Ramadan is best spent at home with family, reflect and become closer to god, but different situations may require you to travel and those travel timings may coincide with your fast. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency, highlights some tips to help you make it easy for yourself and not to miss out on fasting while traveling especially long distance, this Ramadan.
Have healthy food for breaking fast
A lot of things may occur during your long distance trip. Wheather it’s dealing with delayed flights, getting stuck in heavy traffic, or lost baggage, endeavour to keep a small packet of dates in your bag or a protein bar as well as a bottle of water to maintain your energy levels in the event of a delay and you need to break the fast.
Get smart with fasting apps
Download all the right apps, to keep track of prayer times, to help you locate mosques, as well as restaurants. A good example of a fasting app you can download is HalalTrip to find mosques, restaurants, and hotels in your new location. iOS and Android users can also download Muslim Pro for an entire copy of the Qu’ran.
Plan your trip wisely
One of the first things to consider before traveling is the times for iftar (morning meal) and suhour (breaking fast). It is best to inquire at your hotel for any nearby mosques or search online for Muslim communities based on the where you’re visiting. Upon booking, inform your hotel in advance if you have special requests or needs and get recommendations on where it is best to pray and eat.
Break the fast where and when the sun sets
Always break your fast when the sun sets in your destination no matter how short the trip is or wherever you are. The time zone of the country where you left and began fasting does not really matter.
Skip the fast for later
In Islam, it is not only children, elderly, the sick and women with periods who are exempted from fast. Travelers are also exempted from fasting. However, if you skip fasting, it must be made up once travel is complete. Or to make up for days you didn’t fast, fast later in the year. If you really don’t want to miss out on fasting, then make sure your flight is scheduled after Iftar.