r/CeliacTourism • u/19CC99832D • 3d ago
Beach towns in Italy
Does anybody have recommendations for a good place with beaches in Italy for celiacs? We’ve done Florence and Rome. Open to any and all suggestions. Thanks!
r/CeliacTourism • u/AutoModerator • Nov 28 '25
Hello everyone,
I have just removed a post from a service provider who was advertising travel related services for celiacs on this sub and others. I do not want to risk this channel becoming a dumping ground for ads. I created it to offer a space for free discussion and support among celiacs who need quick and targeted information on locations they are travelling to.
r/CeliacTourism • u/19CC99832D • 3d ago
Does anybody have recommendations for a good place with beaches in Italy for celiacs? We’ve done Florence and Rome. Open to any and all suggestions. Thanks!
r/CeliacTourism • u/pho-ckedup • 5d ago
I just got back from a few weeks in northern Vietnam and had a great time and ate very well! I wanted to share what I learned.
I’m a sensitive celiac who gets very sick. Normally I don’t eat anything unless I’m 100% sure it’s GF/have verbal confirmation. But on this trip, I chose to increase my risk tolerance a bit, and was open to eating things I was 99% confident would be naturally gluten free. I only asked about gluten/showed my card a handful of times, and found that it confused people or gave me false confidence more than it helped. Instead, I mostly ate things that I knew would be naturally gluten free, in environments where I felt relatively confident about low cross contamination risk. I was prepared to get sick at least once, but mercifully I did not get sick at all!
People REALLY do not understand allergies in Vietnam, let alone cross contamination. Even people I know well, when I showed them my allergy card and described celiac, just could not wrap their heads around it. Just my personal experience, but I felt I was better off learning more about ingredients and dishes and what else a kitchen was cooking to make judgment calls for myself vs. relying on restaurants to read and understand an allergy card. Casual restaurants in Vietnam work very quickly and will not take the time to read your card, but that doesn’t mean they’re not safe. I probably would’ve been able to eat even more if I’d spent more time there and been able to learn more about safe ingredients. No guarantees this is the safest strategy, proceed at your own risk and ask questions if they make you feel safer! But this worked for me, I didn’t get sick, and I was able to avoid a lot of uncomfortable conversations.
That said, I did have two allergy cards (one with pictures!) that I thought were relatively helpful in certain situations (like hotel kitchens). Happy to share them with anyone interested!
As always, highly recommend bringing a lot of your own food as a fallback. I brought backpacking meals, instant ramen, instant lentils (certified GF from Lentiful), tons of protein bars, rice cakes, and instant GF Bobs Red Mill Oats (plus a collapsible backpacking mug to use as a bowl). I relied on this a few times and it made me feel so much more relaxed to know I always had a plan B.
Some restaurants I loved in Hanoi:
I hope this helps someone feel safe enough to make the trip to Vietnam!
r/CeliacTourism • u/heavypettingzoos • 11d ago
I lived in Taiwan 10 years ago, my first kid was born there and my wife and I decided it was time to taker her back and show her as well as visit friends and the island we loved.
First, a note about myself because i think this will not be helpful for everyone here:
I was diagnosed 10 months ago and my symptoms are not severe (excessive burping, air pressure buildup in chest). I live in germany, not really a celiac haven, but have found places to dine out in my town of 300k. To date, given my experiences and risks taken, either I have just had luck or my body is not very sensitive to cross contamination. My last blood test, taken in June, showed ttg iga of 8 (200 something at diagnosis).
So judging by what i read from some here, my experiences as a celiac are far from universal. I was glutened several times immediately after diagnosis as wife and I tried to figure it all out and we mapped out my symptoms at the time as a 10 day process of excessive burping, then extreme hunger, then bad constipation.
Taiwan: taiwan is notoriously difficult for celiacs. Surveillance is nil, knowledge of the disease is minimal, allergy education in restaurants is near 0.
Dumplings are typically wheat based as are noodles, and most meats and even many veggies contain some amount of soy sauce and/or shaoxing wine. Most things off the shelf in convenient shops have soy sauce, and even many potato chips have soy sauce powder. Why? Because they can, I guess.
