A recap of my trip to Florida, plus some healthy travel tips for your next vacation or road trip.
This time last week I was enjoying 80° weather with my best friend Alysha in Florida. She lives in Fort Myers but was back home for Christmas, so I flew down with her the first of the year and we spent a week on a little vacation together. We visited Disney for two days then headed back south and explored downtown, visited a manatee park, did some shopping, went to Sanibel Island, and went line dancing.
I had a blast spending time with her and traveling! I’m pretty good at staying healthy at home, but traveling and being in a different place for a week is another story. I thought I’d share a few healthy travel tips from my experience, to help your next trip be more healthy and happy.
Drink water
It is so important to keep hydrated, whether you’re in the car, on a plane, or walking around the town or resort. I brought my new Hydro Flask 
Bring healthy snacks
I am the snack queen. No matter where I’m going, I always make sure to stick some trail mix or an Epic bar in my purse so I’m prepared if I get hangry and don’t have access to food immediately. I stuffed my carry-on bag with a bunch of snacks–Jilz Crackers, pistachios, Epic bars, trail mix, and an EatingEvolved dark chocolate bar (most of this I got from Thrive Market). These snacks came in handy when I was riding in the car and even for breakfast a day when there weren’t any other options around.
Get enough sleep
This may be the hardest thing to do, because who wants to sleep when you’re in a new, exciting place? We fit in four Disney parks in two days, so needless to say we were exhausted. The first night we actually stayed at Epcot until they closed at 11 p.m. and had to wait for the shuttle and we didn’t get back to our hotel and to sleep until close to 1 a.m.. Then we were up the next day again at 7 a.m.! I know this sounds like nothing to some people, but I’m the type of person who needs my eight hours of sleep or I struggle to function. I ended up taking some short snoozes in the car on the way back to Fort Myers and the rest of the week we got a good amount of sleep. My main suggestion here is to get enough sleep when possible, but don’t miss out on opportunities because of it. Be strategic and sleep on the plane or in the car when you get the chance.
Move each day
This definitely wasn’t hard for us when we traveled to Disney–we walked 26,000 steps the first day!!! If you’re vacationing somewhere like a beach, though, it can be tempting to just lay on the beach every single day. It’s possible to enjoy your vacation by incorporating exercise into your schedule. I’m not saying wake up at 6 a.m. and go to the hotel gym, but maybe walk along the beach, take a bike ride through the town, find some fun hiking trails, or even take a salsa or line dancing class (we went line dancing the last night I was in Florida and it was a BLAST). You’ll be amazed at how great you feel just from moving a little.
Choose healthier options
Not everywhere you go to eat is going to have the healthiest options, but make the best of it. Instead of ordering pasta, get fish with a vegetable, or pack snacks instead of stopping at a gas station for chips and candy. Even small steps, like ordering oil and vinegar for your salad instead of ranch or choosing a baked potato over french fries, can make a difference. It’s not always possible to eat healthy everywhere you go, but do your best!
Enjoy and don’t stress out
Most important tip! You are going on vacation to relax and have a good time, so don’t spend it worrying about how you’re eating or if you missed a workout. I may have a healthy food blog and share tips like this, but I am NOT perfect by any means. I followed most of these tips in Florida, but I also had ice cream a few times, indulged in some buffalo chicken chips with a beer, enjoyed a big slice of pizza from a local place downtown, and had a few beers while line dancing.
Now that I’m back home, I’m excited to be eating and feeling better (I’m actually in the middle of a Whole30). Although I didn’t make the healthiest choices at every single meal on vacation, I had an amazing time and didn’t feel guilty one bit. Just follow these healthy travel tips for the most part, but don’t forget to indulge and enjoy yourself!
Your turn:
Do you have any other healthy travel tips?
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