How To Not Get Sick While Travelling & Stay Healthy

There’s nothing worse than being sick on vacation. You’ve spent the time planning it, and saving up to pay for it, to wind up stuck in your hotel room all day – I guess you’re making the most of that part of the trip at least…

So to avoid that situation, here are my tips for how to not get sick on your next trip. This is what I do before every trip, and so far I have yet to be stuck feeling sick on vacation. My tips start well before I ever even leave for my trip, and some continue while I’m traveling to stay in the best shape possible.

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

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How To Not Get Sick: Tips For Before You Leave On Vacation…

You’ve put so much effort planning your upcoming trip, there’s nothing worse than getting sick right before or during your travels. So there are a few precautions you can take for how to avoid getting sick before you even leave…

P.S. Need help staying organized when planning your next vacation? Check out my printable travel planner to help!

Minimize Interactions & Crowded Locations!

Starting two weeks before any trip, I try to limit my social interactions as much as I can. That means working from home, if possible, avoiding large gatherings, public transit…etc. And, I’ll admit, if I can’t avoid them, I’ll wear a mask in those situations (for best protection, wear an N95 mask).

Of course, this takes me back to the insane COVID days, but I think we should learn from that experience to try our best to stay stay healthy when we need to!

Research Vaccines For Your Destination – Healthy Traveling

Depending on where you’re travelling, you might want to get some extra vaccines. Call your doctor, tell them where you’re going, and ask if there are any recommended vaccines for that country.

Practice These Tips Before & During Your Trip…

During those two weeks before a trip, I try to follow similar habits to when I’m going to be away. You can catch a virus before and bring it with you on vacation just as much as you can catch something while you’re away. You want to try to avoid both of those situations as much as possible!

Take Extra Vitamins – How To Not Get Sick Tips!

I guess you should always be taking extra vitamins, but I tend to only really get into this habit a few weeks before I leave for vacation, and I continue to take them with me while I’m traveling. These vitamins help my immune system stay in top shape!

I like taking Zinc and Vitamin D (especially if it’s during the cold winter months). But you can ask your doctor what vitamins might be best for you!

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Wash Your Hands – Frequently!

I shouldn’t even have to say this, but WASH YOUR HANDS! Wash your hands after everything!

My first reaction when I come home is to wash my hands (another habit I learned from the COVID pandemic!). And it’s not a bad habit to get into. So, just because you’re traveling does not mean that it should stop. Get into the habit of always washing your hands, when you get back to your house or hotel room, or before eating, and especially before touching your face.

And if you can’t wash your hands…?

Use Hand Sanitizer When Hand Washing Is Unavailable!

Another pandemic lesson I learned is to always carry hand sanitizer. Sometimes soap and water is not always available so this comes in handy quite a bit. Always have hand sanitizer in your bag – wherever you go. And make sure you use it!

As I mentioned, use this before you eat or touch your face when you’re out on the go!

Avoid Touching Your Face!

Do not, under any circumstances, touch your face! When you touch your face you’re bringing all those germs on your hands to your eyes and mouth – gross!

So, start getting into the habit of not touching your face altogether. This is a harder one to stop because sometimes it’s not even a conscious movement. Especially if you have an itch on your face, or your really tired and just want to rub your eyes!

Wear A Mask In Crowded Spaces – Healthy Traveling Tips!

I always say that I’d rather be safe than sorry! Just because masks aren’t required anymore, doesn’t mean they don’t still make sense in certain situations. If I’m going to be in a crowded space for a long period of time, without a lot of air flow I always have a mask with me. For more extreme situations I’ll wear an N95, like this one.

I don’t want to wind up feeling the effects a few days later. A mask in the moment can save me in the long run on vacation. And yes, I still wear a mask on the plane, at least on the way to my destination. On the way home I’m definitely more lenient.

a pretty dark image. The only light is coming from a plane window, outside you see a blue sky and a reddish brown ground. The silhouette of a woman sits, looking out the window, she's holding her phone to photograph outside. You can't see her face because she has a white mask covering her mouth and nose.

