How to stay active on holiday this summer

[UPDATED JULY 2024]

While you’re on holiday, you want to sit back and relax; that’s a given. However, staying active during your break is the perfect way to keep your joints in tip-top shape – plus, it can be loads of fun. If early morning jogs or pounding the hotel treadmill aren’t for you, there are many ways to be active without even knowing it. Being on holiday is a great opportunity to explore low-impact ways of exercising while still enjoying the sunshine, and without breaking too much of a sweat. Here are some of our favourite ways to exercise without it feeling like a chore...

1) Sightseeing

Exploring is a terrific way to find out what your holiday destination has to offer. In most places, there are tours that highlight the best parts of town and tell you all about the area’s history.

These tours often take place on foot or by bike, giving you a choice of how you take in the sights. This is a great way to get the blood pumping and keep joints flexible, as you’re walking or riding long distances, but are taking in all the sights and sounds, so it feels like no effort at all.

Sightseeing also allows you to move at your own pace, whether that be a leisurely stroll or a power walk, meaning you can assess your limits and take breaks whenever you need.

2) Swimming and relaxing in the pool

Swimming’s a brilliant way to stay active and maintain healthy joints. It uses the whole body and encourages you to control your breaths while remaining a low-impact sport. However, you may not always have access to a pool or large body of water at home, nor does the weather necessarily allow for outdoor swims very often.

Relaxing in the pool or sea is also a fantastic way to stay cool while soaking up the sun (with plenty of sunscreen, of course!). Even standing in the pool can ease joint stiffness, as the water’s buoyancy takes the weight off your joints. You may also find yourself paddling or gently bouncing on the pool floor to keep yourself afloat, which will keep your body and joints moving.

3) Snorkelling and tide pools

Snorkelling’s another way to exercise without it feeling like a huge effort – this is because you tend to swim slowly in the sea, depending on the strength of the tide. Due to the slow pace and buoyancy, your body feels little impact.

Tide pools are full of sea life, and you can check out creatures you wouldn’t normally see day-to-day. Walking through tide pools can also be great exercise, as the terrain’s not always flat or above the water, so you need to pick and choose the best path through.

Ways to stay safe:

• Ensure someone knows you’re snorkelling or walking through the tide pools, and how long you intend to be.
• Snorkel with another person, if possible, so if there’s an emergency they can alert the lifeguard and help you.
• Watch your step! Tide pools can contain venomous sea life, such as stonefish, sea urchins or jellyfish, which may seriously injure you if stepped on.
• Keep to shallow waters when snorkelling – if you swim too far out, you might become too tired to be able to swim back.
• Hands off – it’s a good idea not to touch the wildlife you encounter out in the sea or in the tide pools. You may injure yourself or the animal!

4) Games and aqua classes

Hotels often put on games, contests or gentle classes around the main swimming pools for people throughout the day, such as water polo, aqua aerobics, or diving competitions. These activities are a fun way to break up your day and get your body moving with other people.

There are many games you can play on the beach as well – think volleyball, cricket, bowls, tennis or football. These games encourage quick reactions and lots of movement, but because they’re loads of fun – and competitive at times – you may not notice how much exercise you are doing.

How can iMOVE help?

If you're planning to keep your joints in great shape while travelling, consider trying iMOVE Active, a joint supplement designed to support an active lifestyle. This high-quality daily joint support for adults contains ingredients such as Hyaluronic Acid and plant-based Glucosamine to help keep you moving freely. The lightweight packaging makes it easy to pack in your suitcase or carry-on, so you can keep living life to the full wherever you go.