One of the most challenging things about traveling sometimes can be how to eat while on vacation. Some people will of course take the attitude that it’s their vacation, and they’re not going to worry about it.

I used to be in that camp, but one of the things I’ve learned in recent years is that it is possible to take a vacation and stick to the whole food, plant-based way of eating, all while enjoying delicious, gourmet dishes.

I recently came back from a seven-day Caribbean cruise on board the MSC Divina, and all of the meals we had during that cruise were first-class gourmet. This was the third year in a row that I’ve gone on that cruise, and I’m already signed up to go on it for the fourth time next year.

The 2018 cruise will be a ten-day cruise to the southern Caribbean. It’s a great cruise for people who want to eat truly gourmet foods while continuing to eat healthfully. And in the morning, there are lots of opportunities for doing yoga, Pilates, meditation, walking, etc.

During the day there are lectures on eating plant-based by some of the top doctors and leaders in the whole food, plant-based movement. It is truly a top-notch vacation and one that I recommend. More information can be found at www.atasteofhealth.org.

Or perhaps you have an interest in going to Italy. Dr. Joel Kahn, known as “America’s Healthy Heart Doc” and owner of the Kahn Center for Cardiac Longevity in Michigan as well as the Greenspace Café, is leading a whole food, plant-based tour to Italy this month. Information about his tour as well as other plant-based tours can be found at www.vegantravelclub.com/tours/veg retreats. That is a vegan travel club with trips planned to the Amalfi coast, Rome, Sicily and New York City.

Perhaps you’d like to do a European river cruise. Then check out www.veganrivercruises.com, where several opportunities are offered. There’s the five-night Rendezvous on the Seine in October, the seven-night vegan Taste of France in November, and the New Year’s cruise at the end of the year.

Going on vacation doesn’t mean having to give up how we eat. It doesn’t have to mean sacrificing our health. There are travel opportunities that cater to the tastes of those who are whole food, plant-based.

Don’t stay home thinking you can’t travel. The world awaits you.

J Lanning Smith is a local freelance writer focused on the whole food, plant-based way of eating.