Traveling as a vegan doesn’t have to be stressful. Where can you find vegan food, which drinks are actually vegan, how do you order despite a language barrier or read ingredient labels? Can you even take a cooking class while you’re there? These days, there are vegan food apps for pretty much all of it, plus a few other handy tools for getting around.
Before anything else: I’d strongly recommend getting a prepaid eSIM with roaming before travelling to another continent. Without mobile internet, even the best vegan restaurant apps become more difficult to use, and constantly hunting for WiFi just to check a menu QR code gets old fast. I use Airalo or Flexiroam, both offer plans per country, continent, or worldwide, plus regular deals.
Now, let’s get into the apps that actually make life easier as a vegan traveller.
Finding Vegan Restaurants
HappyCow
People still often ask me, is there an app for vegan restaurants? There has been since 1999, and it now with over 256,000 listings in 185 countries. Most-used features:
- Interactive map with community reviews and photos, so you can see what’s nearby at a glance, including reviews from other travellers
- Filters for vegan, vegetarian, and “veg-options”: useful if you’re travelling with omnivores and need a place where everyone finds something
- Trip planner — save restaurants in your destination city ahead of time, or check what’s near your accommodation using the filters.
Costs about €5.99 as a one-time purchase on iOS, completely free on Android. The mobile browser version at happycow.net works just as well and is always free.
One thing worth asking upfront: is this app for finding restaurants that are fully vegan, or just vegan-friendly? HappyCow actually answers this directly with its “Vegan,” “Vegetarian,” and “Veg-Options” filters, so you can choose exactly how strict you want your search to be. It’s not foolproof though: opening hours are sometimes outdated, and places occasionally close down without the listing being updated. Reading recent reviews (or leaving your own) helps keep things accurate for other travellers.
Vanilla Bean
A strong alternative if you’re mainly travelling within German-speaking countries (Berlin, Munich, Vienna especially). Smaller than HappyCow (around 35,000 listings worldwide), but often more current and denser in DACH cities. Particularly useful:
- Filters by sustainability criteria, not just vegan, but organic, fair-trade, regional
- Call and directions directly from the app
Some users report occasional map glitches. The app is also currently merging with “Future Cooperative” into “Future Maps,” which will expand into other sustainable businesses too.
Spinach
The 2026 newcomer, built by someone with experience from a major vegan restaurant platform. This is the app that most directly answers “which app actually tells you if a restaurant is fully vegan or just vegan-friendly?”, its whole concept is built around that distinction:
- Double score: every place gets two separate ratings – one for food quality, one for “vegan-friendliness” (A–E). A Thai spot with one incredible tofu dish can outrank a mediocre 100%-vegan café
- Dish rankings instead of just restaurant rankings, shows you things like “the best pad thai in Bangkok” or “the best pizza in Berlin”
- Deliberately includes non-vegan restaurants with genuinely great plant-based options, not just fully vegan places
- Free, works offline, no login required
Surprisingly comprehensive for such a young app (218,000+ listed places), and Berlin is already well covered.
Communicating Without Speaking the Language
Google Translate
One of the most useful apps out there, especially in countries without a Latin alphabet, not just for checking ingredients. Most-used features:
Voice translation: have someone speak into your phone for instant translation
Offline language packs: download in advance and use with zero internet, essential in places like Japan or rural areas
Camera translation (OCR): hold your phone over a menu or label, translation appears directly on the image
Vegan Cooking Classes While Travelling: airKitchen
One of my favourite parts of travelling is exploring the local cuisine hands-on. Not an app for finding restaurants, but airKitchen* lets you filter for “vegan” cooking classes and book directly. My personal favourite for trips to Japan, since these are real hosts teaching in their homes, not commercial cooking schools. What sets it apart:
- Vegan filter by city (Tokyo, Kyoto, and more)
- Direct contact with your host before booking, so you can clarify allergies or vegan requirements upfront
- Many classes offer vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and halal-friendly options side by side, ideal for mixed travel groups
Curious what a vegan food app actually finds you in Japan? I used airKitchen myself for two cooking classes there (Shojin Ryori and Japanese Comfort Food), you can read about those and my favourite HappyCow finds in Tokyo and Osaka in my blogpost about where I ate as a vegan in Japan.
FAQ
Are there vegan food apps for finding restaurants?
Yes, several. HappyCow is the best-known vegan food app with the widest global coverage, Vanilla Bean is a solid alternative for German-speaking countries, and Spinach is a newer app with a clever rating system.
Which apps actually tell you if a restaurant is fully vegan or just vegan-friendly?
HappyCow lets you filter specifically by “Vegan” versus “Vegetarian” or “Veg-Options,” so you control how strict the results are. Spinach goes a step further with a separate A–E “vegan-friendliness” score alongside its food quality rating, so you can judge exactly what you’re getting before you go.
What’s the best vegan restaurant app to use in the UK?
HappyCow has the strongest overall coverage in the UK and London specifically, given its size and long history. Combining it with a quick look at recent reviews is your best bet for finding places that are reliably, verifiably vegan rather than just technically vegan-friendly.
What’s the best app for finding vegan food in Japan?
HappyCow works well in major Japanese cities, and I’d add airKitchen’s Website if you also want a hands-on vegan cooking class while you’re there. I cover both, plus my personal restaurant picks in Tokyo and Osaka, in my Japan travel guide.
How do I find vegan food abroad if I don’t speak the language?
Google Translate is your best friend here: point your camera at a menu and the translation appears right on the image. Download offline language packs in advance if you won’t have signal. Combine that with a restaurant app like HappyCow, which usually already flags whether a place has vegan options, and you’ll get by just fine.
Is HappyCow free?
Depends on your device: completely free on Android, around €5.99 as a one-time purchase on iOS. If you’d rather not pay, the mobile browser version at happycow.net works just as well and is free on any device.
Is the Vegan Passport app still available?
No, as of April 2026, the Vegan Passport app is temporarily unavailable according to The Vegan Society. The physical Vegan Passport book is still available through their shop if you want a printed version to carry with you.
For more on how I actually used HappyCow and airKitchen on the road, check out my post on what I ate as a vegan in Tokyo, I talk about the cooking classes I booked through airKitchen, and how I navigated Tokyo and the Osaka area as a vegan.
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Nina, this is such a handy & informative blogpost 😃 Thank you for adding in The Fussy Vegan (Vegan Food Finder app) to the regional apps 🌱
Thank you 🙂