Travelling with GLP-1 medication: your holiday questions, answered

Packing for a holiday and surviving Schiphol is stressful enough without worrying about whether your precious medication will make it through the trip. 

If you’re on weight-loss medication like a GLP-1 treatment, a few practical questions come up every time a trip comes up: can it fly, does it need a fridge, and what happens if you miss a dose while you’re away?

Good news first; none of this needs to derail your holiday. With a bit of planning, most people on this kind of weight loss treatment travel exactly as they would otherwise. Here’s what’s actually worth knowing before you zip up that suitcase.

What is GLP-1 medication?

GLP-1 medication (you’ll also see it called weight-loss medication or weight-loss treatment throughout this piece: they mean the same thing) is a prescription-only treatment that helps regulate appetite, making it easier to feel full sooner and eat less. It’s designed to work alongside lifestyle changes like diet and exercise, not instead of them.

It’s become one of the most talked-about treatments in the Netherlands over the past couple of years, especially among internationals who don’t always know where to start when it comes to accessing it locally.

How to get weight-loss medication (GLP-1) in the Netherlands?

You can’t just walk into an apotheek (pharmacy) and buy this over the counter; it’s prescription-only, and getting there usually means one of two routes. We’ve covered both in detail in our guide to getting weight-loss medication in the Netherlands as an international, including costs and BMI eligibility criteria, but here’s the short version.

• Route one is through your huisarts (GP), though eligibility criteria and waiting times vary depending on your situation and your practice. As a general benchmark, Dutch clinical guidelines typically require a BMI of 30 or higher, or 27 or higher with a weight-related condition such as high blood pressure or sleep apnoea.

• Route two is via online platforms offering consultations with doctors. Look for ones staffed by BIG-registered doctors specifically. BIG registration is the Dutch government’s official register confirming a healthcare professional has the right qualifications and is legally entitled to practise — it’s run by the CIBG, part of the Ministry of Health, and covers protected titles like arts (doctor) and verpleegkundige (nurse). If you’re curious exactly what that online process looks like step by step, we walked through it in our piece on getting a weight-loss prescription online in the Netherlands.

Reputable providers won’t just take your word for it, either. Expect a proper screening process: a medical questionnaire, some form of verification, and an actual consultation with a doctor before anything gets prescribed.

Wellis, for example, can check a patient’s existing medication record via the Landelijk Schakelpunt (LSP), the secure national system Dutch GPs and pharmacies already use to share medication data with each other.

This only happens with the patient’s explicit permission, and it lets the doctor check for potential interactions with anything else you’re taking before prescribing. Not every provider in this fast-growing market offers that level of oversight, which is worth keeping in mind when comparing options.

Eligibility, in short, gets assessed medically. It’s not something you can simply request and receive.

Can you fly with weight-loss medication?

Yes, and this part is genuinely straightforward. Schiphol’s own guidance confirms that medication is always allowed in hand luggage, and the usual 100ml liquid limit doesn’t apply if you can show it’s medically necessary.

A few practical points:

• Always carry it in your hand luggage, never checked baggage (temperature swings in the hold can damage it)
• Keep it in its original packaging with the label visible
• A doctor’s certificate or medical letter makes the process smoother, and Schiphol specifically recommends one for proving the medication is necessary

For international flights beyond the EU, it’s worth double-checking the destination country’s own rules on bringing injectable medication in, since these vary.

How to store weight-loss medication while you’re away

Storage depends on whether the pen has been opened yet.

Before first use, it needs to stay refrigerated between 2°C and 8°C. Once you’ve started using it, the official EMA product information for this class of medication confirms it can be kept below 30°C, out of the fridge, for a limited period — though the exact number of weeks varies by product and brand. Always check your own patient leaflet for the precise figure, or reach out to the professionals supervising your treatment.

Heat is the real risk here, and Dutch summers are becoming less of a joke on that front every year.

• Don’t leave it in a hot car, even “just for five minutes” while you nip into the Jumbo
• Avoid direct sunlight and prolonged heat above 30°C
• A cooling travel case helps enormously on flights, long drives, or anywhere refrigeration isn’t guaranteed; Wellis, for instance, provides customers with a cooling pouch designed to keep medication safely stored for one to two days without a fridge

No fridge at the hotel? Don’t panic. Ask reception — plenty of hotels can store medication for you even without an in-room fridge, or a cooling pouch will usually cover you for a short stay. (They have done so for years for Diabetes type 1 folks as well)

Can you pause GLP-1 treatment for your holiday?

This is the question with the most nuance, so treat it as a “check with your doctor” topic rather than a DIY decision.

Missing a single dose generally isn’t the disaster it might feel like. Official guidance for GLP-1 medications typically allows a short window, often several days, where you can still take a missed dose late. Beyond that window, standard advice is to skip it entirely and wait for the next scheduled one rather than doubling up.

Longer interruptions are a different story. According to the EMA’s product information for this medication class, restarting after missing multiple doses often means going back to a lower starting dose — the same gradual step-up used when first beginning treatment, specifically to reduce side effects.

It’s also worth setting expectations early: this isn’t a fast-acting medication. Many patients don’t notice big changes in the first two to three weeks, and clinics generally describe the full weight-loss treatment path in months, not weeks. A short pause for a two-week holiday isn’t going to unravel that.

Anyways, never restart or adjust dosing without talking to your doctor first!

Planning ahead makes this easy

Most questions patients have while travelling turn out to be logistical rather than medical: where to store something, whether a flight is fine, what a heatwave means for a pen sitting in hand luggage. Providers with a proper support line are set up to handle exactly this kind of question quickly, without needing a full consultation every time.

With a bit of preparation (hand luggage, a cool bag, and a doctor’s letter if you’re flying long-haul) this kind of treatment doesn’t need to complicate your trip at all.

Frequently asked questions