Your Treatment Schedule
Shouldn't Dictate
Your Horizons.
MAVTG connects dialysis patients with verified clinics in destinations worldwide. Travel on your terms.
"I sold everything I owned, down to a few keepsakes, to move to Florida for a shorter transplant waitlist. MAVTG was born in that dialysis chair."
Three Steps. One Seamless Journey.
Pick a Paradise
Choose any destination — coast, city, or mountain. Tell us where you want to go and when. We handle everything else.
We Align the Chairs
Our coordinators contact verified clinics, confirm your dialysis schedule, gather your medical records, and lock in your treatment slots before you board.
Fly with Confidence
Travel with a full treatment itinerary, emergency backup contacts, and a MAVTG coordinator available throughout your trip.
Are You Ready to Travel?
Answer four quick questions and get a personalized pre-trip checklist built for dialysis patients.
What is your CKD stage / treatment type?
What type of travel are you planning?
How long is your planned trip?
Have you traveled for dialysis before?
Your Personalized Pre-Trip Checklist
Dialysis Clinics Worldwide
Sample verified clinic locations in MAVTG destinations. Our coordinators confirm availability and book your treatments before you travel. Map data is representative — contact us for current availability.
Map uses OpenStreetMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Clinic markers are representative sample locations for illustrative purposes.
Dialysis Travel Planning: The Step-by-Step Guide
No competitor publishes this. I know because I looked — and then I had to figure it out myself. Here is the framework I use for every international trip while on dialysis.
Book Your Clinics First
Book dialysis before flights, hotels, or anything else. Target clinics 60+ days out. Confirm your treatment schedule, machine type (hemodialysis vs peritoneal), and session length. Resources: BookDialysis.com, GlobalDialysis.com, your nephrologist's network.
Pack Smart
Port-access clothing (PICC sleeve hoodies, fistula-access tees), your treatment records, nephrologist letter, extra medications, insurance documentation, and a cold-clinic layer. The chair is always cold.
Arrive Informed
Arrive at your first treatment with printed lab results from the last 30 days, your current medication list, your US care team's contact, and your access site documented. Every new clinic needs this.
Treat, Then Explore
Schedule treatment days for early morning when possible. Most sessions run 3–4 hours. Plan your activities for afternoons and treatment-free days. This is your life — not a medical sentence.
Document Everything
Keep records from every treatment abroad. Your US nephrologist needs this. It also builds your case for transplant committees and insurance providers.
What Medicare Won't Tell You About Dialysis Travel
The coverage gap is documented everywhere. It's explained clearly nowhere. Here it is in plain English.
Standard Medicare (Parts A & B)
Does NOT cover dialysis outside the United States in most cases. Emergency coverage may apply in limited border situations with Canada and Mexico. Do not rely on it for planned international travel.
Medigap Supplemental Plans
Plans C, D, F, G, M, and N cover 80% of Medicare-approved foreign emergency care after a $250 deductible, up to a lifetime limit of $50,000. This is emergency coverage — not elective treatment coverage.
Travel Medical Insurance
Your best option for planned international dialysis travel. Look for plans that explicitly cover pre-existing conditions and ongoing dialysis treatments — not just emergencies. Ask your provider specifically: “Does this cover my scheduled dialysis sessions abroad?”
What to Ask Before You Book
Ask your insurance provider: Does my plan cover dialysis abroad? Is this emergency-only or scheduled treatment? What is the per-treatment limit? What documentation does the foreign clinic need to bill my insurance?
This is educational information, not insurance or legal advice. Coverage varies by plan, country, and treatment type. Always confirm with your insurance provider before traveling.
What to Pack: The Dialysis Travel Packing List
Six years of treatment on three continents taught me what matters. Pack these and you handle 95% of what travel throws at you.
- Recent dialysis prescription & treatment summary
- Nephrologist letter clearing you to travel
- Clinic confirmation letters (printed & digital)
- Insurance cards & travel-medical policy details
- Updated medication list with dosages
- Passport, visas & emergency contact sheet
- At least 7 extra days of all medications
- Renal-friendly snacks for treatment days
- Blood pressure cuff & thermometer
- Hand sanitizer & antiseptic wipes
- Pill organizer set to the local time zone
- Wound-care supplies for your access site
- Tops with easy access to fistula or catheter
- Zip or snap sleeves — no tight cuffs over access
- Layers for cold dialysis-clinic rooms
- Compression-friendly, non-restrictive fits
- Soft fabrics that don't irritate the access arm
- A blanket or wrap for long treatment sessions
Most travel clothing isn't built for an access arm. Our adaptive dialysis clothing line is designed for exactly this — treatment-day comfort without the fight. See the adaptive line →
Living with dialysis
Understanding dialysis and CKD, what dialysis really takes from you, Michael’s story and book, natural supplements and CKD, and patient resources now have their own page.
