Have You Tried 'Dry Tripping' Yet? We Explain the Latest Travel Trend

It has become a growing trend to go without alcohol for long periods, or even permanently. Something is refreshing about waking up without a hangover and with increased energy from a restful sleep.

Now, imagine doing that on a vacation. Whether it’s a weekend getaway or a month-long trip, mocktails instead of cocktails might be the best way to travel. This is where the new fad, dry tripping, is originating from. 

What is dry tripping?

Dry tripping is eschewing alcohol or only drinking low-alcohol-based drinks during a vacation. Millennials and Gen Z have jumped on the bandwagon of the trend to take advantage of the health benefits and keep more cash in their wallets. 

Studies show that people are drinking less these days. Dry tripping is now turning sobriety into wellness or self-care holidays. Since people are spending less money on cocktails or wine, they have a larger vacation budget. There’s often quite a bit more money in the budget to go and enjoy more things once someone stops drinking.

What are the benefits of dry tripping?

Dry tipping can help you save money. Using an alcohol spending calculator, an average person could spend around $160 on cocktails in a week’s vacation if they just had two drinks per day. That’s a reasonable sum of money. Take that money and use it to upgrade a hotel room or airline seat. Better yet, save it in a high-yield savings account.

Dry tipping also benefits physical and mental health. Not drinking means there’s less of a chance of doing something you'll regret when you drink too much. There are also no painful hangover headaches and it can lower your blood pressure. 

Alcohol is high in calories, so not drinking can help you lose weight too. Dry tipping means feeling rested, which can lead to more energy. It's easier to get up early to watch the sunrise. It's not painful to spend the day at the beach. Your vacations could become more meaningful and enjoyable. 

Where to enjoy non-alcoholic beverages when you travel

The hospitality industry has been noticing this trend over the past few years and has responded accordingly. You can now find a variety of sweet or tart nonalcoholic drinks to pamper yourself as you travel to your favorite destinations. Here is how the most popular hospitality companies are handling it. 

• Airports: LaGuardia Airport’s Chase Sapphire Lounge has mocktails designed by their cocktail bar partner, Apotheke. The Capital One Lounge at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has three mocktails on its menu. Delta’s Sky Club and United Airlines’ Polaris Cubs serve mocktails in all their American locations. They seem to be nearly everywhere these days.
• Airlines: Jet Blue’s business class passengers can now choose a mocktail on domestic flights. And both Jet Blue and Alaska Airlines offer nonalcoholic beer. They join 11 international airlines that provide mocktails and nonalcoholic beverages.

• Cruise Vacations: Both Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean offer zero-alcohol packages. Vacationers can opt to add mocktails to that package. Virgin Voyages has an extensive mocktail menu created by mixologist Julia Momose and Carnival partnered with Lyre’s, an award-winning distiller of nonalcoholic spirits, for their mocktails. Creating the perfect mocktail has even become a competition between cruise lines.

• Hotels: Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, The Standard, and Marriott hotel chains also offer mocktails. You don’t have to settle for a Shirley Temple. You can find Sophisticated drinks like the Rising Sun at the Four Seasons in Fort Lauderdale or Stanton Social’s Garnet Gimlet at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

Zero-proof cocktail offerings often sound more appealing than ones with alcohol. They're a tasty alternative, made with fruit, sparkling water, and nonalcoholic spirits. You can check with your favorite hospitality company to see what their options are, but utilizing these offerings might just make you want to find ways to travel more. 

Bottom line

Dry tripping is a trendy way to travel that also taps into the wellness movement while being budget-friendly. A dry vacation could save travelers at least $150 per person, but likely much more for heavy drinkers. 

Low-alcohol or nonalcoholic beverages are healthier than a diet of cocktails. Every facet of the travel industry is now trying to cater to the non-drinking crowd. The money saved from not drinking could be spent on anything from an upgraded airline seat to shopping. Or, the money could be saved for a rainy day.

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