My carry-on essentials when flying and how I stay entertained (and be productive) during long international flights.
Today, <3M and I take off on a two week trip to Spain to celebrate his birthday and our 5-year [Austin] wedding anniversary. It’s a trip we’ve been planning for months and our itinerary includes time in Barcelona, an Espana soccer match, dining at a Michelin restaurant, beaches in San Sebastian, and a few day trips to smaller towns in both Spain and neighboring France for vino.
While I’m excited and love traveling, I hate leaving my puppy girl Stella — but at least she’ll be snuggled and loved by our longtime dog & house sitter while we’re away. While I was packing, Stella just sat there watching me load up my bags with sad puppy dog eyes (heartbreaking!). While curating my bag with Stella, I thought it may be fun to share with you all what’s in my bag for international flights.
My carry-on essentials include:
All the headphones. Yes, I travel with 4 pairs of headphones — my bluetooth noise-canceling headphones, bluetooth headphones for workouts (for when I get to my destination), earpods with a lightning connector, and good ol’ auxiliary headphones to plug into the plane’s television screens.
Face wipes & rose facial toner so I can quickly wipe off makeup and refresh during long international flights. The rose mist just makes traveling feel luxurious plus the aloe adds extra hydration.
Moisturizer & eye cream plus eye drops because hydration is essential when you’re sitting in the dry airplane air for +8-hours. Right now, I’m traveling with these sample packs from Olehenriksen but usually, I have a small travel container I fill with skincare favorites for my carry-on. I also love having eye drops handy to fight red, tired eyes.
Hydrating face mask & under-eye masks to apply before landing. Now, don’t feel all weird about putting a mask on mid-flight. It’s dark so no one will see you and seriously, get over yourself. What’s great about this Origins mask is that you can easily wipe it off with face wipes and any excess can be rubbed in to provide extra moisture of your skin. The under-eye masks also help brighten up your face and rejuvenate sleep-deprived eyes right before landing.
Mini makeup kit and hairbrush. My carry-on makeup usually includes concealer, powder, and a mini mascara so I feel a little better when I land and can quickly freshen up. A small travel brush is also great and something I keep in my purse most days.
Sleep necessities: eyemask, earplugs, and neck pillow for sleeping on the plane. There are carry-on must-haves and I cannot sleep without them.
Fuzzy socks. My feet always get cold on a plane which makes it difficult to sleep. These extra thick, extra tall socks help keep my toes and ankles warm during flights. I also pack some ‘plane pajamas‘ which is a pair of yoga pants and a hoodie so I can change into comfortable sleeping clothes when I’m ready to get some rest.
My Swigg water bottle to keep my water cool for hours on end during the flight because…hydration (do you see a theme here?)
Toothbrush, travel toothpaste, mouthwash, and chapstick. Enough said.
Hand sanitizer & hand lotion. Planes are loaded with germs and again, gotta keep your body hydrated while flying. I also like having the lavender lotion with me because it’s relaxing.
Charging cables & an external charge because the worst thing that could happen on a plane is running out of battery.
Protein bars, stevia, tea bags, and gum. I love carrying tea bags so I can make hot tea while on the plane to sweeten with stevia (plane tea sucks!). Protein bars (right now I’m digging Oatmega bars) are key in case I get snacky or dislike any of the meals provided. And gum, obviously.
When it comes to in-flight entertainment, I have a few strategies to ensure I stay entertained.
Books. I load up my Kindle app with a few different book options — something fluffy like a young adult read, something suspenseful that will hook me and keep me engaged, and something educational in case I feel motivated to sharpen my skills. Currently, I’ve downloaded The Witch Elm, Fix Her Up and Nudge.
Digital Magazines. If you’re an Amazon Prime member then you need to take advantage of the free Prime Magazines. There’s a ton of options and you can download 10 magazines for free. I prefer the easy stuff like Cosmo and Women’s Health.
Audiobooks & podcasts. Much like loading up my Kindle app, I also download a handful of new podcast episodes, right now I’m really into Swindled & Reply All. I also grab a few audiobooks from the library so I have things to listen to. My stock for Spain includes The Futures, The Turn of the Key, and One Day in December.
Netflix & Amazon Prime Video allow you to download shows and movies to your device, so before a trip I like to download 3-5 movies, typically documentaries or chick-flicks in case the in-flight entertainment on the plane is lame. This trip I’m looking to watch Dumplin’ (with Jennifer Aniston), Someone Great, Book Club, and The Great Hack.
iPhone clean up. I like to be productive on the plane so while I’m stuck in a seat for hours on end, I attempt to do something useful. During long flights, I like to review my albums photos and delete anything I don’t need, take the time to reorganize my apps into folders, delete apps I don’t use, and even check on the security & notification permissions of apps to simplify my life. I typically do this on the return flight so I can sort my vacation photos.
While I never use all of these devices during a single flight, I like knowing I have the options at my disposal because I never know what type of mood I’ll be in.
So tell me, what’s in your carryon and how do you survive long plane trips?
Safe travels and have a great trip. Do watch out for pickpockets in Barcelona, though. It’s almost a union job there! Also, while brushing your teeth in an airport restroom is generally safe, the tap water in most airplane restrooms is “non potable” ie not drinkable, so not great for brushing. Just my .02 😎