Top 5 Must-Haves for International Flights

My husband and I just got back from a wonderful two week vacation in Australia and New Zealand! It was amazing! If you follow me on social, you've probably seen some of the photos and videos already. It was absolutely stunning and one of the most incredible places we’ve ever explored. I have so much to share about each city we visited and I can't wait to tell you about all of our adventures!

First things first though. During the 15 hour flight from Los Angeles to Sydney, I discovered there are some crucial necessities on long international flights.

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1. Moisturizer
Essential - on the flight over, my skin, my nose, my lips, everything was extremely dry. I caught a quick glimpse of my dry, peeling skin in the mirror and yikes! I didn’t make the same mistake on our return flight though. I packed travel size containers of face and hand lotion in my carry on bag and applied it every couple of hours and what a difference!

2. Eye mask and neck pillow
For an overnight flight, you won't have the sun disturbing your slumber, but there are all kinds of other lights that will keep you awake - TV & phone screens, reading lights, etc. The eye mask blocks all of that out and helps keep the air from drying your eyes out too.

Another must-have is a neck pillow. It's absolutely imperative, even if you have the window seat. Most airlines will give you a small pillow, but they’re never quite the same as one you pick for yourself.

Invest in these two items for a more comfortable snooze and you’ll be glad you caught those ZZZ's before arrival so you’re ready to hit the ground running.

Eye Mask - Alaska Bear

  Neck Pillow - Cabeau Evolution Pillow

3. Drink plenty of liquids
During the flight to Sydney, I got a major headache and attributed it to lack of sleep and hydration. I was limiting my intake of liquids on the flight since I had a window seat and I didn’t want to disturb other passengers that were resting by getting in and out of my seat with several trips to and from the restroom. I definitely needed to drink more water prior to the flight though. Also, grab a couple of water bottles at the airport to take onboard with you. Makes it a lot easier to get a drink at your convenience and you don’t have to wait for refills.

4. Extra pair of socks
I had read this tip on other blog sites and didn't really buy into the idea that I'd need them. I mean, I had socks on already, but I threw a pair in my bag just in case. Turns out they were right! Here’s why. I didn't want to wear my shoes the entire flight because it’s uncomfortable and restricts blood flow. But I also didn’t want to walk around the plane in my regular socks because those floors aren't the cleanest. Solution - I slipped on these big, fuzzy socks with rubber on the bottom for the duration of the flight and wrapped them up in a plastic bag afterwards.

Socks - I got some from Ross Dress for Less, but Amazon has a few as well.

5. Noise-cancelling headphones
It’s never really quiet on an airplane. If you’re like me, the bells, the beeps, the talking, the unhappy baby, etc. keep you from resting peacefully. These Bose noise-cancelling headphones are worth every penny! We wore our headphones the entire flight and when we weren't watching a movie, we were listening to music while we dozed. There were even a few times I had them on with nothing playing but to block out the noises around me. It made a huge difference and I highly recommend them.

Headphones - Bose

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I made notes of the lessons learned on the flight over and adjusted accordingly for the 12 hour return flight from New Zealand to LA. Wow! It was so much more comfortable.

Let me know if you have any tips or tricks for traveling more comfortably in the comments!

- Rachel