Image courtesy @alisonfromashes
The Joy of Sober Travel
When embarking on the journey of recovery many think that their lives will become dull and gray. The thought of traveling may be a distant one, however with travel starting to open up after the pandemic, the arrival of summer and planned family trips or vacations in the coming months, we wanted to share resources and tools to help you navigate travel in recovery. In this week’s blog we meet sober travel blogger Alison, who has discovered this joy in her recovery and is sharing it with us here!
Meet Alison:
By age 33 when I got sober, I had relearn how to live my life without my crutch of alcohol. And while going through this process, and really starting to feel better physically, I woke up one day and realized I literally had no idea who I was any longer. It sounds so ridiculous, but at age 33, I didn’t even know what my favorite color was. Did I prefer to vacation in the mountains or on the beach? Did I like to take walks? What kind of books did I like to read? Do I prefer comedies, dramas, or documentaries? What kind of clothes do I even like to wear? Prior to my sobriety, the traveling I had done was minimal. Growing up, my family did not have much money, so we never left the country. My sister and I played tennis, so the few domestic trips we took revolved around that. All I did on these trips was get intoxicated, wherever I was. Too intoxicated to appreciate the trips or the people I was with, too inebriated to have any lasting memories of these places.
So by age 33, that was all the traveling I had done. By the time I got sober it never occurred to me that in recovery, I could literally do whatever I wanted. Alcohol no longer had control over me, so there wasn’t anything or anyone holding me back from doing anything…such a foreign concept! I was overwhelmed by the freedom of it all. Which brings me to the winter of 2012. I had about four or five months of sobriety and had recently met a girl who was also in early recovery. I will call her J. You know those rare people that you meet and have an instant friend connection with and feel like you have known them for much longer than you actually have? That was J and I. I don’t think I knew her more than a couple weeks when, in passing, she mentioned that she really wanted to go to Puerto Rico during the winter, but her friends that she wanted to go with had bailed on her. I didn’t even hesitate when I squealed that I would go with her! So a month or two later, J and I boarded a flight to San Juan.
Because it was our collective first trip in sobriety, I knew there would be alcohol all around us. I didn’t want to drink, but I guess I was still a little scared. I felt comfort in the fact that I was traveling with someone who was on the same page as me.
J and I really got to know one another during this trip and traveled so well together. And we were both shocked to realize that neither of us missed drinking at all during this trip, which is a miracle for a drinker like me. Booze was all around us at the hotel and is a part of the culture. This trip was a pivotal point in my recovery because it showed me that 1) I could still have a blast traveling sober and 2) it was possible to be around all that drinking and not have it affect me at all. I could be completely neutral towards alcohol, which I NEVER thought was possible. Bonus: I actually remember the trip!
Image courtesy @alisonfromashes
J and I really got to know one another during this trip and traveled so well together. And we were both shocked to realize that neither of us missed drinking at all during this trip, which is a miracle for a drinker like me. Booze was all around us at the hotel and is a part of the culture. This trip was a pivotal point in my recovery because it showed me that 1) I could still have a blast traveling sober and 2) it was possible to be around all that drinking and not have it affect me at all. I could be completely neutral towards alcohol, which I NEVER thought was possible. Bonus: I actually remember the trip!
Our second to last day in Puerto Rico was February 3, 2013, my six-month sober anniversary. When I got sober many people refer to the six-month mark as “half a cake” – since traditionally, you would get a full cake on your one-year anniversary. J went down to the market that morning to buy a traditional Puerto Rican guava cake for us to split on our balcony overlooking the ocean. So, I celebrated this milestone with J, witnessing one of the most beautiful sunrises I had ever seen, eating half a guava cake and feeling extremely grateful for my sobriety and for reclaiming my life.
Since my first sober trip I have been to many more places including Australia, Madagascar, Morocco, Afghanistan, The Amazon, Brazil, Africa, Pakistan, and many more. Sober travel has given me a life beyond what I would have ever expected for myself and I strongly recommend taking the sober travel plunge to anyone in recovery.
Image courtesy @alisonfromashes
If you are considering sober travel here are some resources to get you started:
Also some things to consider when traveling sober:
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Establish a support team while you are away
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Look up recovery meetings where you will be staying
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Bring along distractions if you feel triggered (puzzles, books, recovery podcasts)
- Our Herren Wellness Alumni can keep in touch with us anywhere in the world via our weekly alumni zoom meetings
Alison is an example of what we believe at Herren Wellness, that life becomes full and the world is at your fingertips in recovery. When considering sober travel it is important to have recovery tools ready to use, and at Herren Wellness we provide our guests with these tools to live meaningful and fulfilling lives… traveling the world or simply living their everyday lives to the fullest.
About Herren Wellness
When you come here, you are immediately connected with a thriving community of people at all stages of their recovery journey. We introduce healthy habits and routines centered around emotional, physical, and spiritual wellness that provide a solid foundation for rediscovering your interests, experiencing joy in sobriety, and building structure and routine.
We provide several alumni support communities, including a weekly recovery support group, monthly alumni meeting, and online alumni community you can access anytime. Your connection to Herren Wellness doesn’t end when your stay ends; we are there for you throughout your recovery journey.
