Traveling with a bunch of strangers would’ve sounded like a nightmare to me 10 years ago! But in 2022, I joined a vegan group trip to Thailand (organized by TrovaTrip and hosted by Cheap Lazy Vegan) and it opened doors I never thought I could walk through!
Here’s a breakdown of my experience traveling to Thailand on a vegan group trip for the first time.
- Why did I join a group trip?
- Trova Trip Review
- Vegan Food in Thailand
- Traveling with strangers!
- Would I do it again?
Why did I join a group trip?
I didn’t have the money to travel while in college, and I wasn’t even a citizen yet, so that posed its own set of restrictions. When I was finally in a good place to spend money on travel, I had no one to go with. I wasn’t willing to wait anymore, and Thailand was a country I was dying to visit.
I was following CheapLazyVegan because of her fun recipes, and when she announced a vegan group trip, I knew I had to do it. Vegan travel can be a little challenging at first, and at that time, I had been vegan for only two years. It was great that I didn’t have to worry about where and what to eat.
The language was also a significant factor, although I know now that both Bangkok and Chiang Mai are very English-friendly. Bottom line is, I was intimidated doing an entire trip alone, and a vegan Thailand tour seemed too good to pass up.
Trova Trip Review
Trova Trip is everywhere now, but back in 2022, it wasn’t as common. I was skeptical at first. I love planning and organizing my own trips; giving up that freedom was a challenge.
However, I loved how everything was taken care of. Hotel, transportation, food, tour guides – everything was included. It was easy and stress-free. I enjoyed all the activities, and I know some of those I would’ve never found on my own.
The farm tour and cooking lesson are still among my favorite travel memories, along with the tuk-tuk tour of the streets of Bangkok. Editing my Bangkok travel vlog made me realize how much fun I had on this vegan group trip.
The cons were that packing so many activities in one trip left me, at times, exhausted. We spent so much time in our vans due to traffic, and as someone who loves to walk and wander around new places, that made me feel I was missing out a bit. But this was not a deal-breaker for me, given everything I got to experience.
Vegan Food in Thailand
I honestly thought traveling to Thailand as a vegan would be a hassle but I was willing to eat plain rice noodles just to be there. Thankfully, that was not the case. Bangkok and Chiang Mai are very vegan-friendly.
I was not familiar with Thai cuisine back then so this trip was a delicious introduction. Thai food is one of my favorite cuisines now!
One critique I have about Trova Trip is that most of the restaurants we went to were not fully vegan or vegan-friendly. The food was made vegan for us, and it was delicious, but if I wanted to go back and eat there or recommend it, I couldn’t.
I also want to support other vegan restaurants when I travel, so that’s something to keep in mind. However, I did another vegan group trip with Trova a year later, and we went to a lot more vegan restaurants because the host pushed for it.
Traveling with strangers!
Although this was not my first time traveling solo, it was my first time on a group trip. I realized during this trip that I’m more extroverted than I thought. I LOVED meeting new people and bonding over these new experiences. I was afraid it would be awkward and that I would feel excluded or that I would have a roommate from hell situation, but it was the complete opposite. My roommate was a lovely woman from London, with whom I had a lot in common, and I hope to visit her in the UK one day.
We also had people of all ages, which was a nice mix. Some people came alone, like I did, while others came with friends or partners. We got really close during this trip, and even in our free time, we hung out with each other.
I barely had any vegan friends at the time, so it was refreshing to meet other people who shared this lifestyle and who had been doing it for far longer than I had!
Would I do it again?
Yes, I loved the experience so much that I ended up doing another trip with Cheap Lazy Vegan a year later. I also started working for her and after three years, I started co-hosting vegan group trips.
Back in May of this year, I co-hosted a group trip to Mexico City and in October we’re going to a sold-out trip to South Korea. In January (2026), I’ll be hosting a trip to Mexico City by myself. Talk about a full-circle moment!!
Don’t get me wrong I still prefer to do trips where I’m fully in control. However, it’s nice to just sit-back and enjoy a pre-planned vacation where vegan food is included!
If you’d like to keep an eye on future vegan group trips, make sure to follow me on Instagram and Tiktok where I post almost daily!
Have you ever done a group trip or you considering joining one in the future? Let’s talk about it in the comments!
Conscious Cuban 
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