by Lauren Cox of The Travelling Coeliacs
Are you looking for gluten free travel tips? Do you have kids with celiac disease and other dietary requirements? If so, this article is for you! Lauren Cox, a fellow mom and travel blogger, has been an expert on travelling gluten free for several years now and she has agreed to share her gluten free travel tips and amazing experiences around the world with Family Road Trip Guru readers. This article may contain affiliate links.
Gluten Free Travel Guide
These days, gluten free travel with kids can be done pretty easily, even international travel. Of course, as with everything in life, there are always challenges. But hopefully our experience will give you the confidence to get on the road and easily manage those hiccups.
We haven’t always needed to be gluten free. Until 2015 we were a “regular” travelling family. We were able to enjoy street food and pokey out of the way cafes like everyone else. Now that three out of four of us are diagnosed Coeliacs we have had to upgrade our venues slightly. That is not to say that all street food is off limits. There will always be somewhere you can eat but we do follow the theme of “when in doubt, go without”.
Gluten free travel basic tips
When travelling with kids though, hungry can turn into hangry FAST so some preparation is required. Having experienced hangry first hand, we are never caught out-and-about without food.
We never leave home without a snack. Ever! Our youngest can turn very feral when hangry and it is not a fun experience when out in a public space. When flying or going on longer train journeys, I carry an entire carry-on suitcase filled with food. As well as snacks for the journey, this bag will often include gluten free pasta and a bag of gluten free all purpose flour. Just-in-case.
Here are some easy gluten free snack ideas:
Before staying anywhere, I contact the venue letting them know we are coeliac and check they are able to cater to us. A few days before we arrive, I contact them again to confirm this has been communicated to the Food and Beverage team. This does not always happen without encouragement!
Hotels unable to cater to us on-site (very rare) usually have a very efficient Concierge Desk who is able to provide us with places to go to locally. If we are not staying in a hotel, we will research the area on Trip Advisor or look up the local Coeliac/Celiac Facebook page and reach out there.
If travelling to a country where English is not the first language, I head over to Celiac Travel and download the relevant gluten free travel restaurant card. While many serving staff are aware of gluten free requirements, I find it is more reliable going directly to the chef with one of these cards when ordering. I also email the restaurant card link to hotels and resorts when I do my “touching base” before check in.
Our gluten free international travel experiences
What our travels have taught us, is that when people hear we have three Coeliacs in the family they are usually very accommodating. The key is to be patient and to explain using the least amount of words when in a place that has no clue what “no gluten” means.
We also find that in some of the more out of the way places we have traveled to, it is easier to just say “we are allergic to gluten”. That way the level of care and caution goes up to where it should be. Everyone understands “allergic”. If we need to, my eldest will hold his tummy and demonstrate projectile vomiting to emphasize the point. Needs must.
Research is key. When you find that restaurant or hotel that works for you, tell them what a great job they are doing. Thank them profusely for their efforts and leave a good tip and a review on Tripadviser. The next Coeliac(s) to pass through their doors will be well received. And, you never know, they may start to include these small changes into their normal meal preparation.
In our experience, people are willing to make every effort to ensure you enjoy their venue and get a tasty gluten free meal. After all, half of travel and discovering new lands and cultures is eating the food.
Gluten free travel with kids through Africa
The more we traveled and the easier eating gluten free became, the more relaxed we were to go further afield. In the last eight years, we have traveled through South Africa, Zimbabwe, Seychelles, Zanzibar and Tanzania and we have lived in Madagascar. All of these places are equipped to manage special dietary requirements with South Africa leading the way.
Often it does depend on where you stay and of course on the most important person, the Chef. The lodges on our Tanzanian safari were all prepared and the Chefs very hands on in ensuring our dietary requirements were met. On our South Africa and Zimbabwe trips, we tended to go self-catering and stocked up at Woolworths and Dischem.
Madagascar
Our first assignment after diagnosis was Madagascar. Turns out, at that time, very few people in Madagascar had even heard of Coeliacs Disease. Our first meal on Malagsy soil was a disaster. In my broken French, I managed to order a very plain overdone steak (floor bouncing stuff) with boiled rice for myself and the boys. It was awful! Of course, the silver lining here was that I quickly started brushing up on my French!
