What Are the Best Tips for Kosher Travel?

For those who observe a kosher diet, or eat only foods which adhere to Jewish dietary laws, dining while traveling can be a challenge. A few simple tips can make kosher travel easier, however. First of all, travelers should look to the Internet for information about kosher dining in the location that they will be traveling to. If necessary, they should explain their dietary restrictions to restaurant servers in order to ensure that all meals are indeed kosher. For quick snacks during the day, it can be helpful to request a hotel room with a refrigerator and to keep some store-bought kosher items on hand.

With a wealth of information about kosher dining options in cities all over the world, the Internet can help to quash concerns over kosher travel. Before leaving for a trip, kosher travelers should spend a bit of time researching to find out what kind of kosher options exist in the area to which they will be traveling. It may be useful to mark these kosher establishments on a map, or to print out a list which can be carried in one’s purse or wallet while traveling. Travelers might even consider choosing accommodation which is in close proximity to kosher options so that they are not required to spend a significant amount of time in transit before and after each meal.

Some destinations offer few or no kosher dining establishments. Yet even in these locales, kosher travel is not impossible. Those who must eat in a restaurant that does not cater specifically to kosher diets should consider asking for special food preparation. The restaurant’s cook may be willing to bake a kosher fish or a potato inside two or more layers of aluminum foil, a preparation method which preserves a food’s kosher status even when it has been cooked in a non-kosher kitchen. To ensure that the dish remains kosher prior to consumption, travelers should request that it be served sealed inside the foil in which it has been cooked.

Sometimes, a language barrier may make it difficult for travelers to request kosher foods, while in other cases, they may not have time to eat each meal in a restaurant. In such situations, an in-room refrigerator can be an extremely useful tool for kosher travel. Once a traveler has checked into his accommodation, he can visit a local grocery store to stock up on kosher products, which can be eaten in his hotel room or on the go. He may also wish to purchase disposable plates and utensils in order to ensure that he does not use non-kosher tableware.