Read: Living with dialysis →You Shouldn't Have to Choose
Between dialysis and living. Between treatment and travel. MAVTG handles the logistics so you don't have to.
We locate and pre-book chairs at your destination before you leave home. You show up. We handle the scheduling, insurance verification, and backup plans.
Know what's covered before you go. We help you understand your dialysis benefits for domestic travel and navigate the fine print on out-of-network options.
Standard ship infirmaries can't run dialysis — you have to book through a specialized onboard provider. Most patients never find out this exists. See what to know before you book.
Flights, hotels, backup centers, emergency contacts. Every itinerary is built around your treatment schedule — not the other way around.
Flights, stay, and activities bundled into one plan — built around your dialysis schedule from the start, not adjusted after the fact.
Know your lab results. Know your rights. Know what questions to ask your nephrologist. We share what we've learned from inside — as a patient, not a pamphlet.
✈ Dialysis Travel Help
Traveling on dialysis? MAVTG specializes in medical travel coordination for kidney patients.
We help you find dialysis centers at your destination, sort through travel insurance options, and build an itinerary around your treatment schedule — so your world stays large. Visit mavtg.com/care for our full dialysis travel planning guide, or go straight to MAVTG Travel to book flights, hotels, cruises, and vacation packages built around your treatment schedule.
Plan My Trip at MAVTG Travel →Dialysis on a Cruise: What to Know Before You Book
Standard cruise ship infirmaries are not equipped to perform dialysis. Most travelers who need in-center care book through specialized third-party providers that bring nephrologists, nurses, and machines directly onto select sailings.
Specialized Onboard Providers
If you need standard, in-center hemodialysis, book directly through a specialized provider rather than the cruise line itself. Dialysis at Sea Cruises is the largest provider in the US, partnering with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity on select Caribbean, Alaska, and European itineraries. Cruise Dialysis, a UK-based provider, partners with Ambassador Cruise Line for fully supported onboard treatment in dedicated units with ocean views on the Ambience and Ambition.
Self-Administered Dialysis (PD & HHD)
If you manage your own care, most major lines — including Holland America, Carnival, and Princess — allow you to bring your own supplies under strict safety requirements. Peritoneal dialysis is easiest: coordinate with the line's access/accessibility department to have your PD fluid and supplies delivered to the port before sailing. Home hemodialysis (e.g. NxStage) is allowed on lines like Holland America if you and your travel partner have 12+ months of stable, independent experience operating the machine — ships do not provide battery backup for personal medical equipment.
Costs & Insurance
Onboard hemodialysis through a specialized provider typically runs $500–$750 per treatment. Traditional health insurance and standard Medicare rarely cover treatment performed on a ship outside domestic waters. A comprehensive travel medical insurance policy that explicitly covers pre-existing conditions and emergency medical evacuation is essential before you book.
Before You Book
Most lines and providers require 12 consecutive months of stability on your current dialysis routine. Avoid transatlantic crossings, Antarctica itineraries, or trips with 3+ consecutive sea days — you need to stay within reach of land-based hospital care. Specialized sailings accommodate only 4–12 dialysis patients, so book up to a year ahead. On the transplant waitlist? A cruise can put you out of reach if a matching organ becomes available.
This is educational information, not medical or insurance advice. Cruise dialysis availability, providers, and pricing change — always confirm directly with the provider and your care team before booking.
Kidney Navigator
A free kidney disease guide and tracker for newly diagnosed CKD patients, dialysis beginners, and kidney patient families.
- Lab tracking with trend charts
- AI menu analysis for kidney-safe eating
- Fluid & weight tracker with dialysis alerts
- Medication log with phosphate binder reminders
Works offline · Free account, data stays on your device · Built from 6 years in the chair
Foundation & Advocacy
The Moore Foundation — built on the belief that patients who've lived it are the best voices to fight for it.
Three pillars: kidney disease awareness, prostate cancer advocacy, and education scholarships. Michael built MAVTG from a dialysis chair — the Foundation exists to extend that mission beyond travel planning, into communities where early detection saves lives. The average ESRD diagnosis comes years after the damage is already done. That is what the Foundation is working to change.
Learn About the FoundationYou have the legal right to choose your dialysis facility. You have the right to your own medical records — including 12 months of labs. Airlines, hotels, and cruise lines must accommodate your medical needs under the ADA. And if a center violates your rights, you have the right to file a grievance without your doctor's permission. Most patients don't know any of this.
Full Patient Rights Guide"I built MAVTG for the patient who was told their life had to shrink. It doesn't. That's the whole point."Michael Moore — Founder, MAVTG & The Moore Foundation
Plan My Dialysis Trip
Tell us where you want to go. A MAVTG coordinator will contact you within 48 hours to map out your treatment schedule and travel plan — at no cost.
Ready to Travel Again?
We've done this ourselves. We know what it takes. Let's plan your trip.
Get in Touch