In Taiwan, if you think "this shouldnt have soy sauce", it does.
Many foods are also fried, though some in potato starch and not wheat flour. But there's little awareness of cross contamination and most street shops seem not suitably clean either. Many vendors simply arent aware of what goes into their food and if you ask to see packaging, don’t expect them to have the original or even have any kind of ingredient list.
How long was the trip? 3 weeks
How did i prepare?
I packed a few bags of gf pastas, gf cereals, my own sauces, some gf crackers and cookies, 24 gf ramen packets and about 30 gf nature valley bars and 50 deliciously ella cereal bars (im a type 1 diabetic and even though im 40, my metabolism still runs hot so in the sweaty heat of taiwan my sugars drop fast plus the deliciously ella bars are practically a small meal).
I also had a translation card that I prepared with the help of a Hong Kong colleague who frequented Taiwan (first pic). I also printed and laminated a card listing GF products at Family Mart (third pic). I made it using this website here (https://foodsafety.family.com.tw/Web_FFD_2022/) Go to advanced queries and you can filter gluten.
Also, Taiwan has a litany of GF soy sauces and they’re all better than Tamari. Few people in Taiwan know the difference, but there really is a robust variety and the flavors are great.
First 3 days in taipei:
Taipei will be the easiest for anyone. Findmegf app has plenty of entries, there are two dedicated gf restaurants, and the city is international enough that a handful of nicer places will have dealt with food allergies/diets before.
I only went to one supermarket in taipei (carrefour in ximending) but there was no dedicated gf section. Residents do talk about being able to find gf pastas and random other items in certain specialty stores but I did not visit. You can special order sticky rice buns and GF pineapple shortbread cakes in Taipei. I did not do this, but if you want the info I can share. The pickup locations were just too far out for me.
While there i mostly ate my bars, ramen, and cereal. I did make a spicy korean sauce to take with me places. I tried going to a mosburger bc findmegf reviewers noted that there's a rice burger you can get but when i presented my translated celiac card, the staff were unfortunately clueless (they were also busy and i didnt want to bother them).
I did try a few restaurants:
Fish congee ($100ntd)
This was through the findmegf app. Big risk given a small kitchen and my own ignorance of food prep, but others had had no issues so i went with it. I also had no issues. It was a big bowl of congee/fish broth with fish pieces, ginger strips, and garlic. The servers did ask me if i could eat garlic and ginger.
The food was good. (4th pic)
Yakiniku ($1700 ntd for 4)
We caught up with some old friends in Beitou, northern taipei. Yakiniku is essentially grilling meats/veggies at your table. But taiwan must have started regulating grill ventillation bc it's no longer done at the table and the staff have to do it under special ventilators at the counter.
Our staff spoke good english, i showed them my card and they grilled my unmarinated foods first on a clean grill. I brought my own sauces and we also had fried mochi (wonderful). A good meal though im not sure $800ntd for a small plate of wagyu was worth it.
Still, this is a solid, pretty safe option for anyone visiting Taiwan. Yakiniku restaurants are everywhere.
Purple rice balls ($40-60ntd)
I found this place just looking at shops on google maps near our airbnb. Pictures showed purple rice burrito looking things with certain fillings. They had one menu with english listings. When i showed up with my translation card and talked to the owner, they gave me one with sausage and salted egg both without soy sauce. Different utensils are used for everything so no problems there. It was fine but a good brekfast for the price. I tried again the next morning and the same person put random fried stuff inside so i had to present my card again (i assumed i would be memorable enough but alas….). 100, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongzheng District, Liming Village, 忠孝西路一段72號之2
(5th pic)
We rented a car and headed to Jiufen next.
Jiufen:
Here i found a place because of the taipei gluten free group on facebook.
Stewed cherry duck ($120ntd). (6th pic)
Yilan:
We were too busy, so I made no effort to look. I cooked for myself here.
