A beautiful lady, whom I currently work with was a flight attendant for 25 years, offered me some words of wisdom from her travelling experiences. I thought I would pass on her travel tips to you as well. Deciding what to pack can be difficult. You can either cram your bag full of everything you could possibly need so you are prepared for anything… from scorching hot days at the beach to blizzards, camping in the wilderness to going out for cocktails at a fancy bar.
If you do this, you more than likely will be forced to fork out your travel savings for paying for every kilogram your luggage exceeds your allowance. On most international flights this is about 25kg but is less on domestic. You also might break your back, and have no room for shopping!
On the other hand, if you pack super light, you’ll probably end up wearing the same outfit every single day, and end up spending money on things you could have brought from home, meaning you have less money to spend on the important things. No one wants to be in either situation,
So what are the essentials?
1. Shoes
A girl can never have enough shoes! But… all you need is 4 pairs. That’s it. It may be hard to leave some of your favourites behind, but shoes are heavy and take up a lot of precious space in your bag.
- A pair of runners/comfortable enclosed walking shoes.
- Thongs for the beach and those gross hostel showers.
- One pair of sexy heels (black/neutral colours go with everything).
- Comfy, stylish sandals or boots if going to a cooler climate.
2. Plastic Bags
They can be used to separate your dirty clothes from clean clothes in your bag, keep wet clothing from making the rest of your luggage damp, or to carry food in.
3. Stainless Steel Water Bottle/Coffee Mug
Try one of the water bottles you can clip onto your bag for convenience. You can refill it over and over and will avoid wasting your money on bottled water. If you are a coffee drinker, heaps of cafes will give you a small discount for bringing your own mug. I personally have a Keepcup and love it!
- Another thing to make sure you don’t forget to pack is a multi-country adapter, so all your electricals work no matter what country you’re in.
- She also suggested tying ribbons to your bag so you can easily identify it amongst everyone else in the baggage claim.
Also read: Top 10 Places in the World That Everyone Should See
Flying
Long haul flights can be exhausting, especially when you are flying economy sitting behind an obese man, who even when sitting upright, seems to be fully reclined to the extent that you can’t even open your tray table – being forced to eat your meal on your lap. Yep. True story… was no the best flight experience I have had.
Anyway, so I asked her about her tips for having the most comfortable flight possible and she came up with the following:
- When booking your seats ask for an aisle seat so you can get out easily if you need to go to the bathroom.
- Ask for an emergency exit seat for extra legroom.
- Try to score a seat as close to the front of the plane as possible so you get your food first. I have missed out on my food preferences a couple of times because they had run out by the time they got to me.
- Get up from your seat and go for a walk every couple of hours. I usually also do some stretches while waiting in line for the bathroom.
- When in your seat, try circling your feet, lifting each leg up and down, and rocking your feet from heel to toe every couple of hours to keep your circulation up.
- Drink LOTS of water. Flying at high altitudes dehydrates you very quickly, so ask a flight attendant for some water every time they walk-by or take an empty water bottle on the plane with you (not full due to liquids restrictions on hand luggage) and fill it up at one of the water fountains hear the bathroom.
- Take a small moisturizer (less than 100ml due to liquids restrictions) and massage it into your skin during the flight.
- Set your watch to the time of your destination as soon as you board, and try your best to sleep when it is their night time, and stay awake during their day time. It may help to take an eye-cover with you to block out the light when others are reading.
Safety/Security
- If you’re staying in a hotel room alone when you leave your room write where you are going on a post-it, the time you left and expected time of return
- Save an emergency contact number in your phone under I.C.E. (In Case of Emergency)
- Secure your valuables with padlocks or combination locks
- Use virtual phone number forwarding services such as EasyRinger to stay connected to your home’s local network from anywhere you travel to and vice versa.
Money
- Carry a mix of notes and coins so you always have the correct change and don’t end up paying extra – apparently buses in America don’t give change.
- Be careful of using wireless in public areas like cafes or airports for internet banking – it can be easy for hackers to steal your bank details.
All images source: Pexels
Also read: 7 Travel Tips To Travel Smarter
