Traveling with other sober people can make your vacation more fun and rewarding. You can share your stories, support each other and make new friends. They offer various activities that are fun, enjoyable, and healthy for your mind and body. These trips are usually chaperoned and include activities like yoga, meditation, massage therapy, kayaking, and surfing. These services can help you relax, reduce stress, and improve your physical and mental health. Airports can be stressful places for anyone, especially for people in recovery.
- If you
are traveling with children, check out some local zoos, aquariums, and
amusement parks that provide entertainment for the whole family. - No matter who you are planning to go away with or where you plan to go, a sober vacation gives you the opportunity to connect on an authentic and meaningful level with the people and places around you.
- A vacation is supposed to be a blissful time of rest and relaxation away from everyday stressors.
- Additionally, Carnival and Norwegian cruise lines offer a full range of adult alcohol-free beverages aboard most ships.
- One of the perks of sober tourism is that you can find new and delicious non-alcoholic drinks you may not find at home.
We have a quick video about traveling with Suboxone (buprenorphine/naloxone) here. There are times to just go with the flow and see what happens, but this is not that time. Vacationing in recovery—especially in early recovery—can have unexpected pitfalls, so it is wise to plan ahead for how you’ll handle the completely expected ones.
Sober Travel: What to Know Before You Go
If you are relatively new to sobriety, “getting away” might simply not be wise. If you are still experiencing a fair amount of anxiety and uneasiness, a vacation might slow your recovery efforts or lead to a setback. With pandemic restrictions slowly abating, the travel industry is forecasting that 2022 could be one of its busiest years ever. A long-overdue vacation will be welcomed by many as a time of rest and relaxation away from everyday stresses.
- Please know that whatever you leave behind, you will return to it.
- Work, exercise, meetings, and extracurricular activities have been carefully balanced to give you full and healthy days, so you stay occupied and not tempted by drugs or alcohol.
- You’ve come a long way — take some time to reward and pamper yourself.
- Instead of looking at vacation as a way to escape from your problems – that is, your addiction and recovery – see it as a way to strengthen your sobriety skills.
- The travel plans you’re making probably wouldn’t have been possible before you found the courage and perseverance to embrace a substance-free life.
New experiences are part of the fun of travel, but too many new things can trigger the desire for old comforts for people with substance use disorders. Have a list of fun, sober activities you can do on your vacation already prepare before vacationing in recovery you arrive. Creating a checklist of things to do while on the trip can help fight boredom that can lead to temptation. Traveling sober can be a great opportunity to find new passions and bring new meaning to your life in recovery.
Don’t Skip Out on Meetings
Or maybe you schedule a call with your therapist or talk to an encouraging friend or family member at home. There are so many ways you can explore your destination without alcohol. Try kayaking, visit museums, book a walking or food tour, go snorkeling, rent a bicycle, attend a yoga or other exercise class, or pack a picnic and enjoy it in a park. Hyatt’s Zero Proof, Zero Judgement program, which it rolled out in several of its properties in 2021, uses alcohol-free spirit alternatives, mixers, and seasonal ingredients to create innovative drinks. At some Club Med locations, adults-only bars don’t serve alcohol but instead mix up mocktails and fresh juices.
There’s not really a way for them to know about your sobriety ahead of time, so it’s up to you to position yourself for success and have a secondary plan ready for those types of situations. We provide several alumni support communities, including a weekly recovery support group, monthly alumni meeting, and online alumni community you can access anytime. Your connection to Herren Wellness doesn’t end when your stay ends; we are there for you throughout your recovery journey. If you have always traveled with a group of boisterous friends or family who make it a point to imbibe over vacation, reconsider your travel companions. One of the most important elements of sobriety is keeping temptations at bay. Vacation will already be one giant temptation – if all the people around you are partying, drinking, or doing drugs, your strength will be tested.