Tips for Traveling While Sober

A trip looks like a pause in the rules, and the hotel bar looks like a private exception. It is not one. If you are in recovery from alcohol use disorder, the travel guidance is not to drink at all. Before you pack buprenorphine, methadone, naltrexone, or a medicine for alcohol, check the destination and every layover. Do not stop the medicine so the suitcase is simpler, and do not travel through withdrawal.

If a seizure, severe confusion, trouble breathing, or someone who will not wake is already happening, call 911. For a mental health crisis, call or text 988. Alcohol withdrawal can be life-threatening if people who chronically drink heavily stop suddenly. Stopping benzodiazepines abruptly, or cutting the dose too quickly, can cause seizures, which can be life-threatening. What alcohol withdrawal looks like is in alcohol withdrawal. Benzodiazepines are in benzodiazepine withdrawal.

Alcohol does not get a vacation exception

People who should not drink at all include those recovering from alcohol use disorder, and those who cannot control the amount they drink. Beer, wine, and liquor count the same. There is no known safe amount during pregnancy or while trying to get pregnant. Alcohol itself is on alcohol.

Drink concentrations abroad may differ from similar drinks in the United States, and driving limits may be stricter than the U.S. limit. Alcohol can add to diarrhea, heat illness, and motion sickness. Even a small amount can interact with a motion-sickness medicine such as dimenhydrinate. Alcohol and drugs also raise the risk of violence, risky sex, and unintentional injury.

Triggers include certain people, places, or activities that tempt someone to drink more than planned. Drug cues are the same family: people, places, things, and moods. A reunion, a hotel bar, or a work dinner can be one of those cues. How cravings work once you notice them is in triggers and cravings. Noticing the cue is not a reason to prove you can sit in the bar.

Medicines have to be legal where the plane stops

Medicines used to treat substance use disorders might be illegal in another country. Travelers can also meet drugs that are less common at home, or that are stronger or mixed in unexpected ways. For alcohol use disorder, acamprosate, disulfiram, and naltrexone are medicines that can help. Check with embassies at the destination and at every layover. People taking disulfiram should avoid beverages that might contain alcohol, including some labeled alcohol-free, because products with up to 0.5 percent alcohol can be enough to cause a reaction. If someone wants to start a medicine before an international trip, an appointment at least a month ahead is the suggestion, because medicine abroad may be counterfeit or substandard. Carry enough for the whole trip. Which medicine is yours is a prescriber's decision. What the opioid medicines are for, without doses, is in medication for addiction.

Buprenorphine and methadone reduce cravings and withdrawal by acting on opioid receptors without the euphoria of the drug being misused. Naltrexone blocks opioid effects. These medicines might be restricted or prohibited in other countries. In the United States, methadone for opioid use disorder is dispensed by certified opioid treatment programs, and federal rules describe when take-home doses are allowed. Some states add their own rules. Ask the program before you buy the ticket. Do not stop methadone, buprenorphine, or naltrexone so the suitcase is simpler. How a domestic checkpoint treats labeled medicine, and why methadone doses have to be arranged before travel to treatment, is in flying to treatment. Opioids more broadly are on opioids.

Overdose risk does not stay home

Illegal opioid use and misuse of prescription opioids raise overdose risk. Fentanyl can be deadly even in small doses. Naloxone can reverse an overdose from fentanyl, heroin, or a prescription opioid. If naloxone is prescribed, check with the U.S. embassy at the destination and at layovers about whether it is permitted and whether you need a prescription. Naloxone is a temporary treatment. Its effects do not last long, and medical help is still required after it is given. How to recognize the emergency is in overdose signs and naloxone.

Cannabis possession and use are illegal in most countries and can bring serious penalties. Marijuana with more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC by dry weight is illegal under U.S. federal law even where a state allows it, and it is illegal to take that marijuana on a domestic flight. Cruise-ship rules may ban cannabis products and may also ban products under that THC level, such as CBD. Policies change. Check before each trip.

If you already go to 12-step meetings and want them on the road, Alcoholics Anonymous provides information on meetings in the United States and in other countries. That is a pointer for people who want it. It is not a requirement, and no meeting times are listed here. Some people travel to another country for treatment. Before anyone chooses an international program, review evidence-based guidance rather than a price. No foreign center is ranked here.

Search FindTreatment.gov for care in the United States. Call or text (800) 653-9376 if you want help comparing domestic programs before a trip.

Additional Resources

Sources cited on this page:

• CDC Yellow Book: Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders in Travelers (2026)
• SAMHSA: Opioid Overdose Reversal Medications
• NIDA: Treatment
• NIAAA: Alcohol Use Disorder: From Risk to Diagnosis to Recovery
• FDA: Boxed warning on benzodiazepines
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
• SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov

Common Questions