Stugeron vs Avomine: Which Suits a Long Crossing?
Short answer: both are sedating antihistamines sold for UK travel sickness, but they run on different clocks and different strengths of sedation. Stugeron (cinnarizine 15 mg) is taken 2 hours before travel with label repeats every 8 hours en route; somnolence hit 9.9% in its trial data, the mildest reputation of the pair. Avomine (promethazine teoclate 25 mg) is the night-before tablet: one bedtime dose starting the day before a long journey, long enough acting that a second dose within 24 hours is often unnecessary, and unusually its label includes a schedule for treating sickness already underway. It is also the more sedating, with a first-few-days no-driving warning. Which fits is a pharmacist call. Prefer no tablet at all? Dizzout is a drug-free app using calibrated sound through any headphones; most users feel better in about 90 seconds. Reviewed September 2026.
This is the matchup for the long haul: an overnight ferry, a cruise, a day-long coach ride. Stugeron and Avomine are the two UK pharmacy tablets whose labels are actually written around journeys measured in days rather than hours, and cruise forums have argued the pair for years.
Both are antihistamines, so the difference is not mechanism so much as rhythm and intensity: when the dose goes in, how long it holds, and how heavily it sedates. Here are the label facts side by side, then the drug-free alternative.
There is a drug-free option in this comparison too. Dizzout works through precisely calibrated sound on any headphones, free to try on iOS and Android.
Free to try, no card needed. Or go straight to the App Store or Google Play.
Stugeron vs Avomine vs Dizzout, side by side
| Feature | Stugeron | Avomine | Dizzout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active ingredient | Cinnarizine 15 mg | Promethazine teoclate 25 mg | None; calibrated sound |
| Label timing | 2 hours before, repeat every 8 hours en route | Bedtime the night before a long journey; 1 to 2 hours before a short one | Before travel or after symptoms start |
| Works after symptoms start | Built for prevention | Label includes a treat-established-sickness schedule | Designed to; most feel better in ~90 sec |
| Drowsiness | Most common effect; 9.9% in trial data | Most sedating UK family; no driving for first days | No drowsiness (not a drug) |
| Ages on the label | From 5 (half amounts), 12 full | From 5 (reduced); tablets unsuitable 2 to 5; never under 2 | No pill ages; it is an audio app |
| Travel-specific quirk | Take after meals to spare the stomach | Avoid strong sunlight while taking it | Needs headphones, which you already packed |
| Price | Per pack at the pharmacy | Per pack at the pharmacy | Free to try (3 sessions), then $7.99/mo or $49.99/yr |
Two antihistamines with different clocks
Stugeron is cinnarizine 15 mg. Its label directs a first dose 2 hours before travel, preferably after meals, with a further dose every 8 hours during the journey if needed; the NHS notes up to about 4 hours to full effect. Children over 12 take full amounts, ages 5 to 12 half. It stays with you as a rhythm: dose, travel, redose.
Avomine is promethazine teoclate 25 mg, a longer-acting phenothiazine antihistamine, and its label thinks in nights, not hours: for long journeys, one tablet at bedtime starting the day before setting out, with action long enough that a second dose inside 24 hours is often unnecessary; for short journeys, a dose 1 to 2 hours ahead. Alone among the UK travel families, its label also gives a treatment schedule for motion sickness that has already started. Ages mirror Stugeron's floor: from 5 at reduced amounts, but never under 2, where promethazine is dangerous.
Sedation is the real divider
Neither tablet is non-drowsy, but they are not equal. Cinnarizine carries the mildest sedation reputation of the UK families, with somnolence at 9.9% in Stugeron's own trial data. Promethazine sits at the other end: it is the most sedating of the common travel families, and Avomine's label tells first-time users not to drive or control machinery for the first few days until they know it does not cause disorientation, confusion or dizziness. If you drive at the far end of the crossing, that difference is the decision.
The caution lists diverge too. Stugeron's label flags Parkinson's disease and porphyria and advises against pregnancy use; Avomine's rules out MAOI use within 14 days, warns in asthma, and adds a travel-relevant oddity: photosensitive skin reactions, so strong sunlight should be avoided during treatment, worth knowing before a deck holiday. Both say avoid alcohol. A pharmacist weighs all of this faster than a forum thread does.
Dizzout: the drug-free option to consider alongside
The reason this matchup exists is multi-day motion, and that is also where tablet fatigue sets in: redosing Stugeron every 8 hours, or committing to nightly Avomine and its next-day drag. Dizzout takes the other route: a drug-free app playing calibrated sound through any wired or Bluetooth headphones, nothing accumulating in your system across a five-day crossing.
Most users feel better in about 90 seconds, it works before travel or after symptoms start, and there is no drowsiness because there is no drug. iOS and Android, free to try with 3 full sessions, then $7.99/month or $49.99/year. On a long sailing many travelers pair it with the basics that cost nothing: horizon, midship air, and a steady cabin choice, which our cruise pages cover.
When to use which
From the labels: Avomine's night-before dose suits a journey that starts early and runs long, and it is the one with a written path for sickness already underway; Stugeron suits travelers who want lighter sedation and are happy to redose on an 8-hour rhythm. Driving at the destination argues for Stugeron of the two, or for neither; sun-heavy itineraries note Avomine's sunlight warning; pregnancy, children's ages and everything else on the caution lists belong with a pharmacist or GP, who should make this call with your history in front of them. If the goal is a clear head across a multi-day crossing, drug-free measures plus Dizzout is the stack that adds no sedation at all.
Try drug-free motion sickness relief
Try Dizzout Free
Free to try on iOS and Android · ~90 seconds · works on any headphones.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for a cruise, Stugeron or Avomine?
Their labels split the shape of the trip: Avomine is one bedtime dose from the night before, long-acting through the day; Stugeron is a lighter-sedation tablet redosed every 8 hours en route. Heavy sun plans count against Avomine (its label says avoid strong sunlight), needing to stay sharp counts against both. A pharmacist plus our cruise cabin guidance covers the two halves of the problem.
Is Avomine stronger than Stugeron?
It is more sedating and longer-acting, which is not the same as more effective. Promethazine is the most sedating of the UK travel families, with a first-few-days no-driving warning; cinnarizine logged 9.9% somnolence in trial data. Labels do not rank effectiveness head to head, and a pharmacist should match the trade-off to you.
Can children take Stugeron or Avomine?
Both labels start at age 5 with reduced amounts, but the fine print differs: Avomine tablets are unsuitable for ages 2 to 5 and must never be given under 2, where promethazine can cause fatal breathing suppression. For any child, product and amount are a pharmacist-or-GP decision; our kids' medicine page maps every label by age.
Stugeron versus Avomine is a question of rhythm and intensity: 8-hourly and lighter, or night-before and heavier. Match that to your crossing, check the caution lists with a pharmacist, and read the pack you are holding. And for relief that adds no sedation on day three of five, Dizzout works through the headphones you already packed, before departure or once the swell picks up. Try Dizzout free.
Related comparisons
- Stugeron 15: the full label facts
- Avomine: the full label facts
- Promethazine, the ingredient behind Avomine
- Cruise sickness: remedies you can get on board
- All motion sickness comparisons
This page is informational and not a substitute for professional medical advice; talk to your doctor or pharmacist and follow the product label. Stugeron, Avomine and other product and brand names are trademarks of their respective owners; Dizzout is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.