Travel and Fitness: An Easy Guide to Healthy Practices When You Travel

Travel fitness is an excellent way to combine travel and fitness as part of an active lifestyle. Traveling is a great way to live a more active life while learning new things in the process. And if you’re an empty-nester, then you know how important it is to find activities that will make you fulfilled and happy. 

The good news is, staying in shape while traveling is easier than you think when you have a plan. Simply follow this guide to healthy practices so you can stay in shape without any sacrifices. If you’re consistent, you’ll see noticeable and long-lasting results. 

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CONTENTS: In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about easy travel fitness so you can maintain a healthy lifestyle on vacation, including details on these tips:

• Choose the Right Destination
• Create A Routine
• Stay Hydrated
• Make Healthy Food Choices
• Make Time to Exercise While Traveling
• Join Local Communities
• Get Enough Sleep
• Plan Your Activities
• Relax and Enjoy
• Final Thoughts on Travel Fitness Tips

Choose the Right Destination

There are so many places worth visiting, so if you’re finally free to travel, the challenge becomes picking the perfect destination. This is quite understandable, because there are so many appealing destinations, such as Paris, Tokyo, and the vast beauty of The Caribbean, to name a few popular destinations.

But, if you’re dealing with certain health issues, it’s essential to pick the destination that suits your needs. For instance, if you suffer from sensitive skin and you get sunburned easily, it’s better to go to a place with a milder climate, as it’s more likely to suit you. That way, you’re off to a good start when it comes to fit travel.

If you pick the right place to visit in the first place, you’ll feel fit to travel, more energized, and ready to explore, which is the ultimate goal.

Create a Routine

Changing your surroundings can create havoc in your body, so it’s essential to establish a routine and stick to it.

This is especially true when you’re faced with jet leg. Try to acclimate to your new time zone when you arrive, adjusting your meals and sleep time.

Even if you haven’t changed time zones, you’ll want to maintain some consistency. It’s easy to forgo meals when you’re busy exploring or taking in tourist activities.

Instead, strive to have your meals at approximately the same time. That way, your body will get all the nutrients it needs so it can function optimally. Also, it keeps you from feeling “hangry”–hungry and angry, which can spoil anyone’s good time.

Stay Hydrated for Optimum Travel and Fitness

Water is a must for a healthy body–it’s one of the best practices for maintaining good health. And when you’re traveling, it’s particularly important to stay hydrated.

If you plan to spend a lot of time active time on your feet, then you’ll need to make drinking enough water one of your top priorities. Therefore, make sure to bring a reusable water bottle so you’ll create less waste while traveling.

Another important tip: Before you fill the bottle, learn whether local water is safe for drinking so you won’t deal with the consequences later.

If it’s not, then find ways to stay hydrated without compromising your well-being.

Try to Eat Healthly

When you go on a trip, the last thing you want to be doing is counting calories. After all, everyone deserves to relax, including yourself.

However, if you want to stay in shape for the duration of your trip, you’ll want to make healthier, intentional food choices.

That doesn’t necessarily mean skipping regional specialities and delectable international cuisines. But it might mean skipping fast food and soft drinks, and drinking alcohol in moderation as part of your travel fitness plan.

Related: Read about some of the best cocktails of the world here.

If you suffer from stomach issues already, going on a trip might exacerbate things. One way to deal with stomach upsets is to find the best prebiotic foods to eat in order to restore your gut health.

Also, eating breakfast every morning is a healthy eating practice that will help keep you full and energized for daily adventures.

Don’t Forget the Importance of Exercise While Traveling

Travel can seem like a pretty good work out.

On departure, you’re likely doing a lot of walking to arrive at your destination, and perhaps during your trip, you’ll have lots of activities planned. That’s all very helpful in maintaining an active lifestyle.

But if you want to stay in shape, schedule some exercise into your vacation. Even if it’s 15 minutes at the start of the day, or a wind-down routine before going to bed, you can make small, regular investments to transform your body for the better.

You’ll find many beneficial workouts while traveling that are suitable for all ages, such as yoga and Pilates that are a pleasure to add into your travel plans.

Besides, going on a trip means you’ll likely walk a lot, so use that to your advantage.

Remember that exercise is important, even if you’re away from home. Find something you enjoy and stick with it while you’re away.

Related: Discover some great tips for doing yoga on the beach in this article.

Find Local Communities to Join 

Just because you’re out of town doesn’t mean you shouldn’t find local communities that suit you.

If you’re an avid yoga fan, then finding a local yoga group can help you create valuable friendships based on mutual interest.

The same goes for other types of exercises, such as cycling, running, and calisthenics and other vacation fitness activities.

The internet is full of communities ready to accept new people, so do your research prior to the trip and ask your hotel or the locals for tips and recommendations.

Get Enough Sleep

I can’t stress this enough. Many people are ready to forego sleep in order to have fun while traveling. However, if you want to feel healthy and fit, you need to get enough sleep regardless of where you happen to be.

Again, this comes down to routine. Sure, you might have a few late nights, especially if you in a culture like Spain, that tends to eat late dinners. But if you can settle on some consistent routines that gives you eight hours of sleep, you’ll enjoy the trip more.

Understandably, some travelers find sleeping to be difficult while away. If this is you, take some effort to consider what might help you get a better sleep. Whether that means bringing your own pillow, a silk sleep mask (like this cute one from Amazon), and earplugs, try to get a healthy dose of rest during the night.

Before your trip, you might also practice various meditations, listen to ambient music, and learn breathing techniques to relax. This might help you fall asleep with ease wherever you are.

Plan Your Activities While There

Some think there’s no point in going on a trip if you’re not going to fill your time with different fun activities.

If that’s you, then when choosing a destination, it’s also important to check out whether that place offers any age-appropriate amenities and activities that will keep you fit, entertained, and active.

That could be everything from scuba-diving to self-guided walking tours.

Make certain to consider all the things you could do there in order to learn new things and have fun.

Luckily, there are many online resources and traveling communities that offer a ton of valuable info and tips. It’s not hard at all to find ideas that encourage fitness for travelers, once you start looking!

Just don’t forget to intersperse some down time so your body can recharge.

Relax and Enjoy Yourself

You probably know being careful not to injure yourself while traveling is crucial if you want to have a great time. However, being able to kick back and enjoy yourself is important too. There’s no reason to spend your trip worrying all the time!

While you might be “mom” at home (even as an empty-nester), when you travel, you’re allowed to be whomever you want to be.

That can be an empowering way to enjoy your trip and discover exciting new things about yourself.

Related: 7 Ways to Stay Fit While Traveling: Easy Wellness, To-Go

Final Thoughts on Making A Travel and Fitness Plan 

As you can see, being fit and healthy while traveling doesn’t need to be a grueling endeavor. However, it does require some planning and healthy habits. So, remember to do research your destination, eat healthy dishes, and stay active. That way, you’ll be able to have fun while also enjoying optimal health while you travel.

What good health practices do you include in your wellness routines to stay healthy and fit while you travel? Can you incorporate any of these ideas? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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This article is a collaborative post and may contain affiliate links. As always, all opinions expressed are my own. For more information, please see the following Disclosure.

Photo credits: Water glass – ExplorerBob (Pixabay), Woman sleeping – Ketut Subiyanto (Pexels)