STAR-K Kosher Traveling Guidance – Articles and Videos

The STAR-K site provides a variety of informative halacha-related articles and videos pertaining to kosher travel. Refer to the links below for guidance before your next trip.

ARTICLES

The Traveler’s Halachic Guide to Hotels (Including Guidelines for Shabbos and Pesach) – Rabbi Zvi Goldberg (Updated February 2024)

Navigating the Ins and Outs of Renting an Airbnb (Including Guidelines for Shabbos and Pesach) – Rabbi Zvi Goldberg (Winter 2024)

A Traveler’s Guide to Tefilas Haderech – Rabbi Dovid Heber (Summer 2021)

When You Can Drink and Drive: The Halachic Implications of Drinking Coffee on the Road – Rabbi Baruch Beyer (Spring 2019)

Don’t Miss the Boat: Halachic Guidelines of Kosher Cruises – Rabbi Zvi Goldberg (Fall 2018)

Time Flies: A Guide to Time-Related Halachos When Flying – Rabbi Dovid Heber (Fall 2017)

STAR-K Certified Food Options Take Off at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark Airports – (Feb 2016 | Sept 2024)

A Traveler’s […]

The Traveler’s Halachic Guide to Hotels (Including Guidelines for Shabbos and Pesach)

By: Rabbi Zvi Goldberg

Spring 2010 | Updated December 2024

Yosef chose the hotel he was staying in for its many amenities, not the least of which was the free Continental Breakfast it offered its guests. Surely, when kosher symbols on products are becoming more and more prevalent, he wouldn’t starve! The breakfast menu included cereals, pancakes, waffles, muffins, pre-cut fruits and vegetables, hardboiled eggs, as well as hot coffee and juices. Can Yosef eat anything offered on the Continental Breakfast menu, or should he prepare his own breakfast using the microwave and coffeemaker in his hotel room?

Chana’s brother’s bar mitzvah, held in a hotel during Shabbos, turned out to be a real nightmare! The closet light went on automatically when she opened the closet door; the housekeeper had turned off the light in her room, preventing her from reviewing her Parsha notes; she drank a bottle of water from her room’s ‘refreshment bar’ which […]

Navigating the Ins and Outs of Renting an Airbnb (Including Guidelines for Shabbos and Pesach)

By: Rabbi Zvi Goldberg

Winter 2024

Who would have imagined, just a few years ago, that you could go on vacation and rent a stranger’s private home? But that is exactly what people now do every day, with the rise of Airbnb and similar short-term rental platforms that list millions of units in over 100,000 cities.[1]

A Torah-observant individual who enters into such an arrangement will encounter numerous halachic challenges when signing up as an Airbnb “guest.” This includes properties listed as “kosher” – even ones in Israel – since an owner usually cannot vouch for every renter who has used the kitchen, nor for each renter’s kashrus standards, which can vary widely. Likewise, one who owns and is the “host” of an Airbnb property will have to address his own set of halachic concerns. Let’s analyze some of the more common ones.

Kashrus Concerns During the Year (Excluding Pesach)

The primary area of concern for […]

Don’t Miss the Boat: Halachic Guidelines of Kosher Cruises

By: Rabbi Zvi Goldberg

Fall 2018

The task of food preparation aboard a modern cruise ship is enormous. Activity begins even before the first passenger comes aboard. Needless to say, food is central to a cruise. “Kosher Cruise” may simply imply that the food is kosher; other halachic issues may not have been addressed by the kosher certification agency. In this article, we will examine kashrus, as well as other topics including Shabbos, davening and tznius.

Kashrus

Providing kosher supervision on a cruise ship is not an easy task. “Mega-ships” can carry over 4,000 guests.1 Food preparation occurs around-the-clock in multiple locations. Most often, a ‘kosher cruise’ means that an entrepreneur has booked a number of cabins aboard a large ship. In such an arrangement, kosher and non-kosher food will be prepared and served simultaneously.

The traveler must have confidence in the kashrus agency that is certifying the cruise. In order to instill confidence, a reliable kashrus organization must address many issues.

What arrangements have been made […]

STAR-K Kosher Certified Food Options Take Off at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark Airports

February 2016 | Updated September 2024

Catching a red-eye flight back to JFK after a business meeting in L.A.? Landing in Newark at 5:50 a.m., after a 12-1/2 hour flight from visiting the grandkids in Israel? Leaving for LaGuardia too early to eat breakfast before going on that long-awaited Saint Martin Island vacation? Have no fear, Fresko Green Label is here. No longer do you have to subsist on pretzels and candy marked with a reliable kosher symbol.

The estimated 1.5 million kosher travelers who fly domestically and internationally from JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark airports annually can now avail themselves of a large variety of kosher prepared food options packaged under the Fresko and Yummy Sandwich labels under STAR-K Kosher supervision.

A sampling of the STAR-K certified Fresko/Yummy Sandwich menu includes: grilled chicken salad, southern honey BBQ chicken wrap, fresh roasted turkey sandwich, Cajun turkey sandwich, grilled chicken shawarma wrap, herb grilled chicken sandwich, […]

When Does One Pray When There Is No Day

By: Rabbi Dovid Heber

Published Summer 2007

Refer to attached map

For a further discussion on this topic see Sefer Shaarei Zmanim – Siman 11 here.

There was a time not long ago when kosher food was available only in major Jewish metropolitan areas. Finding kosher certified products on the road was a daunting task. “Kosher Tours” were limited to a few select areas. Today, the Star-K and other kosher symbols appear on thousands of food products. Kosher food is available from Fairbanks to Fiji, and from New Zealand to Norway. Kosher tours are now available to Alaska and Antarctica. With so many north and south destinations easily accessible to kosher consumers, the observant Jew now faces an array of fascinating questions. In parts of Alaska, and other locations north of the Arctic Circle, there are periods of time during the summer when […]

On the Road to a Kosher Vacation

By: Rabbi Tzvi Rosen

Published Summer 1996, Reviewed Summer 2005

Summertime is a season synonymous with travel, vacation, and experiencing the great outdoors. For many, the great excursion meant traveling to Bubbi’s bungalow colony in the country. Today, we vacation the length and breadth of America. As we venture further and further away from the Catskill corridor, and experience the heartbeat of America, a universal question crosses the mind of every frum vacationer: “Is there anything Kosher to eat out there?” The answer is yes, more than you think; but it is still wise to plan before your journey.

A Traveler’s Guide to the International Dateline

By: Rabbi Dovid Heber

Published Summer 2012

Click here for a handy printable map.

In today’s global market, the furthest regions of the Earth are much closer to home than one could ever imagine. For example, citric acid – an integral ingredient in soft drinks, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) – a common nutrient, and amino acids used in numerous food items, are produced in a variety of Star-K certified Chinese plants. Star-K certified glycerine is manufactured in the Philippines and shipped to the United States. Mashgichim are frequently sent to Thailand, Fiji, Vietnam, and Indonesia to oversee production of kosher spices, tuna fish, and canned fruits and vegetables. The Star-K has an office in Shanghai to administer the supervision and inspect facilities.

Erev Shabbos GridLock: A Halachic Guide for the Delayed Friday Afternoon Traveler

By: Rabbi Dovid Heber

Published Winter 2013

A Halachic Guide for the Delayed Friday Afternoon Traveler

Every few months, the phone rings on Erev Shabbos with a similar shayla: “We are not sure if we will reach our destination in time for Shabbos. What should we do?” If the call comes from people who are stuck in traffic, my response has been, “Are you calling to find out the halachos, or to hear the best alternate routes to reach your destination?”