For most people, travel planning revolves around flight, hotels and sightseeing. But, when you live with a life-threatening allergy, every part of a trip carries an additional layer of risk. Something as simple as eating at a restaurant, buying food at an airport or accepting a snack on a flight can suddenly become a safety decision.
For most people, travel planning revolves around flight, hotels and sightseeing. But, when you live with a life-threatening allergy, every part of a trip carries an additional layer of risk. Something as simple as eating at a restaurant, buying food at an airport or accepting a snack on a flight can suddenly become a safety decision.
Many travellers with allergies avoid entire destinations because of this. South-East Asia, for example, can be challenging for peanut allergy sufferers due to the widespread use of groundnut oil. Other cuisines may regularly include nuts or sesame in sauces, marinades or desserts, sometimes without clear labelling.
Solo travel can feel even more intimidating. Without someone travelling with you, there’s no backup if something goes wrong – which means some travellers choose to avoid restaurants entirely and rely on supermarket food instead.
But here’s the truth:
Travelling with a nut allergy is absolutely possible. You simply need to plan your trips slightly differently. Instead of focusing purely on where you want to, you also need to consider:
This is exactly where structured travel planning becomes powerful.
At Love Travel Planning, we use a framework called the Platinum Travel Planning Roadmap. It’s a step-by-step method for designing trips that are smoother, safer and far less stressful. For travellers with allergies, the roadmap becomes even more valuable because it allows you to build safety checks into every stage of the trip. Instead of discovering risks when you arrive, you identify them during the planning phase. For example:
| Roadmap stage | Allergy planning considerations |
|---|---|
| Who | Are you travelling solo or with someone who understands your allergy? |
| Where | Do local cuisines commonly use peanuts, sesame or tree nuts? |
| When | Are restaurants likely to be busy, increasing cross-contamination risk? |
| How | Which airlines have better allergy policies? |
| What | Which restaurants, hotels and supermarkets are safest? |
| Why | Are you choosing destinations where you feel comfortable eating? |
By using this structured planning approach, allergy travel becomes far more predictable and manageable. The rest of this guide links to detailed resources that help you plan at least part of your journey safely.
Travelling with an allergy is largely about reducing the chances of misunderstandings. One of the simplest and most effective ways to do this is by using allergy cards (often called chefs cards) when ordering food abroad. These cards clearly explain your allergy in the local language, allowing restaurant staff and chefs to understand the seriousness of the situation even if they don’t speak English.
I originally discovered this idea from @MayContain on Instagram, but over time I decided to create my own versions tailored for travellers leaving the UK. These cards can be presented to:
They’re particularly useful in countries where language barriers make allergy communication difficult. We’ve created free downloadable allergy cards covering many of the most popular travel destinations for UK travellers. One format for two printing options:
If you prefer, the cards can also be saved as images on your phone and shown to restaurant staff when ordering. However, I generally recommend printing them if possible. Things shown on a phone screen can sometimes be skimmed over quickly, whereas handing someone a physical card tends to break the moment and encourages staff to read it properly.
You’ll find cards for the 12 most travelled countries from the UK, plus a few additional destinations we’ve used during our own trips.
Eating out abroad is often the most stressful part of travelling with a nut allergy. In the UK, allergen laws require restaurants to provide clear ingredient information and staff are generally trained to understand cross-contamination risks. But once you travel internationally, those systems may not exist. Many restaurants overseas:
Because of this, finding safe places to eat becomes less about trusting menus and more about preparation and research. Our full guide explores practical strategies that make eating abroad far easier, including:
It also explains where hidden allergens commonly appear in global cuisines, including:
Understanding these patterns allows travellers to anticipate risks before ordering.
Flying with a severe nut allergy is one of the things I hate most about having an allergy. Aircraft cabins are enclosed environments where hundreds of passengers share the same space, food is served throughout the flight, and medical assistance is limited once the aircraft is airborne.
