Hand Luggage – Long Haul

Hand Luggage – Long Haul

Hey Hey Beautiful humans, it’s been a year since I have posted on my travel blog so I apologise for this. Basically for the last year I have been sorting out my life. I have since left the cruise ships and settled at home but I still have the huge urge to travel constantly and my current circumstances allow me to do this so things have worked out very well.

I have had a few long haul flights where I have not known what to pack at all, so I have really thought about it this time and decided to share my ideas with you guys!

So I’m in the really organised OCD stage of packing, I leave in 3 weeks for a two week holiday to the USA.  Visiting San Francisco, Los Angeles and then on to Las Vegas, I guess you could call it a road trip. I have packed most of my luggage and having a think about it, I thought what do I pack in my hand luggage for a 12 hour flight and this is what I came up with:

What to pack in Hand Luggage

Now this has always been a sore subject with me, as I never seem to travel light when it comes to packing hand luggage. So I have decided to monitor this.

WHICH BAG DO I USE?

I purchased myself a lovely little travel bag with all the compartments for being out all day exploring, but this would be way too small for me to travel on the plane with. I can’t stand little rollers as I call them as I have a big thing about my bag being able to fit underneath the seat in front of me, So I don’t have to get up all the time and risk getting smacked in the face with a little roller ha-ha!

The bag I chose was just a simple rucksack with one big section and a little one at the front. (I stick by Superdry bags they are light weight, colourful and a perfect size)

Things to pack into my Hand Luggage for a Long haul flight:

• Battery charger (Anker Brand Charger) I swear by this. Just so your phone/tablet can always have plenty of charge during and after your flight, takes about 48 hours to fully charge so remember to charge it up before you fly.
• A Book – I don’t usually read as I am such a fidget, but this helps me to relax and sometimes fall asleep, my choice of book is ‘Somebody to Love’ which is a book about Freddie Mercury’s life, which hopefully I might get through more than a few pages before moving about.
• Go Pro – Now my Go Pro comes with a few things so I tend to keep the charger and body in my hand luggage, the rest can go in the hold luggage.
• My Camera – Now I will also say this is the most bulky thing to pack because you have the body, lens and the charging cables and the case that it goes in, so this always gets put in first
• Wireless Headphones – There is nothing worse than getting yourself caught in wired headphones when you are listing to music on your phone, which I tend to do. Wireless is the perfect way
• Wired headphones – Now this is very contradicting considering I just wrote about how annoying wired headphones are, but of course if the plane has movie showings (which I love) and it doesn’t have any Bluetooth capability…… I would be pretty upset with myself (though most long haul airlines provide standard headphones)
• Pair of comfy Joggers – This is a must for me on a long haul flight as I am normally a jeans wearer. So grab yourself some comfy joggers, roll them up and put a hair band around both ends to keep small tight and not loose in your bag. I normally change into these towards the beginning of the flight and then get out of them towards the end of the flight. The good thing is you feel more comfortable in your seat and feel like you have changed into something fresh on the flight.
• Mints/Chewing gum- well this is pretty standard really. It obviously gives you a minty fresh taste but I also use this for the popping of my ears on the way up and down.
• Tissues – I always keep 2 of those little packets of tissues in my bag as you never know when you mind need them for a spillage.
• Eye mask- I have always been very funny when it comes to eye masks as I can’t have anything pressed in my eyelids/eyelashes (have no idea why just don’t like it) so I found this amazing blacked out cove eye mask as I call it. The sleep mask I have is called ‘Bedtime Bliss’ and also comes with ear plugs too. Now I think this is so important especially if you need total darkness to be able to go to sleep.
• Memory foam neck pillow – This was the best thing I bought for my trip
• Compression socks/Warm socks – as soon as I get on that plane, my shoes come off! I can’t stand having shoes when I am on the plane, so I tend to take some compression socks as sometimes my legs hurt on the plane, failing that some tight little warm socks will do.
• Avomine Sickness tablets – Now if you get a little bit travel sick then I completely recommend these. They do make you drowsy which I like as they help me sleep on the plane.
• Little pain relief– My medical kit essentially. I just chuck in a couple of paracetamol and ibuprofen just in case of aches and pains.
• Panty Liners – (mostly for you ladies OBVIOUSLY!) another idea given to me by one of my travel friends, just to keep you fresh during your long haul flight.
• Collapsible Water bottle- Now this is something I love to pack in my hand luggage, it’s really handy for bringing with you when exploring and sometimes the airports have water fountains that if you wanted to you could fill up your collapsible water bottle via that rather than buying a big chunk of plastic
• Sunglasses – You never know when that gorgeous sun might burst through the plane window shutters and blind you with light, or bring them just in case you don’t want anyone to see you people watch! HA!

My Little See-through bag of wonders.

Of course when it comes to plane guidelines, everything now has to be in a see through bag and I can’t stand the plastic bags you get at the airport so it is better to buy some beforehand.  I use ‘ANRUI’ toiletry bags which are available on Amazon. They are very durable and see through and actually fit a lot in. £10 from Amazon.

So this is what I have in my little bag of wonders all 100ml or under:

• Fold up travel toothbrush, miniature toothpaste and mouthwash – This is a big one for me. I like to have a little fold up toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash on the plane as there is nothing worse than sitting for ages without a fresh taste in your mouth. I do like a beer on the plane to chill out so it’s great to freshen up before we land.
• Garnier Moisture Bomb Face mist (Protect and hydrate) – Does exactly what is says on the tin. This is basically for giving your face a little freshen up from time to time and feels amazing especially in a stuffy plane.
• Sudafed nasal spray –This is not for everyone. I know it can be very uncomfortable for a lot people but again this is really helpful especially if you suffer from blocked sinuses on the plane like me. For some reason it also helps the pain in my ears on the plane.
• Optrex Night Restores Gel Drops – Again a little hydration tool for the long journey. I find that during a flight my eyes tend to get itchy, irritable and very dry especially with the air conditioning and light changes that happen frequently on a long haul flight.
• Carex sensitive hand and face wipes – To refresh your hands and face during the flight especially before and after eating and I also like to use this after using the facilities.
• Burts Bee’s Lip balm – Hydrating your lips with all the air conditioning and the best for dry lips.
• Antibacterial hand gel – Always handy to have in your little bag of wonders for any occasion.
• Little Moisturiser – I have very dry skin and it tends to crack on the plane so always keep a little E45 Cream with me it makes a big difference to the way you feel when you burst out the doors into some fresh air in an exciting new destination.
• VIP Poo – I was strongly debating on whether to put this in just because it’s not an average thing to put in your case for a long flight. My good friend gave me the idea. There is nothing worse than really needing to go to the toilet and having to walk out when there is a big line waiting for the toilet so hopefully a few sprays of this will leave you feeling confident to walk out of the loo feeling fresh.

 

Now trying to get all of that less than 10KG might be a challenge so just hide your bag under your shirt!!

 

Through Security

This is where it becomes your own personal preference as to what you want to buy

WATER – Refill the collapsible bottle once through Security. Most airports have water refill points.

Alcohol – So a couple of years ago I made the mistake of buying the alcoholic miniatures for the plane got through 2 and then got told off for drinking it on the plane. Excuse me for not realising haha. So my advice would be if you purchase do not attempt to drink on the plane you may get an earful. (Airline dependant)

SNACKS – it’s a must! Everyone knows this and I always like to have a sandwich just in case I don’t like the food or some crisps and biscuits.

All that’s left is to get on the plane and WOOOOOOOOO off on your adventures. I hope this has helped you pack for your next holiday.

Big love and lots of adventures

Emma

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