Travelling sick sucks: Travel Tips to staying healthy
There is nothing worse than travelling sick.
Not the kind of sick that leaves you with a little bit of the sniffles. I mean proper sick. The kind where your body aches in every nook and cranny.
Your throat feels like it is filled with sandpaper and your head pounds with the sounds of a construction crew.
Sitting in a hotel room staring out the window in some foreign city watching all the other tourists gorge themselves on sights while all you want to do is curl up at home and let your Mum look after you really sucks.
Travelling sick sucks especially if you end up in hospital!
Actually there is something worse…
And that is when you have a trip coming up and you can feel the start of a cold coming on.
We had planned to go Mountain Biking in the north of England over the weekend and had even pre-booked our accommodation at the local YHA in Kielder. Unfortunately all week I have had the effects of one of those very colds.
Waking up bright and early on a beautiful Saturday morning with our bags packed and bikes set up I knew immediately that there was no way I could enjoy myself on this trip. I felt like shit.
There was nothing to do but cancel.
I had done everything right. I was a pill popping maniac. A few lozenges here, Vitamin C there. Nothing helped and the flu hit me like a tonne of bricks.
Could I have battled on and gone on the trip. Sure I could have. Would I have felt sorry for myself the anytime. You betcha.
We want to make sure that you don’t feel like me and get to enjoy your holidays! So these are our top travel tips to stay healthy while travelling:
Healthy eating and maintaining a balanced diet
Travelling and maintaining a healthy diet. “Pffff as if” you are thinking! Well let me tell you it can be done. Eating right will not only help keep you healthy it will also keep you on top off the world giving you the energy to continue exploring.
Vending machine lights will attract travellers like moths to a flame. Make sure you grab your 5 a day with local fruit and veges which will always be cheaper than that greasy kebab at the corner market stall.
Keep hydrated
If you are a frequent plane traveller then you will know that you will become dehydrated when you fly. And it is not just your insides. Your skin will become dry as well so remember to use moisturizers and fine sprays to keep your skin moist too.
Staying fit
The temptation to relax at all inclusive resorts can be alluring. However, just be aware that if you do then you are more likely to put on those few pounds that you probably tried so hard to shed before you started travelling.
If you are like us then you probably stay reasonably active on holidays. But you don’t have to go mountain biking in Canada or diving in the Red Sea to do that. Instead of catching a taxi or bus across town consider hiring a bike or using those two things sticking out the bottom of your pants. Yes, your feet!
Stay healthy by biking in Paris on the Velibs
Get lots of Sleep
Travelling across time zones will quickly screw up your body clock. Unfortunately it is one of the hardest tips to set right. With your head nodding onto your chest do you try to grab an hours sleep when you arrive or party till you drop?
We recommend fitting in with the local time zone immediately. If it is the morning when you arrive then make sure you stay up till at least the evening. This will help you adjust quickly while still giving the rest you need to stay healthy while travelling.
Keep your paws clean
I was horrendously sick when we visited Marrakech and we could never pinpoint what went wrong. I don’t know whether it was the food I ate, the snake that was forced around my neck and made to kiss or something I touched. All I know is that I lost 8 kilograms in 2 weeks.
We wash our hands with alcohol sanitizer after we handle money or go to the bathroom when we are in foreign countries. It is disgusting not knowing what other people have done and then not washed their hands. So take all the precautions you can as well.
Wash your hands after handling snakes in Marrakech
Medicines and Vaccinations
While you don’t have to carry a suitcase of spare meds as most places will stock the standards like paracetamol, cough drops and other pain killers. It is wise to carry spare prescriptions with you and translate lists of medications you usually use if you are headed to a foreign country.
If you regularly take medicines such as for asthma like myself then you know how much of a pain in the ass it can be if you run out or misplace your inhaler.
If you are headed somewhere that may require vaccinations then make sure you plan those well in advance. Some may require several doses over the course of a couple of months.
Better safe than sorry
These are pretty basic travel tips, but the basics are the ones that most of us often forget. Our greatest piece of advice is just to stop and consider everything you do, before you do it.
If the food doesn’t look quite cooked, or the water is cloudy, or that dude offering to shake your hand just sneezed into it then it might be worthwhile skipping it.
You do not want to end up like me at the moment and be travelling sick!
Category: Travel Tips
We have been wearing out our jandals (Kiwi slang for flip-flops) on our travel adventures around the world since 2009. We love all types of adventures that make us step outside our comfort zone, in comfort, including surfing, skiing, snowboarding, diving and cruising on our bikes. You can find out more 
Great advice. There is nothing worse than being sick while travelling but most of the time you never really know what it was that made you sick.
