Traveling with any kind of dietary restriction is hard, especially when you don’t speak the language written on the menus at a foreign restaurant. I myself, am a pescatarian. Here’s how I travel the world as a pescatarian, and tips on where to travel, how to order food, and some travel tips.
If you don’t know already: a pescatarian is an individual who will eat seafood, but no other red meat or poultry. It is not a religion. It is not veganism. There is nothing wrong with Presbyterians or vegans, but you’d be surprised how often people confuse my diet with a slew of random traits.
My diet was not a choice. I actually have some kind of allergy or intolerance to meat other than seafood, due to being bitten by a lone star tick. Crazy right? I have been unable to eat meat since I was 14 years old. You can read more about lone star tick bites here.
I absolutely love seafood. My favorite food is sushi, and I can eat a lot of it! However, since I am incredibly sensitive to other types of meat, I have to be incredibly careful when I travel so I don’t get sick.
The Worst Places to Travel as a Pescatarian
Some areas of the world are going to be easier to travel to if you are a non-meat eater. Central and South America are HUGE meat-eaters. Latin culture loves pork and chicken! Honestly, I wish I could chow down on some of their dishes; they smell amazing! Unfortunately, I get immensely sick even after a dish made with chicken broth.
I would never suggest to skip out on such a large area of the world due to a fear of being unable to eat. During my trip to Belize and Guatemala, I was still able to eat local foods. The national dish of Belize is rice and beans, and I sure ate a lot of it! I speak Spanish, so it was fairly easy to find all plant or fish-based food while in these countries. However, during my time in Ecuador, locals do not consider chicken and other meat-based broths as “meat”. I went through a LOT of Pepto-Bismol!
The Best Places to Travel as a Pescatarian
Most of Asia and parts of Europe are very pescatarian friendly, especially around the coastlines. Obviously, if you speak the native language, countries that you can easily communicate in will be easier to maneuver around dietary restrictions.
During my time in Thailand, I had absolutely no issues finding food to eat. A large portion of the country does not eat much red meat or poultry. Unfortunately for my vegetarian or vegan friends, they don’t consider foods like fish and shrimp to be meat. I found a lot of small shrimp added to my veggie fried rice and pad thai. It was delicious, but just be wary if you do not eat seafood. Coastal countries such as Spain and Portugal serve large amounts of seafood, so it’s fairly easy to eat a balanced diet as a pescatarian there as well.
Travel Tips
No matter where you go, there will most likely be a scenario where you have trouble finding filling meals without meat in them. This is especially true in Central America, South America, or small villages away from tourist cities. I always have a stash of protein bars in my backpack, just in case. This was especially helpful in Belize and Guatemala when we were away from the cities!
My second piece of advice is to learn the basics of the language where you are visiting. Being able to say that you cannot eat meat, you can only eat fish or vegetables, or being able to look for specific ingredients on the menu is immensely helpful. Most servers will be more than happy to accommodate, but only if they know what you need!
Avoiding travel due to dietary restrictions should never happen. Break out of your comfort zone and try new foods within your means…you may like them!
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