When I’m traveling long distances, whether it’s a full day of flights, trains, or road trips, what I eat can make a huge difference in how I feel. As a vegan traveler, I’ve learned that long travel days require a little more planning to stay energized, satisfied, and feeling good along the way. Over time, I’ve developed a simple approach to travel-day eating that keeps me fueled, avoids energy crashes, and makes long journeys much more enjoyable.

What I eat at home before a long travel day

If I have a morning flight, I will have my breakfast which is usually a protein shake and a bowl of oatmeal. If my flight is in the afternoon, I will have my breakfast as mentioned above, and then a couple of hours later I will eat lunch. For lunch, I may eat a sandwich, or a protein dense salad that contains tofu and chickpeas.

If my flight is in the evening, I will have my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My dinner will usually consist of protein which is usually tofu, a starch which may be a potato or rice with beans, and then a side of a green vegetable such as broccoli or brussel sprouts.

My goal is to be content when I get to the airport, train station or bus stop. I don’t want to start my journey being hungry or even thinking about food.

What I pack for the journey

I usually pack individual servings of my protein powder in ziplock bags, a few protein bars, trail mix, peanut butter packets, sandwiches, and fruit (grapes or oranges). If I’m traveling by train or bus then I will also pack a couple of bottles of water. I don’t pack water when flying because I usually only bring a carry-on and no large amounts of liquid are allowed in a carry-on.

Airport and transit food choices

When flying, I usually do research on the airports I’m flying out of and flying into. I look at the different restaurants the airports have and check out their menus. I like to make a list of the vegan options I found, and what terminal they are located in. It helps save time if I have a connecting flight with a short layover and I’m hungry because I will have an idea of what restaurants, cafes, or shops to check out first. Definitely if the airport is huge. If I have a long enough layover, I may just walk through the airport, check out the restaurant menus, and walk through the convenient stores to get a snack.

Now if I have no layover, I will do research to see if there are any vegan friendly restaurants in close proximity to the airport. So at least I know once I arrive to my destination and exit the airport, I have the option to get something to eat.

When I’m taking a bus or train, I may check out the surroundings of some of the rest stops to get an idea of what restaurants, cafes, or stores may be nearby. But usually I will get out during a rest stop and check out what’s nearby. If I’m hungry and I find something vegan friendly to eat, I will buy it, if not, then I will eat something I packed.

I try to keep enough food and snacks on me just in case things don’t go as planned, and the traveling day ends up being much longer. The last thing I want to do is starve.