Can I travel or go on holiday on dialysis?

Yes, with careful, early planning. People on dialysis travel within the region and further, and flying is generally fine. The key is arranging your dialysis in advance and never travelling without it in place. Discuss any trip with your renal team as early as you can.

How do I arrange haemodialysis while away?

You book holiday or visitor dialysis (dialysis away from base) at a centre near your destination well in advance, ideally months ahead. The destination unit needs your recent blood results, dialysis prescription and details, and will have screening requirements (such as virus status) to meet before accepting you.

What about peritoneal dialysis supplies when travelling?

Arrange for PD fluid and equipment to be delivered to your accommodation in advance, or carry enough for the whole trip, and confirm before you go. Keep strict clean technique for every exchange away from home, and for automated PD plan machine transport and power adapters.

Travelling & Holidays on Dialysis

Q: Do I need special travel insurance?

Yes, essential. You must have insurance that declares your kidney failure and dialysis. Standard policies often exclude pre-existing kidney disease, and an undeclared condition may not be covered, which could be catastrophic abroad. Find a policy that covers you properly and keep the documents with you.

Q: What should I carry when travelling on dialysis?

All your medicines and a written list (in hand luggage, with spare), essential dialysis supplies in hand luggage, your dialysis prescription, recent blood results, a summary of your condition, your unit’s contacts, and insurance documents. Check vaccinations for your destination with your team.

Written & reviewed by the BestDoctors.sg editorial team · Last updated 28 Aug 2026 · General information, not medical advice

Being on dialysis does not mean you can never travel or take a holiday. People on dialysis do travel, both within the region and further afield, but it takes careful, early planning. The key is arranging your dialysis in advance, whether that is booking sessions at a centre near your destination or getting your peritoneal dialysis supplies delivered, and never travelling without it in place. This guide walks through how to plan a trip safely.

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In a medical emergency, or for severe or sudden symptoms such as breathing difficulty, chest pain, fainting or stroke signs, call 995 immediately.

This is general information and does not replace your renal team’s advice; discuss any trip with them early. Do not travel without confirmed dialysis arrangements and without travel insurance that declares kidney failure and dialysis. Keep clean technique for every PD exchange away from home. Call 995 (or the local emergency number abroad) for peritonitis signs, uncontrolled bleeding or severe breathlessness.

You can travel, with planning

The starting point is reassuring: people on dialysis can and do travel, and flying is generally fine. What makes it work is planning early with your renal team. Kidney Care UK advises giving as much notice as possible, ideally around three months, for arranging dialysis away from your usual unit, because centres and popular destinations can be booked up well ahead. Start the conversation with your team as soon as you begin to think about a trip, even before you have booked anything, so there is plenty of time to sort out the details. Rushing the arrangements is the main thing that catches people out.

Holiday haemodialysis

If you are on haemodialysis, you cannot simply skip sessions while away, so you arrange holiday, or visitor, dialysis (sometimes called dialysis away from base) at a centre near your destination, well in advance. The destination unit will need your recent blood results, your dialysis prescription and details, and other medical information, and will have screening requirements, such as your blood-borne-virus status, that must be met before they accept you. This all takes time to organise, and popular units at holiday destinations fill up early, which is why booking well ahead matters so much. Your own unit usually helps to coordinate this for you, liaising with the destination centre so that the arrangements are properly in place before you leave.

Peritoneal dialysis supplies

If you are on peritoneal dialysis, the main task is your supplies. You arrange for PD fluid and equipment to be delivered to your accommodation in advance, or make sure you carry enough for the whole trip, and confirm the arrangements before you go. You can do an exchange anywhere clean with a sink for handwashing, but you must keep your usual strict clean technique to avoid peritonitis while away. For automated PD, plan how you will transport the machine and check the power supply and plug adapters for your destination.

Travel insurance is essential

This point cannot be overstated: you must have travel insurance that declares your kidney failure and dialysis, along with any other conditions. Standard policies often exclude pre-existing kidney disease, and an undeclared condition may not be covered, which could be catastrophic if you needed medical care abroad. Take the time to find a policy that covers you properly, and keep the documents with you. Travelling without proper cover is a risk not worth taking.

Medicines and documents

Carry all your medicines, in your hand luggage where possible, with a written list of what you take and enough for the whole trip plus some spare. Keep essential dialysis supplies in hand luggage too, so they are not lost with checked baggage. Take your dialysis prescription, recent blood results, a summary of your kidney condition, your unit’s contact details, and your travel and insurance documents. Check what vaccinations or travel-health precautions your destination needs, discussing them with your team.

Fluid, diet and planning early

Plan your fluid allowance and renal diet around the journey, thinking about flights, time zones, heat and the gap between dialysis sessions, with guidance from your team and dietitian. Above all, tell your renal team about the trip early, so they can coordinate the away-from-base booking, the supplies and the paperwork before you go. They deal with travelling patients regularly and can guide you through each step, so a trip that feels complicated at first quickly becomes manageable. Know the local emergency number and the nearest renal unit before you go; in Singapore the emergency number is 995. With this planning in place, a holiday on dialysis is very achievable, and many people find that getting away from the routine, even for a short break, does them a great deal of good, mentally as much as physically. Planning it carefully in advance is simply part of the trip, and once you have organised one trip successfully, it soon becomes second nature to plan the next one.

Sources

Kidney Care UK – Travelling abroad as a kidney patient: kidneycareuk.org
Kidney Care UK – Dialysis away from base: kidneycareuk.org
National Kidney Foundation – Dialysis: kidney.org
NHS – Dialysis: nhs.uk

General information only. This guide supports, but does not replace, the advice of your kidney (renal) team, who set your dialysis, diet, fluid limits and medicines. Never miss or shorten a dialysis session without contacting your unit, and protect your fistula arm (no blood-pressure cuffs, blood tests or tight clothing on it). Contact your dialysis unit at once if your drained peritoneal-dialysis fluid looks cloudy or you have tummy pain and fever (a possible peritonitis), or for a hot, red, painful or leaking access site. Call 995 for bleeding from your access that will not stop with firm pressure, or for severe breathlessness (a possible dangerous fluid overload). If you are struggling emotionally, you are not alone: the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) are on 1767 and mindline.sg on 1771.

Travelling & Holidays on Dialysis (Singapore)