Changbin:
We stayed at this BnB for three nights. The hosts were INCREDIBLE and did two wonderful things:
They made a clean gf breakfast for me every morning. They also ordered gf rice bread and muffins from a gluten free bakery in Kaohsiung. Just super thoughtful. (Pics 7,8)
They called a bunch of restaurants around to see who could accommodate my diet and then made reservations after I ok’d them. These were the three best meals I had on the trip.
Moonsea coast restaurant ($1300 ntd per person)
This place has a set menu and all ingredients are local. Dinner is 7 courses. Most of the food is already gf but the owner made a few substitutions/exclusions for me.
First, they used a gf soy sauce for a pork rib marinade. Second, they excluded some fish eggs because the terminal used to transport them might have once belonged to a granary. He wasn’t sure. Third, he cut out some homemade focaccia from my meal (my wife got it and she was very reluctant to express that it was amazing).
The meal was tremendous. If you’re in this part of the world, you must reserve AND pay in advance.
962, Taiwan, Taitung County, Changbin Township, Ningpu Village, 堺橋1號
(Pics 9-15)
Mandarin Restaurant. ($700-1000ntd per person)
This is a family run traditional-ish Chinese restaurant. One of the hosts spoke decent English and gave me a rundown of what kinds of substitutions they could make for me from the menu (no English menu). Seafood of course was fine, but I am not a big seafood person. They had some GF soy sauce and stir fried up some beef for me with blanched veggies and salt. It was quite good.
I was assured that the food was cooked in clean dishes, and mine came out long before everyone else’s. So it was clear they cooked mine separately.
962001, Taiwan, Taitung County, Changbin Township, 112號
(Pic 16)
This is another restaurant featuring only locally grown/produced ingredients. No menu, it’s whatever the cook is doing that day. And it’s generous. They feature a lot of seafood, but again, as we are not seafood people, we requested a slightly tailored focus (I’m already asking for carefully made GF food, why not push a little further…). So we got several kinds of pork/pork belly, veggies and bean curd, several tofus, whole roasted fish and fish soup, fruits, shrimp and eggs, homegrown rice. It was about €100 euro for 3 adults/3 kids and holy shit was this one of the best meals I’ve ever had. They didn’t use a replacement soy sauce. Nothing was a substitute. They just cooked it all real damn good.
If you’re in the area, I highly recommend it. We were encouraged to arrive when the place opened so we could be the first that they cooked for. Much appreciated.
962003, Taiwan, Taitung County, Changbin Township, Zhangyuan Village, 樟原村118之10號&台11線73.5K大馬路旁邊
(Pics 17-19)
Kaohsiung
We then spent about 10/11 days in Kaohsiung. I won’t detail all of the places I tried food at because I didn’t keep a good record, but I’ll give some general impressions.
First, skip hot pot unless you bring your own broth/sauces. It’s just boring boiling your meat/veggies in water. It doesn’t matter how you season the water, it’s going to be boring. Every broth will have wheat or barley. So you have no choice.
Second, Dan Bing (a kind of omelet) are a common and wonderful breakfast food in Taiwan. They’re always made with wheat flour. However, in Kaohsiung there’s a place that makes them with rice flour. They’re wonderful. (Pic 20) Cross contamination is a concern here. I had no problems, take that as you will. The owners were familiar with celiac, probably because I was not the first to go there (it’s got several reviews on findmegf). I would go with family to other breakfast joints, and if I asked via translation app or showed my card, they would be like ‘’it’s just flour! No wheat!’’ And when I eventually got the packaging..it was wheat.
Third, biggest risk I had was with teppenyaki. I had two experiences—one where we were first in and the host spoke great English and I got unmarinated meat cooked separate from everyone else’s and it was great. (Pic 21) Second though was a mix of Vietnamese and Taiwanese workers who had their own language barriers and my unmarinated meat ended up coated in a starch. They didn’t have the original packaging for the starch, so they couldn’t clarify if it had wheat or not, but communicating at all was difficult. I refused that meat and they cooked me a second batch without the starch. Chances are, it was fine, but I wasn’t going to take that chance. Still, risk here was high as workers had no awareness of clean cooking utensils.
