Seven Tips to Enjoy an Alcohol-Free Holiday
Many well-established holiday and travel traditions include alcohol. From the pre-flight beer, wine with a meal and beach cocktails, alcohol is seen as part of going on holiday. But that is changing with the rise of alcohol-free travel and sober tourism. So how can you enjoy dry holidays? Here are seven tips to help you really enjoy not drinking on holiday!
Choose a Good Alcohol-Free Holiday Destination
Making sure you choose the right destination for your dry holiday is very important. If you are looking for a relaxing booze-free break, a cultural extravaganza or a local food tour, then destination matters. You will need to choose the holiday destination that works best for you.
It is important to check and see if the place you are visiting is a known party destination. Places like Magaluf and Ayia Napa are set up for tourists who want to drink lots. Therefore most tourist services and activities in these areas are catered to drinkers. Not great for alcohol-free travel!
In some places, alcohol is completely forbidden or difficult to get a hold of. This makes them ideal destinations for the perfect sober holiday. In other places, alcohol is readily available but there is not a culture of in-your-face drinking. This makes it easy to travel there as someone is sober, drinking mindfully or drinking.
Bring Plenty of Books
If you are looking for a relaxing booze-free vacation don’t forget to bring plenty of books. You might find, if this is your first dry holiday, that you have a lot more time than usual. You won’t be nursing hangovers or spending hours getting ready to go out and will therefore have more time. So having a ready supply of books or other entertainment is really going to help you unwind. It will let you make the most out of your extra time.
Get Your Own Room
Whilst it isn’t always possible, if you are travelling with a group, having your own room is useful. Especially if the rest of the group intends to drink. That means that you can go to bed earlier without the drinkers coming home late and disturbing you.
It also means that in the mornings, whilst everyone else is hungover, you can enjoy some time to yourself. You can stay in your room doing yoga or relaxing. You can also head out for a morning activity and not disturb any hungover friends who are still asleep.
Enjoy Exploring Local Culture
When the focus of your holiday is not alcohol a world of travel will open up for you. With all the extra time gained from not drinking you can really throw yourself into local culture. You won’t even miss drinking with all there is to explore.
There is so much to do on holiday, even when you are not drinking. Some people find it helps to plan out exactly what they want to do. I am more of a drifter and wait and see what sparks my curiosity. Either way, you can do so many activities including:
Exploring beautiful religious spots such as churches or temples
Wander around markets, bazaars and night markets
Try out a new sport like surfing
Go on a boat tour or jet skiing
Climb a nearby mountain or volcano
Explore local museums or sights of interest
Check out parks and botanical gardens
Have a coffee and chat with locals
Take a cooking or a language class
Go cycling, hiking, kayaking
Just sit in a town square and people watch
With all this to do and more you won’t even have time to think about alcohol.
Immerse Yourself in Local Food
One of the most exciting things about travelling is the new foods you can try. Everywhere you go will have new foods to try, new recipes and tasty treats. So, if you are unsure what to do on an alcohol-free holiday, why not plan a food tour?
Research all the top-rated restaurants, food markets and local specialities and make sure you try it all. If you really want to throw yourself into local food culture why not take a cooking class? Then you can even take some local recipes back home with you.
Gone are the days when you spend every night of your vacation at the bar. Whether you go back to drinking on holiday or not, the food tours will stay in your holiday plans.
Try Local Alcohol-Free Drinks
With the huge growth of the alcohol-free movement, an increasing number of places have different local alcohol-free drinks. Many hotel chains and airlines also serve diverse alcohol-free cocktails. So if you do still want to spend time at the bar then explore and discover new alcohol-free drinks to enjoy. Alcohol-free travel hotspots like Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam and other big cities are filled with bars serving delicious alcohol-free cocktails and drinks.
On top of alcohol-free beers, wines and spirits there are so many other types of alcohol-free drink. All across the world people drink tea and coffee in different and interesting ways. For example Vietnamese coffee, Italian Expresso or Thai coffee and banana shakes. Or try different fruit shakes made from fruits that you cannot even find in the UK.
In many places, particularly in alcohol-free destinations, there are also a plethora of different drinks that are completely free from alcohol. Why not try Rosewater, Pocari Sweat, Milo or 100 Plus?
Try an All Inclusive Alcohol-Free Resort
If you really want to avoid alcohol and even meet fellow sober travellers then it can be good to stay in an all-inclusive alcohol-free resort. These are beginning to pop up across the world as alcohol-free travel becomes more popular. They offer you everything found in a traditional resort but with zero alcohol.
So if you want a resort-based holiday, but don’t want to be surrounded by alcohol, which sometimes feels inevitable at a resort, then alcohol-free resorts are the place to go.
Sign Up to the JOMO Club
Want something nice to drink on your staycation? Or will you bring your favourite alcohol-free beverage with you? Then make sure to sign up for an alcohol-free subscription box with the JOMO Club now.
Your JOMO Club alcohol-free subscription will get you a box filled to the brim with alcohol-free goodies, directly to your front door. Each box is thoughtfully curated using hand-selected products that we personally think taste amazing and interesting.
So if you want to explore the world of alcohol-free drinks, and discover the small brands you can’t find in the supermarket, then make sure to sign up for a JOMO alcohol-free subscription. It will take your alcohol-free travel to the next level!