Planning is the most important part of any trip overseas, but more so for the lactose intolerant traveller. Don't let this alarm you as any trip is an exciting adventure.
All airlines will offer special meals for long flights. When making your reservation ask your travel agent to organise a non-lactose or vegan meal for all your flights. (Vegan means no animal products at all, which also excludes dairy too)
See Qantas for more details.
Our advice would be to ring a few days prior to the flight to confirm your special meal.
We found Happy Cow to be one of the best resources for vegetarian/vegan restaurants worldwide. Simply click on the country you are visiting for a list of vegan friendly restaurants. Some of our favourite restaurants can be found later in the article.
We have international links for other lactose free websites worldwide on our links page if your looking for some local knowledge in countries you may be visiting.
Most Pocket phrasebooks will have a section on food and health. You may be able to use simple phrases to get out of trouble. For Example, in Italian,
I am lactose intolerant is "Sono allergico a lattosia"
There are also useful websites for language translation which may assist you with any other phrases you need.
Also another clever way to survive your allergies is to use food-info.net and EFFoST food allergy dictionaries made especially for people with allergies and lists over 200 different ingredients.
Eating non dairy isnt too hard when you plan and it can also be done cheaply too by finding good local resources.
Each country has different regulations regarding food labelling and although Australia is getting better, some places around the world make lactose free shopping much easier. Below are some of the examples we found:
| England | USA | France |
| Products that contain no dairy will have a label saying "suitable of vegans". | K is a Kosher symbol, as there are many Jewish in the USA, and the word PARVE means "no dairy". | Although it was harder in French, it is still possible to read labels. |
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Breakfasts provided by hotels will generally be filled with dairy products (butter and milk, etc) and if you can't find any other options then the lactase enzymes will work a treat, but finding a local fruit market can also be a healthy choice to get the day started.
If you're busy seeing the sites, sometimes stopping and finding a quick and dairy free bite can be difficult. A bread roll from the local bakery combined with a can of tuna bought at the local supermarket can be a good alternative.
Don't forget you are travelling, so tasting the food that the world has to offer is also a must and the lactase enzymes can assist through any meal. You can also find some amazing places to eat worldwide that are suitable for people who are lactose intolerant, as we did.
London
London has a good supply of vegan/vegetarian restaurants, but our favourite was a little place called Mildreds near Oxford Circus, where we enjoyed the tofu, lemon and coconut cheesecake with strawberry coulis as well as a vegan beer. When a waitress is able to explain to you what a vegan beer is, you know they have done their homework.
New York City
New York City is an amazing city and a must for any traveller. There are many places to choose from for your non-dairy fix but our favourite was Teany, which is located in Lower East Manhattan. The vegan turkey club, which their website claims "might be the best sandwich on the planet" and a tasty vegan muffin with a large range of teas was a definite highlight.
San Francisco
San Francisco is apparently the world capital of vegans and alternative eating, so we knew we would be in for a treat. Millennium is vegan fine dining at its best. The vegan millennium steak was a pan sauteed seitan in a rich marsala sauce with garlic mash potatoes or barley wild rice pilah and onion cranberry marmalade. It also had a mouthwatering selection of desserts which were a pleasure to sample.
 | | Here is an example of the variety of lactose free products found in the supermarkets in USA. |
We hope that the above information is a valuable resource for anyone that is lactose intolerant and considering to travel overseas. We understand that it can be difficult to travel if you are lactose intolerant or having any food allergy for that matter. Hopefully this information and seeing that it can be done with the right planning gives you the confidence to go too, as an overseas trip can be the most amazing experience of your life.
We also would like to thank our lactose intolerant traveller john@lactose.com.au for writing this article. If you have any comments or questions about being lactose intolerant and travelling he would be very happy to hear from you.
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