Budget travel with dietary restrictions used to be a genuine challenge. It's gotten meaningfully better, but there are still destinations where it requires active management.

Southeast Asia as a vegetarian: easier than it should be. Thailand has a whole tradition of Jay (vegan Buddhist food) with specific restaurants marked by yellow flags during the Vegetarian Festival. Vietnam has com chay (vegetarian rice) restaurants everywhere outside the most rural areas. The challenge is fish sauce and shrimp paste, which are invisible in dishes that appear vegetarian. Learn the phrase for vegetarian in each local language and be explicit about fish-based condiments.

Southeast Asia as a vegan: harder. Egg and dairy are common and ubiquitous. The Jay tradition in Thailand is your best friend. In Vietnam, com chay restaurants are typically vegan by default. In Cambodia and Laos it gets harder — the food culture relies heavily on fish and meat in sauces.

Eastern Europe as a vegetarian: inconsistent. Poland and Hungary have heavy meat traditions but urban centers now have solid vegetarian options in tourist areas. The Balkans are better than expected — burek (the cheese/spinach version), banitsa, sarma with rice, and various meze-style vegetable dishes are common and cheap.

The best budget destinations for vegans: Southeast Asia (with navigation), India (extraordinary), Georgia (harder but improving), Mexico City (excellent, underrated).