Working Out While Traveling: A Few Tips That Have Worked for Me
One of the harder parts of traveling from place to place is figuring out how to keep some kind of workout routine going.
Our experience
The challenge is not just finding a gym.
Rules change from country to country, pricing changes from club to club, and even something as simple as buying a one-day pass can work completely differently depending on where you are.
So instead of trying to build one perfect system, I learned to use whatever option made sense in that particular city.
Sometimes that meant a hotel gym. Sometimes it meant a day pass. Sometimes it meant asking about a free trial or buying a small package of visits.
The goal was never to recreate a perfect home routine. It was simply to keep moving.
The easiest workout option while traveling is often the one already inside your hotel — and hotel gyms can be wildly inconsistent. One may have everything you need; another may have broken machines, missing weights, or barely enough equipment for a short session. Even a treadmill, a few dumbbells, or one universal machine can be enough to fill a gap in a travel week. I also found apps like Train Away useful in some destinations: open the app, find nearby participating gyms, and buy a short-term pass. Another option is asking local gyms about trial visits or multi-entry passes. Some clubs offer packs of three, four, or five visits that remain valid for months, which can be especially useful if you return to the same city later.
Must-sees and must-dos
- Check the hotel gym first — it is the easiest and cheapest option, even if you only use it for a short workout.
- Look for day-pass apps — services like Train Away can help you find nearby gyms that allow short-term access.
- Ask about trial visits — some clubs may allow a free or discounted first workout, though policies vary.
- Compare multi-entry passes — if you are staying longer, a small package of visits can be much cheaper than paying for individual days.
- Download gym apps only when needed — some clubs require their own app to store passes or access the facility.
- Accept a partial workout — twenty or thirty useful minutes is still better than skipping exercise completely because the setup is not perfect.
Our pro tip
Do not expect your travel workout routine to look exactly like the one you follow at home. That usually creates more frustration than motivation.
Use what is available. A hotel treadmill one day, a local gym pass the next, a quick free-weight workout somewhere else, or even just a shorter session when time is tight.
Travel already brings more walking than many normal weeks, but it also brings more restaurant meals, drinks, snacks, and long days out.
So the goal is not perfection. It is enough. Enough movement to stay connected to your routine, enough flexibility that working out does not take over the trip, and enough consistency that you do not feel like you completely abandoned it while you were away.
When the hotel gym isn’t enough, Train Away is the day-pass app I have actually used — search nearby gyms, buy a short-term pass on your phone, and get in without a membership.