Travel tips for the newly sober
A few practical ways to make a trip feel expansive, social, and genuinely fun without alcohol.
When I got sober, I didn’t want travel to become smaller; I just had to relearn some of the routines around it.
Travel is full of rituals that quietly assume alcohol will be part of the fun: the airport beer, the welcome glass of champagne, the wine pairing, the sunset cocktail. When drinking is no longer part of your life, especially early on, vacation can feel surprisingly different from home.
That doesn’t mean travel needs to become smaller or less indulgent. A little advance thought can make it much easier to enjoy.
Choose the trip that makes sense for where you are now
If you’re newly sober, you do not need to prove anything by making your first big trip a tour of the Champagne region or a long weekend built around pool bars.
A destination where drinking is less central can make the transition easier. Morocco was a great example for me. Alcohol existed, but it was hardly the organizing principle of the trip. Tea was everywhere, and one of my favorite Marrakech restaurants, L’Mida, doesn’t serve alcohol at all; its rooftop menu leans into teas, juices, and genuinely interesting mocktails instead.
With time, there may be no destination that needs to be off-limits. But early sobriety is not the moment when every vacation has to double as a test of willpower.
Tell the people you’re traveling with what you need
I tend to travel with people who know I do not drink, and that makes things easier. If you’re traveling with drinkers, it helps to be clear about your boundaries before the trip rather than hoping everyone will intuit them once you arrive.
That does not mean everyone else has to stop drinking. It might mean you would rather not spend every evening in a cocktail bar. It might mean skipping a winery that is the whole point of an afternoon. It might simply mean your friends know not to push a round of shots on you because “we’re on vacation.”
The same applies to hotels. If a welcome bottle of wine in the room would be unhelpful, ask for it not to be there. If the minibar feels like something you would rather not deal with, ask for it to be emptied. These are small requests, and they are much easier to make before you arrive.
Take some support with you
If 12-step meetings or another recovery routine are part of your life at home, travel does not have to mean putting them on pause.
A local meeting can provide support, but it can also give you a window into a place you would not get from a sightseeing tour. I have always liked the idea that a meeting room can briefly make an unfamiliar city feel familiar.
Alcoholics Anonymous has a Meeting Guide app that pulls meeting information from local service organizations, including in-person and online options. Looking up a meeting before departure can be one more useful item on the pre-trip list rather than something you have to figure out when you are already having a hard day.
Cruises are another example. Many sailings have onboard 12-step meetings, and I can help you figure out where to look for them before you go.
And if you are traveling with another sober person, the old buddy system works pretty well too.
Sometimes, though, sobriety can be part of the point of the trip. I’ve traveled to sober gatherings in Hawaii and Fort Lauderdale, and for some travelers a sober group within a larger vacation — including a cruise — can be a great fit. You get a built-in community of people who understand that part of your life without needing every part of the destination or ship to be alcohol-free.
Give the trip something to be about
A sober vacation works better when it is not framed as a vacation minus alcohol.
Put things on the calendar you are genuinely excited about: a ridiculous breakfast, an early morning market, a hike, a spa treatment, theater, a food tour, a cooking class, a boat ride, a day trip, or whatever makes you glad you woke up clear-headed enough to enjoy it.
One of the nicest changes for me is that mornings become usable vacation time. There is something satisfying about being out in a city while it is waking up instead of waiting for everyone to recover from the night before.
And yes, a creative non-alcoholic drink can still be part of the pleasure. The point is not to recreate drinking experiences as closely as possible; it is to notice that there are a lot of ways to make a meal, a sunset, or a celebration feel special.
Sobriety can shape a trip quietly, or it can be part of the point.
If we are planning together, I can steer away from experiences where alcohol is the entire point, flag hotels or restaurants with good non-alcoholic options, request that the welcome wine disappear, build in outdoor or early-morning time, help you find local recovery resources, or point you toward sober group travel when that sounds appealing.
And if your travel companions want the winery, brewery, or cocktail bar? I can help with that too. The point is fit, not making everyone travel like me.
A sober vacation can still be indulgent, social, spontaneous, and memorable. You may just remember more of it.
PLANNING A TRIP WHERE SOBRIETY MATTERS?
Tell me what would make the trip feel comfortable and genuinely fun. We can plan around that just like any other preference that matters to you.
