The Best Essential Oils for Travel

Everybody loves breaking from their normal routine for a vacation. It’s the “perfect excuse”.  But whether you’re sitting in a car for several hours or spending the day getting on and off planes, travel can take its toll on your mind and body. That is why we love saving room in our bags for an essential oil travel kit that can support immunity, ease anxiety and kick jet lag. And no more worrying about your kids moaning in the backseat, because essential oils for nausea are a great remedy for motion sickness too.  

So if you want to know the best essential oils to take on vacation, keep reading because I’m going to share all of my favorites with you, along with the best ways to use them, and even add some recipes you can take on the road.

Essential Oils for Motion Sickness

Let’s start with one of the top travel complaints. Whether it’s from extra turbulence on planes or sitting in the backseat, or sailing away on a boat, a lot of people suffer from motion sickness.  It usually occurs because the brain is getting mixed messages about movement and can be made worse by trying to read or check your phone.

Kids and pregnant women are more likely to suffer from it, and unfortunately, most of the conventional remedies on the market have side effects like extreme drowsiness. Essential oils for nausea will work to ease the sick feeling without causing fatigue or side effects.  Here are some great options.

Ginger

One of the more well known essential oils for nausea is ginger and it is considered safe for both pregnant women and children. It will improve digestion, stop queasiness and even improve circulation. One study showed that ginger was effective for people recovering from surgery who get nauseous from the anesthesia (1).

You can either apply it to the pulse points, onto your stomach or if tolerated even add a drop or two to water or soda. Remember how your mom used to give you ginger ale when you were feeling sick?  Well, this is the same thing, minus the crazy amounts of processed sugar and with the highest quality ginger.

Peppermint

Have you ever wondered why they call it an “after dinner mint”? Peppermint is one of the great essential oils for nausea because it is an antispasmodic. This means that it can relax the muscles of the stomach, therefore improving digestion and any feelings of sickness.  

It’s a great one for motion sickness or if you’ve just had one too many road snacks. You can use peppermint essential oil in the same way as ginger, by putting on pulse points, belly or a drop in water.  

doTERRA Digestzen

This is a combination of all the best essential oils for nausea and stomach upset. Whether its motion sickness, indigestion, or even diarrhea, this blend has you covered with a mix of ginger, peppermint, fennel, anise, carraway, coriander and tarragon.

This combination is made up of some great essential oils for travel sickness and will cover any other stomach issues that could arise on the road. Add a drop or two to pulse points, into your water, or in a diffuser to get back to feeling well.  

Best Essential Oils for Jet Lag, Anxious Feelings, and Sleep Disturbances

Jet lag is awful and sometimes even crossing just a few time zones can throw your body off.  This happens because your body’s circadian rhythm has been disrupted and can cause all sorts of irritating symptoms like crankiness, being awake when you should be asleep, fatigue when you want to be awake, and even headaches. What a drag.

Cedarwood

Cedarwood  essential oil will oxygenate the brain which could help it adapt more easily to big changes in time zones.  It is also grounding and relaxing to the nervous system so any feelings of restlessness will be soothed by inhaling a little bit of cedarwood.  

Apply a drop or two to your pulse points during travel to arrive feeling fresh and relaxed. This is not one you will want to ingest, but as an aroma it works wonders.  

Lavender

Sometimes jet lag brings on digestive issues, especially related to nervousness. Lavender with its relaxing and antispasmodic properties is a great essential oil for nausea and the anxiety that can accompany jet lag. Lavender will also help you relax if you’re feeling wired and can’t fall asleep.

Add a few drops to a diffuser once you get to your hotel, wave it around the room on a tissue or apply a few drops to your pillow before bed.  You can even add one drop to a hot drink to soothe yourself from the inside out.

doTERRA Serenity

If you want an all-around blend to ground your body, calm your mind and support an easy transition during big travel this is the one. This blend works especially well for the restlessness and insomnia that can come with disrupting your normal routine during vacation.

When you arrive at your destination, run a hot bath and put a few drops into the water with Epsom salts. This combination will help you unwind and prepare for sleep, even if your body clock hasn’t caught up yet. You can also run it in a diffuser, apply it to your pulse points or drop it onto a pillow.

doTERRA Balance

Balance blend is also very grounding, which can support jet lag and restlessness. But the whole process of getting to the airport, moving through the security line, battling turbulence and then waiting for your bags can really fry your nerves too. This blend of essential oils for travel anxiety will have you feeling at ease in no time.

Apply a drop or two to the soles of the feet before you leave to set yourself up for a smooth travel journey.  Once you arrive, diffuse it in the room to help settle in and decompress.

Essential Oils for Hygiene and Immune Support

This is a biggie. Have you ever thought about how much recycled air you’re breathing on the plane? How about what happened in your hotel room before you got there, how well it was cleaned, and with what kind of products?  Even if you’re staying in the country, travel can expose you to all sorts of germs and chemicals that you aren’t used to. This is when essential oils for cleaning and boosting immunity can be really useful.