I’d also add that you should always try to eat in busy restaurants – even if that posh 5* restaurant ‘looks’ nicer. The busiest places always have fresh food and not something that’s been sat around waiting for a tourist all day.
I hope you feel better soon!
Good point Monica about the busy restaurants! You always know it is going to be nice as well if it is packed with locals
Great tips. I rarely get sick while traveling and it’s because I do these things (well, maybe I don’t get enough sleep). My husband swears by Colloidal Silver — uses it when he’s starting to feel a cold or flu coming on.
Never heard of Colloidal Silver. Will look in to it thanks Cathy! We hardly get sick either but when I do it is the worst man-flu ever haha
Good article but also very important is to have travel insurance that covers you if you get sick or need to be hospitalized
Haha yea we are pretty clued up on insurance now Stef after all our luck with broken bones and injuries
Nicely said. It's important to take care of yourself so that you can make the most of your travels. Did you really kiss the snake?
Haha sure did. Pretty sure that's what made me so ill as well.
Yeah, I think you got sick because the snake was angry you didn’t give him any tongue
he put some voodoo curse on you – hehe!
Nice tips. I’ve been sick a few times on the road, sucks, especially when you’re on your own. but it’s life = )
Hahaha best comment ever! It’s fair to say that Adela didn’t want to kiss me after either
Well timed breaks from alcohol also seem to give your body a better chance of staying flu free and so forth.
Haha yup a rest from alcohol can make a world of difference. Its amazing how much you can end up drinking on a holiday and then pay for it by getting sick!
Great tips – when in Marrakech we were advised not to buy orange juice from the stalls in the square. There’s nothing wrong with the juice but apparently the cups are washed in very dirty water… In India handwash was a must have.
We drank the juice every day because it was so delicious so it could have been the glasses that made me sick! Unfortunately you never know with these things.
e great list, Cole. I hardly ever get sick when travelling but recently ended up with a horrible case of food poisoning from food that seemed absolutely fine. So annoying when you do all the right things and still get sick. Hope you are feeling better soon!
Thanks Cherina. Still sick but starting to bounce back slowly!
I’m just getting over a nasty cold so I can relate.
We’ve found that sleep is a big one for us — as soon as we start traveling too quickly and feel run down, we start sniffling.
Sleep is the key I think. Adela is lucky she can sleep anywhere but I always struggle on planes etc. And hate taking sleeping pills as it makes me feel worse I think.
Travelling sick is the worst – it’s the only time when travelling that I’d prefer to be curled up at home!
I hear you Laurence! Nothing worse than missing out on something all because of a cold.
I think I’ve been pretty lucky with my health on my travels so far, nothing too bad, and I tend to eat from almost every street vendor I find and I while I used to have an alcohol sanitizer bottle, I gave it away after it sat six months in my bag unopened.
I do agree about the medications. You can’t really trust good medicine being available everywhere. The only time I got sick properly while travelling last year was of course in a small village in the Philippines where the most advanced medicine I could find was four tablets of Paracetamol! So do keep some basic medications (and antibiotics) with you
We don’t travel with antibiotics but all the usual medicines we try to carry for sure.
Brilliant Tips, Hand sanitizer is the ultimate MUST HAVE!
Thanks Aisleen! Agree with ya there
I have been very lucky during my travels. Only one really bad cold that lasted over 2 weeks and 1 case of food poisoning in 16 months of travel. That is mainly because I follow the tips you have outlined here… except I never use hand sanitizer. I figure the germs and bacteria in small portions make my body stronger
Never sure if the sanitizer works or not but didn’t seem to in Marrakech! I am just getting over the worst cold I have had in a number of years. Really knocked me back.
Great tips on staying healthy! My problem is not usually getting sick while I am traveling, but for some reason getting sick once I return! Never fails after a big trip!
I think that is always the case! We are always run down after a trip as we burn ourselves out and need a holiday from the holiday haha.
Solid tips for staying healthy on the road! I’d agree that hand sanitizer is key especially when traveling in areas without good sanitation or even soap and running water in restrooms.
Thanks Leslie! We always wash our hands after handling money or using the bathroom in countries where we cannot drink the water. It’s an annoying precaution but hopefully it works.
Excellent – and you are right, a lot of it is basics. BUT I need to be reminded about the basics constantly! It’s so easy to get caught up in seeing new things and forgo proper sleep and eating! -Veronica
We are terrible at not remembering the basics until we are sick and by then it is always too late!
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