Gluten Free Travel Tips

Eat Well. Travel Often.

This is the phrase I have framed on my wall in my office. It is my motivation.

And as a coeliac…this dream does not have to die.

Yes it becomes harder to do both…but with a little guidance and homework, exploring new cultures and landscapes and cuisines can be the reality of even coeliacs and the gluten intolerant.

Hopefully my tips gained from years of travel as a diagnosed coeliac of 18 years can help you to make your travel dreams a reality too.

PRE-TRIP

Double check your passport is up to date, and whether there are any visas required for entry into certain countries (Australians can travel without a visa throughout Europe but some other nationalities cannot)

Choose an airline that will cater well for the gluten free/coeliac traveller, and one that does not use up all of your precious holiday time in flying hours. Of course budget comes into play…but as a coeliac I find it is worth an extra spend if I arrive more refreshed and ready to go than if I’m half exhausted at the start…knowing that fatigue & headaches can be one of my health issues which can severely impact my ability to enjoy my destination on arrival. A new BLOG will be out soon with great airline intel…if you SUBSCRIBE you can have a read as soon as it is posted!

Confirm with your Airline that your gluten free meals are ordered. If you used a travel agent, ask them for the airline booking reference number and personally check this yourself…there are too many stories of travel agents not following up this one properly.

Check to see if there is any extra baggage allowance given for travelling with your own gluten free food (which is the ‘medicine’ of sorts for a coeliac). You can usually do this by phoning the airline help desk directly. It is often given for extra carry on baggage allowance, which is SO helpful! You may or may not need a letter from your doctor verifying your coeliac diagnosis.

Also check you will have full scripts for all of your usual medications, and a note from your doctor to verify all of the medicines you are carrying have been prescribed for your health.

Handy extra medications to take with you include:

Digestive enzyme tablets (to help with any accidental cross contamination issues by breaking down the gluten faster and helping your system eliminate it quicker which in turn helps reduce symptom severity)

Imodium & Gastro Stop for IBS symptom relief

Anti nausea medication

Headache tablets

Antibiotics (general travel ‘go-to’ not coeliac related)

While we all want to fit into our itinerary as much as we possibly can when we travel to long-haul destinations in particular, it is always wise to schedule in some rest days into your itinerary just in case the worst happens and you need an energy recovery day.

Make sure all of your accommodation venues are aware that you are coeliac when you request a gluten free breakfast. Ask them specifically what the gluten free items are you will be given. This will give you a good idea as to how well you will be looked after by them, and also their general awareness of gluten free and coeliac needs.

Book your seats as soon as you can to get the best on offer (use www.seatguru.com for the best intel for any airline/plane). If the plane is a Singapore or Thai A380 get in quick to book in the upstairs Economy section….best economy seats for long haul travel in my opinion…it is a smaller economy section so generally better & more personal service and usually much quieter. It is also in the 2-4-2 seating configuration which is perfect if you are travelling as a couple, and the seats at the windows have extra storage space.

Download TRANSLATION CARDS that you can give to any restaurant/cafe in the languages you will encounter on your trip. They explain clearly what you can and can’t eat. There are a few around these days but a good one to start with are the cards from celiactravel.com

It is also a good idea to learn the key phrases for each language to ask :”Do you have anything to eat that is gluten free?”  In general I find the locals are SO much nicer and more inclined to be helpful if you make the effort to learn a few key relevant phrases in their language (even in Paris!!>>>true story, in 3 trips I have only ever had one rude waiter in Paris…the rest LOVE IT when you make an effort and start at least with Bonjour Madam/Monsieur!)

(New BLOG coming soon to help you with this)

Recommended Apps to help you navigate other languages:

I use the iTranslation App. It can also help you read labels on products to see if it is gluten free.

Recommended Apps to help you find GF venues where you are travelling to:

Download any Coeliac Society Apps for each country. In Italy the AIC Mobile App is

fantastic to help you find gluten free places wherever you are.

Other Apps to help find gluten free venues to eat at when travelling are:

Dine GF, GFED and SCHAR Gluten Free.

Some of these involve a bit of effort to get working, so make sure you don’t leave it to the last minute to make it happen.

