Packing – the pre-travel activity we love to hate, and hate to love.

Long-haul flights – sure, the endless supply of movies and entertainment is cool, but 12+ hours squished like sardines beside strangers isn’t the most pleasant experience in the world, right?

But lucky for you, I come prepared with a few travel tips and tricks to help you get through these trying times! Woohoo!

Lucky for me too, ‘cause I’ll be doing the Auckland to London 25-hour-jobby again in May back to London, and I’ll be doing/using all these things for sure. EDIT: read all about my UK trip here!

My travel tips & tricks include:

 

1. Packing cubes

It doesn’t matter whether you’re super organised like me and write a comprehensive packing list before you drag out the suitcase or not. Packing can be frustrating! Even worse? Trying to find that clean pair of socks when you’re 1 week into your holiday and the contents of your suitcase resembles the aftermath of a Saturday night student flat party.

Guys – buy packing cubes. Not only do they come in lots of colours (I have pink 😉 ) but they keep everything where they should be. Pants with pants, tee shirts with tee shirts, socks with socks. They make packing and unpacking at your destination a breeze – no more sitting on your suitcase in order to fit everything in.

2. Portable power bank

A life saver here. When your phone is about to cark it on the bus, when you’re out and about in the city, or when you’re in a country where the power plugs don’t fit your adapter (more on that later…), a portable power bank is the best – get them cheap from AliExpress (ships to NZ).

3. Suitcase decoration

Finding your suitcase on the conveyor belt when all you want to do is head to the hotel is a pain! So make your job easier by making your suitcase more visible and unique by adding some ribbons. Yes they look pretty, but they also do a mighty fine job of making your luggage stand out from the crowd at the most crucial time (when you’re hangry and tired). Winning!

4. Kathmandu jacket

I’m no fashionista but if I had to recommend one item of clothing it would have to be the classic Kathmandu puffer jacket! Pretty much a wardrobe staple of Auckland chicks, this baby is super warm, compact, and looks good for a night out or going day-time casual.

Trust me, you’ll want something decent for when you’re standing on top of a freezing cold Swiss mountain.

5. Pack for summer & winter

I almost didn’t pack my Kathmandu jacket, it was meant to be the middle of a European summer after all. Luckily, I packed some warmer/winter clothes which served me well in a rainy cold Prague and Paris. Better to be safe than sorry!

6. Photocopy of itinerary & insurance

Take a photocopy / scan of your passport, itinerary / all your travel info and your insurance documents before you leave. Keep them on the fridge or with someone trustworthy at home. Again, just a precaution but you’ll be thankful if (*touch wood*) something were to happen.

7. Universal adapter

Note to self: Switzerland doesn’t take the same EU adaptor as the rest of the countries you’ve visited! At least the hotel I stayed at didn’t… (cue portable power pack). Another item I’ll be investing in is a Universal Adapter that has all the bases covered. Let me know if you have one you recommend!

8. First aid kit

Don’t. Forget. Drugs. (Medicinal ones, silly). You’ll need it if you’re on a Contiki and inevitably catch the dreaded ‘Contiki Cough‘. Pack plasters/band-aids, insect repellent, cough/sore throat lozenges, nasal spray, cough medicine, vitamins, anti-histamine and anything else important.

9. Clothes line

Save hanging your undies over the hotel room TV screen (sorry, I had no other choice) and invest in a small portable clothes line. The people who service your room will probably thank you too… 😉

10. Toiletries fold-out case

Speaking of nifty hotel room hacks, buy a fold out toiletries kit. Just whip it out, hang it on a hook in the bathroom, and roll it back up when it’s time to go. Boom.

11. Steamer

Haven’t tried this one yet, but I’m def investing in a steamer for my UK trip! No more wrinkly shirt frustrations! Speaking of which – I have tried using my GHD hair straightener for ironing a shirt before and it worked pretty well, so this is a good back-up if you have one of these instead. Some hotels don’t have irons/ironing boards (Italy, I’m looking at you….) and your clothes are bound to get wrinkly no matter how well you folded them!

