plant-based diets.

Departing in 2019, the new tours were developed by Intrepid’s experienced destination and food product teams with insight from a team of vegan influencers from around the world.

“Our local tour leaders are receiving more vegetarian and vegan food requests from Australian travellers. Vegan is also now one of our most commonly searched words on the Intrepid website,” Intrepid Travel regional product manager Tara Kennaway said.

Recent Roy Morgan Research revealed there are now 2.25 million Australian vegetarians aged 18 and over. Data from Google Trends also shows that Australians are more interested in vegan diets than about vegetarian, Paleo, gluten-free or sugar-free diets.

“Food is one of the best ways to connect with a local culture, but dietary requirements can be tricky with language barriers. Why should vegans miss out on authentic food experiences?” Kennaway said.

“You might think somewhere like Italy, famous for its pizza and pasta, won’t have vegan options readily available. The opposite is true and we wanted to share our leader’s local knowledge and cater to vegan travellers,” Kennaway said.

The three new eight-day tours include:

• India Vegan Food Adventure: Highlights include waking in Delhi to a hot Indian Chai with soy milk before walking to the Jama Mosque eating Vegan Samosa and Jalebis on the way. In Agra, travellers will visit the Taj Mahal before lunch at a cafe run by acid attack victims.

• Italy Vegan Food Adventure: From an all-vegan villa in the hills of Tuscany, to a farm to table vegan feast and the first vegan restaurant in Venice, this trip will reveal Italy as home to the world’s most progressive vegan cuisine.

• Thailand Vegan Food Adventure: Jump into the kitchen with local Thai masters who do amazing things with tofu, mushroom, sticky rice, bamboo and spice. One of many trip highlights is cooking a vegan meal under the guidance of a local in a Chiang Mai homestay.