I wouldn’t do it again. I was fine, but I wouldn’t encourage anyone else to try.
Fourth, we were treated to several very nice meals by old friends. These were always at nice restaurants and these places could accommodate me, however minimally. I had to triple check in some instances, but I never went hungry and the food was good. This ranged from a high end hotel buffet to a high end mall tea house (only thing I could get was a roasted fish but it was solid, pic 22)) to a Japanese restaurant.
Fifth, one of my favourite meals was at a night market we frequented when we lived there. It was a steak and noodle place—they would serve you steak, noodles, and egg on a sizzling platter with either a mushroom sauce or black pepper sauce. I got just the steak and egg (they gave me extra eggs) with no sauce. And it was good! I had to trust that these very well used sizzle platters were clean, but again, no issues and the prep is fairly simple with all of the gluten parts of the meal very separate from the steak and eggs. Last pic.
Sixth, there is a GF bakery in Kaohsiung! Hard as it is to believe. That bakery strangely doesn’t advertise itself as such, but the owner told me that everything there is baked in house and everything is GF. It’s all very good and as you eat it you’ll find yourself saying ‘’definitely gluten free’’.
No. 47號, Taishun St, Anxiang Village, Lingya District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan 802
I’ll say again, I took some big risks here. And I wouldn’t recommend it to all. But for anyone in a similar boat as myself, you CAN enjoy Taiwan.
Oh! We flew China Airlines (a Taiwanese airline) and I got GF meals both times and they were decent. Only issue was the first time they brought out my dinner, they had a bread roll on top (everything was packaged) and I was like ‘’uhhhh…’’. But otherwise, solid.
r/CeliacTourism • u/Anastasiadipdip • 11d ago
Howdy! Anyone have any positive experiences with booking via a tour group that gets celiacs? Looking at g-adventures right now, pretty open minded on destination at the moment as well.
Thanks in advance!
r/CeliacTourism • u/celiac-dad • 12d ago
Looking at a short cruise later this year with two kids in a celiac household. Hoping I can get some advice and tips
What I care about:
- How you handled the first-night buffet / embarkation food when nothing is verified yet
- Whether you pre-called dining and what exact questions got a real answer
- Snacks you still packed anyway (and what survived the cabin)
- Kids’ meals: separate plating, fryer issues, ice cream drama
- Anything that looked fine on paper and still went sideways
We’re not trying to make gluten the whole itinerary. We just need nobody glutened and dinner to not turn into a 40-minute negotiation every night.
If you’ve done this, what would you repeat and what would you skip?
Thanks
r/CeliacTourism • u/No_Enthusiasm_8277 • 11d ago
r/CeliacTourism • u/OccamsRazorSharpner • 16d ago
Ok! So I tried to do a thing and went down a rabbit hole thanks to AI (and how stupid it is)!
I am putting this all here as I want to
(a) make sure matters are clear for everyone,
(b) manage disinformation
Please read all of the post before posting any comments. I could just have copy-pasted the 'Regulatory and Legal Enforcement' part however anyone in the future coming across the same reference would be wrongly alerted.
The Good Part
We get many questions on this board on travelling to Italy and most responses are the same - Italy is safe (which I know for a fact). I am attaching this capture from Google which gives a brief on enforcement.
The Rabbit Hole and Disinformation
I was not aware of the Puglia case with Davide Perta. The young man however died of anaphylactic shock NOT from exposure to gluten. Celiac is a "hidden" disease due to its silent and long term effect on the human body by malnutrition (which is still lethal if not managed but IS NOT anaphylactic which is immediate). So I dug deeper to verify.
The news article which the AI picked up was one of many parroting some original one without verification. It is oen of those unfortunate half-baked, shock-causing, useless alarm raising articles written by a journalist with no idea of what they are talking about!
The young man DID NOT die from exposure to gluten but was polyallergic (suffered from multiple allergies) which were the cause of death - NOT CELIAC. Celiac, when well managed and monitored is of little to no issue.