Make Sure You’re Getting Enough Sleep

The more tired you are, the weaker your immune system will be, and more likely you are to get sick. So how to avoid getting sick? Make sure you’re getting enough sleep! This is important both before you leave, and while you’re travelling. Get into a good habit of getting enough sleep! Women need around 8 to 10 hours of sleep, while men can get away with 6 to 8 hours.

If you’re someone that likes to go to bed late on vacation and party, don’t plan anything for the next morning. Give your body a chance to sleep in. Or if you’re like me and would rather tour in the morning, try to go to bed earlier. I tend to miss the nightlife in most places just because I know that getting enough sleep is so important!

Another travel tip I’ve started to implement is to actually give myself rest days on vacation. Depending on when you arrive at your destination, you might want to consider not planning anything for the following day. Perhaps plan a day at the pool, beach or spa to give your body time to recover. Travelling is stressful and exhausting. So make sure to give yourself rest days on vacation to not push your body too hard.

Pro Tip: If you find you can’t sleep in hotels because of the noise try bringing a portable white noise machine, or use ear plugs!

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How To Stay Healthy While Travelling

These are a few extra tips for staying healthy while you’re traveling.

Disinfect Your Seat

I started bringing disinfectant wipes on planes even before the pandemic started, and the pandemic just reinforced my decision!

If you’re traveling by plane, train, or bus just wipe down your seat before you settle in. I mean, just think of all the people that have sat there before you and realize that they don’t clean all the seats after every flight…

On the plane, I wipe down everything I might touch. That includes the seat itself (don’t forget the headrest), tray table, screen, even seat belt clasp! This way, you don’t have to worry about sanitizing your hands every time you touch something.

P.S. Make sure you don’t forget any travel essentials to avoid getting sick by writing down what you need in my printable travel packing guide.

Drink More Than Enough Water

Just like getting enough sleep, it’s so important to remember to stay hydrated when you’re travelling. You’re usually walking more, out in the sun for longer, and maybe even drinking more alcohol (which is dehydrating!).

You do not want to be dehydrated when you’re travelling. So one of the easiest ways for how to not get sick while traveling is to keep drinking water! I do this by always bringing my refillable water bottle. This way, I always have water on me, and refill it every chance I get!

I actually bring my 1.2 L Thermoflask because I like the large size, but for a more travel friendly option I’ve also used the Nomader Collapsible water bottle (no longer available, but this HydraPak UltraFlask has good reviews).

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Use Appropriate Sun Protection – Hat & Sunscreen!

Another tip for how to stay healthy while travelling is to protect yourself from the sun with a sun hat and sunscreen (and don’t forget to reapply!). I love Neutrogena Dry Touch sunscreen, so I don’t feel completely slimy all day.

When you’re traveling, you’re usually outside the entire day (maybe with a few museum visits – but those are the exception, not the rule!). So, the amount of time in the sun is probably longer than you’re used to.

There are both short term, and long term benefits for proper sun protection for healthy traveling. A short term, benefit is that you want to avoid ruining the rest of your trip with a terrible sun burn, heat stroke, or even heat rash. And long term, you want to avoid developing skin diseases like skin cancer.

Try Your Best To Eat Healthy Food (Travel Healthy Snacks)

One of the hardest ways to stay healthy on vacation is to eat properly. For the most part, restaurants aren’t known for their healthy food options. Plus, you always need to try local desserts and pastries, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that!

But eating healthy to stay healthy is just as important when you’re on vacation as when you’re home. If you’re traveling for a longer period of time, the unhealthy eating will start to affect you.

I always try to incorporate some healthy aspects to every meal. If that’s ordering an extra side of vegetables with dinner, or overpaying for fruit parfaits it’s worth it! Of course, the healthy options tend to be on the more expensive side, but your body will thank you later!

P.S. I haven’t tried it yet, but have heard good things about AG1. If you know you won’t be getting all the nutrition while travelling, pack this and drink it every day to maintain a healthy gut!

mega-poutine-poutineville-quebec-city — *Ordered a side salad to our giant poutine to get some vegetables on vacation!*

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