When it comes to traveling, us here at Travel Belles are well-seasoned.
We’ve seen and heard it all – and been through a significant proportion of it.
So, we thought that since flights aren’t always the easiest (or most comfortable) things to be on, we’d create this list of 5 essential travel gear items for a smooth flight.
From neck pillows to soothing items if you get a bit jittery, we’ve got your back on this one, so there’s no need to worry.
Flights will never be smoother once you’ve taken our tips onboard…
Essential Travel Gear
1. Snacks
Okay, so maybe snacks technically aren’t ‘travel gear’. But they are travel fuel and are still essential for a smooth flight.
Airport prices are ludicrous, and so are airline prices. Flights always take longer when you have nothing to snack on during them and they always seem to pass quicker when you have a little pause from whatever it is you’re doing for something to eat. Bring some crisps, a packet of sweets and a chocolate bar and that’ll have you set for the duration of your flight.
You may also like: 5 Easy and Healthy Travel Snacks to Put in Your Purse
2. A comfortable neck pillow
There’s nothing quite like a neck pillow to give you a smooth flight, which is why we’ve put them on our list of 5 essential travel gear items for a smooth flight.
A good neck pillow will mean that you can get a good few hours of sleep that you wouldn’t normally get on a plane. It’ll also mean that you’re able to just relax for the duration of your flight without any discomfort from those horribly bolt upright airplane seats.
We can’t express just how much neck pillows can do for you, especially if you’re looking for tips to combat jetlag. Sleeping throughout the flight will make sure you’re well-rested for your time in a brand new country.
3. A portable plane footrest
Close your eyes and you’re lying on a beach in Thailand in a hammock. Okay, well, not quite. But foot hammocks/rests are incredible and add an extra level of comfort to your travel.
These things are real travel gear and are seriously brilliant if you want to have a smooth flight. A portable plane footrest works by attaching a hammock-like contraption to the back of the seat in front of you and adjusting the straps accordingly. They will help your lower back when it’s been in the same position for hours and give your ankles some support too.
We’d really recommend one of these if you’re traveling on a long haul flight. Portable plane footrests can help prevent swelling in your feet and will genuinely make the long flight time pass faster.
4. Headphones, not earphones
Travel gear always includes something to listen to music with, and headphones are our suggestion. If you want a comfortable experience of listening to music while on the plane, headphones are the way to do it. They sit softly over your head and rest lightly on your ears which means you can wear them without any aches for a long time, unlike with earphones.
Earphones can sometimes make your ears ache as they stretch them a little and are sometimes a bit of a squeeze, even when molded to the shape of a human ear. We recommend investing in a nice and large pair of good quality headphones as they are one of the 5 essential travel gear items for a smooth flight.
You may also like: 8 Items That Make Airplane Travel More Pleasant
5. A power bank
While newer planes are being built with USB chargers built into the seat, there are still some long-haul flights that don’t allow you to charge up your phone while flying, even if you plug your USB into the system. That’s why investing in a power bank will ensure you have a nice, smooth flight. You don’t have the worry of running out of charge on your phone and being unable to listen to music, for example, so things will go just your way.
Also, power banks will save your life when not on the plane. Just traveling around and taking photos will run your phone battery down, so having a power bank with you in your bag will make things much smoother in all aspects of your travels.
One way to find out what equipment the flight has it using Seat Guru. You can enter the flight number and airline to look at the seat assignment you have, and it will tell you what that seat has. It might not be totally accurate for every flight but we’ve had pretty good luck with that site. It’s also very useful to see what assignment you got if you picked the cheap economy seats were you get automatically assigned a seat.
Good luck with your flight – we hope it’s as smooth as we’ve prepared you for!
