Whether you’re traveling for work, to see family or to enjoy a vacation, one thing you never want to make space for on your itinerary is getting sick. However, sometimes it’s hard to avoid because your body likes routine and steering off course can make you more susceptible to catching a bug.
“Many people have irregular day-to-day schedules, disrupted sleep and a different diet while on vacation,” explains Dr. Shannon Anjelica Markus, an emergency room physician and assistant professor in the department of emergency medicine at Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas at Austin. “These changes can affect your immune system and, in turn, your ability to fight off viruses and other infections that you’re exposed to.”
When you’re on the go, you’re exposed to new germs in crowded spaces, such as public transportation, restaurants and tourist attractions, alongside other travelers.
“The more people you’re around, the greater your chances of encountering a contagious illness,” Markus says.
But that doesn’t mean you should avoid meeting new people or visiting busy areas while traveling. Your body is resilient and designed to handle new germs, but the key is preparing it for new environments, disrupted routines and unfamiliar viral strains.
Ahead, experts share how to avoid getting sick while traveling, from small decisions to make before your trip to smart habits to practice once you’re on the ground.
[READ: Medicare Travel Coverage 2026: What It Covers for U.S. and International Trips]
The Travel Health Categories: A Quick Reference
Staying healthy on a trip starts long before you board the airplane, train or cruise ship. It’s just as important to maintain healthy habits and good hygiene while you’re traveling and after you arrive at your destination.
Understanding what type of illness is most likely to strike and various parts on your journey can help you stay one step ahead in your preventive efforts.
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Your go-to travel health checklist
| Phase of Travel | What to Watch Out For | How to Prevent It |
| Pre-Departure | Immune vulnerability and fatigue | Circadian adjustment and vaccination checks |
| In-Transit | Dehydration and pathogen exposure | Sanitization routines and calculated movement |
| At Destination | Foodborne illness and routine disruption | Smart food selection and adaptive sleep windows |
[READ: How to Manage Travel Anxiety]
Pre-Trip Preparation: Your Essential Travel Health Checklist
Taking care of yourself before your trip is crucial to making sure you stay healthy in transit and at your destination.
“The week before a trip is when people quietly wear down their own defenses,” says Shanina Knighton, a board-certified infection prevention expert and nurse scientist at Case Western Reserve University. “Packing and deadlines raise cortisol, which suppresses your immune response and short sleep does the same, so many people leave home already run down.”
[READ: Travel Vaccinations: Planning Ahead and Resources.]
1. Support your immunity with diet, sleep and supplements
Consider following these expert-backed healthy travel tips leading up to your trip:
— Eat a healthy diet: Focus on anti-inflammatory foods and limit sugary drinks, ultraprocessed items and excess alcohol.
— Prioritize quality sleep: Getting enough rest each night is essential for keeping your immune system running well.
— Manage your stress: Keep your stress and anxiety levels in check to prevent cortisol spikes from draining your body’s defenses.
— Take immune-supporting nutrients: Start taking vitamins C, D and zinc 1-2 weeks before departure, provided your doctor approves.
“Treat vitamins as a way to correct a deficiency rather than as protection,” Knighton says. “Taking vitamin C the night before a flight will not prevent a viral infection.”
[See: Drinks to Boost the Immune System.]
2. Stay up to date with vaccinations and destination health risks
Another important preventive measure to take is making sure you are up-to-date on routine vaccinations before your trip. This includes destination-specific vaccinations, such as yellow fever for Africa and South America.
“Depending upon your destination certain additional vaccinations or prophylactic medications may be recommended,” says Dr. Ashley Drews, an infectious disease specialist and system epidemiologist at Houston Methodist Hospital.
Experts agree that learning as much as you can about your destination is a critical part of the planning process.
“If you’re going to a foreign country, make sure to do your research. Find out what infections are common, how they are transmitted and how you can protect yourself,” says Dr. Jared Ross, a board-certified emergency physician.
For information on destination-specific vaccines and travel notices, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Travelers’ Health resource page.
3. Adjust your sleep schedule to prevent jet lag
If you’re crossing time zones, Ross also recommends gradually shifting your bedtime by about an hour each day for two to three days before you depart to help your body adjust more quickly to your destination’s schedule.
