The Vegetarian Traveler: Where to Stay if You're Vegetarian, Vegan, Environmentally Sensitive (Paperback)

The book's variety and organization make planning your next vacation a snap. Hotels, B&B's and guesthouses are listed by region. The largest sections concentrate on the USA, Canada,the UK, and Ireland. However, the authors have gone to great lengths to gather information on accomodations in the rest of the world including the Caribbean, Mexico, India, Europe, Israel, Sri Lanka, Australia... Each description answers the all important questions of: Private bathroom? % meals Vegetarian? % meals Vegan? Meals Included? Meals offered? Price category? Non-animal tested toiletries available? A list of nearby activities is also listed.

I've used this book two ways - if I know I'm traveling to a certain place, I look up that area to find a hotel; or I read the descriptions to find the best hotel listed in my opinion and let that decide my destination.

The Vegetarian Traveler fills the void left by Fodor's and Frommer's, who rarely even have the word vegetarian listed in the index. It's so much better than packing crackers and peanut butter and wondering if that's all you'll be able to eat all week!

The Vegetarian Traveler does a good job of selecting some places for vegetarians, vegans, and what the authors call "the environmentally sensitive" to stay and eat. There is definitely a need for this kind of book, and the authors have included a wide range of options. However, the geographical range of the book is very limited (which, to be fair to the authors, may be a reflection on where vegetarians are welcome more than anything else). Most of the listings are in North America and the British Isles, and the remainder of the globe gets cursory treatment. (Having just returned from Australia, I can testify that there are more vegetarian-oriented places in heaven and earth than the authors dream of in their book philosophy.) The book is also limiting in the sense that, if you want to stay/eat somewhere not listed or in a region not covered, you are are your own.

The bottom line is that, if you plan on traveling in the areas that get the most coverage here, AND if you want to stay in a place that has been totally pre-screened for vegetarian/vegan/environmental criteria, then this book is a worthwhile purchase, at least as a basic reference. If not, it probably isn't. I would add that the book seems to be several years old, so you should probably plan on supplementing/verifying the information via the several web sites devoted to this topic or through other means. I wonder if the authors plan on issuing a new (and hopefully more comprehensive) edition?

That said, this book is great if you want to get an idea of where to go on vacation, especially if you're primarily interested in the U.S. or the British Isles. The questionnaire filled out by each place is extensive and includes information on how much of the food is vegetarian, how much is vegan, whether animal products (feather pillows, for example) are used in the rooms, whether the toiletries provided have been tested on animals, whether they use insecticides, etc. The descriptions are frequently interesting.

Because the book is focused on vacation areas, the coverage of places is uneven. In the U.S. only 29 of the 50 states have any entries at all. Outside the U.S. the coverage is primarily of Great Britain. The section on England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland takes up a third of the book. Another third of the book is taken up with the Carribean, Canada, South America, and the rest of Europe. By contrast, the section called "The Rest of the World" which takes in everything that is not the Carribean, North or South America or Europe is covered in only 8 pages (and most of those pages are Australia). No mention is made of places that have great vegetarian reputations like Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, or Japan.

It's a fun book to use as a jumping off place when planning a trip, especially if you don't already have an idea of where you want to go.