It is also worth looking up the potential venues before you leave to integrate them into your itinerary successfully!…there is no point having found the best Italian gluten free pasta restaurant to go to if you are only going to be near it at breakfast time, or when they are closed!

Be aware also that in Europe restaurants have very interesting opening hours, and many close on Sundays, Mondays or Tuesdays. Avoid disappointment by working your itinerary around being able to visit some of the best gluten free venues on offer (like Mama Eats & Pandali Roma deli & bakery in Rome, and Helmut Newcake Patisserie in Paris!).

Recommended Currency App to download:

One of these easily helps you translate local currency into your own national currency so that you will be able to work out what all of those wonderful souvenirs and meals are actually going to cost!

I use the XE Currency App. It is also great to use leading up to any trip to see whether your trip is going to cost more or less than expected depending on how our local currency is tracking. For my next trip in 4 weeks for example, I now know I am basically screwed…stupid Aussie dollar is tanking severely at the mo (*much sadness).

PACKING:

Staple snack gluten free food items to travel with for those moments when nothing is available, or unexpected flight delays means the gluten free options on board or in the terminal become extremely limited, are essential. The usual ‘go-to’ ones include:

Muesli bars, gluten free protein/meal replacement shake individual packets (I use Arbonne), nut packets, some sweet treats individually packaged (the ones you can get from Springhill Farm are perfect for this…individually wrapped mini treats of rocky road, citrus biscuits & choc & coconut balls …you can get a box of them from Officeworks)

It is also a good idea to carry peppermint tea bags on board with you (& throughout your trip) to help soothe an upset tummy.

I always have a couple of mini tupperware containers in my handbag to carry gluten free treats for moments when there are none available onboard or to purchase at terminals to have with a cuppa. I also use them for small round GF crackers, which are perfect if the airline has the cheese/cracker packets…I just use the cheese and my own crackers!

I also tend to travel with one loaf of gluten free bread, one packet of gluten free crackers (eg Peckish Thins) and a couple of small individually sealed Schar dinner rolls for those moments when either the gluten free bread provided for you is shocking, or you find a restaurant happy to heat up your own gluten free roll (in foil) so you can enjoy one too! While many European countries tend to have supermarkets well stocked in some of these gluten free items (Italy, Switzerland, Spain…), others not so much (eg Greece)…so it is better to be prepared!

Always carry a refillable water bottle in your onboard luggage, which the airline staff will (usually) happily fill for you once on board, so you stay hydrated.

Other handy items to travel with in your checked luggage include:

Toaster bags (for establishments that only have the one shared toaster). These can be obtained from Coeliac Australia online or most Reject Shops around the country

Comfy expandable clothing options that stay flattering even when bloated from an accidental glutening are a wise move!

ON BOARD THE FLIGHT:

If you are not also dairy free, but the Airline policy has GF/DF grouped together and you are not allocated any cheese/chocolate/ice-cream products, rather than just crying all over your stale rice cake, try kindly just letting the flight attendant know and they are likely to slip you these treats throughout your flight!

Check that any biscuits given to you do not have oats in them…as American and many European countries classify oats as gluten free, so they could be labeled gluten free.

And always check any bread roll handed to you (separate from the gluten free tray you received) as I guarantee it will be a gluten roll just absent-mindedly handed out because the steward/stewardess is not tracking with the fact that you are gluten free. They do have a lot of passengers on board so we have to give them a little bit of grace and be our own safeguards.

WHEN ACTIVELY TRAVELLING:

….(coming soon)….

Well that is all for now…but I will be adding to this BLOG in the coming weeks/months as I build more intel…so maybe BOOKMARK it to keep checking in!

And of course, please COMMENT below any great tips you have picked up from your own travels that we can all benefit from too!

I wish you all the best with your travels, and whenever you feel that just maybe you would like to do it the easy way…why not check out my TOURS and let me do all of the research and homework for you so all you have to do is show up and enjoy the trip of a lifetime, stress free!

You can always check out my Boutique Europe Tours and Australian Gourmet Weekend Escapes and start dreaming 🙂

Keen to know the BEST AIRLINES to travel with if you are coeliac or gluten free voted by you…the Gluten Free Joy Community?

New BLOG out soon! SUBSCRIBE NOW to get a read as soon as its published!

Would LOVE you to share your thoughts below in the COMMENTS to add to the intel!