Holiday while gluten free

[CloTee]

Hi guys! Coeliac here! Desperate for a holiday in the sun but I haven’t travelled abroad since diagnosis and it’s scary as hell and an absolute minefield! Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

[Julsie]

Just remember “Sin gluten”. Other countries seem more clued up that ours. Enjoy your holiday 😎

[Pink_Bear]

Italy is good. A lot of people have gluten problems and gluten free choices are widely available. "Senza glutine" will be understood everywhere, even in all those fabulous ice cream shops!

[Lydiahipkin]

Hi there, I’m in the same predicament as you. Only diagnosed 2 years ago but desperate to go on holiday this year. I’ve done a bit of research and there are quite a few hotels that cater for food intolerances (tui advertise this) but like you I’m feeling very sceptical as to how good they are with cross contamination!! Like Pink Bear said I have read that Italy is a good place for celiacs , really hard to make the decision as you don’t want to be sick all holiday !

[Penel]

You may find a restaurant translation card useful if you are wanting to eat out.

verywellfit.com/gluten-free...

Spain is also good for gluten free. Enjoy your time away!

[knitwitty]

Hi CloTeeMy son is a coeliac and he spent a year in Venice at university ( to say I was jealous is the understatement of the year!!) he had no problem at all getting gluten free foods even Mc Donalds have gluten free burgers at all their "restaurants" .

The Italian equivalent of the coeliac uk is called AIC and their accreditation appears on some restaurants .

Also Becky Excell has a blog and she lists places she has visited in Europe ( I think ) and all the eating places she recommends.

Good luck hunting down the sun !!

[Singinglouder]

Recommend the restaurant cards - also very useful in this country, as the person you explain it to at the table is rarely the one cooking!I go self catering to Greece with some meals out, and eat very well, even in the little villages I prefer. Bread is the main challenge, so I take a couple of packs of gf pitta (flat already, so won’t squash!) and plan ahead for the return journey, as there’s unlikely to be anything gf at the airport except Toblerone - a pack of rolls in the freezer compartment of the fridge works for a couple of weeks. A pack of gf flour is also useful - and if you find self catering with an oven, go for it, gives you loads more options. Have a great time!

[Knip in reply to Singinglouder]

The pitta bread idea is great, SL. Thanks for that. I usually take GF bread rolls, but they take up a lot of space!

[Tabbyme]

Hi CloTee. I had my first holiday after diagnosis with hotel estival in cambrils in 2018 and we are going again in a few weeks. Can't wait. Jet2 holidays who now do gf food on their flights too (not tried yet first time this time for gf plane food). The hotel give you a menu to fill in but they are helpful too. All the staff are really good and understanding!! 😊

[Knip]

Hi Clotee, last time I went overseas on holiday I took a list of all the foods I CAN eat rather than those I can't...I have Chron's Disease so there are many foods which I have to avoid like the plague. I write a short card saying that cross contamination will make me VERY ill. Of course, I use google translate for this! Last time, to be safe, the chef cooked me beautifully cooked rice (and half a lemon to squeeze on it) with huge portions of either white rice or chicken. I had peeled pears, oranges and orange juice, with, if he was cooking them for others carrots, green beans and peas. They bought bread in for me and tried to provide corn flakes which turned out to be popcorn, so I left that untouched...just because I'm not that keen. It might have been easier catering for me because it was self service...so my food was prepared and served directly from the kitchen. That was in Lanzarote on bed breakfast and evening meal. I really appreciated their efforts, all served hot and freshly cooked.