From enjoying street food to going on mountain hikes, knowing which vaccines you need can protect your ability to say yes to the moments that make travel magic.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult your healthcare provider for guidance based on your individual health needs.
When I traveled to Vietnam earlier this year, I found myself doing something I didn’t expect: triple-checking my own vaccine records. And I say that as a physician who literally talks about immune systems for a living. I knew the basics, but I found myself staring at government websites, travel clinic forms, and message boards wondering: Wait, which ones do I actually need? And do I really need them if I’m mostly drinking coconut coffee and taking photos of lanterns in Hoi An?
Travel today is more accessible than ever, but medical guidance around it can feel confusing, outdated, or contradictory. So let’s make it simple. Below is a clear, realistic guide to the vaccines that matter when you’re planning international travel, whether you’re heading to a safari lodge, a yoga retreat, or a resort getaway focused on cocktails on the beach.
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Start With the Basics
Before thinking about destination-specific vaccines, check your routine immunizations. Nicole Chow Ahrenholz, M.D., a clinical associate professor at the University of Washington, agrees. “Don’t forget the basics,” she says. “You’re far more likely to catch influenza or COVID than something exotic like yellow fever.”
Make sure you’re current on:
- MMR (measles, mumps and rubella)
- Tdap (or Td booster every 10 years) (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis)
- Polio booster (for certain destinations)
- Influenza (annually)
- COVID (annually if >6 months old, biannually if >65)
- Varicella (if you haven’t had chickenpox)
- Shingles (if 50+)
Most travelers are surprised to learn they’re overdue for something. “These are the vaccines that protect you both at home and abroad,” explains George Sakoulas, M.D., an infectious disease specialist and adjunct professor at The University of San Diego Medical Center. “Starting with routine shots gives travelers a clear foundation before adding destination-specific vaccines.”
Ahrenholz adds that many travel-related illnesses are preventable through common-sense precautions like hand hygiene, mask use in crowded areas, and careful attention to food and water safety.
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The Travel Vaccines to Actually Consider
After your routine vaccines are squared away, the next step depends less on where you travel and more on how you travel. Your travel behavior, more than your latitude, matters more in determining what vaccines you’ll want to consider. Are you a resort spritz traveler, or the “that sizzling thing smells amazing, I don’t mind that it was just trying to wiggle off the cutting board, I’ll take two” at the night market kind of person?
If you’re the latter, you may want to consider:
Vaccine
Why It Matters
Consider It If…
Hepatitis A
Spread via food/water worldwide
You plan to eat anything delicious
Typhoid
food/water-borne
Street food is your love language
Yellow Fever
Required for entry in parts of Africa + South America
Even airport layovers can trigger documentation checks
Hepatitis B
Spread via bodily fluids
You want to get a tattoo abroad, go on an extended trip, may need medical care abroad, are open to new romance
Rabies
Hard to treat quickly in remote areas
You will be around wildlife or monkeys with suspicious charisma, or prolonged stays in countries where there are stray dogs.
Japanese Encephalitis
Mosquito-borne rural Asia disease
Trekking, visiting rice paddies, slow travel, bike tours are on your itinerary
Meningococcal
Spread in crowded conditions
You’re visiting during Hajj/Umrah when it is a requirement, or if you’ll be staying in dorms
A simple way to think about it: if someone is cooking the food outdoors in front of you, Hep A and typhoid are smart, low-friction protection. If your trip involves rice paddies, bike tours, or long days outside, Japanese Encephalitis are worth considering. Ahrenholz also points out that not all mosquito-borne illnesses have vaccines, like Zika or West Nile, so good mosquito precautions matter just as much as the shots you do get.
And if your itinerary includes wildlife encounters, or just happens to take you somewhere with extremely confident monkeys, rabies should be on your radar. “A resort trip and a backpacking trip are not the same immune experience,” Sakoulas says. “And a 10 day vacation is very different from a three-month stay. Even if you’re not planning an exotic itinerary, an experience restricted to urban settings for months in a country where stray dogs are common may make you strongly consider the rabies vaccine.”
Timing Is Everything
The ideal time to sort out travel vaccines is at least four weeks before your trip. Make an appointment with a travel clinic or a physician who offers travel medicine, and bring your itinerary (including any rural add-ons), your vaccine history (if you have it), and a list of current medications or conditions. Travel clinics can also help with malaria planning, altitude medication, and those “just in case” traveler’s diarrhea prescriptions. Pro tip: Say yes to that last one.
If You Have Special Health Considerations
If you’re pregnant, immunocompromised, or traveling with kids, don’t worry, you can still travel (though, of course, if you’re expecting, you should speak with your healthcare provider about when it’s safe to fly). You’ll just want to make plans a bit earlier. Pregnant travelers avoid live vaccines; immunocompromised travelers should check in with their specialist; and kids can generally get most travel vaccines, though sometimes on an adjusted schedule. For anyone managing chronic medical problems, such as diabetes, heart disease, or autoimmune conditions, Ahrenholz recommends checking in early to ensure vaccines and medications are compatible and that your condition is stable for travel. For these travelers, planning about 6–8 weeks before departure is ideal.
Don’t Forget the Paperwork
The Yellow Fever vaccine still comes with a physical yellow certificate, and some countries will not let you enter without it. Keep the original, take a photo of it on your phone, and store a digital copy somewhere you can access offline.
In rare cases, certain destinations may ask for proof of a recent polio booster as well; your travel clinic will tell you if this applies to your itinerary.
Where to Get Reliable Info (Without Spiraling)
When you’re double-checking requirements, skip the forums and social media threads – they’ll send you into a tailspin. The most reliable, up-to-date information comes from:
- CDC Travelers’ Health: www.cdc.gov/travel
- WHO International Travel & Health: www.who.int/ith
- Your destination’s U.S. Embassy site
Check them once while planning your trip, and again just before you fly, since entry rules and health recommendations can change.
The Bottom Line
Travel offers experiences we can’t replicate at home—new environments, new foods, and new ways of moving through the world. Vaccines don’t reduce the adventure, they protect your ability to say yes to it. A little preparation now buys freedom later.
