'Best Of' Tips For Holiday Travel With Food Allergies

(Updated November 2025)

The holidays will be here before you blink!

Over the holidays you may find yourself away from home for a few days and it can be harder to avoid allergens — you may depend on others to buy, prepare, and serve you food. Staying safe will require some research, some planning, lots of communicating, and at times, some creative problem solving.

Staying safe starts with deciding how you will travel to your destination and where you will stay

Sharing some 'best of' tips that can help you stay safe away from home during the holidays.

When you travel by car...

1. Single vs. Multiple Destinations.

A single destination will be easier to navigate with food allergies than a trip with multiple stopping points along the way. Take this into account in your planning.

2. Staying With Family vs. Hotel/Rental.

It may be easier, though more expensive, to stay in a hotel (with a kitchenette, microwave, fridge) or a vacation rental at your destination than to stay in a friend or family member's home where they are unfamiliar with food allergy risks and requirements. You need to consider different factors as you make your lodging decision, weighing your allergies (their severity, the allergens themselves, and how many of them) relative to your family & friends' food allergy IQ and your budget.

Find some helpful guidance on things to discuss with your host before you go — here — so you can make the best possible lodging decision for your family.

3. Essential Items To Pack.

The most important things you need to pack are your allergy & asthma emergency medications {unexpired}, food allergy and asthma emergency action plans, a good supply of wipes for hands and surfaces, a few safe snacks for the road, and a flexible mindset.

4. More Things To Pack.

When you drive, packing 'light' is less of a consideration. So, think about bringing a cooler and an extra suitcase stocked with your favorite allergy-friendly foods and mixes {pancakes anyone?}. If you have the trunk space, consider bringing a minimalist kitchen box — with a pot, pan, baking sheet, small crockpot, toaster, cooking utensils. Don't forget wipes and a dish brush/sponge while you're at it. While not the most green, throw in some disposable eating utensils, paper plates, and paper towels while you're at it.

5. Zero-in On Grocery Stores.

Grocery stores are great sources of packaged, labeled food when you're on-the-go. A little research can help you find grocery stores along your travel route and at your destination. Target and Walmart are carrying ever increasing numbers of allergy-friendly packaged goods and they have locations nationwide. Only buy foods you've eaten safely before if humanly possible. It's not the time to experiment with new foods when you're on a road trip.

6. If You Can't Avoid Eating Out at Restaurants...

Sometimes when you travel you can't avoid eating at a restaurant, or you really want to try and dine out, even with food allergies. This article by Caroline Fleur for Allergic Living tackles assessing restaurants in a lighthearted way, plus offers some helpful tips. Be sure to carry a wallet card to help you explain your allergies to any restaurant.

7. Be Hospital/ER Informed.

Research the location of hospitals with ER's along your planned route and at your destination. An app from Massachusetts General Hospital called 'findERnow' can help you find the closest ER in a pinch.

8. Sanitize Your Environment.

If you opt to stay at a hotel or in a vacation rental, beyond alerting the staff about your food allergies before you arrive, be sure you sanitize surfaces and wash all the cookware and dishes provided as soon as you check-in.

9. Be Encouraged & Inspired.

Do not miss these two excellent articles by intrepid food allergy moms — Hillary Tolle Carter for FARE and Dr. Sarah Boudreau-Romano for Allergic Living. Their kids' complicated allergy profiles have not deterred them from taking road trips far and wide to discover the world. You've got this!

When you travel by plane...

1. Tap Into Helpful Resources—You're Not Re-inventing The Wheel.

FAACT, FARE and Allergy Force offer travel resources at their websites, from important tips to planning checklists.

2. Booking Considerations with Food Allergies.

There are important food-allergy specific things to consider as you book flights and lodging.

• Try to book direct, early morning (1st out of the gate) flights.

• Don't forget to alert the airline to your food allergies when you book and make your accommodation requests (e.g., pre-boarding, on-plane announcement).

• Make sure the booking agent notes the details in your flight reservation.

• When you book your lodging, be sure to alert staff to your food allergy situation. Ask that your room(s) be carefully sanitized for your arrival.

• Allergic Living's Airlines and Allergies Guide summarizes carriers' allergy policies — from pre-boarding, to nut snack/meal service, to epinephrine in emergency med kits & more — for major Domestic and International carriers. Don't miss this great resource so you're in the know before you book!

3. Pack Smart. Pack Light.

Packing light is the challenge of the day. You probably won't have the luxury of bringing a cooler and a kitchen box, though packing a carry-on with your emergency medications, action plan, wipes, and allergy-friendly food to see you through your flight is key. Make sure the food you plan to carry on complies with TSA regulations for food.

4. Stay Mindful As You Travel.

When your travel day arrives, it's important to stay mindful, stay watchful. This is not the time to be distracted.

• Keep your emergency medications, action plan, and wipes for sanitizing hands and surfaces at your fingertips.

• Be sure to review your food allergies with the gate agent and request pre-boarding and an on--plane announcement about your allergens. These requests should already be documented in your reservation.

• Only eat foods you have brought from home. Do not buy food at the airport or eat any meals provided on your flight.

• Minimize the number of surfaces you touch in the airport and on the plane. Wash and sanitize your hands with wipes as often as possible. Just using hand sanitizer does not completely remove allergen proteins.

• Pre-board to sanitize your seating area. Consider purchasing a seat cover before you go.

• Make the cabin crew your collaborators, your allies. Make sure the cabin crew knows where you've stored your medication and action plan for the flight. Keep them within easy reach.

• If you feel like a reaction is starting, promptly tell the cabin crew so they can help. Never second guess the need to use your autoinjector. Epi first. Epi fast.

The Allergy Force Flight Strategies Guide provides a checklist that helps you stay focused to stay safe on your travel day. Don't forget to bring your calm and positivity, too.

Wherever you go, go with all your heart. The Allergy Force Team wishes you and yours a beautiful (and safe!) holiday season. May you know joy and be surrounded by people you love.

"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."

—Ernest Hemingway

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About the Author: Gayle Rigione is CEO and Co-founder of Allergy Force, the food allergy app. She’s also an allergy mom. She’s lived the heart stopping moments when her son ate the wrong thing, second guessed reactions and spent the night in the ER. These experiences inspire her to create tools for people with food allergies that make life safer, easier. Whatever you do, do it with a full heart. Audentes Fortuna Iuvat

Image Credit: Thank you Wix for use of the images