How to Stay Fit While Traveling

This guest post was written by Sofie Couwenbergh.

Whether you're traveling for a longer period of time or you're going on a two-week vacation, you'll almost certainly lose those healthy routines you've built up at home.

You'll try local dishes… lots of them; you'll forget about your morning run because vacation means sleeping in; you have dessert every night ...

Now, this all wouldn't be so bad if you'd exercise regularly, but if you're trying to relax is that always your priority? Here, we highlight the top ways to stay active during your vacation.

Walk

This one is obvious, but with the elaborate transportation options in some places you might tend to go for the easy way out. Yes, the subway will get you there much quicker and the bus allows you to see parts of the city while you can rest your legs, but by walking you'll see even more and you'll exercise at the same time. Of course you shouldn't walk for hours, but within a city, for example, there's no reason why you shouldn't walk. You'll be able to stop whenever you want to see something interesting plus you'll get a workout without being all sweaty at the end of the day.

Order Small Portions

If you like food and you like to try out local dishes, then eat accordingly. Don't have a giant breakfast, three snacks before lunch, a large lunch, dessert, two more snacks and a three-course dinner. Try to go for small portions each time. If the place you're at doesn't offer small portions, try splitting your meal/snack with a travel partner. This way you'll be able to try out more without actually having eaten that much. Another plus is that you won't feel so full and you'll have more energy to keep on exploring.

Try a Local Sport

Getting some exercise doesn't need to stand in the way of exploring. Each country or region has at least one very popular or typically local sport. Why not try it out? Take Flamenco classes in Andalucía, go snowboarding in the Swiss Alps, do yoga in Bali… You might even discover a new passion!

Bring your Running Shoes and Bathing Suit

99% of the time you'll be in a place where you can go running. The conditions might not always be best (a city with busy traffic) and the weather might not always be nice, but if you want you can go running everywhere as long as you bring proper running shoes. It doesn't have to take long, just half an hour every few days will have effect.

If you don't want to bring your running shoes because they take up too much space, you can always bring a bathing suit when you know there'll be water at your destination. Even if there are no sunny beaches, you might be able to find a local pool or a lake to go swimming in. It requires a bit more research and planning than just putting on your running shoes, but if you're determined to get your swim on, you'll make it work.

So what do you think: will you put some of these tips to practice? Or do you have another way of staying fit while traveling?

This guest post was written by Sofie Couwenbergh.

Sofie is a Belgian language lover and travel aficionado who combines a full-time job with freelance writing. She uses her weekends, vacation days and public holidays to travel the world and share her experiences with you on wonderfulwanderings.com. Be sure to follow her on Twitter and Facebook.