# Essential Oils for Motion Sickness and Travel Nausea: Ginger, Peppermint and What Works

Mahasutra · 2026-10-22

Ginger and peppermint for travel sickness: what the research shows for eating vs smelling them, a practical travel routine, and safety tips.

Long flights, winding roads and boat trips are miserable when your stomach turns. Ginger and peppermint are the two remedies people mention most often, and both have a real history behind them. But the evidence differs depending on whether you eat them or smell them. Here is what is known, and how to build a travel routine around it.

## Why motion sickness happens

Motion sickness comes from a mismatch between what your inner ear feels and what your eyes see. Reading in a moving car is the classic example: your eyes say you are still, your balance system says you are moving, and the brain responds with nausea, sweating and dizziness. Anything that reduces the mismatch helps most: looking at the horizon, sitting where motion is smallest, keeping your head still and getting fresh air.

## Ginger: strongest evidence when eaten

Ginger has the best evidence of any natural remedy for nausea, but mainly when taken by mouth. A widely cited 1982 study in The Lancet found that powdered ginger root helped volunteers tolerate a motion-sickness-inducing rotating chair better than a common anti-sickness drug. Later trials have been mixed, but ginger is widely considered reasonable to try for nausea in general, including pregnancy-related nausea under medical advice.

Ginger essential oil and ginger CO2 extract capture the warm, spicy aroma of the root. Inhaled ginger aroma has been studied for nausea in some small trials, with mixed results. Many travellers find its warmth settling, and it pairs well with citrus and mint.

## Peppermint and aromatherapy for nausea

The most rigorous summary of inhaled aromatherapy for nausea is a 2018 Cochrane review of aromatherapy for nausea after surgery. It covered 16 studies and 1,036 people, testing peppermint, ginger, blends and, interestingly, isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) vapour.

- Overall, aromatherapy was no better than placebo at reducing how severe nausea felt, based on low-quality evidence.

- People given aromatherapy needed rescue anti-sickness medicine less often.

- Peppermint alone made no measurable difference to nausea severity at five minutes.

- No study reported harmful effects.

That is post-surgical nausea, not travel sickness, but it is a useful reality check. Smelling something pleasant and cool may help you feel more in control and take slower breaths, and slow breathing itself helps with nausea. It is unlikely to stop severe motion sickness on its own.

## A practical travel routine

- Before you go: eat something light and avoid heavy, greasy food and alcohol.

- Choose your seat: front of the car, over the wing on a plane, the middle of a ship near the waterline.

- Use a familiar, fresh scent: apply a roll-on to your wrists and behind the ears before departure, and breathe it in slowly when you first feel queasy. Our Voyage Elixir Oil combines ginger CO2, peppermint, cardamom, grapefruit and bergamot (furanocoumarin-free) for exactly this.

- Breathe slowly: in through the nose for four counts, out for six. Slow breathing calms the nervous system and gives the scent time to work as a cue.

- Look at the horizon and avoid reading or screens.

- Try ginger by mouth: ginger sweets, ginger tea or capsules, if suitable for you.

If you suffer badly, speak to a pharmacist about motion sickness medication before you travel. Some work best taken before the journey starts. Pregnant travellers should check with a doctor before using any remedy, including essential oils.

## Using travel oils safely

- Use diluted oils on skin, never undiluted.

- Bergamot and other cold-pressed citrus oils can cause burns on sun-exposed skin; choose furanocoumarin-free (FCF) versions for daytime travel. Our guide to mistakes to avoid with essential oils explains why.

- Do not use peppermint on or near the face of babies and young children.

- On planes, keep scent subtle out of courtesy to fellow passengers. A roll-on at the wrist is far less intrusive than a spray.

## Do essential oils help motion sickness?
Inhaled aromatherapy has modest evidence; a 2018 Cochrane review found it no better than placebo for nausea severity after surgery, though people needed rescue medication less often. Many travellers find a familiar scent and slow breathing helpful.

## Is ginger good for travel sickness?
Ginger taken by mouth has the best evidence of any natural remedy for nausea, though results for motion sickness are mixed.

## Can I use bergamot oil when travelling?
Choose furanocoumarin-free (FCF) bergamot for daytime; cold-pressed bergamot can cause burns on skin exposed to sunlight.

## Products mentioned

- [Voyage Elixir Oil](https://mahasutra.co/products/voyage-elixir-oil)

## Sources

- [Hines S et al. Aromatherapy for treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018](https://www.cochrane.org/CD007598/ANAESTH_aromatherapy-treating-postoperative-nausea-and-vomiting)
- Mowrey DB, Clayson DE. Motion sickness, ginger, and psychophysics. The Lancet, 1982;1(8273):655–657