Your travel accessories change depending on where you are in the travel process and who you’re traveling with. So your must-have travel items for your carry-on bag for the plane ride might differ from what you need once you’re in your Airbnb in Sicily. (Or wherever.)
Our Go-To List of Travel Must-Haves for Your Flight
In this list, we’ll take care of the travel accessories you must have while you’re still in flight. After all, that part of traveling can feel the most tedious.
Having some expert advice on how to navigate that part of your journey means all the difference between feeling refreshed once you get to your destination or feeling like you’ve been run over by a dump truck.
The more refreshed you feel post-flight, the sooner you can get out and play!
So, let’s go.
1) Entertainment Travel Accessories: Kindle or Other Kind of eReader
If you have a long flight over the pond–that’s the Atlantic for new international travelers–in-flight entertainment goes from being nice to being a must.
That’s why an e-reader is a staple of our travel essentials kit on an international trip (or an exceptionally long domestic one). They take up minimal space in your carry-on, and some models allow you to watch movies or TV on them.
Once you download your books and magazines to your e-reader, you can access them anytime. Just put your device on flight mode and dive into "Where the Crawdads Sing", or "Atlas of the Heart", or whatever it is you’re reading these days.
You'll make it through your long haul flights much more easily. Trust us.
2) Must-Have Travel Items for Comfort on an International Trip: Sleep Mask
Speaking of international flights, you don’t want to be on one without some rest-related travel gear in your carry-on bags. Many of these flights are overnight flights.
Once your movie or Kindle marathon ends, you may want to get some shut-eye. Must-have travel items, like a Blissy Sleep Mask, make your in-flight nap a lot more restful and your airplane seat feel a little more private.
3) Essential Travel Items: Travel Pillow and Toddler Silk Pillowcase
For many people, sleeping on airplanes feels about as good as sleeping on a rock. It’s hard to get comfortable. You wake up with sleep wrinkles.
The knotty neck gremlin usually attacks sometime during your flight. All in all, the experience typically doesn’t provide the rest you’d hoped for.
Enter the travel pillow and a Blissy Toddler Silk Pillowcase. Our 13 x 18 toddler-size silk pillowcase fits over most travel pillows nicely.
Sleeping on silk pillowcases solves many of the uncomfortable things that go with sleeping on an airplane, including reducing sleep wrinkles on your face.
It also offers you neck support when you're trying to sleep in the middle seat. No dozing on your neighbor's shoulder is required!
As an extra bonus, you can extend your comfort to your hotel room by packing along a standard size silk pillowcase. They’re small enough to fit in your travel bag but big on comfort and bring you extra peace and comfort when you're not sleeping in your own bed.
Whether you're on a weekend getaway or you are planning to travel abroad, silk pillowcases are a travel must have!
Further reading:
4) Essential Travel Clothing for Your Health: Compression Socks/ Tights
Long flights plus cramped quarters equal bad circulation and plain discomfort. Compression socks or tights keep the blood circulating in your legs, making your flight experience far more comfortable over the long haul.
They’re one of our favorite carry-on essentials, an essential travel item, and a game changer if you struggle with circulation issues on long flights.
5) Digital Nomads Essentials for Working on the Road: Plug Adaptor
Flying with electronics can be tricky. Aside from the fact that the plug on your Kindle, phone charger, laptop, and other mobile devices have a plug that won’t fit into outlets in most other countries, there’s the voltage issue.
That is unless your electronics have some sort of surge protector, plugging your American-made hair dryer (for example) into a German outlet means a fried hair dryer.
Many of your electronics, like your computer, come with a little box on the cord that allows you to go from one country’s electrical system to another, but that still doesn’t allow you to plug into the outlet. The prongs don’t fit.
Plug adaptors bridge the gap when you need to get into a new wired network, and many of them come with built-in surge protectors that prevent your electronics from being fried.
If you’ve got your sights on the digital nomad life, don’t leave home without these essential travel items in your travel essentials bag.
6) Must-Have Travel Essentials: Emergency Carry On Bag Items for Digital Nomads
If you've done any kind of traveling abroad, then chances are you’ve experienced the annoyance of lost luggage. If your destination itinerary also includes in-person meetings immediately upon landing, then you need a day bag filled with a few must-have travel items.
A makeup kit, toothbrush and toothpaste, a shaving kit, sun protection, brushes and combs, wet wipes or cotton swabs, and a skincare kit go a long way to making you look more presentable and feeling more refreshed.
Consider this bag a form of travel insurance. It ensures that you'll be okay straight out of the gate on your next trip, even if your luggage gets lost.
Bonus travel tip: Make sure that this travel essential is a clear plastic tote or day bag. You’ll get through airport security faster and keep your toiletries organized in the process.
7) Travel Gear and Electronics: Apple Airtag Luggage Tracker
The Apple Airtag is a little like the electronic version of Marco Polo. You attach one tag to your keys or to your hip bag. The other one goes on a backpack or piece of luggage.
From that moment on, you get the advantage of having the Apple radar system, ensuring that your items never get lost. Or if they do, then you can take comfort in knowing they’ll get found again.
This must-have is a favorite travel accessory for us. It doesn't take up much space and gives you peace of mind, keeping your belongings safe.
8) More Entertainment Travel Must-Haves: Headphones and Earplugs
Not that long ago, people flew without personal headphones and earplugs. Aside from the fact that this made flights very noisy, it also meant that shutting out that annoying neighbor in the next seat was pretty impossible. (Isn’t that the ultimate way to stop conversations? Headphones?)
Noise-canceling headphones give you access to in-flight entertainment offerings, while earplugs shut out noise while you snooze. We absolutely love these and wouldn’t leave home without either of these travel must-haves in our travel essentials kit!
9) The Ultimate Packing List: Portable Chargers for Your Carry-on Bag
When you’re in the airport, chances are you’re fighting for something more than just a space on the tread walk. It’s likely that you need access to an outlet, too, particularly if you're leading the digital nomad life.
However, depending on when and where you’re flying to, getting access to an outlet could come with quite a wait.
Portable chargers, particularly those powered by solar and light power, juice up your phone, computer, and other electronics without the hassle of having to wait for an outlet. They allow you to stay connected and most are small enough to fit in your carry on shoulder bag.
10) Weather-Related Travel Items: Raincoat, Jacket, and Umbrella
Many international destinations, like Heathrow Airport in London, pack a rainy punch. Carrying along rain gear and a jacket in your carry-on luggage ensures your warmth and comfort if you have to disembark in inclement weather.
On a related note, a cashmere sweater or a hoodie packed in with your travel stuff makes your in-flight experience a bit warmer. Temperatures on airplanes (and hotel rooms) vary. These in-flight travel essentials keep you toasty when you need them.
They count among our most-prized must-have travel accessories for any upcoming trip.
11) Essential Travel Items for the Kids You Can Easily Pack
If you’re traveling with your kids on your next trip, you probably don’t need to be told that they have travel needs of their own. (That could be a whole new article!) Suffice it to say that some of your best travel accessories include plenty of snacks and drinks on hand to help them stay healthy on your trip.
You also want to carry along some activities, like hand-held video games, kids’ books, and coloring books, just to name a few. While it's nice to limit screen time at home, that all goes out the window when you're traveling with kids. Watching TV or movies also makes the time pass, so make sure they have access to those, too.
Really, if you're going to carry camera bags to a different country, they may as well have cute little cameras in them! Taking photos on a trip has never been so much fun!