If you need help sleeping, check out U.S. News’ Best OTC Medicine and Health Products rankings of the best natural sleep aids and medicated sleep aids.
4. Map local medical care and secure travel insurance
It’s always smart to be prepared for illnesses you can’t predict, especially if you have health conditions that may require medical attention. Consider mapping out where clinics and hospitals are around your destination ahead of your travels.
“It’s also always a good idea to have travel insurance as well to help just in case you get sick while traveling,” Drews says.
If you’re traveling to a more remote area, consider exploring more exhaustive travel insurance packages.
“If you’re traveling to a remote destination or somewhere with limited access to advanced medical care, I’d recommend considering policies that include medical evacuation coverage in case you need transportation to a facility with more advanced medical care,” Markus says.
In-Transit Wellness: Navigating the Journey Safely
Oftentimes the biggest offender is the modality in which you travel to your destination. Avoid catching a bug while in-transit to your destination with these simple tips.
1. Practice good travel hygiene and avoid high-touch surfaces
Airports and airplanes are filthy. Between the massive crowds and endless high-touch surfaces, transit hubs and airplanes are prime breeding grounds for pathogens.
If you’re flying, protecting yourself from germs begins long before takeoff.
Use these expert-backed strategies to protect yourself from the airport terminal to your destination:
— Wash your hands and sanitize high-touch surfaces: Airport kiosks and TSA lines are high-touch surfaces that are rarely cleaned between uses, making you susceptible to picking up germs that are on them after checking in and going through security. Managing what you touch is your best line of defense. Keep your phone and wallet tucked safely inside your bag rather than loose in shared TSA security trays, avoid touching your face and sanitize public transit poles or straps. Experts emphasize that frequent hand hygiene — especially before and after eating, after using the restroom or after handling garbage — is your most effective and controllable defense.
— Mask up during the boarding process: Consider wearing a mask during the initial boarding phase. Airplane ventilation systems filter and exchange air once the plane is powered up and flying, not while it sits at the gate, meaning you are breathing un-cleared, shared air during those first crucial minutes.
— Ventilate tight rideshare and transit spaces: Increase airflow when traveling in small, enclosed areas like taxis, rideshares, train cars or cruise ship cabins. Because vehicles recirculate air in a tight space, cracking a window and avoiding direct contact with high-touch door handles and seatbelt buckles can significantly help reduce your exposure.
2. Keep moving to prevent blood clots
One bigger concern about long-haul trips, especially while in the air, is the risk of blood clots. For these types of journeys, Markus recommends getting up to walk or stretch every 10 to 15 minutes at least every two hours.
“If you’re unable to stand, keep the blood flowing by doing simple leg exercises in your seat,” she says. “Tighten and relax each muscle group in your legs one at a time and perform calf pumps by pressing your toes into the floor, then lifting your toes as high as possible while keeping your heels planted.”
These simple movements can help improve circulation and potentially stave off blood clots from forming in your legs or elsewhere while staying sedentary during long bouts.
3. Stay hydrated and pack healthy travel snacks
Staying hydrated is essential to keeping your immune system strong.
“Commercial aircraft cabins are extremely dry, with 10 to 20% humidity, meaning that you lose water through your skin and respiratory tract without even knowing it,” Ross says. “Unless you are on a fluid restriction, drink water proactively, aiming for 8 ounces of fluid per hour.”
Limiting your alcohol and caffeine intake while on a plane can also help prevent dehydration as both can have diuretic effects on the body, he notes.
All of the experts recommend choosing high-protein foods and fiber-rich options while in transit, as they stabilize your blood sugar levels and promote fullness, no matter how you travel. Some options to consider include:
— Nuts and seeds
— Jerky
— Whole-grain crackers
— Apples
— Carrots
— Sugar snap peas
— Grapes
“Avoid heavy and greasy meals before or during flights, as they can worsen bloating, which is already exacerbated by gas expansion at low cabin pressure,” Ross says.
Staying Healthy at Your Destination: Tips for Avoiding Travel Illness
Arriving at your destination doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. The first few days of a trip are often when disrupted sleep, unfamiliar foods and new environments catch up with you.
