1. A powerbank is a must!
When you get to the airport ready for your long haul flight home, you don’t want to have to spend time trudging around the airport searching for a free powerpoint. Invest in a decent powerbank so that you can charge up your phone or tablet whenever and wherever suits you. Just remember to pack this in your carry on though as you can’t put lithium batteries in your checked baggage.
2. Always carry a universal power adapter
This is a pretty basic one, but investing in a universal power adapter means you’ll be able to keep all your gadgets charged and use your favourite hair straightener no matter where you travel in the world. You can get these at the airport if necessary, but we recommend picking one up online or from any department store or travel goods store before you go to save yourself some money!
3. Get a multiple port USB charger
When travelling overseas, it’s common to only bring one international adapter, but really you have multiple items that need charging – your phone, tablet, laptop, camera and the list goes on. There are some great 4 or 5 port chargers out there which we recommend investing in to charge up all your essentials in a timely manner.
4. Tune out that crying baby with noise-cancelling headphones
Trying to sleep on a plane is always going to be difficult (unless you’re in business or first class!), but you can make it somewhat easier by wearing noise-cancelling headphones. While they can be a pretty significant investment, trust us it will be worth it when you can drown out the constant drone of the planes engines and any crying babies on the flight!
5. Neck pillows and eye masks make sleeping easier
Something else that makes sleeping on a plane easier – a good neck pillow and eyemask. No matter what seat you sit in, window or aisle, it’s so difficult to find a comfy spot to rest your head. A good neck pillow will keep your neck in a better position while also allowing you to rest your head.
Eye masks are often overlooked items when travelling, but they really do help you get a better sleep as the pure darkness helps with the production of melatonin, the chemical of sleep. While the plane cabins are pretty dark, this will be a huge lifesaver if your neighbour happens to want to use the reading light.
6. Keep your luggage at the right weight with a digital luggage scale
This cheap gadget can be a lifesaver! If you think you’ve enjoyed a little too much retail therapy while on your holiday, whip out your digital luggage scale to see if your bag will meet your airlines weight requirements. Doing this before you get to the airport means you’ll have plenty of time to throw out some no longer necessary items or consider adding an additional luggage allowance before you get there, which can often be cheaper than doing it at the airport. You can pick one of these babies up pretty cheap on Amazon or eBay.
7. Protect your passport with a smart travel wallet
Identity theft is a serious problem which costs Australia upwards of $1.6 billion dollars each year! Keep your passport and credit cards safe with an RFID blocking travel wallet. If you’ve already got yourself a nice travel wallet, you can simply get a paper RFID protector which you just slip your passport into, and then keep in your wallet of choice.
8. Keep thieves at bay with an anti-theft backpack
Theft and pickpocketing isn’t something we often experience here in Australia, but in some regions overseas it can be rife. You can now get many types of anti-theft backpacks which can’t be slashed open, keeping all your valuables safe on the inside. Bonus, you can also get waterproof ones to keep the contents of your bag dry in those sometimes unexpected downpours.
9. Ziploc bags come in handy in more ways than one
Ziploc bags are handy for lots of things when travelling. You can store your toiletries in them to prevent them from spilling across your entire bag, use them for packing yourself some quick snacks on day tours or use them to store all your cords and accessories to prevent them getting tangled with everything else in your suitcase. Most importantly though, you can use this as a protector for your hotel remote. Believe it or not, hotel room remotes are among the dirtiest places in your room and are like a cesspool for bacteria. Putting it inside a ziploc bag will prevent you from coming in contact with all this bacteria, while still easily being able to change the channel. Gamechanger!
10. Antibacterial wipes and sanitiser are a saviour
Planes may look clean, but really they can be a hive of bacteria. One of the dirtiest places is the tray table, which has been found to contain up to 2,155 colony forming units (CFU) of bacteria per square inch. That might not mean much on its own, but when you compare it to the fact that a standard toilet seat contains just 127 CFU per square inch, it really is quite atrocious! Seatbelt buckles are also up there, with generally more bacteria than a toilet. When you get on the plane, make sure you wipe down the surfaces of the tray table and seatbelt buckle with some antibacterial wipes to get rid of the germs and reduce your chances becoming sick. Having a bottle of sanitiser on hand is never a bad thing either.
11. Don't get stuck without a tissue on hand
You never know when you might need a tissue. Keeping a pack of travel tissues can come in handy if you become sick on holiday, and can also be helpful in some of those dodgy looking public toilets that might not have any toilet paper left!
12. Keep your legs feeling fresh with compression socks or stockings
Long flights are uncomfortable. While we’d all like to think we get up and walk around enough, in reality that doesn’t always happen which can leave you prone to swelling, or even worse, deep vein thrombosis (DVT). By gently squeezing your legs, compression socks and stockings help your veins and leg muscles to move blood around more efficiently, preventing swelling and DVT. You can get some pretty trendy ones these days, but plain and simple will always do the trick as well.
13. Pack a smaller bag within your luggage
So you’ve meticulously packed your carry on luggage to fit in everything you might possibly need, when you realise you’ve left your headphones right at the bottom. Keeping a smaller bag, like a cosmetic bag or clutch, with all your essentials like headphones, charging cables, moisturiser, lipbalm etc will make it much easier on the plane as you won’t have to rummage through your whole bag every time you need something essential.