Lemon

Lemon essential oil can freshen up any stinky rooms you may find yourself in and even kills microbes in the air to support your immune system. If you want something that kind of covers all the bases, lemon essential oil even combats nausea that may come up from travel sickness.

Diffuse it in the room for immune boosting, germ-killing support. And as an essential oil for nausea, apply a drop under your nose or on your wrists.

doTERRA OnGuard

So about that plane air thing. During a flight, when all the doors are closed off, the air you’re breathing is nothing but the same microbes being circulated through vents over and over. If your immune system feels compromised in any way, you could easily pick something up.

OnGuard kills germs in the air and protects your immune system when applied to the body or taken internally. Add a drop or two to your pulse points on the plane or to your water bottle to protect yourself from anything that could be circulating around.

Frankincense

Known as the “king of all oils” frankincense has a rich history of being grounding, antimicrobial, improving the immune system, helping to manage stress and to top it off- it’s anti-inflammatory!  Frankincense also doesn’t go bad and it’s multi-purpose qualities make it a great essential oil for travel.

Apply a drop just under your nose to boost immunity in the airport, a few drops to pulse points to ground you when you land, and then when you arrive diffuse it around the hotel room to kill germs and steady your nerves.

If you want to take out the guesswork of which ones to choose, try our essential oil travel kit which has everything you might need in an easy on the go bag, including hand sanitizer. But if you want to pick out just a few that really speak to you, here are the best essential oils to take on vacation. You can find most of these in our store too.

1. Ginger– Essential oil for nausea, motion sickness and indigestion.
2. Peppermint– Another essential oil that is great for travel sickness.  It’s also uplifting and cooling when you’re feeling hot and overwhelmed.
3. DigestZen– This is a great blend of essential oils for nausea and any other digestive discomfort.
4. Cedarwood– A balancing and oxygenating oil for jet lag and restlessness. It also calms irritability and helps you ground where you are.
5. Lavender– A calming essential oil for anxiousness, sleeplessness,  fried nerves, or stomach upset.
6. Serenity– This is an essential oil blend by doTERRA to support relaxation, a calm mind and to help ground the body.
7. Balance– Another doTERRA blend to help you balance out jet lag and anxiousness from traveling.
8. Lemon– This essential oil is antimicrobial, uplifting, supportive to the immune system and can even help with nausea.
9. OnGuard– One of the best blends out there for immunity, OnGuard will help kill off any germs you’ve been exposed to from travel and boost your immune system if it’s low.
10. Frankincense– Another multipurpose essential oil, frankincense is calming, anti-microbial, immune boosting and anti-inflammatory.  It can help with almost any icky travel feelings.
11. Citrus Oils– These include orange, grapefruit, lime or tangerine. Instead of reaching for coffee, the citrus family of oils can give you the uplifting boost you need after a long hectic travel day. Careful not to apply these to the skin and then go out in the sun though.  They can cause you to burn faster!

If you like to plan ahead and want to create some travel remedies to take with you here are some DIY recipes that will cover all the bases.

Uplifting Essential Oils For Nausea Roll-On

Ingredients:

• Roller Bottle
• 5 Drops Peppermint Essential Oil
• 5 Drops Orange Essential Oil
• 3 Drops of Ginger Essential Oil
• Carrier Oil (like fractionated coconut oil)

Add your essential oils to the roller bottle and then top with a carrier oil of your choice.  Shake well to combine and rub these onto your pulse points at the first sign of queasiness. These essential oils for nausea will halt motion sickness in its tracks and give you a little energy boost as well.

Essential Oils for Jet Lag Diffuser Blend

• 3 Drops of Lavender Essential Oil
• 2 Drops of Cedarwood Essential Oil
• 2 Drops of Serenity blend Essential Oil

Just add these to your diffuser when you arrive to balance out your nervous system, and then do it again before bed.  These should help your body regulate and support you to get a good night’s sleep.

Essential Oils for Immunity Spray Blend

• 2 oz Spray Bottle
• 10 drops On Guard Essential Oil Blend
• 10 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
• 1 tsp of Organic Vodka
• Purified Water

Add the essential oils to your spray bottle with one teaspoon of vodka or grain alcohol.  This will help the oils break down and disperse into the water. Top it off with water and shake well.  This spray can be used around your body, in your hotel room, or on pillows and clothing to kill germs and boost immunity!

I hope this has given you some good ideas about how to make your next trip or vacation even better. Essential oils for travel are such an easy way to support yourself and your family, and they won’t take up too much space in your luggage.  Have you found any great remedies for motion sickness, jet lag, or anxiety? I’d love to hear from you with any advice or questions you may have, so leave a comment below and keep us updated!

For more information on essential oils, check out our Ultimate Essential Oils Guide!

 

Sources:

1. Wilson, Debra Rose (2017). “6 Essential Oils for Nausea.” Retrieved from: https://www.healthline.com/health/essential-oils-for-nausea