How to survive a long-haul flight

You’re on a plane for hours. Maybe over 24 hours! How will you last?! Thankfully, there are lots of ways to make the time pass. Here we go!

• Pack smart. If you haven’t read my posts on packing: go back and read this one and this one. You don’t want to overpack, but make sure your bring everything you need and anything you want to make you comfortable.

• Refresh. You’ve been on a plane for hours. It’s dry, you fell asleep so you have morning breath, you may be a little ripe. Just because the bathroom is small, doesn’t mean you can’t do a little refresh. You’ll feel better and you’ll smell better :) Here are some things you can do on the plane:

  • brush your teeth. This always makes me feel better. If you don’t want to have airplane water in your mouth, I totally get it. Either get a water bottle from a flight attendant or get some mouthwash!

  • wash your face. I love to wash my face after a long flight. I usually wait until I’ve landed and can use the bathroom in the airport, but if you have any cleansing wipes or toning pads, this can be just as good. Remember to reapply moisturizer and sunscreen!

  • put on some more deodorant.

  • women, sitting for hours is not fun. Pack a panty liner to wear on the flight or pack an extra pair of undies to change into towards the end of your flight.

  • consider going to a lounge - some have showers. If you have a travel loyalty, some will let you in for free if you’re at a certain level. Some will also just let you pay to use it. They have food, drinks, and sometimes showers with nice toiletries! If you have a long-haul flight with a decent halfway layover, I’d highly recommend this. You can also download the app “Loungebuddy” and see if there are lounges at the airport you’re going to that will let you pay to use.

• Try to sleep on your flight. Not only will this pass the time, but you will feel better when you arrive! Go ahead and check what time it is in the local country you’re arriving in and set your schedule to that. I prefer to leave the US at night and arrive in my destination in the morning. This allows me to sleep and avoid jet lag!

• Wear something comfortable. Wear something that breathes and is comfortable. My go to in the summer is a pair of joggers and a linen short sleeve button down with tennis shoes. In the winter, it is align leggings from Lululemon, a light sweater, and tennis shoes or chelsea boots. I’m not saying to look like a bum, you’re still in public; however, comfort is a major factor for me when traveling. You also need to be sure to invest in compression socks. Traveling for long periods of time can cause deep vein thrombosis, which is a very painful blood clot deep in your legs. By wearing compression socks, you can avoid this.

• Bring snacks. Save your money and avoid the stores in the airports (speaking to myself here, those are my kryptonite!!!) and pack snacks or snack packs for you. Make sure it is TSA approved!. I’d try to avoid packing anything with peanuts since those with peanut allergies can be pretty severe. Here are some TSA approved snacks:

  • Jerky

  • Cheese and crackers (combine this with the jerky and you have a mini charcuterie!)

  • Cookies or chips

  • Salad - if you do this, either ask for dressing on the flight or put the dressing on right as you walk through security so it gets through TSA.

  • Veggies and hummus. Keep in mind that hummus is considered a liquid, so make sure the container is 3.4oz or less.

  • Fruit

  • Trail Mix

  • Popcorn

  • Instant oatmeal. Just ask the flight attendant for hot water.

• Stay entertained. Usually planes have seat back entertainment, but you may be an unlucky traveler who has a broken screen and no extra seats. So, don’t rely on the airline to entertain you. Here are some other things you can do:

  • Download movies or tv shows to your Kindle or iPad. I have a Kindle fire and love it. I’m able download movies or shows onto it that I can watch when I’m not on wifi. TIP: All of the Harry Potter movies are around 2 hours. But you can have a marathon on-board and it’ll add up to just under 20 hours :)

  • Read a book. I’m a big reader, so my Kindle is really helpful. I love having the actual book, but it is also nice having an e-reader so you have all of your books with you on the go in one small tablet.

  • Listen to podcasts or audiobooks. Download it ahead of time like you would a movie or tv show and listen away!

  • Learn a new language on duolingo. I’m currently learning Italian, but it would be a cool trick to try to learn the language of the country you’re visiting! Or at least a few words and phrases :)

• Set a timer for the length of the flight. This is one of my favorite hacks. When the pilot comes on the speaker and tells you how long the flight is, I set a timer for that (and budget maybe 10 extra minutes to trick my mind we got there earlier lol) and that way I always know how much longer we have!

• If you get bad ear or tooth pressure on planes, take some sudafed and a pain reliever. Also have some gum on hand! My tooth felt like it was going to crack on a flight to Mexico and I was TERRIFIED. I love flying and was so upset that I was scared to fly. However, I took sudafed and chewed gum and had no pain!

Do you have any other tips for making it on a long-haul flight? Let me know in the comments!