As a former ‘Party Girl’ turned Certified Recovery & Life Coach and seasoned international traveler, I am excited to share my tips for how to stay alcohol-free on vacation. 

Let me start by saying, vacations are so much better when enjoyed fully present and sober. I know this might be hard to believe, but after many vacations and travels both drinking and not drinking, I am here to say sobriety wins, every time. There are no wasted days. No coming home needing a vacation from your vacation. No foggy memories. No embarrassment. No cringy photos, social media posts, or new “friends” that you have to face after alcohol was doing the talking. 

Yes, your first sober vacay might feel a little unsettling but I promise it gets easier. As a Sober Coach I have witnessed hundreds of people successfully complete sober vacations. No doubt when the time and place are right, you can do it too.

Should You Travel in Early Alcohol Recovery?

While...

I recently spent 3 nights in Vegas as a nondrinker. 

It was my best trip to Vegas ever.

I had an absolute blast with none of the consequences from previous alcohol induced trips. 

You must be wondering...

What did I do?

What did I drink?

Let me tell you all about it!

We arrived in the evening and immediately got ready to meet friends for dinner at SushiSamba.

The restaurant is uniquely themed with Peruvian, Brazilian, and Japanese flavors.

We ordered the chef’s special, where they just keep bringing out the best of the day. 

This included Wagu beef cooked on a rock at our table.

It was so delicious that I will never be the same after tasting it!

They have a mocktail menu, featuring three drinks.

Coco Leite

Coconut milk, pineapple, and mango. Served long, over ice.

Berry Smash

Muddled blackberry and raspberry, topped with lime sparkling water. Served long, over ice.

Cucumber Refresher

Fresh cucumber juice, agave nectar, and sparkling water. Served long,...

I’ve been to Vegas seven times. 

For five of them, I went as a drinking party girl. 

For one, I was doing a sober, curious experiment.

On my most recent trip, I arrived in Vegas as a happy, healthy, comfortable, non drinker.

There is such a thing, and I am proof of it.

I have enjoyed my alcohol-free lifestyle so much that I made it my career.

I have evolved into a Certified Professional Recovery and Life Coach, a Business Owner, Sober Influencer, Alcohol Free Advocate, Coach Recruiter,  and Corporate Wellness Consultant with almost 4 years of sobriety under my belt.

I am here to tell you that Vegas is better sober.

I know this is hard to believe.

I've done Vegas like a train wreck.

I always felt like I should have been having more fun than I actually was.

I felt like I should be somewhere else, I was never content in the moment I was in. 

I had FOMO.

I wanted to be everywhere at once. 

I was often irritated that the...

On my vacation we did so much lazing around.

Just napping, sitting, lying, being. 

So much nothing. 

It was the perfect place to do it.

We were always poolside, with a view of the ocean waves.

Some days we were under the shade of a cabana. 

I would read and sleep and swim and read and sleep and swim. 

Eating tacos at regular intervals. 

Laughing with my kids. 

We were all so relaxed. 

It was a beautiful escape from the busy hustle of our regular lives. 

We had a beautiful soaking tub on our balcony. 

Every afternoon my oldest would go enjoy a bath in solitude. 

I would get up early each morning for coffee and reflection with the ocean alone. 

My youngest joined in on the games and my husband golfed a few times.

I did yoga and had a spa day.

We all had the right mix of togetherness and alone time too. 

We only left our resort one day. 

We were there for a week. 

We could have stayed...

We arrive in Cabo.

We walk off the plane, down the steps, into the Mexican earth.

The kids and I feel like we are getting off of Air Force One and wave to the mountains, as if it they are our adoring audience. 

The process of getting into another country is stressful, even as a visitor.

There’s forms to fill out and never enough pens.

There's too many germs.

There's confusing repeat questions.

The airport is full of tired travelers, crying babies, and not enough air flow.

My main goal in these situations is to exercise my strong project management skills.

Most strangers aren't getting with my program and have not received my mental memo.

This arrival feels a bit more intense because of COVID.

I had more than usual big emotions, because I recently finished a book called, American Dirt. American Dirt is a story about a Mexican woman who had to leave behind her life and escape as an undocumented immigrant into the US. (highly recommend)

Anywho...I was feeling...

My #1 question this week is, "How was your vacation?”

Thank you for your interest and curiosity!

Normally, I share all my comings and goings in real time on Instagram so my followers can literally follow right along with me. I haven't done that for this vacation, so it's no wonder people are curious to know how it went. 

I am typically an oversharer. I like expressing myself and letting people in.   

In this moment however, I have taken a social media break, and it is uncharacteristically taking me longer to share this vacation in a blog post too. 

I have written many blogs (1, 2, 3, 4) about past vacations.

I suggest reading them all (of course) to get the breadth and depth of my past vacation experiences, and how it has changed over time.

I love to provide encouragement, inspiration, and support to others going on alcohol-free vacations. 

Here’s a few thoughts on why it might be taking me so long to share this vacation. 

I have been...

I have written about my sober vacations before. 

You can read my other vacation blogs here: 

Spring Break Sober, 

All Inclusive Beach Vacation Sober, 

Beach Vacay from Blackouts to Making Memories.

Today, I want to share my most recent experience, Spring Break 2021 in Florida.

We spent time in Naples with my sister in law and her young family. 

We also had our 3 best friends and their families from our neighborhood,

spending time in the same area.

We ended our trip in Fort Lauderdale with just the four of us. 

Needless to say, we had a blast. 

My husband had golf buddies, my kids had a group of teenagers to hang out with, and I had a Spa Day and Ladies Night with my Card Club. 

We were on a pontoon boat during the day and a catamaran cruise at sunset. 

We had the best food around the biggest tables. 

We relaxed at the pool and at the beach. 

We explored the ritzy areas, the historical areas, and the late night hot spots.

Spring Break, Man.

On my 21st birthday (also my golden birthday), I got a tattoo and headed to Panama City Beach for a week in the sun with my friends. 

Finally legal to drink alcohol! 

I watched frat boys drink so much that they dug a hole in the sand to puke in and then cover it up and drink some more.

Even as a party girl myself, I felt sad watching this. 

I wondered what their mothers’ would think and it seemed dangerous. 

Spring Break has always been a thing for me. 

On my first sober Spring Break 3 years ago, my husband and I sat there at the pool listening to Jimmy Buffet and staring at each other. 

What in the hell were we going to do?

How was this going to be fun?

Who does this?

Who stays sober on Spring Break?

How?

It seemed awkward, uncomfortable, and even painful at the time.

If that’s where you are at, this is for you!

Flash forward to today, 3 years sober, and many vacations in.

I just returned from a long weekend away and I am...

I am celebrating 2 year sober. 

Looking back, I'd like to tell my fragile newly sober self the lessons I've learned. 

I hope it comforts you to know that ditching the drink is really uncomfortable. 

That doesn't mean you are doing it wrong. 

You won't always feels the discomfort you feel now. 

I'd like to share my first sober vacation with you.  

I was only a month sober when I took my family on a Spring Break beach vacation.

At the time, when I was counting the days, if not hours, being sober.

A month felt like a really long time.

When I started on my quit drinking again experiment,

I didn’t even know if I would make it 5 days without alcohol.

After 30 Days I was ready for the dramatic before and after picture. 

It felt like I changed everything in 30 days. 

Now, after 2 years into this alcohol free life, I know that at 30 days I was still a fragile baby bird, in my sobriety. 

At 30 days sober, after mostly staying...