Within a few months, we started getting it together and by the time we left, the top 3 supermarkets were all selling gluten free options. We also found a beautifully located restaurant in our town of Tamatave, right on the beach. The owners of Darafify were very understanding and accommodating and introduced us to their top waiter, Willy. Willy served us for the next two years and made each experience there a dream. It was great to be able to go out for a meal and not have to run through the whole “we are gluten free” script.
When we started gluten free travelling around Madagascar it actually became easier. Thanks to the many European tourists, the hotels and resorts have a good understanding of Coeliacs. After I mentioned to the F&B Manager at one resort how torturous it was for us to walk past the breakfast pastries each day, the Chef made us the worlds biggest creme caramel! The world is full of people who just want to see others smile.
Our favourite
My all time favourite destination in Madagascar was Anakao Ocean Lodge. Very off the beaten track but the personal service was second to none and the whole stay was an incredible food experience for myself and the littles. If you want to escape or you are looking to reset, this is the place to go. We have stayed in some pretty luxurious places but this spot has something special and just grabbed my heart.
There was no menu. At each meal we would be asked what we would like at the next. Being on the beach we went with locally caught seafood and the chef included homemade frites for the boys. They were wonderful at catering to our requirements. At brekkie the kitchen staff made us local rice bread called Mofo Gasy which hit the spot for Casey’s sweet tooth. All food was local, home cooked and fresh. A little piece of paradise that will certainly have you appreciating nature.
Gluten free travel with kids through Europe
Gluten free travel through Europe gluten free has never been easier. We found that in each city/country we went to in Europe it was easy to find restaurants catering to coeliacs. The local shops have plenty of choices and English is spoken almost everywhere.
The Norwegians and the Dutch, as is their way, put the rest of us mere mortals to shame in just about all aspects of humanity. This includes their proficiency at healthy eating and catering to special dietary requirements. If in Larvik, Norway, stop in at a favourite spot of ours, Hungry Heart Cafe for a healthy lunch or something sweet.
Ireland, with one of the highest prevalence of Coeliacs in the world, is very on the ball at catering to gluten free requirements. Here you can find gluten free products available at even the local corner store. If you are a foodie, I highly recommend a trip to Kinsale in County Cork. The food capital of Ireland and where we had absolutely the best brunch to date.
England and Wales were also easy for gluten free travel through either self-catering or stopping in at pubs or restaurants. Having lived in mainly the third world I was more than happy to go self catering. Going into Tesco and browsing their gluten free smorgasbord would send shivers of excitement through me. Every time!
For those of you missing gluten free pastries, they can be found at a lovely patisserie in Paris. Yes, we went all that way to see not just the Louvre and Eiffel Tower but for real gluten free chocolate croissants! If you are partial to the Mediterranean diet, Greece should definitely be added to your gluten free travel list. If you skip the bread, the diet is naturally gluten free. We sailed around half a dozen of the Greek Islands and for lunch we would buy local and go the antipasti route. Healthy and perfect with a midday gin and tonic.
Gluten free travel with kids in Asia
Having spent three years of their life in Laos when they were little, sticky rice is my kids main food group. This makes travelling gluten free through Asia pretty easy for us. We are also huge fans of sushi and sashimi. To ensure we never have to miss out, we always travel with our own gluten free soy sauce. Wrapped in cling wrap and secured in about 3 ziplock bags the soy sauce can travel safely in your checked baggage.
Asia is a favourite of ours but as continents go, it is still establishing its gluten free market. Having said that, most traditional Asian foods are naturally gluten free. If you avoid the deep fried foods and remind those preparing your food not to use soy sauce or other bottled sauces, you should be fine. I do suggest here though that you take your gluten free restaurant card. To be sure, to be sure.
When we travelled to the Philippines and stayed at an eco-diving resort, I did my research and decided to pack two bags of Schaer universal flour. The chef here made the most amazing pizza and after watching all the glutenated enjoy them on day one, I knew I had to do something for the littles. I reached out to the staff and handed over our bags of flour. The Chef proceeded to whip up enough gluten free pizza bases for us to enjoy for the two weeks and crepes for brekkie!
Our favourites
One of our most pleasant surprises when gluten free travelling through Asia was our trip to Sri Lanka. We stayed at a couple of spots but the stand out favourite of mine was the Wild Coast Tented Lodge. For the fellow Coeliacs out there you will understand how not having to worry about food changes the entire mood of a trip. When we arrived we met both the Chef and the pastry Chef and they, along with their team in the restaurant, ensured we had no food concerns for our entire stay.
