Translation cards are essential to your gluten-free and celiac travel. These are cards in many languages and they will alert your server about your dietary restrictions. I have used these cards in Italy, the Czech Republic, and even in restaurants in New York City. They are an easy way to bridge the communication gap and speak openly about your gluten-free diet. I suggest using more than one to get your point across when traveling. In my experience, most restaurant staff are happy to comply.
Updated: December 2022
Free Translation Cards
CeliacTravel.com Translation Cards
The gluten free restaurant cards from CeliacTravel.com are free but donations are suggested. As of January 2021, these cards are available in 63 languages.
Free
CeliacTravel.com Translation Card iPhone App
Same as above, but for your iPhone.
Free
EqualEats English Digital Download Cards
Celiac disease, peanut allergy, egg allergy, shellfish allergy, and much more.
All English downloads are free.
Brokerfish Food Allergy Cards
International Health Insurance company Brokerfish has created sevendifferent food allergy cards in six different languages. You can download a PNG (image) file of each card and use these on your travels. The current cards include dairy, nuts, eggs, wheat, soy, shellfish, and gluten in French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanes, and Thai. There is even an EMERGENCY cards that helps you communicate that you need immediate medical attention.
Free in 6 languages
Gluten-Free Card
Gluten Free Card is an app that explains the dietary requirements of a strict gluten-free diet in ten popular languages. Free printable cards are also available.
Available in 10 languages
Gluten-Free Jio Restaurant Dining Cards
Created by a teenager living with celiac disease in India. These free printable cards are especially useful if traveling in India, as they list common Indian cuisine. These cards are available in English, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Tamil, and Telugu.
Free in 10 languages
Hindi Gluten-Free Restaurant Card
Created by the Celiac Society Rajasthan, these gluten-free restaurant cards are translated into Hindi. They “provide you their Gluten Free Restaurant Card to speak to service staff and they will really pleased to get the ‘card’ to avoid the pressure of understand your actual request. Subsequently, conveying the same not verbally to their chef.”
Free in 1 language
Thai Gluten-Free Restaurant Card
This gluten-free restaurant card will help celiacs to order a gluten-free meal in Thailand. Many restaurant owners in Thailand still don’t speak English so it might be difficult to communicate your diet requirements with them. This card provides the most essential information that you need to inform to the restaurant chef. The card has been adjusted so that in Thai language it will make it really clear to the chef what he or she should do to prepare the meal.
Free in 1 language
GF Jules Cook Cards
Dining out safely gluten free is all about communication. Print out these gfJules™ Gluten Free Restaurant Cards and take them with you when you go out to eat, whether here or abroad. There are blanks on the cards so you can tailor them to your needs if you have additional dietary restrictions besides gluten, and spaces to explain your needs in other ways, if you prefer.
Free in 5 languages
Celiac Restaurant Card
Created by Beautifully Gluten-Free, this English language card is helpful when teaching others about being gluten-free.
Free in 1 language
Paid Translation Cards
SelectWisely
(affiliate link)
SelectWisely provides health and travel translation cards and services to people with food allergies and other medical conditions. The cards improve communication when traveling in countries where foreign languages are spoken. Cards also used in local restaurants and are available in English as well. Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free Asia & Europe cards, and Gluten-Free & Milk Allergy card available.
Price varies.
Equal Eats
(affiliate link)
Discount code: GFGlobetrotter (10% off your order)
Pre-set cards including celiac disease, food allergies, medicine allergy, latex allergy, and more. Available in more than 20 languages. Customized Allergy Cards and accessories now available.
Prices vary starting at $6.99.
Also available on Amazon.com.
Legal Nomads
(affiliate link)
These cards were written by a blogger, written with the traveler in mind. They use local dish names, based on what’s eaten in that country not just a translation. They also have a clear mention of cross-contamination, care with preparation, and contaminated oil. All cards are double checked for accuracy with two translators familiar with food, who speak the local language.
Languages: Thai, Dutch, Polish, Malaysian, General French, Latin American Spanish, France French, Moroccan, German, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Japanese
$8.99 per card per language
Allergic Traveler International Dietary Alert Cards
Food allergies? Dine anywhere with less worry. Whether you’re dining in Chinatown or Hong Kong, Little Italy or Rome, or your own hometown, now you can communicate your dietary allergies to waiters and chefs in virtually any language. They are available in wallet size or luggage format. They are durable, customized and discreet. Available in more than 17 languages. Wallet size is popular with teenagers and adults. Luggage size is popular with young kids for their back packs while at sleep overs or on school trips.
$12.95 + $5.95 S&H (2 identical wallet size, laminated cards); $13.95 + $5.95 S&H (2 identical luggage tag size, laminated cards)
Gluten-Free Passport Dining Cards
In order to navigate your way in foreign countries, it is important to effectively communicate your needs in the native language. Gluten-Free Passport has compiled various gluten-free dining cards, phrases and a multi-lingual phrase guide to help you during your journeys.
$4.99 and up
DELICARDO Food Cards
The DELICARDO foodcard is made for food allergy and intolerance sufferers, or people on restrictive diets, who want to take the frustration out of eating out. Avoid elaborate explanations and requests while dining by handing a DELICARDO foodcard containing all of your dietary do’s and don’ts over to the service personnel. With the precise and discrete card, the chef will be informed of what you can’t eat, what foods may contain allergens and what foods you can eat without risk of an allergic reaction. DELICARDO offers both standard and personalized Foodcards.
Price varies.
Coeliac Sanctuary Coeliac and Other Dietary Needs Travel Cards
Double sided, extra thick Coeliac travel cards, designed to help restaurants help you eat safely. One languages per card, for Coeliacs with other allergies and/or dietary requirements. Made in the UK but shipped worldwide.
Starting at £1.99
glutenfree passport is not free anymore …
Thanks for the update!
The celiac travel iPhone app is such low resolution, pixelated and small text for each card they are barely legible. It’s a great idea, but poorly executed.
It looks like SelectWisely is no longer. Their domain is available for purchase. Bummer.
The website is working for me: http://www.selectwisely.com/
Well… LOL It’s working this morning, so yay. 🙂
im trying to download gf card for laos but its not showing up on list. can you help me out.
Hi Cherie, there doesn’t seem to be a free version of the translation card in Lao. You will need to special order one from one of the customized companies. I suggest Select Wisely: http://shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=525070&u=1144367&m=49848&urllink=&afftrack=