Picking up some snacks to share can feel complicated if you're travelling with people who eat differently than you. Or maybe you just want some new ideas! Here are some portable vegan and vegetarian sweet and salty bike snacks that almost everyone can eat.
Wondering how much to eat? See how to eat enough on a bike tour.
From the bakery#
Crusty bread like baguette and sourdough is usually just flour, water, yeast and salt. Plain bagels often are too (skip egg bagels and ones made with honey). Pastries, cinnamon buns, donuts and pie crusts usually have butter, lard, eggs or milk, but lots of bakeries now label their vegan treats, so ask.
From the farm stand or farmers' market#
In summer and fall, BC's farm stands and farmers' markets are some of the best snack stops there are. Look for cherries from about late June, peaches from late July, and apples into late October. Most farmers' markets run one day a week, so check the day before you plan around one.
From the grocery store#
Sweet snacks
Fruit: fresh (apples, oranges, bananas, grapes) and dried (raisins, apricots, dates).
Dark chocolate: not milk chocolate. The darker it is, the less likely it'll melt on a hot day.
Candy: Sour Patch Kids, Jolly Ranchers, Fruit Roll-Ups, Skittles, Twizzlers, Swedish Fish (check the label for beeswax), Cracker Jacks.
Cookies: Oreos, Nutter Butters (not the fudge-covered ones), Lotus Biscoff.
Bars: Larabars, MadeGood granola bars (also nut-free), most Clif bars.
Salty snacks
Veggies: cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, snap peas.
Nuts and seeds: mixed nuts, pumpkin seeds, roasted chickpeas, and trail mix from Vancouver Island's Own in Victoria (their West Coast Trail mix, for one).
Spreads and wraps: peanut butter or another nut butter on a tortilla (squish-proof and cheap), hummus, single-serve nut butter packets. Most tortillas are vegan, but some are made with lard, so check the label.
Crackers: Triscuits, Wheat Thins (Original, and Sundried Tomato & Basil).
Chips: Lay's Classic, Ruffles Original, Fritos, Doritos Sweet Chili Heat, and Hardbite chips from Maple Ridge (every flavour but Honey Dijon).
Packaged: roasted seaweed, pretzels and pita chips (check the ingredients), Harvest Snaps.
From the gas station#
On a lot of BC routes, the only store for a long stretch is a gas station. You can often still find bananas, plain chips, nuts, Oreos and Skittles there.
A few label notes#
Vegan means no meat, fish, eggs, dairy or honey, so watch for sneaky ones like gelatin, whey and beeswax.
If your riding companions have gluten or nut allergies, check the labels for those too.
Most vegan food is also kosher and halal. When in doubt, check with your eater.
Accurate as of September 2026.