We did it! We successfully had an amazing vacation to Aruba.
As a little bit of back story, we booked a family vacation to Aruba back in March - aka before our son's allergy diagnosis. We have been there many times, as my mother-in-law has a timeshare. However, this was different - we were traveling with a toddler with food allergies. Vacationing with a toddler takes enough care and preparation, but a toddler with food allergies is a whole different story.
Practically since Hudson's diagnosis, I researched how to travel safely. I connected with some people I know who traveled with their food allergic children, researched restaurants, and contacted the hotel. I invested in almost every sanitary contraption on the market for flying. At the end of the day, these are the things I found most useful:
In particular to Aruba, I learned these places are useful and/or safe:
As a little bit of back story, we booked a family vacation to Aruba back in March - aka before our son's allergy diagnosis. We have been there many times, as my mother-in-law has a timeshare. However, this was different - we were traveling with a toddler with food allergies. Vacationing with a toddler takes enough care and preparation, but a toddler with food allergies is a whole different story.
Practically since Hudson's diagnosis, I researched how to travel safely. I connected with some people I know who traveled with their food allergic children, researched restaurants, and contacted the hotel. I invested in almost every sanitary contraption on the market for flying. At the end of the day, these are the things I found most useful:
- Research and planning ahead is key. I reached out to the hotel, who put me in touch with the restaurant manager. The manager not only communicated with me before arrival, but called me the day I arrived to assure me we will be accommodated at the hotel restaurant. I also gathered information on local markets and restaurants that would accommodate individuals with food allergies
- Wet Ones are your best friend. They kill 99.99% of germs (at least according to the package)
- Board the plane early. I boarded before my husband and child, and wiped down our entire area. By the time they arrived, our row was the cleanest on the plane. FYI - when you clean the row, don't forget the window shades, which turned out to be Hudson's favorite toy on the plane
- Bring a ton of safe snacks. I brought easily packable items, such as microwaveable mac and cheese, fruit pouches, and pasta
- Bring extra epi pens, just to prepare for an emergency. Since I knew we would be spending a lot of time on the beach, I invested in an epi pen blanket, which kept the Auvi Q injector cool on the beach
- Relax and enjoy the vacation!
In particular to Aruba, I learned these places are useful and/or safe:
- Ling and Son's Supermarket sells a ton of American products. We bought most items to give Hudson for breakfast and lunch from here
- The Hyatt is super accommodating for food allergies. We made reservations at the Mexican restaurant there, and the chef came to meet us while we booked the reservation. He assured us that Hudson would be safe
- Smokey Joe's is also safe. Hudson enjoyed the ribs so much, we ate their twice
- While we did not eat there, I heard Linda's pancake house is very accommodating. We plan to eat there on the next trip
- Aqua Grill has very few nuts on the menu, and we enjoyed a great family meal there as well