5 Must-Dos Before Hiring A Food Allergy Travel Agent
Updated June 2025
Planning a trip when your child has food allergies can feel overwhelming—especially when even the smallest hiccup can send you into a spiral of anxiety.
And while some food allergy travel advisors promise peace of mind, many don’t fully grasp what that takes. Simply noting an allergy on a hotel reservation isn’t enough. If they’ve never lived with food allergies themselves, they often miss the deeper research, follow-up, and nuance that families truly need to be confident and prepared, not just hopeful that someone will read a note in the system.
We're diving into 5 must-know tips to help you feel confident and in control BEFORE you hire a Food Allergy Travel Agent or Advisor.
These are simple but powerful steps to calm your mind, prepare you for unexpected situations, and keep your family safe—no matter where your adventure takes you. Read to the end for a surprising tip you probably never thought of!
Have you checked out the Food Allergy Made Easy Podcast yet? You can listen to this and many more episodes created specifically for food allergy mamas like you.
Get personal stories and experiences in this episode:
The Importance of a Food Allergy Travel Agent
A travel agent or advisor who truly understands food allergies is invaluable. They will help you save time because they’ll do the heavy lifting of all the research needed before a trip with food allergies. A Food Allergy Travel Agent will also have a pulse of what’s happening with travel brands, resorts, and locations, and can give you insider tips that make your trip safer and less stressful. In short, a Food Allergy Travel Agent or Advisor can steer you in the right direction so your trip is less stressful, so you can focus on making memories instead of worrying the whole time.
Unfortunately, not all Travel Agents know how to manage food allergies while traveling. Food allergy travel agents who don’t live with food allergies daily may not do the right research or address the thoughts that make food allergy travel scary. If you don’t address your anxieties in advance, it can mean that the smallest thing on your trip can send you into a spiral of worry and ruin your trip.
This is why I highly recommend these 5 essential things BEFORE hiring a food allergy travel agent.
Don’t worry, these 5 things are easier than you think!
In case you’re new here, let me introduce myself.
I’m Corinna!
At the time of writing, I’m a 18-year food allergy mom and Food Allergy Travel Agent.
We’ve traveled all over the world with severe food allergies even before my kids were 11 and 13. Some of our destinations have been the Bahamas, Mexico, Spain, Ireland, the UK, Italy, France, Portugal and all over the USA and Canada.
We’ve been on several Disney vacations (including Disneyland, Disney World, and Disneyland Paris), road trips, beach vacations, tours, river cruises, and a Mediterranean cruise too!
I think it’s safe to say that we have extensive food allergy travel experience.
My daughter has peanut and tree nut allergies and gluten intolerance, but we’ve also lived with and outgrown dairy and egg allergies, so I’ve lived with and know how to manage several food allergies, and can help you with any food allergy or intolerance and celiac disease.
I tell you this so you know that this post isn’t just a bunch of random tips. You can trust what you read here. I also want you to know that food allergy travel CAN be safer and less stressful, which means it’s fun and memorable!
Although it took me many years to fumble through our vacations while making a lot of mistakes along the way, with guidance, you can have a safer and less stressful vacation right away.
Now, let’s get to the 5 must-dos before hiring a food allergy travel agent.
5 Must-Know Tips Before Hiring A Food Allergy Travel Agent
Overcome the fears.
Here’s a surprise…
Food allergy travel is MORE than just finding allergy-friendly destinations, accommodations, and safe restaurants.
In order to have a great vacation, your MIND needs to be in the right place too. This will allow you to think on your feet when plans change and actually ENJOY your vacation, instead of stressing! If your mind is worried, frantic, or stressed, you may not be able to enjoy your time OR make good decisions when needed.
When it comes to food allergy travel, your mindset and thoughts are really, really important!
I remember when we were about to go on our first overseas trip to Europe. We had researched and planned it all out. But a week before, I WAS A MESS! I wanted to cancel the whole thing. The guilt was getting to me and I kept wondering why we would take the unnecessary risk of travel.
Thank goodness my husband calmed me down because our trip to Spain was still one of our favorite trips of all time. Our family would have missed out on SO MUCH if we hadn’t taken that trip, because taking that trip also gave us the desire to travel to Ireland and the Mediterranean and many more places too!
You need to know that these feelings of fear, doubt, and guilt are real and will likely happen at some point. So it’s important to truly address them in the beginning so you can fully anticipate your vacation with joy, as well as make your vacation safer and less stressful!
As your Food Allergy Travel Agent, I help you feel mentally prepared and confident before you even leave home—so you’re not constantly second-guessing yourself or stuck in “what-if” mode. With a clear plan and support, you’ll be able to handle changes calmly and actually enjoy your trip.
2. Don’t overlook the small things.
As I already mentioned, food allergy travel is MORE than just finding allergy-friendly destinations, accommodations, and safe restaurants. There are a lot of small things that you WILL need to face too.
