BYOB

The price of a cocktail, ice-cold beer or delicate glass wine can be on the spendy side when you’re on your next vacation. Understandably so, any alcohol provider whose lot in life it is to charge tourists for booze, in my opinion, should make as much money as possible. Supply and demand, you know? But you fastidious novice vacation thrill-seekers may be tempted to bring your own sweet spirits with you on your next adventure. My advice? Don’t.

Granted, if you are road-tripping, then sure, it is perfectly acceptable to bring your favorite spirit for when you get settled in to your hotel/resort or camping area. But even then, some hotels frown on this practice for a couple of reasons. First, they want to sell you their booze with their mark up, of course. But they also are particularly interested in your safety and the safety of their other guests. Unless they search everyone’s luggage upon check-in, hotels have no way of knowing what each guest is bringing onto the property and into their rooms. Remember, not every hotel guest practices common sense like you and me. Therefore, check with your hotel in advance and at the very least know their BYOB policy. Then you can decide if you want to bend or break the rules a bit on your trip.

Airlines are another story. While you are free to bring alcohol in your carry-on, it is usually against the Airlines’ policy to consume it during flight. In addition, TSA has strict liquid rules and bringing a bottle of wine (or any other type of liquid over 3 ounces) is strictly prohibited and enforced. Learn more about TSA’s liquids rules here. I suppose you could pop a bottle of your liquor of choice into your checked luggage. Airlines do permit this but why are you taking an unnecessary risk? That bottle would need to be bubble wrapped and heavily padded to prevent breakage. And at that point, wouldn’t it just be easier to pop into the liquor store upon your arrival?

​Cruise ships are also not big fans of you bringing your own alcohol on board. For a lot of the same reasons hotels frown on this practice, cruise ships are very serious about the safety of all the passengers and crew. Again, I would check with your cruise line for their liquor policy. Or better yet, leave your booze at home.

In general, I love a good cocktail when I’m on vacation. But it’s also worth noting that excessive drinking can be problematic for a myriad of reasons. So, I tend to be a little more strategic, take a few extra precautionary steps and limit my alcohol consumption on vacations. It’s better for my health, safer, cheaper and a lot less hassle.
The bottom line here: While carting around your personal supply of Ketel One on your vacation to save a few dollars may seem like a good idea, upon further research, it simply isn’t. So in my opinion, resolve to paying a little more for each cocktail wherever you’re headed for your next trip. Of course, you could always skip the alcohol all together when you travel. What? I think I was tipsy when I wrote that last sentence. But in all seriousness, always remember to consume responsibly at home or on your next great adventure.

Erik