12. Travel journal

It might seem a bit silly to some but keeping a daily travel journal is a great way to remember your adventures. It doesn’t even need to be that detailed. Your future self (even just 6 months on) will thank you for it. Typo has some funky ones!

13. Spare old phone

Being very cautious here (not necessarily a bad thing!), but I still have my old smartphone, so I packed that as an emergency phone in case my new one got stolen. If you haven’t already heard, pickpockets are rampant in many parts of the world and like to prey on tourists. In Prague one of the girls in my tour group had her phone stolen – case in point.

14. Selfie-stick

You either love them or you hate them. But if there’s any appropriate / socially acceptable time to use a selfie stick, travelling is the time! You won’t be the only one 😉 You can get them from your local $2 store.

15. Large water bottle

Who likes helping to save the environment? Me! Buy a large 1.25L or 1.5L water bottle at the airport and take it with you on the plane (yes, you’ll have to carry an empty bottle through security, but just fill it up at a drinking fountain). Not only is it great for the plane for keeping hydrated (important!) and the flight attendants can fill it up with ice cold water at your request, but it’s great for on the road too. In Europe it was safe to fill up bottles in the hotel room – saves buying a new bottle in every city! (Earth will thank you too).

Must-have items for long-haul flights!

16. 1Above drink

Confession: I didn’t get much in the way of jet lag on my trip to and from London last time. Sure, I was tired. But confused as to what time zone I was in? Nope. Feeling like a zombie unable to face the light of day? Not me.

Now I don’t know if I can owe it all to this product, but I feel like it must’ve helped to some degree. I took this 1Above drink throughout my flights ( you dissolve the tablets in water), which is specifically made for reducing jet lag and keeping hydrated. I’m certainly going to be using it again for my next trip! You can buy it in most pharmacies in New Zealand.

17. TTRL Pillow

I bought this “TTRL pillow” after I saw lots of great reviews for it. It’s not so much a pillow per se, but it wraps around your neck to support your head like a pillow would. Unusual, and I felt like a dork, but I liked it! If you’re short like me and can’t comfortably sleep against the window (if you’re in a window seat), this will be very handy. It’s also easy to carry around and doesn’t burst little foam balls everywhere if you put a hole in it (yes, that has happened to me on a plane). Get it HERE.

18. Compression socks

No jokes, my ankles and feet got so swollen after my flights to London. They didn’t recover for a week. Unfortunately, I only wore the compression socks mum bought for me for about 1/3 of my journey; “Oh, my feet are fine, I don’t need to wear these any longer”.

Wrong! They’re not just for old people (Sorry, old people) 😉. So I learnt my lesson, and didn’t take them off over the 25+ hours from London back to Auckland. And my little feet were right as rain. If you don’t wanna buy them online, you can find them at pretty much any pharmacy.

19. Ear muffs & ear plugs

As lucky as I was not to get a screaming baby or a loud snorer anywhere near me on my flights, using ear muffs (from a $2 store) and a set of ear plugs was great for blocking out other sounds. A+ recommended if you’re not a heavy sleeper (like me).

20. Loose, comfy clothes to imitate pjs

Last but not least, nobody cares about what you look like when you’re travelling. Everyone is as bad as each other when you’re stuck in a flying metal tube for hours on end. So wear loose, comfortable clothes on your flights. Pack a spare set to change into when you’re at a stopover. My best bet for getting some half decent sleep on a plane was imitating bed time with clothes that felt like pyjamas – and blocking the sound out with ear muffs and ear plugs.

Or ya know, fall asleep after watching one too many movies 😉 You do you boo.

So there’s my list of travel hacks, tips and must-haves for navigating the ‘travel-life’. Got any more suggestions? (I’m sure there’s lots more!) Share them below!