For travellers with allergies, understanding how different airlines handle allergens can make a huge difference to how safe a journey feels. To make this easier, we created the Airline Allergy Audit – a framework that evaluated airlines across five key areas:
The guide compares multiple airlines and highlights those with the most supportive policies, including airlines that:
However, it also explains that no airline can guarantee a completely nut-free flight. Because of this, travellers should always take additional precautions. This article also covers practical risk-reduction strategies including:
Where you stay while travelling with a severe nut allergy can make a huge difference to how safe and relaxed your trip feels. Accommodation affects how much control you have over your food environment, whether you rely on restaurants, and whether you have access to a kitchen or nearby supermarkets.
Within the Platinum Travel Planning Roadmap, accommodation sits within the “Where” stage of planning, where you look beyond price and location, and consider practical factors like food access, kitchen facilities and local cuisine.
In the full guide, we explore how different accommodation types, including hotels, hostels, motels and Airbnb apartments, compare from an allergy perspective, and which options typically offer the most control over your food environment while travelling.
Travelling Australia with a life-threatening nut allergy is absolutely possible, but it requires careful planning and understanding how food allergens are handled locally. During my two month solo trip across Australia in early 2026, I experienced everything from cafe culture and long road trips to replacing lost epipens abroad.
One major change affecting travellers is Australia’s Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL) law, fully implemented in February 2026. The new system requires packaged foods to clearly list ingredients such as peanuts, tree-nuts and sesame. This makes supermarket shopping much easier than under the previous system.
However, Australia still differs from the UK in one key area. Foods made and packaged on site often don’t require full ingredient labels. This means travellers may still need to ask staff directly or choose factory-packaged food when unsure. Additional risks can appear when:
Planning ahead, carrying emergency medication and understanding how to replace an EpiPen abroad are therefore essential.
In this guide, I break down everything I learned travelling solo across Australia with severe allergies, including how allergen labelling works, where risks appear, and the exact process I followed to replace my EpiPens in Melbourne.
Yes. Many people travel internationally with severe nut allergies every year. The key is careful preparation before you go. This usually includes researching local cuisine, understanding how allergen labelling works in your destination, carrying emergency medication and communicating your allergy clearly when eating out.
Using a structured approach such as the Platinum Travel Planning Roadmap helps identify potential risks early so you can make safer decisions about flights, accommodation and restaurants.
Countries with strong allergen labelling laws are generally easier for travellers with severe allergies. Places such as the UK, Australia, Canada, the United States and much of Western Europe typically require packaged foods to clearly list allergens like peanuts, tree nuts and sesame.
However, restaurant standards can still vary, so it is always important to communicate your allergy clearly and carry translated allergy cards.
Flying with a nut allergy is usually safe, but it is not risk-free. Aircraft cabins are enclosed environments where passengers share air, surfaces and food service areas. Airlines cannot control the food other passengers bring onboard, so no flight can be guaranteed to be completely nut-free.
To reduce risk, many allergy travellers inform the airline in advance, notify cabin crew when boarding, wipe down surfaces and bring their own safe snacks.
Eating safely abroad usually involves a combination of preparation and communication. Many travellers use translated allergy cards, research restaurants in advance and choose simple dishes with fewer ingredients.
Apps such as TrustDiner, Spokin and AllergyEats can help identify allergy-aware restaurants, while tools like Google Translate or Google Lens can help translate menus when travelling in countries where English is not widely spoken.
Yes. Most doctors recommend carrying at least two adrenaline auto-injectors when travelling. Some allergic reactions require a second dose of adrenaline before emergency services arrive.
Your EpiPens should always be carried in an easily accessible bag, not packed away in luggage or the bottom of a backpack.
Some airlines carry emergency medical kits that include adrenaline (epinephrine), but passengers should never rely on this as their primary medication.
Airline emergency kits are intended for use by trained crew or medical professionals, and access procedures may vary between airlines. Travellers with severe allergies should always carry their own prescribed EpiPens.
Yes. Many people successfully travel solo with severe allergies. However, solo travellers often take extra precautions, such as researching restaurants carefully, choosing accommodation with kitchen facilities and carrying clearly visible medical information. With careful planning and good safety routines, solo travel with a nut allergy can still be a very rewarding experience.
A basic allergy travel kit usually includes:
Keeping these items together in a small sling bag or medical pouch makes them easier to access quickly if needed.
Every month I’m sending out either a full itinerary for a destination or some genuinely helpful packing guides – including downloadable PDF’s, accommodation recommendations and much more! Sign up for free below: