A New Site for Allergy Travellers
Illustration by Carmen Szeto
Written by Kortney Kwong Hing
If there is one thing I have learnt in my time as a food allergy blogger it is that a) allergies are an excellent way to connect with people, and b) travel brings people together. Case in point, Amanda and I first connected because of food allergies and travel - a double whammy. Amanda was coming to Germany and wanted to know how Germans deal with food allergies. She contacted me, and I was more happy to share everything I could. Plus I got to meet another allergy adult, which is like finding a unicorn, my friends!
As Amanda can attest, travelling with food allergies can be nerve wracking because you are going to a new place with a different type of cuisine, a new set of grocery stores, snacks, cooking oils, labelling laws, and more. On top of that there is the big question: do they even know what a food allergy is. Like really know what a food allergy is?
Travelling with food allergies is 100% doable, there is just more research involved in the planning process. The problem that I experienced over the last few years was that there wasn’t one spot to find the answers you seek. In the past, travel research came in the form of forums, Facebook groups, and social media shout outs. From those engagements, it's apparent allergy travellers are happy to share their experiences. Guys, we are seriously an awesome supportive community who don’t let allergies stand in the way!
We have a community with a desire to travel and a wealth of knowledge, now how to put the two together? This is where Allergy Travels comes in!
Last summer, I connected with three other allergy advocates (2 other allergy adults and one allergy mom) who want to make travelling with food allergies a whole lot easier. All four of us manage over 30 food allergies and have been to a total of 74 countries. We know how much detective work goes into travelling with food allergies. Researching airlines, grocery stores, labelling laws, hospitals, availability of epinephrine, and finally getting to plan what to do when you get to your destination is a lot of work. We wanted to make a one stop shop, and so www.allergytravels.com was born!
Allergy Travels is a site made for allergy travellers by allergy travellers!
On Allergy Travels you can rate and review countries you have been to or airlines you have flown with. You can join our forum and ask all those burning travel questions or use your expertise to answer questions. You can also read travel tips, reviews, and traveller stories. We want to build a community of allergy travellers because food allergies should not hold you back from unleashing your travel bug.
We currently have 26 countries and 41 airlines on the site and will be adding more with time. We also have some exciting programmes for young travellers in the works, so stay tuned on how you can get involved beyond just leaving reviews (looking at you high school & university students).
Time to dust off your passports, gather your safe snacks, and get travelling!
How you can get involved: