If you were ever a scout or girl guide you will know the motto “be prepared”. When living a ketogenic lifestyle, you will need to channel your inner scout as being prepared is the key for travelling on keto. Here are some of the things we like to do before we travel which help make our trip easier.
Travelling on Keto – Preparing before you go
Whenever you travel it always pays to be prepared before you leave. This is even more important when travelling on keto. Things you need to consider before you go when travelling on keto include:
- Accommodation
- Food to take
- Research – restaurants, supermarkets and farmers markets
Accommodation
Airbnb or self-contained units are an excellent way to travel when keto, as having your own kitchen allows you to easily store some of your own food and do some food preparation yourself.
When choosing our accommodation, we try to find somewhere that is within walking distance to a supermarket and has a decent sized fridge to hold plenty of drinks and some food. Airbnb makes finding accommodation so much easier now, you can usually ask the host plenty of questions to make sure the place will meet your needs. Something that isn’t as easy with hotels.
Things to look out for when booking self-contained accommodation are what the kitchen consists of. Some places may call a toaster and microwave a kitchenette. This isn’t super helpful for us.
We would usually try to make sure there is at least a stove top to cook some eggs, a decent sized fridge and definitely a kettle for our cups of tea. Also, be aware that kettles are not a staple in kitchens in some countries like they are in Australia and the UK.
Some hotels offer studio style rooms that include a kitchenette which can be a good option also. Again, just make sure you are aware of the kitchen amenities available so you don’t purchase something that needs to be heated in the oven if there is not one.
Hotel fridges can be tricky to navigate at times, with minibars that don’t allow you to remove the items. We have asked before for the hotel to remove all the minibar items, which can be helpful so you are not staring at a tube of Pringles for a week. Also, you can then store your own items in the fridge.
There may be breakfast included with your stay in a hotel, so it is good to enquire in advance what this includes. Some continental style breakfasts, particularly in the US, are very carb heavy.
When travelling we tend to not cook full meals at the accommodation as we enjoy experiencing the local food. We do like to stock up on staples like cheese, deli meats, nuts and drinks from the local supermarket.
Depending on the type of trip and how long we are staying we may cook eggs for breakfast, which is a quick and easy option. Checking out supermarkets and finding keto options in other countries has become a fun and interesting thing to do, as you never know what you might find.
Food to take
When travelling we often take some of our own food with us. This way we know we at least have those items to rely on as snacks when finding a keto option is impossible. Being able to take your own food is very dependent on the type of travel you are doing and where you are going.
It is worth checking online what the quarantine regulations are in the country you are travelling to. You don’t want to have all your delicious keto food dumped by officials at the airport.
Check out our other posts in the Keto Travel Essentials series on flying, cruising and road trips for more detailed information about each type of travel and what to take with you.
Some of the regular items we take with us or pick up once we arrive are –
- Coconut Butter sachets
- Nut Butter sachets
- Pork Rinds
- Nuts
- Seed crackers
- Chocolate
- Sparkling Mineral water
We also like to travel with MCT oil powder and collagen powder. It is great to have powdered MCT oil with you to add to a tea or coffee, especially if there are not great breakfast options available, for example on a plane. It will fill you up and give you an energy boost.
Powdered MCT oil is so easy for travelling as it dissolves straight into your drink with no need for blending and less risk of spillage.
Research – restaurants, supermarkets and farmers markets
Research can make all the difference to your experience. As mentioned above, when deciding on our accommodation we like to have a supermarket within walking distance. This is usually our first stop after arriving so that we can stock up on our favourite keto staples.
For us, the research is all part of the fun of planning a trip. We love researching the best places to eat and then searching the menu for the best keto options. Ketofying menus is something we now enjoy doing. If we find a cool must visit restaurant, we can usually make it work for us.
It may be more challenging trying to change a meal to suit your needs in different countries. If you do some research first, you will likely be able to find something that will work for you. Our first overseas holiday after starting keto was to Hong Kong.
Initially we were really concerned about the options we would be able to find, but after we did some research we found there were more options than we thought. We discovered there are lots of roast meats, seafood, street stalls that sold vegetables on skewers and a Marks and Spencer supermarket selling western style food. Research like this made our trip much easier.
We have also started to actually look for restaurants and cafes that cater specifically for keto and low carb. We had fun recently on the Gold Coast in Queensland seeking out places that were keto specific or had a ‘K’ for keto options on their menu key.
Another great research tool that is handy are any low carb or keto Facebook groups you are in. It can be fun to let people in the group know where you are travelling to and provide recommendations for any restaurants or cafes and tips from keto locals.
Travelling is our passion and this series designed to encourage people that travelling whilst living a ketogenic lifestyle is possible. Make sure to check out the rest of our Keto Travel Essentials series. It is now second nature for us to do some preparation into how we plan to keto while travelling. Keto has definitely become a lifestyle for us and it is a consideration we make when planning a trip.
What things have you implemented into your trip planning process since becoming keto? Let us know in the comments.
Check out the other posts in the Travel Essentials Series.
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