Allergy-Free Travel Locations: These Places Are Nothing to Sneeze At
Allergy sufferers: Breathe easily on your next vacation! (Photo: Getty Images)
The irrepressible surge of an allergy sneeze arrests your entire body. It builds slowly but steadily until the crescendo culminates with your dropping a napalm bomb of boogers all over everything (but hopefully into your elbow or a tissue).
It’s enough to make you crawl into bed and medicate until you feel like a zombie. But there’s another way find relief, and it’s way more fun: travel. Get out of town. Go to places where your nose and the air can be friends.
“There used to be ragweed-free resorts in Arizona and Colorado,” says Mike Tringale, senior vice president of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. “But in the last half a century, ragweed has grown to cover the entire country, so no place is perfect.” And while he cautions that hay fever is strongest in the Northeast and Midwest, he says that how you travel is going to be the most important factor in how you interact with the pollen and mold in a particular destination.
Gesundheit! (Photo: Getty Images)
Taking allergy pills helps (they’re meant to be used prophylactically, so do it every day). And staying inside is a good idea, but since fall is one of the most pleasant times to be outdoors, Tringale advises sticking to late day and evenings; plants tend to release pollen first thing in the morning.
In general, avoiding fall allergies means heading out West, where there’s much less mold and ragweed. Ocean breezes keep the air moving, reducing pollen counts and making towns along the coastline a good option. Places that are perched at high altitudes have less greenery and tend to avoid being dusted with too much mold and pollen (which also are more prone to grow in climates that are humid than in ones that are dry).
This adorable child may in fact be covered in ragweed. (Photo: Getty Images)
But even these widely accepted assumptions aren’t always perfect. Each person has his or her own individual threshold for what causes an allergy attack, so what might be an easy place for one person could be another’s nightmare. And pollen can travel in the air up to 500 miles. Ragweed pollen in Washington, D.C. can end up in Boston. Even worse, according to Tringale, “you could be sitting on an airplane and have an attack because the person next to you has ragweed on their sweater.” It could even be on that baby freaking out right behind you or the service tray you took a nap on that hasn’t been washed in a week.
Each year the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America releases a list of the best and worst places for fall allergy sufferers, but they’re running a little behind schedule this year (it’s coming at the end of October). Since fall is one of the best times to see the country — and because constantly sneezing sucks — we hopped on the phone and got some insight. “Ragweed is everywhere,” Tringale says, but here are some places where you’re least likely to be paralyzed by a blitzkrieg of sneezing:
Astoria, Ore.: Home of clean air. And “Goonies.” (Photo: Don Graham/Flickr)
The entire coast of Oregon looks, and breathes, like magic. But this charming small town, two hours from Portland and three from Seattle, has this going for it: One of the best feel-good movies of the ’80s, “Goonies,” was filmed here. And what better relief is there in life than a good throwback flick? It’s also claimed to be the oldest settlement in America west of the Rockies, so it’s teeming with history. Let your nose take in the brisk sea air while you check out the town’s renowned Sunday market, the maritime museums, the eco-tours up the Columbia River, or the Goonies House, or just play golf (it’s got some great courses). If you stay at the Cannery Pier Hotel, you can even roll down the windows on the classic car that comes complimentary with rooms. Chauffeur included.
A sneeze-free sunset at Saguaro National Park, Tuscon. (Photo: Srikanth Jandhyala/Flickr)
Ragweed and mold levels are pretty low in Tucson. Perfect, since temps are beginning to cool, and you can take full advantage of the city’s spectacular outdoor offerings, such as hiking in the mountains, horseback riding, golf, and biking. You can go all in on the wellness and book a few nights at Canyon Ranch, just outside of town.
WATCH: How to survive fall allergies
Don’t sneeze inside the virtual submarine at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose. (Photo: Conny Liegl/Flickr)
Some of the lowest ragweed counts in the country are in Silicon Valley, just an hour’s drive south of San Francisco. In the morning, when allergies are at their worst, check out the Tech Museum of Innovation or the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles (the first of its kind in the U.S.). At midday, check out the shopping and cafés of Santana Row or the food in Japantown. Though if you really want to do the outside thing, check out Alum Rock Park, with its scenic trails and natural springs.
No sneezing, or drunk college kids, in Daytona Beach (Photo: Jolianne/Flickr)
Not only are ragweed and mold spores hard to find in the fall at this beach town, but it’s nowhere near spring-break time. So by default, this is the best time to visit.
WATCH: Boardwalk & Oceanwalk in Daytona Beach
Albuquerque Balloon Festival. (Photo: Imran Mansuri/Flickr)
You’re fairly safe from ragweed and mold in the high New Mexico desert. It’s the hot air ballooning capital of America, and Oct. 4-12 happens to be when the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, the largest hot air ballooning festival in the world, is being held. Feeling more grounded? What better place to treat your nose to a little rest and relaxation than the former setting of “Breaking Bad”? You can do it by trolley.
Related: Is Fall the New Summer? These Spectacular Photos Prove Autumn Is the Best Time to Travel
No sneezing here — you’ll spook the horses. (Photo: Getty Images)
Park City is more than skiing and Sundance. At about 7,000 feet above sea level, it’s also a great place to enjoy fall without the fear of sneeze attacks. Grab a mountain bike and get on some of the greatest single-track trails in the country, hop on a horse to venture to the countryside’s rolling hills, or just plop down in one of downtown’s boutique hotels, such as the Washington School House, and enjoy prices that are half as much as they are in the winter.
Autumn in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs (Photo: Getty Images)
If you go to Colorado Springs, you can enjoy fall foliage without the fear of allergies. Ragweed is generally low here, and as long as it is dry, mold won’t have a chance to grow on the golden, maroon, and rust-colored leaves after they fall to the ground.
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