A few examples are, the safest way to travel on a plane, how to eat safely on travel days, what to pack, and where to find safe food when you’re on an excursion and away from your accommodations. Also, consider flight delays or emergencies that could come up.
You may not think of these things right away, but they are inevitable and it’s ESSENTIAL to be ready so you can safely adjust as needed and your trip isn’t ruined by worry.
An experienced Food Allergy Travel Agent will be able to help you navigate these seemingly small things (that make a big impact on your vacation) so you’re prepared.
3. Understand how to do it yourself first.
Having a Food Allergy Travel Agent do the research, and make the bookings and plans is a great idea. But without knowing what to look for and how to do it yourself, you can’t verify that your travel agent is asking the RIGHT questions on your behalf. It’s not just about asking the resort if they can accommodate allergies. It’s the details that matter.
Even with solid research and planning, things can change once you’re actually on the trip. That’s why it’s important to know what to do while you’re traveling—like how to ask questions, handle unexpected situations, or spot red flags in real time. A good travel advisor gives you the tools and confidence to adjust safely.
This is why I offer my clients two quick and easy workshops as part of my services. So if you’re new to traveling with food allergies, OR you just want tips to make traveling with food allergies safer and easier, these workshops can help you be confident when you’re on your trip.
If you’re not the workshop type, I’ve got you covered! I also include one-on-one consults so you can ask all your questions. Again, this is included when you hire me as your Food Allergy Travel Agent.
4. Know how to make finding & cooking safe foods quick and easy while you’re away so you feel like you’ve had a vacation too.
Many single or double food allergies can be accommodated at hotels and resorts, BUT sometimes, when you have multiple allergies, even with lots of restaurant research, there might be only one or 2 restaurants that are fully allergy-friendly in every location.
Even then, no matter how many allergies you have, a restaurant may seem allergy-friendly when you research it at home, but not when you get there. Unfortunately, there have been many times when I’ve researched a restaurant before leaving home, but have NOT felt comfortable with it once we arrived. Safety is always our number ONE priority, ESPECIALLY on vacation, which means that we don’t eat at a restaurant if we don’t feel confident in their food allergy protocols.
Especially if you have multiple food allergies, this uncertainty means that vacations might mean packing the right things, shopping, and cooking for ourselves.
But let’s be honest… that’s exactly what we were hoping to take a break from on vacation, right?
That’s why it’s important to know HOW you can make the burden of finding and cooking allergy-safe foods streamlined and easy, so the cook can enjoy the vacation too.
If you have one allergy or multiple food allergies, as your Food Allergy Travel Agent, I help take the pressure off by guiding you through what to pack, where to shop, and how to plan simple vacation meals—so it feels less overwhelming and more like a real vacation. With the right prep, you can enjoy your trip without spending it all in the kitchen, even if you’re cooking!
5. Learn as much as possible.
Before you hire a food allergy travel agent, get as much practical knowledge about traveling with food allergies as possible. A safe and worry-free trip boils down to having what you need to feel confident so you can handle whatever comes your way during your trip.
You spend hours and hours reading blog posts, Instagram, and the internet, OR you can get all the practical knowledge I’ve learned from our extensive experience traveling with multiple severe food allergies in one PLACE, so it’s easy to access without searching. You can do this with my Food Allergy Travel Workshop, and Dining Out With Food Allergies Workshops.
I’ve packed these workshops with what we’ve learned after traveling to the Bahamas, Mexico, Spain, Ireland, the UK, Italy, France, Portugal, and all over the US and Canada. We’ve been on several Disney vacations (including Disneyland, Disney World, and Paris Disney), road trips, beach vacations, tours, a river cruise, and a Mediterranean cruise!
These workshops also include essential travel planners and packing templates you need, whether you hire a food allergy travel agent or not.
You can get these workshops for free when you book through me as your Food Allergy Travel Agent.
6. ⭐️BONUS TIP ⭐️ Use a Food Allergy Travel Agent you trust.
Once you’ve completed these 5 Must-Do’s, it’s time to hire the most amazing Food Allergy Travel Agent.
Guess what? I’m now accepting a limited number of clients!
If you’re ready to book a vacation with an agent who knows what you need for food allergies, email me at corinna.meckelborg@fora.travel.
I care deeply about empowering your food allergy family to live fully, and I specialize in booking allergy-friendly vacations. I use our family’s extensive travel knowledge to empower you with support so you don’t feel alone, and you can be confident. Even better, I get paid by the hotels, resorts, and cruises I book, so there’s no additional charge for my base services and food allergy support. Email me for more information today!
Conclusion
Knowing these 5 essential must-dos BEFORE hiring a food allergy travel agent will help you have an amazing and allergy-friendly vacation.
You may also like this post about the 5 Best Places to Travel With Food Allergies.
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