At times I travel far away from my home group. Over the years, I have discovered tools that help me to travel in a sane and sober way. From these tools, I have developed a list of “Twelve Tips for Travel,” which I share with my sponsees whenever one of them is about to leave on a trip. My sponsees have found the list to be helpful, so I thought I would share it with the fellowship.

Following are actions that work for me when I travel. May we all find recovery during our travels this summer.

Twelve Tips for Travel

1. Call your sponsor. He or she will no doubt have lots of ideas about how you can stay connected while traveling. The sponsor might even have an SA contact in the place you’re visiting.

2. Write to SAICO (saico@sa.org) for updates on meetings available in the area. Ask for the name of a contact person—this may be a “loner” who would love to have an SA visitor!

3. Call the SA contact and find out if he or she is available when you’ll be visiting. If you can’t go to a meeting, arrange to meet for coffee or a meal.

4. Tell the members of your home group how long you’ll be away. Let them know you may be calling them from your destination!

5. Review your cell phone policy to make sure you can call your sponsor and sober support team from your destination.

6. Arrange to have an SA friend cover your service assignment(s).

7. Join the International Buddy List (sabuddylist@gmail.com) or the International Sisters List (isasisterslist@gmail.com) to be connected with SAs around the world.

8. Check on-line for open AA meetings in the places you’ll be visiting. These can be a lifeline where there are no SA meetings.

9. Download a schedule of SA phone meetings.

10. Pack your White Book as well as some travel-sized aids to sobriety, such as the pocket Big Book, the pocket Twelve & Twelve, and Daily Reflections.

11. Select some SA conference CDs to take along. To buy CDs or download talks, go to www.leestapesandcds.com or www.glennkaudiotapes.com.

12. Slip a couple of Essays into your carry-on bag. These are handy to read in airports or on the plane. They never go out of date. Don’t leave home without “our meeting in print”!