If you’re looking for flight essentials that are going to improve your comfort and enjoyment on your next flight, you’ve come to the right place!
Here are the travel essentials we love!
We update this post regularly, so if we ever switch to using something different, it’ll be updated here!
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Comfort flight essentials (to stay your coziest)
A good pillow: We always take our Avocado travel pillows with us on any trip we go on. They are so comfy and come with extra stuffing so you can make them as firm or soft as you like! And they fit in a backpack, which makes it easy for flights!
Grab the Avocado Travel Pillow here.
A cozy blanket: You can never predict the temperature on the plane, so having a blanket with you is a good idea. There are a few options here that work really well.
The Rumpl Travel Puffy Blanket is a favorite of many travelers because of its versatility and the fact that it can fold up into such a compact size (perfect for flying).
Many of the ‘travel blankets’ you find online are this sort of plush sleeping bag material which isn’t necessarily an ideal texture for everyone. We are currently on the search for more options that feel like a fleece blanket but fold up small for travel.
So far our top picks are surprisingly from Vera Bradley, as they offer a few different blankets that fold up super small (and we have a few Vera Bradley blankets at home that we love).
Grab the Vera Bradley Travel Blanket
Grab the Vera Bradley Disney Themed Travel Blanket
A good fan with convenient options: On our last flight to the Dominican Republic, the plane had to be no less than 85° and the air vents did NOT work. I vowed then that I would never take another flight without a fan.
But I wanted to find one that was convenient. This one has a rechargeable battery, 5 different speeds (which work WELL), folds up super small, can be adjusted to multiple different angles, and it even comes with a lanyard so you can wear it around your neck for a hands-free cooldown.
Grab the JISULIFE Portable Fan
Compression socks: We luckily haven’t needed compression socks for any flights yet, but seeing as how so many people swear by them and we’re both getting really close to reaching 30, I went ahead and did the research to find you (and future us) the best ones.
I love everything I’ve ever used from Bombas, so it’s no surprise that their compression socks are so popular. They will definitely be the ones we grab once we start needing them.
Grab the women’s Bombas compression socks
A motion-sickness medicine that works well: Motion sickness is something we deal with when traveling, and it’s no joke. I (Kailey) have tried about every motion sickness medicine on the market, and the one that has helped the most (and didn’t make me drowsy) is this Dramamine Nausea.
Regular ol’ Dramamine works well too, but tends to cause more drowsiness in my opinion (which for a flight isn’t necessarily a bad thing).
Grab some Dramamine Motion Sickness
Carry-on flight essentials (to always have on hand)
I put everything in a small pouch like this one to keep it all organized
Chapstick: Lanolips (Kailey’s pick) or Burt’s Bees (Will’s pick)
Hand sanitizer: A good smelling spray sanitizer like this one
Hair ties: I love these Kitsch ones for keeping my hair controlled without getting a ponytail headache.
Tissues: (a must have for any travel) we like these travel packs
Moisturizer: A travel size quality lotion like this CeraVe
Reusable cutlery: It’s so nice having this set on-hand for travel days
Any meds needed: a small pill organizer like this one (and some labels) keeps us always prepared
Eye drops: long travel days usually result in dry eyes. we use these for contacts, and these ones for days without contacts
Our must-have flight gear (for maximum efficiency)
Quality luggage that can handle it all. The luggage we have isn’t sold anymore, but we’re looking to upgrade soon anyway. We’ve been eyeing these ones and will likely purchase them soon.
Carry-on luggage: Away Carry-on Flex
Checked luggage: Away Large Expandable Suitcase
Personal Bag: We’ve had this Brevite bag (technically a camera backpack) for years and use it for everything. And it fits right over a suitcase handle which makes it perfect for travel. It has adjustable dividers for camera gear, or you can completely remove them to store other items.
Flight entertainment essentials (to make time go by fast)
An e-reader for convenient (and packable) entertainment: Reading is the perfect airport and flight activity, but packing books can be heavy and take up precious bag space. The solution? A solid e-reader to store alllll your books while taking up minimal space.
Our pick? A Kindle Paperwhite & a library card. Signing up for a library card does you and your community so much good! You can find libraries near you with this site, then use an app like Libby to check out books and send them to your Kindle!
A portable gaming system for on-the-go fun: We LOVE our Nintendo Switch and especially love that we can take it with us so easily. (get a case like this one for cute storage & bringing games along).
Some noise cancelling headphones: Headphones are a flight essential we truly couldn’t do without. And if they have an option for noise cancelling? Even better.
We both have a pair of these (which come in several colors), which have lasted us years so far and work so well.
Grab the Bose QuietComfort Headphones
A power bank that can actually keep up. Let’s be honest, getting suck on a long travel day with a low battery sucks. We’ve had a loooooot of sucky power banks, but we finally found one we love. We’ve had a mophie brand powerbank for years now and it’s still working like it’s brand new. We can get 4 full phone charges out of this thing, and it can charge multiple devices at once.
The one we have is no longer made, but here is the new and improved version.
Grab the mophie Powerstation Pro Power Bank
Curious about any other flight essentials? Leave a comment and let us know if we’re missing anything!
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