‘VegVoyages’ Adventure Tours for Vegans and Vegetarians
Sofna Yusi, Adventure Coordinator at VegVoyages, explains the company’s philosophy thus:
“Our philosophy is to make it easy for both vegetarians and vegans to travel and get to know different countries without having to worry about food. We want all our guests to walk away with much more than a few snapshots, postcards, and a t-shirt. We strive hard to make sure each of our guests feel like they are part of the destination, so that when they leave the country, they have a better understanding of its people, culture, history, and let’s not forget… food. Seventy five percent of our adventures are Vegan. The percentage will increase in the coming years as we introduce more trips for vegan people.”
So, how does VegVoyages fulfill its unique mandate? Let’s find out.
What are the VegVoyages Destinations/Adventure Spots?
VegVoyages destinations are essentially India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The Company focuses on destinations where its members have lived and/or worked or are currently living and/or working.
Where do guests stay?
Personal rapport created by the members with the locals at the holiday destinations enables VegVoyages to arrange the stays of their guests at locally owned hotels, guesthouses, and homestays. The food is planned ahead of the arrival of the guests such that guests are assured of vegan/vegetarian meals. Says Sofna, “In countries such as India where dairy products are a big part of Indian food habits, we need to explain and create awareness about vegan diets”.
What are the company’s Vegan commitments?
Besides being active vehicles of the vegan lifestyle, VegVoyages also supports grassroots animal rights and social organizations. These may include support to hospitals for local street animals, rural village schools, orphanages, refuge and rehabilitation center for abused and exploited animals, or organizations that help people with disabilities.
In addition, VegVoyages does not use animals on tours for expeditions, rides, and/or safaris.
What else does the tour include?
The VegVoyages tour includes cultural programs and activities such as daily yoga sessions, cooking classes, trekking, boating, island hopping, snorkeling, desert safaris, biking, live music, dance, and much fun! You can read the testimonials from people who have traveled with VegVoyages by clicking this link.
How is the tour conducted?
VegVoyages conducts the tours preferably in groups with a maximum size of twelve guests. A local guide and an Adventure Leader from VegVoyages accompany the group from the time the guests arrive at the airport till the day the tour ends.
Where do you contact to enroll for the tours?
You can find out about the voyage details such as how to select the destinations, when to book the travel, how to book the travel, the cost involved, and so on by communicating with the VegVoyages’ members through the addresses and telephone numbers mentioned in the Contact Us page of the Company website.
How has the response to VegVoyages been?
This is a question we posed to Sofna and she explains, “We’ve been very lucky that the Vegetarian and Vegan community has shown a lot of enthusiasm for our adventure trips”.
It sure takes a little more effort than normal to travel as vegans and vegetarians; especially while booking places to stay at and finding the right food. While in a new country, the last thing you would probably want to do is to search for places that can offer you hygienic vegan food. With VegVoyages ensuring the basic needs of food and stay, and exposing you to the vegan cuisines of the region, it does leave you with more time to focus on other areas to explore. And especially if you have wonderful veteran travel guides to ensure you a ‘compassionate’ and a spiritually satisfying travel experience, what more can you ask for! We conclude our story today with the link to the VegVoyages page on Facebook that you can check for regular updates by clicking this link.
Bon voyage!
