All Inclusive Holidays Abroad

[Miss Abi]

Has anyone (with coeliac disease) travelled abroad, on an all inclusive package, and been ok??

I am hoping to travel to Egypt later this year, 4* resort with everything included. Advice I have seen so far is stick to basic food. This should be finein theory, but in reality all inclusive meals are buffet-based. So what about cross-contamination? I can phone the resort before I arrive to explain what coeliac means and can check with the buffet staff when I am there so I know what ingredients have been used, but my concern is that I'll be stranded in a resort with nothing suitable to eat...or I'll eat what I have been told should be fine and will then suffer a reaction. I don't want a ruined holiday, but equally don't want to miss out on amazing holidays. Can you tell me your experiences?

[Gemini]

Has anyone (with coeliac disease) travelled abroad, on an all inclusive package, and been ok??

I am hoping to travel to Egypt later this year, 4* resort with everything included. Advice I have seen so far is stick to basic food. This should be finein theory, but in reality all inclusive meals are buffet-based. So what about cross-contamination? I can phone the resort before I arrive to explain what coeliac means and can check with the buffet staff when I am there so I know what ingredients have been used, but my concern is that I'll be stranded in a resort with nothing suitable to eat...or I'll eat what I have been told should be fine and will then suffer a reaction. I don't want a ruined holiday, but equally don't want to miss out on amazing holidays. Can you tell me your experiences?

I have been struggling with this dilemma for awhile. How to travel to less mainstream countries and not get sick!

One thing I do know is that I would NEVER do an all-inclusive that was not gluten free based. I never eat at buffets unless I am the first or second one to open the place and generally only do salad bars and not cooked food buffets. The chance of CC is just too high for me to chance it. Would you really want to end up in an Egyptian hospital? I also buy high end health insurance with an emphasis on "liberal evacuation expenses provided."

I have not done an all inclusive or group tour yet but there are a few that cater to Celiacs I have been toying with trying. One is Bob & Ruth's Travel, which does gluten-free tours and they are all inclusive. The other I discovered are called Glamour Getaways and there is one to Rome that is a gluten-free tour that sounds fantastic. I cannot seem to get prices yet but I think they are probably much more expensive but you won't have to worry about getting sick in a foreign country. I just have trouble trusting travel groups that will be handling my food if they are not Celiac savvy.

I wish you luck and I'm sorry I cannot be of more help but I am also looking for answers to these issues myself. I'm older and worry about it more, I guess!