Exercising on vacation while still enjoying your vacation

How can you fit in exercise on your trip without ruining your vacation? I share tips in this post!

One of my favorite parts of traveling to new places is getting to run somewhere new. I love exploring a new location by foot since I usually see things I wouldn’t necessarily see while doing normal tourist things! While I love planning my vacation runs, I know for many people, it doesn’t always sound pleasant to workout while you’re supposed to be relaxing.

Hopefully this post gives you some ideas of how you might exercise on vacation and still enjoy your vacation. We don’t have any concrete travel plans this year, but we’re hoping to get something planned later this summer or fall. I’m a little nervous about traveling with a baby, but I got lots of pro tips to make it easier!

Okay, let’s get into this post!

How to Exercise on Vacation While Still Enjoying Your Vacation

Tips for Exercising on Vacation

Recognize non-traditional exercise

If you’re visiting a place that’s walkable, walk! Remember that you’ll likely walk a lot more just from sightseeing than you do in your day to day life. We walked all over Dublin and never thought of it as exercise, but it totally was!

When we went to California a few years ago, I didn’t work out once at the Terranea Resort, but I loved the daily morning walks with Tommy!

And, exploring a new town or city is so much more fun by foot — or bike! You’ll see a city in a way that you’d never see by car. You can usually rent bikes in large cities, and some small ones too.

If you like golfing, play 9 or 18 holes with your loved ones. You’ll definitely get a workout if you walk rather than use a cart and it’s a fun way to spend time with family, like we did with my brother in law in California. (Cute golfing clothes are totally optional but totally fun.)

We played golf at the Primland Resort on our babymoon!

And remember that you may be active in ways you don’t even realize get your heart rate going. Even playing with nieces and nephews count! (This is a photo from over 10 years ago when I first shared tips for staying active on vacation! Those boys have changed a LOT since then!! So have I, ha!)

Exercise with others

Tommy and I sometimes run together while we’re on vacation. This was one of my favorite memories from our trip to Palm Beach a few years ago. Trust me, running isn’t his favorite thing in the world. But it’s a fun way to spend time together and he (usually) thanks me afterwards. (If you want to improve your running or start from scratch, join my online running course!)

That run in Palm Beach kicked off something bigger. Later that year, he later ran the BolderBoulder 10K and the American Fork Half Marathon!

When I travel to a place where friends live or am meeting friends there, I always try to fit in a run with them. (Assuming at least one of them is a runner!) I had a great time exploring Boulder, Colorado, with Jonathan and Amanda when I was there for the BolderBoulder 10K.

When I visit my family in Utah, at least one hike is always on the agenda!

I’ve even gone to a running camp! This vacation is designed entirely around running and I LOVED it.

Note: while working out with others on vacation is awesome, I’m also big advocate for taking solo vacations. Those vacations often make for my best runs. No schedule to stick to, no one to meet, just me. (This will be harder to pull off now that I have a baby but I’m hoping I can eventually get back into that tradition!)

Recognize how good exercising makes you feel 

Traveling, especially long distances, can be really taxing on your body. One of the best things I do for myself is stretching and going on a walk when I get to my destination. After sitting in a car or on an airplane, I just need to move.

And once I’m settled into my vacation spot, I look forward to exploring the area each with a morning run or walk!.Think of it as something you get to do, rather than something you have to do.

Pro-tip on the topic of travel: HIRE A TRAVEL AGENT for your trips. It was the best decision we made for our honeymoon and trip to Dublin. I cannot speaking highly enough about ours. Read more here.

And another side note: I always pack in a carry-on, even for a week long trip. See how I do that here.

Another perk? Exercise can help with the travel gut woes. When I’m traveling somewhere new, I often have a little bit of a hard time adjusting to the food and my digestive system gets upset. I LOVE to eat local food and try new things, but that doesn’t always bode well. Staying active seems to improve that! I didn’t get an upset stomach once while I was in Ireland and I ate a LOT of food!!

Try something new

This can be especially fun when you’re somewhere with new-to-you workout classes! I love visiting yoga studios or CrossFit. If you don’t have a climbing gym or cycle studio in your town, visit one during your trip. Or hey, goat yoga anyone? That was a first for me when I went to Ojai for a Beautycounter work trip!

If you like hiking, try a new trail each day! I love exploring new trails when we visit Boone and Blowing Rock, North Carolina. I can’t wait to take Thomas, my eight month old, on these trails this summer!

Relax!

And if you don’t workout, don’t beat yourself up over it. It’s MORE than okay to rest. A rest day may be just what you need to help you crush your workouts when you get home. Remember that recovery is an important part of effective training, so maybe hit up the spa for a massage instead!

What are your favorite things to do when you travel? Do you rest or do you workout?

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