Gluten Free Travelling

Travelling can be daunting when you have food sensitivities. You know which places are safe in your hometown, but far and away is another story. If you’re like me, you do a ton of research via Google; typing in ‘gluten-free’ in various forms (hyphenated, one word, two words). Sometimes you come across a travel blog and they may have something of use to you. With blogging becoming so mainstream, many celiacs, like me, are posting their experiences and delightful finds; travelling included.

Here in Canada we’ve got the wonderful Celiac Scene, a website devoted to restaurants and retailers who make sure celiacs can dine safely. When I first discovered it 3-4 years ago, there were maybe 5 or 6 restaurants for all of Ottawa, now there are 2-3 dozen.

There is also Gluten-Free Ontario, a list of celiac friendly restaurants in the province of Ontario. What began as a mostly Toronto where- to-dine has quickly expanded to include restaurants all over the province.

A blog that I came across when researching Boston and Cape Cod in 2011 was Gluten-Free Globetrotter. Written by a woman, like me, who wants to (and loves to) travel all the while being able to eat safely. Her travelling experiences are proof that celiacs can travel safely and enjoy themselves too.

Another is Gluten Free Travelette. Blogging about her travelling adventures and experiences, the writer also has some stunning photos in her posts.

Now this is pretty exciting stuff. Those who have had gluten issues for a long time realize how wonderful this is. The product variety seems to have come a long way, and now too so do restaurants. Travelling seems to be making some progress, small steps albeit.

Celiacs just may have hit the big-time though. While reading through my latest celiac association newsletter last summer I saw a travel website dedicated to gluten-free travelling. I checked it out while researching our trip to Vegas in the fall and it is pretty handy. GlutenFreeTravelSite.com is also worldwide! All the reviews are submitted by celiacs who have dined there, so whether or not you travel write about the ones in your hometown. A celiac tourist may thank you. Another bonus... they just launched an app for the iphone.

Travelling is getting easier for us celiacs. It’s about time.