Most of the local Sri Lankan food can be adapted to be gluten free. As I love my curries, I was in food heaven here. The boys were also in their happy place when on day one the Chef made gluten free fish and chips. This became their go-to fo lunch. The pastry Chef also made the best gluten free rolls we have EVER eaten! Seriously, EVER! When we left the resort gave us a care package of gluten free snacks for the road and in it was a bag of flour the Chef used and a recipe for the rolls. Top that!
We would be amiss if we didn’t include the Maldives as a top gluten free travel spot to stay where they are able to cater to special dietary requirements. With their all-inclusive options you can spend a week here eating like kings. Something we recently had the opportunity to do before COVID crashed the world! Our most recent visit was to another dive spot (starting to see a theme here?), Finolhu and they ticked all the food boxes for us and then some.
Living in Mongolia gluten free
I learned a lot about Asia when we moved to Mongolia. Mainly that being part of Asia does not make one Asian! The Mongolian diet is very much Eastern European and has no similarities to the rest of Asian cuisine. This meant I had to do some scrambling when we first arrived.
I sent out an SOS out to my girlfriend Pa who quickly shipped me 10kgs of tapioca flour from Thailand. When the package arrived, a couple of the bags had burst. As you can imagine, Hubby was summoned to the post office to collect the package and explain the white powdery substance covering it to about 20 customs officials! Too funny! But it did mean I could bake all of our favourites when it finally got released.
What we also learned about Mongolians is that they take their food very seriously. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from in the capital of Ulaanbaatar. There are plenty of Mongolian hotpot and barbecue restaurants throughout the capital if you want to go local.
If you fancy something more international though, they have that covered as well. For gluten free Indian, there is Namaste. For sushi and sashimi try Tegri, they even have gluten free soy sauce. If it is just a coffee and something sweet you want, there is Book Tree Cafe. In fact there isn’t a restaurant they don’t have and for the most part we were never disappointed.
Our favourite
The winner for us though was Terrazza. They were the first in UB to have a gluten free menu. They also got to know us well and it was a place my kids could go without me if staying with friends. The Terrazza Team knew us so well, they often knew what my kids wanted before we even ordered.
Mongolia does have a good network for Coeliacs and if you are heading over there, I recommend joining their Facebook group. For travelling around Mongolia, we used Expat Travel Mongolia. With our translator and an additional bag of gluten free produce they took great care to ensure there were no hiccups along the way. They even packed a bottle of gin and some tonics for us Mums! Winners!
Gluten free travel with kids in Oceania
As with Europe, travelling gluten free through New Zealand and Australia is pretty easy. New Zealand in particular is on the ball when eating out. When you place your order in restaurants they will actually ask you if you are Coeliac or just choosing to eat gluten free and will inform the Chef accordingly.
When in Australia you need to be more careful. They tend to mark items as gluten free on their menus but this does not necessarily make them safe for Coeliacs so you will need to double check that. The supermarkets are well stocked here though and both Coles and Woolworths have dedicated gluten free sections.
What Melbourne does have that no one else has is Foddies. Foddies are a huge win for the kids. Here they can go and have staples like parmigiana and fish and chips just like the rest of Australia. They also have the worlds best gluten free donuts.
It can be done, it has been done
We dream of travelling through South America as a family. South American food is a firm favourite in our household. Hopefully it will be easy enough to move through some of the remote locations we intend to visit on their traditional diets. One of the many things we have learned when doing gluten free travelling is to eat local when possible. You are a lot less likely to suffer food poisoning when eating local, fresh ingredients than when ordering an imported burger that could have been sitting in the fridge/freezer for ages.
I hope our gluten free travels will get even easier as the boys get older and less picky with their eating. While they ate beautifully as bubs, my youngest is a nightmare at the moment and if given a choice would survive on chocolate cookies and crisps. In the meantime, we are crossing all body parts and hoping that we will be back on the travel wagon as soon as the world wrestles control away from COVID. We may even get to cross paths along the way.
Follow us on instagram to see what we are up to now or check out our blog for ideas on some of the spots we have been to.
Do you have tried and true gluten free travel tips of your own? Please, share them with us in the comments below!
Here some additional gluten free living resources for both adults and kids that you may find helpful:
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