Traveling to Costa Rica As A Vegan or Vegetarian?
Being a vegan or vegetarian can be hard, especially when traveling! You’ll often find yourself looking at a new menu with all sorts of ingredients and unfamiliar items! If that’s your biggest concern on your trip to Costa Rica, don’t fret! Costa Rica offers vegetarian options on a bunch of menus that most people will glance over! You’ve come to the right place if you’re looking to find out all the yummy vegetarian options you’ll eat on your next Costa Rican getaway! Gallo Pinto Gallo Pinto is translated to rice and beans. This is often a breakfast meal alongside eggs, natilla (sour cream), tortillas, plantains, and cheese. If you’re a vegan, you can ask for no tortillas or plantains or both! Casado This dish is usually served with meat. Before you say no to this option, you can ask for a vegetarian casado even if it’s not on the menu! Casados will be served similarly to the gallo pinto with the rice, beans, plantains, and tortilla. The vegetarian casados will also include salad, pico de gallo, and a squash or plantain mix. Sopa Negra Feeling like getting something soupy? The sopa negra is translated to black bean soup! This soup is often served with arroz con palmito (rice), chorreadas (corn pancakes), crema de pejibaye (peach palm soup), chips, salsa, and patacones (smashed fried plantains). Fruits A sure way of enjoying the food in Costa Rica while being vegan or vegetarian is to eat fruits! You can ask for a fruit smoothie without milk too! Or try our pajibaye (peach palm fruit) or rambutan! Try out our tropical fruits before you leave your trip in Costa Rica! Communication is Key! Make sure that you’ll be able to communicate that you are a vegan or vegetarian! Here are a few essential phrases that might help you while ordering in Costa Rica!
- I’m vegetarian – Soy vegetariano/a
- No meat – Sin carne
- No milk – Sin leche
- I don’t eat meat – Yo no como carne
- I am allergic to (food) – Soy alergico a (food)
Hopefully these options have provided some insight on what you’ll be eating in Costa Rica! For our loyal vegan and vegetarian visitors staying in Hotel Cala Luna, ask the front desk to see what our restaurant cooks up for our vegetarian and vegan options! You can also be a part of our dining and cooking programs that gives you the full Costa Rican experience of making our cuisine!