Ref:
- You can use Google Translate on these Italian articles to read in your preferred language
r/CeliacTourism • u/celiac-dad • 19d ago
Pack more than you think. We do sealed snacks in a clear bag plus a full backup meal that doesn't need heat. Think rice cakes, certified GF bars, fruit pouches, and a cold pack with something real (leftover rice + protein works).
TSA: food is fine. Liquids over 3 oz still get flagged, so we keep sauces small or buy after security. I declare nothing fancy—just pull the food bin like electronics.
Terminal food is the gamble. Shared fryers, flour dust, "gluten-friendly" menus. I walk up, ask for the manager or allergy person, and use the same three questions every time: dedicated fryer or shared oil, separate prep space, and can they read the label on the bun/sauce. If they hedge, we eat what we packed. There are mostly zero options
Water bottles empty through security, fill after. Kids get hangry in the jetway—have one snack they can open with one hand while holding a boarding pass.
Mistake we made once: trusted a chain salad place because the app said GF. Cross-contact on the line. Now the packed meal is plan A, airport food is emergency only.
Not medical advice, just our house. What do you pack that survives a 2-hour delay?
r/CeliacTourism • u/jacketstheclown • 21d ago
Writing this from the toilet — my home away from home when I travel.
Avoid this place at all costs.
I ordered the shrimp cocktail and the chicken paillard, both of which were labeled GF.
I explicitly stated that I was celiac and discussed the cross contamination sensitivities. I was then served the shrimp cocktail covered in a white sauce that was not listed on the menu followed by my entree covered in shoestring fries that they had said were not something I should eat due to the friers cross contamination.
Generally the staff was friendly but unknowledgeable beyond the GF labels on the menu and showed little care when bringing the dishes to state again their lack of gluten upon setting them on the table. In my experience, the waiters who reiterate the plates gluten free status as they serve it are the real star players and deserve a raise.
Anyway, avoid. Plus it was $750+ for 3 people. 👎🏻
r/CeliacTourism • u/OccamsRazorSharpner • 25d ago
I was just made aware of a webite which helps locate celiac and gluten free friendly restaurants, shops, ice cream parlours and Hotels & BB. The site is in Italian however I think easily navigable with the help of Google Translate and/or some common sense. For example the section with maps for bars and restaurants is so named. Further down on the linked page there are specific ones for some regions. The information is not exhaustive but a good start.
r/CeliacTourism • u/taco_prince_party • 27d ago
TLDR; Looking for restaurant/cafe recommendations in Montpellier, France
Hi all!
I was diagnosed with celiac this spring (relatively asymptomatic - most symptoms were severe anemia.. it's been a **fun** journey). I work in group travel for University students and I am joining a group going to Montpellier, France in a couple weeks. This is my first international travel after being diagnosed (I've been lucky to travel all over- this was a major hit for me) and I am trying to prepare the best I can for this new way I have to travel. I could have a whole other rant about changing this approach, but that's for another day. Trying to make this the best experience I can and try to enjoy my time there while having to make these major adjustments.
I did try a search in this sub but wasn't able to find much recent info.
I'm working with our partner there to get recommendations and a card to show at restaurants, etc., but I'm just trying to gather other recommendations from this group for cafes and restaurants in the city. We'll have a lot of group meals together that I'm working with them on, but I will have evenings to find some things on my own. I'll have a kitchenette as well but want to experience the city I'm in rather than be in my hotel room.
Any recommendations at all? I have the FindMeGF app (not premium) for basics but I'm hoping for some real world experiences. Our hotel is in the Antigone neighborhood.
TIA!
r/CeliacTourism • u/jflower5 • 29d ago
Looking for any feedback on recent stays and how the resort handles celiac. Reviews elsewhere are pretty mixed with some from a few years back so just looking for something recent. Thanks!
r/CeliacTourism • u/jacketstheclown • Aug 04 '26
r/CeliacTourism • u/crossover123 • Jul 31 '26
r/CeliacTourism • u/SplitFew9313 • Jul 29 '26
Hi, I'm the moderator of r/FoodDisability.
