Special Dietary Needs While Abroad
Traveling abroad with special dietary needs can be difficult especially when you don’t know what will be available when arriving in a different country. Whether you are traveling abroad with food allergies, eating choices, religious restrictions, or different dietary needs, it's important to plan and research in advance.
- Plan as much in advance as possible.
- Self-Advocacy is important, nobody knows your body better than you. Be able to speak up and ask questions about how your special dietary needs will be met abroad.
- Bring specialty items required for nutritional health, as your health is linked to how you deal with many things while abroad.
- Be very clear with your host family or roommates on what your special dietary needs mean. It's recommended that you have explanation prepared as some people may not understand what it means be vegan, vegetarian, etc.
Additional Resources and Links
- CIEE Knowledge Series: "Food, the Edible Part of Culture"
- 6 Tips for managing dietary restrictions while abroad
- Select wisely makes Translation cards in 60 different languages to provide travelers with dietary restrictions a peace of mind.
- Tips for traveling with diabetes
- Kashrut.com Resources for the Kosher Traveler
- Get Gluten Free Food Safely at Home or Away
- 5 ways to Survive and Thrive as a Vegetarian Abroad
