Top 10 Carry-On Bag Items You Need When Traveling

Top 10 Carry-On Bag Items You Need When Traveling

Traveling doesn't have to be stressful.

Flying alone to Ireland.

1. Gum: you’re flying up into high altitudes which could cause pain in your ears, chewing on gum can help. You can also offer a piece to the stranger sitting next to you who has horrible breath, or just chew on a piece to curve hunger!

2. Snacks: While you’re waiting for your plane at the gate, stop by one of the many over-priced gift shops and pick up something salty and sweet! When traveling, you can never go wrong with having too many snacks, especially if it’s a long flight.

3. Makeup Remover Wipes: These are great for a quick face-wash on long flights, you can get small travel sized makeup remover wipes at pretty much any drugstore. They come in handy and are a nice way to pamper yourself in the short amount of bathroom time you have when the pilot says, “you can now take off your seat belt.”

4. Chap stick: Trust me, it gets super dry when you’re thousands of feet in the air on an airplane! The worst feeling is having dry, chapped lips for seven hours. Pack an extra chap stick.

5. Lotion: On the subject of dry, your skin also gets dry because of the high altitude. Lotion comes in handy, just make sure it’s a travel sized lotion that fits the travel standards. Otherwise, it will get thrown away at security, no matter how expensive or cheap it was.

6. Contacts/Glasses: *Skip this one if you have been blessed with 20/20 vision. I don’t care if your flight is an hour, or thirteen hours, it gets dry on an airplane. You might want to take a nap, you never know! Always be prepared and bring a spare pair of contacts, travel sized eye drops, a contact case, and your glasses. You can never be too comfortable.

7. Oversized Sweatshirt: This one is oddly specific, but when I was traveling back from Ireland, my plane had to go up to a higher altitude than normal to avoid turbulence. It was so cold that the windows had frozen snowflakes and everyone was freezing. Sometimes flights provide blankets, but bringing an oversized sweatshirt that can double as a blanket is something you definitely want to consider.

8. Earbuds: The airline most likely will provide some, but they won’t be comfortable at all. Bring your own!

9. Your Phone: Before the flight, download a bunch of movies and music you want to watch and listen to! Longer flights sometimes have mini TVs, but with my luck, the mini TV I got was broken. Always be prepared!

10. Work: I know that doesn’t sound fun, but you’d be surprised how much homework I was able to get done on a seven-hour flight.