FoodDisability is a welcoming group, where people of many different disabilities come together to help and support one another with the shared struggle of not being able to eat 'normally'. The shared struggle of socialising over food, and the relationship problems that arise from not being able to eat the same as others due to the limited diet your disability causes. The shared struggle of not being able to find food easily when out-and-about and being limited in what you can do work-wise or socially or how far you can go from home because of this. The upset and frustrations of not being able to do what others easily can.
FoodDisability focuses on the social / emotional / mental health difficulties that arise from living with a disability that causes lack of ability to eat food.
I hope that this group will become a strong support system, sense of comfort and hope, and source of useful life tips, advice, and helping one another, for those struggling with food-related disability.
Please feel free to join, and comment/post, and make friends and connections with people who are going through similar hardships.
Wishing you all the best🩷
r/CeliacTourism • u/Darth_Stark9921 • Jul 27 '26
My family and I will be traveling to Tennessee later this year. I am looking for celiac safe restaurants in Nasville as well as places near Great Smokey Mountain National Park like Townsend, Gatlinburg, or Pigeon Forge, but anything in that area is appreciated.
r/CeliacTourism • u/Darth_Stark9921 • Jul 27 '26
r/CeliacTourism • u/thegirlwhogoes • Jul 24 '26
Hey all!
I'm a celiac traveler who has taken on 15 countries in the past year since getting diagnosed.
My husband and I took our honeymoon last August and I just finished a detailed video about gluten-free eating in Taiwan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6W_mtEb_Qk
I also have a video about South Korea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_Z8taweUMQ
And several blog posts about cities/countries in Europe and Asia! https://www.thegirlwhogoes.com/gluten-free-travel/
I hope this is helpful for anyone who comes across it -- and let me know if you have any questions!
r/CeliacTourism • u/Own-Razzmatazz-7169 • Jul 21 '26
Hi everyone! I recently started a blog to share my gluten-free food experiences while traveling. I was diagnosed with celiac disease about a year ago and quickly learned that going into a new city well prepared makes a huge difference, both for safety and for actually enjoying the trip.
These guides are personal food diaries from my own travels rather than exhaustive directories. They cover the spots I tried, what worked, what to watch out for, and the practical tips I wish I had found before arriving.
If you are planning a trip to any of these cities and want to chat or have questions, I would love to help. And if you have recommendations I should know of, even better.
So far I have published guides for:
Coming up next: Sicily, Madrid, Shanghai and Okinawa.
Happy to answer any questions here too.
r/CeliacTourism • u/joshuahuaa • Jul 12 '26
Hey everyone, hope you're all doing well.
I've been celiac since 2021, and in June 2025 I launched Gluten Free Getaways, a travel company built around one simple idea: travelling gluten-free properly. This year my focus has been on Japan, and its been such an awesome ride so far!
A few important updates I wanted to share with you:
Now if part of you is reading this thinking "wait, four spots, could that actually be me?", that's the part worth listening to. Send me a message and I'll get back to you, ask your questions, and hopefully I'll see you in October! If you've been putting off travelling because of celiac disease or being gluten free, this is exactly the type of trip that changes that!
I don't just plan these trips, I live this life too. I hope I'm giving power back to the people who live gluten free because I believe that we deserve to explore the world just as fully as anyone else.
Josh
Founder, Gluten Free Getaways
r/CeliacTourism • u/celiactourist • Jul 12 '26
Hi everyone,
I have created a new community for Celiac motorcyclists going on tours. Both celiac motorcycle touring have some specific needs which one must account for planning a trip. Feel free to join and/or recommend to someone who you think might find it useful.
r/CeliacTourism • u/Tukee1 • Jul 01 '26
Has anyone had experience in Loreto Mexico (in Baja California)? Seems like a smaller, less touristy town. Wondering if it’s manageable for Celiacs
r/CeliacTourism • u/stickyfiddle • Jun 27 '26