Ah, vacation. Perhaps the three most glorious syllables ever uttered. Is there anything better than sitting in a lounge chair, drinking an adult beverage from a coconut, as the clear water of the Caribbean Sea laps at your feet? Or riding the elevator all the way up to the very top of the Eiffel Tower and looking out at the Paris skyline at nighttime? Perhaps riding a camel on a beach in Morocco is more your speed?

Any way you slice it, vacations are the best. While vacations provide a time to explore, relax, and rejuvenate, you needn’t let your exercise regime fall by the wayside when you travel. In fact, vacations are a great time to mix up your regular workout routine and try something new. And as an added bonus, you’ll feel much less guilty about ordering that second adult beverage in a coconut.

Having just returned from a ten day Disney vacation (4 nights at the BoardWalk Villas, 3 night Bahamian cruise on the Disney Dream, 2 nights at Old Key West), here are some of my tips and tricks for working out on vacation. While some of them are specific to WDW and DCL, most of them are applicable to any vacation, regardless of the destination.

Walt Disney World

WDW is extremely runner friendly. Some of the resorts feature dedicated running and walking trails, and nearly all of them offer safe and pleasant running routes along sidewalks, parking lots, etc. Running along the main roads at WDW is dangerous and not recommended, as there are no sidewalks and the traffic is heavy. Save the road running for runDisney events, both for safety’s sake and so that when you get aboard the Walt Disney World Transportation System you can point out to your friends and family, for the rest of eternity, all of the roads you have run on (here’s looking at you, Brad!).

Simply ask at the front desk when you check in or the concierge desk for a running map. Another good resource is the website Disney Running, an unofficial site with PDFs of the resort jogging maps and some runner reports.

During my last trip I woke up early and ran from Old Key West along the Lake Buena Vista Golf Course to the Cirque du Soleil building Downtown Disney. Depending on where your villa building is located within the resort, this route is approximately a 5K. Another one of my favorites is running around Crescent Lake, past the BoardWalk, Yacht & Beach Clubs, and the Swolphin the Swan and Dolphin. Each lap is about a mile.

Additionally, some WDW resorts (mainly deluxe and villa resorts) have onsite fitness centers with 24-hour access. They are equipped with cardio equipment, weight machines, and free weights and can be accessed 24-hours with your room key.

Disney Cruise Line

The fitness facilities onboard the ships of the Disney Cruise Line are top notch. I have sailed on three of Disney’s four ships – the older Magic and the newer Dream and Fantasy. All are equipped with spacious gyms located on one of the ship’s upper decks, and feature floor-to-ceiling windows, providing gym-goers with breathtaking views of the high seas and exotic ports of call.

The gyms have top-of-the-line treadmills, ellipticals, and recumbent bikes, plus a healthy assortment of weight machines. Free weights are limited to a basic assortment of dumbbells, (no barbells, sorry CrossFitters!), most likely for safety reasons to minimize unsecured equipment in case the ship hits rough seas. Open spaces are available to set up yoga mats to stretch, or to use a stability or Bosu ball.

On my three day cruise, I managed to fit in three workouts. On embarkation day, I went to the gym before dinner to do a quick warmup on the elliptical, followed by a strength workout recommended by one of my CrossFit coaches. From my perch high above the sea, I saw dolphins swimming past the ship as we headed south. On the second day, I took a Spinning class. The class is free, but you have to sign up ahead of time due to the limited number of bikes. Spaces fill up fast, so I recommend visiting the gym on embarkation day to register. It was a great cardio workout with a dash of strength thrown in – at one point, the trainer had us doing pushups off the handlebars while we pedaled. For you avid Spinners, the pedals looked to be SPD-clip compatible. Maybe next time I’ll pack my cycling shoes!

On the final day, I participated in the Castaway Cay 5K. This race is great for a few reasons. One, you get to be one of the first people off the ship, maximizing your time on the slice of heaven known as Castaway Cay. You can run the race then snag a sweet lounge chair at Serenity Bay before most cruisers have even made it down the gangway.

Two, this race is COMPLETELY FREE. That’s right, this is the only runDisney event with no entry fee. It’s considered a family activity, so the fee is included in your cruise fare. All participants receive a bib and medal. Should you wish, you can purchase a t-shirt for about $20 at the gift shop after you finish. While there is a timing clock, the race is not chip timed. Most people treat this as a fun run, because after all it is the Bahamas and therefore is approximately equivalent to running in a sauna on the face of the sun they are on vacation and are there to have a good time, not to get a PR.

I was also lucky enough to participate in a yoga class on Serenity Bay, Castaway Cay’s adults-only beach. This class was free of charge, but required you to sign up while onboard. The instructor brought spare beach towels to serve as yoga mats. Doing yoga on the sand is quite different from doing yoga indoors, but it was amazing nonetheless. It set the tone perfectly for a relaxing day at the beach.

In addition to the gyms, all four ships have an open-air jogging track located on Deck Four. On the Magic and Wonder, 3 laps equal one mile. On the Dream and Fantasy, 2.5 laps equal one mile. If you are running a long distance on the track, I suggest having a friend or family member join you on one of the comfy lounge chairs on deck so they can tally your laps. I was insane enough to do a 20-mile training run (that is, 60 laps) for last year’s Marine Corps Marathon while sailing on the Magic last year. My sister noted each lap as I ran by, preventing any wishful counting errors on my part.

All of the ships also have basketball courts on the upper decks, and the Dream and Fantasy even have 9-hole mini-golf courses. Every member of the family can find a physical activity to his or her liking while sailing with Mickey!

Note bene, the trainers who work in the onboard gyms are independent third party contractors, not Disney employees. Some of them will try to sell you expensive personal training or metabolic assessment sessions. Others will just let you enjoy the free classes in peace, so you can waddle back down to the buffet as soon as possible. If you visit the gym on embarkation day you will be provided a schedule of all the gym’s offerings, and the classes with an additional fee, like the boot camps, are clearly marked. The gyms are typically open from 8am to 10pm and are more busy in the mornings and late afternoons on sea days.

General Tips