My hand luggage essentials For long-haul flights

Hey guys!

By the time you are reading this, I will be up in the clouds flying home to Australia! Ahh, I am beyond excited to be going home for a visit. If there is one thing I have learned during my years of travel, it’s not to pack too many things in my hand luggage.

There have been a few times where I have struggled through the airport with a sore shoulder due to the weight of a bag full of things I don’t actually use (multiple magazines, different books, etc..)

Over the years I have flown a number of times between Australia and Austria (which is a lot of flying time!!) and I have learned that the products you pack in your hand luggage can greatly affect the comfort of not only the flight but the time you spend in transit.

Therefore, I have come up with my list of in-flight essentials, things which I simply cannot go without. The list has gotten smaller and smaller over the years because I have managed to scale down to only the most important. The “Less is more” approach.

So on that note, I thought I would share with you the essential items I always pack in my hand luggage.

• Fluffy/warm socks– super important! The temperature in the plane can become very cold so I like to take my shoes off straight after take off and put warm socks on (plus it makes everything more comfortable which is important on a long haul flight!)
• A pen– something you can easily forget about but can be very handy when filling out any immigration forms upon arrival as well as departure.
• Headphones– I prefer to bring my own because I find them more comfortable and I know where they have been haha. I keep them in a handy ‘cord taco’ from the brand: Oh My Bag Amsterdam. Essentially keeping them detangled so I can find them easily.
• Toiletries/liquids– Having the absolute essentials but also products I use daily so that I feel as fresh as possible. The bag must be clear and meet the TSA standards and products have to be under 100ml. My R. Horn’s toiletry bag is perfect for this.
  – Face wash: Kiehl’s cucumber herbal conditioning cleanser is great for dry skin (which I have right now) and when I stopped by the Kiehl’s Vienna store they had it in the travel size as well. (yay!)
  – Lip balm/lip mask: I cannot go a day without using any type of lip balm but this product from Kiehl’s is something I use every single night before I sleep and considering how dry it can be during the flight: this is important.
  – Face cream: again… another Kiehl’s product haha (Not at all sponsored by the way- I’m just a big lover of this brand and have been using these products for years!)
  – Hand sanitizer: this is pretty self-explanatory but I find really important.
  – Hand cream: The Aesop hand cream is the absolute best for dry hands ahh.
  – Travel size toothpaste: feeling as fresh as possible is really important to me when traveling 20+ hours.
  – Travel size perfume: I have a little dispenser which means I can take my favourite perfume but don’t have to take the big bottle.
  – Wet wipes/baby wipes
  – Roll on deodorant
  
• Outfit change- I always have spare clothing in my hand luggage so I can feel fresh when I arrive.

These are only the most important things I cannot go without on a long haul flight. Other items inside my hand luggage include one magazine (not 5 haha), my chargers, my camera, laptop and phone, my travel documents (passport obviously) and maybe some type of bar (protein bars, energy etc) and chewing gum. For flying, I also only ever dress comfortably not fashionably haha.

What do you take in your hand-luggage? Is there anything you take that I don’t?

Until next time,

– CC. xx