1. Practice food and water safety
Few things can derail a vacation faster than a case of food poisoning or traveler’s diarrhea. While enjoying the local cuisine is an exciting part of any trip, consuming contaminated meals or beverages is the easiest way to get sick.
“The key to preventing traveler’s diarrhea and food poisoning during travel is to be thoughtful and cautious about your food and water sources,” says Dr. Andrew Moore, a gastroenterologist at Endeavor Health.
To protect your gut and keep your itinerary on track, practicing strict food and water safety is essential:
— Stick to sealed bottled water: If you’re unsure about the local water supply, drink only factory-sealed bottled water and use it to brush your teeth. Avoid ice unless you are sure it has been made from treated water, as it is often made from the tap.
— Opt for hot meals and peelable fruits: Practice good food safety by sticking to foods that are cooked thoroughly and served hot, and choosing fresh fruits you can peel yourself instead of pre-cut produce.
— Choose busy restaurants: When deciding where to eat, look beyond appearances and choose busy restaurants with high food turnover, where hot foods are served hot and cold foods are served cold.
— Avoid buffets and observe hygiene practices: Skip buffets or any foods that have been sitting at room temperature. It is also a good sign of proper hygiene if the person handling the food isn’t also handling cash.
2. Optimize your sleep schedule to beat jet lag
Jet lag can affect more than your energy — it can also disrupt your body’s internal clock. Ross recommends getting outside in the morning for natural daylight to help reset your circadian rhythm.
If you’re traveling east, a low dose of melatonin or magnesium at bedtime may help, and regardless of direction, keep daytime naps to 20 to 30 minutes so your body can adjust more quickly.
What to Pack in Your Travel Health Kit
Packing a customized travel health kit can save you a lot of time, money and stress, while preventing minor ailments from turning into major disruptions to your vacation.
Instead of scrambling to find a pharmacy in an unfamiliar destination, prepare ahead of time by packing these essentials in your carry-on:
— First aid kit: Pack a compact assortment of bandages, gauze, medical tape and tweezers to quickly treat minor cuts, scrapes or blisters on the go.
— Essential OTC medicines: In addition to your usual medications to manage any chronic conditions you may have, be sure to pack nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or aspirin, allergy medicines, antacids, antidiarrhea medicine and anti-nausea or motion sickness treatments.
— Alcohol-based hand sanitizer: Keep a travel-sized bottle of hand sanitizer accessible in your pocket or personal bag to sanitize your hands after coming in contact with high-touch surfaces when soap and water aren’t available.
— Disinfecting wipes: Use these to quickly wipe down high-touch surfaces — like airplane tray tables, armrests and rideshare door handles — before you touch them.
— Electrolyte packets: Bring electrolyte powder packets to mix into your bottled water, which helps you actively combat dry airplane cabins and prevent dehydration during long travel days.
How to protect against ticks and mosquitoes while traveling
If your itinerary includes camping, a cross-country road trip or traveling to an area prone to vector-borne illnesses, an effective bug spray is a non-negotiable addition to your kit. Protecting yourself against mosquitoes and ticks is crucial for avoiding long-term health complications.
“The best strategy is preventing tick bites in the first place,” says Dr. Charlotte Mao, a pediatric infectious diseases physician and Bay Area Lyme Foundation advisory board member.
To maximize your protection, she recommends using an EPA-registered insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin or IR3535 on exposed skin, and pre-treating your outdoor clothing and gear with permethrin before you depart.
The Bottom Line: Smart Habits for a Sickness-Free Getaway
While you can’t always predict when illness will strike, you can reduce your risk by planning ahead and making smart choices before and during your trip. Prioritizing sleep, staying hydrated, practicing good hand hygiene, choosing food and water carefully and protecting yourself from environmental risks like ticks can all help you stay healthy while traveling.
Preparation before you leave and healthy habits along the way can make the difference between returning home refreshed with great memories or spending part of your trip recovering from an illness.
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How to Stay Healthy While Traveling: The Ultimate Wellness Guide originally appeared on usnews.com
