Best Gluten-Free Vacations Slideshow
5. New York City: Classic Harbor Line Boat Tours of NYC
If you're visiting New York or you live in the big apple, the Classic Harbor Line, docked at Chelsea Piers, is a great gluten-free day trip. It offers day cruises that include an AIA Architecture Tour, Wine Tastings, and a Morimoto Sunset Sushi dinner cruise, which now offer gluten-free beer and rice as of 2012. This year, the company expanded its offering to include making most of it popular brunch cruise buffet gluten-free, including freshly made gluten-free waffles.
4. Las Vegas
Sin City may not seem like a natural choice when it comes to gluten-free living, but it actually is! Two of the Strip's biggest hotels, The Bellagio and The Wynn & Encore, offer extensive gluten-free offerings, as well as vegan and vegetarian options. In the Wynn, Lakeside Seafood has a special menu with lots of seafood dishes spotlighted. Additionally, the Wynn has alternative vegan offerings as well. Other gluten-free dining destinations on the Strip include Joe's Stone Crab, where you can take your pick of seafood or meat when chowing down on Joe's gluten-free menu.
3. Westin Resort, Aruba
At the Westin Resort, Aruba, chef Matt Boland is at the helm, ready to make sure each person and family is comfortable, accommodated, and more importantly, well fed. "We really have to specially handle each one," says Boland. "I like to personally introduce and explain to each restaurant chef and restaurant manager the nature of the allergies and the severity. Then we assign one or two people to cook and serve the meals daily." In terms of the everyday comfort food a gluten-free person might want and need, Boland keeps things like bagels, muffins, English muffins, cereals, pastas , brownie and cookie mixes, and tortillas for wraps on hand at all times.
2. Royal Caribbean Cruises
Cruising has become one of the very best options for those who are gluten-free. Cruise lines like Royal Caribbean now offer completely gluten-free and lactose-free options for guests who won't even have to think about their dietary restrictions once they got on board.
The cruise line enlisted a registered and licensed dietitian and nutrition consultant to evaluate existing menus and create new offerings to shape their current gluten-free and lactose-free program into a more guest-friendly experience. Popular gluten-free menu items — all noted with a symbol on each menu — include roasted butternut squash and white bean salad with a lemon garlic dressing, conchiglioni pasta filled with ricotta and spinach served on marina sauce and pesto drizzle, and orange chocolate parfait to end with something sweet.
1. Acanto Hotel in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico
This luxe Mexican hotel offers extensive gluten-free options for guests who wish to enjoy a peaceful beach vacation. The neighborhood itself is quickly becoming known for its wide range of gluten-free restaurants and markets that offer gluten-free options. The hotel has options to create a completely gluten-free vacation that include stocking an in-room mini bar with gluten-free snacks and an extensive gluten-free room service menu that sources from a local vegan café called Bio Natural Market, located a couple of blocks from the hotel.