When booking flights, I do my best to make sure that I’m balancing everything for my personal wellbeing – such as the cost of the flight being in budget, how much time between flights is needed for layovers, and finally, what will I eat on the plane.

I’ve done a bit of research, and the major domestic airlines (Delta, United, American etc) seem to usually have decent gluten free options available – some at a charge, and some included for longer flights.  So far I’ve only seen Delta offer dedicated gluten free pretzels for some the shorter flights, but I may be missing some others.

Here’s how I think about it:

If I am taking a short flight, I usually pack a dry snack with me that I know will be easy to toss in my carryon and access. Gluten free granola bars and fruit wraps are my go-to’s here, because they pack well, and if I don’t get hungry, they keep until the next flight pretty easily.  I also like to grab a bottled water at the airport in case of long delays on the tarmac without beverage service (it only took getting stuck thirsty one time for several hours for me to learn that lesson.)

If I’m flying across the US, I will usually take a dry snack, but also do my research in advance to see what my in-flight options are. I can almost always buy a fruit & cheese plate or a snack box where I can share the non-gluten-free items with my seatmates.  If I do the research but find that there aren’t any options, I’ll stop at one of the airport news stands and grab some chips, juice, and usually a piece of fresh fruit that I know I’ll eat in flight.  Those three usually sustain me from coast to coast, and then I head to a restaurant shortly after I land.

International flights have really improved over the past few years with their gluten free offerings. I’ve had great meals on Delta, Virgin, and Luftansa just to name a few.  While, yes, the main meal almost always contains a grilled chicken breast with rice or potatoes and salad, I am thrilled to eat warm food on an overseas flight.  The idea of just having snack food, that I might have to throw out when going through Customs at my next destination, just isn’t fun.  I love that the airlines have taken care to provide a meal with my dietary restrictions.  My last flight I had gluten free snacks, dinner, dessert, and then an omelette for breakfast.  I was thrilled.

In order to make sure you get your special meal, make sure you visit your airlines website and track down the requirements.  Most seem to be able to accommodate gluten free options on cross-country flights with advance notice.  You’ll also want to check in with your flight attendant after boarding to make sure they have your meal.  (This has gotten much easier over the years – it’s only been missed for me twice in 10 years, and countless flights.)

Any other tips to share?

Though I like to think sometimes I’m entirely footloose and fancy-free when it comes to traveling the world, the reality is my Celiac does make me cautious, and even a bit intimidated at times. So what do I do about it?  Research. Searching destinations, in general, is helpful when planning to travel, but I most like to know how many gluten free restaurants exist in a big city, or what the fresh food options are in the smaller towns and villages.  Really, I want to get an idea of whether it will be easy or difficult, to eat while I’m there.  For the longest time, I considered food simply a necessity to exist, but over the past few years I’ve really started to enjoy my meals – especially in new places.

In order to research the locations, I start by checking out my Find My Gluten Free app (link on my resources page.) If there are several restaurants listed, I’ll map them out near hotels I am considering and figure out a place to stay that will be convenient, either within walking distance or a quick trip on public transportation. I don’t only visit restaurants that are listed in the app, though, as part of the fun is stumbling upon new menus and discovering new preparations of gluten free food.

Don’t get me wrong, I definitely don’t plan out every meal along the way — we don’t even know every city we may be exploring throughout the trip, so I’m not that restrictive. What I want to have a confidence in, is whether or not there are a couple of restaurants in the area with safe food I can frequent day after day, if absolutely necessary.   And, the great news is, that although I’ve always had this “backup plan” in mind when I travel, I have never used it throughout the 14 countries I’ve visited.

In the times when my app lists very few restaurants for a particular destination, I’ll move to internet searches and even Yelp to see if there are at least freshly prepared fruits, vegetables and meats on the menu. If so, that tells me I likely can find options that may not be widely published, and I’ll do my best to help get the word out to other gluten free travelers.

I’m curious – how else do you research your trips?

I have to admit that I was hesitant to travel to a foreign country because I was worried about getting sick. My wanderlust was strong, however, so after much research, I decided that my first trip overseas would be on a cruise where I knew there would be safe food options. Eight years ago, I booked the Disney Magic cruise around the Mediterranean. I figured I was not going to be able to eat meals in places like Italy or Spain, so  I could eat breakfast and dinner on the ship and my backpack would be stocked with dried fruit and granola bars to snack on throughout the day.

Little did I know, much of Europe has wonderful gluten free offerings, so I enjoyed a variety of meals on the ship and on the shore. I don’t know if it’s because Celiac is more prevalent there, or because of the focus on fresh, local foods, but regardless, I am grateful. Throughout that first trip, I was able to eat gluten free homemade pasta, freshly baked bread and light, crispy crackers, everywhere from Italy to Spain.  I was even able to find appropriate meals in France and Corsica. Yes, all gluten free.

My life changed that first trip, and I have now checked 14 countries off my list.  I’ll continue to share my experiences, learnings and tips about traveling with Celiac, and look forward to hearing yours too.

Join me on my adventures as I seek out gluten-free foods and products around the globe.

I’ll be posting pics and tips from my travel experiences, and look forward to hearing about yours too.