Amelia’s Top Ten Travel Tips

Here is a list I’ve compiled of helpful airline traveling tips. There are so many more tips, tricks, and hacks I’d like to share with you, but those will be sprinkled in with my other blog posts. Think of this as an introductory list to jumpstart the brainstorming for your next trip.

I’m curious if you’ve had experience with any of these tips, and if so, how did it impact your travel? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear from you, and if you have any travel tips of your own. 🙂

1. Always have a pen! Especially for international travel; you can expect to fill out some kind of immgiration/customs form. And yes, we (your cabin crew) probably have pens on us, but we don’t love to give them out because we rarely get them back, and if we do, sometimes the pen cap has been chewed. Ewww! And thats a true story. 

2. Bring a water bottle, fill up in the airport (no flight attendant enjoys hearing upon boarding, “Can I have a water for my pill?”). If you know you need to take medicine, please make sure you have your own water ready to go! An added bonus is helping the environment with a reusable water bottle. Many airports are equipped with no-contact filling stations, perfect for getting an ice-cold, filtered water refill in an eco-friendly, sanitary way. I love my Hydroflask. They’re pricey and a bit heavy, but do keep your water chilled for the entire day.

3. Bring headphones with an aux cord jack. The headphones available onboard are terrible! Invest in a decent pair; I really enjoy my Skullcandy earbuds, and I always keep them in my carry-on. If you can’t invest in new earbuds, get a pair from a flight, and hold onto them! Even if an airline advertises headphones, it’s no guarantee we’ll have them. So if you really want to watch movies, make sure you are equipped with aux headphones! 

5. Speaking of headphones; so many AirPods have been lost to the dark depths of the airplane. Please, if you must have them for the flight, be extra careful! They’re extremely hard to find. 

4. If you have dietary restrictions, whatever they may be, or think you may be especially hungry, bring your own food. Even if the airline says they will provide a meal catered to your needs, it’ll most likely not be what you’re expecting or what you want. Be sure to be well stocked, this goes for young children and infants too. We don’t have a lot of “kid friendly” snacks on the plane besides sugary cookies and chocolate, if that. 

6. Don’t use the bathroom barefoot or with socks! That’s not water on the floor. 

7. Plan on a backup form of entertainment. Sometimes the system goes down, and there won’t be in-seat movies or games. The same goes for plugs. Not all aircraft are equipped with outlets at the seats. If it’s important to you, make sure you bring a portable charger, and a personal device with movies downloaded before the flight begins.

8. Download the airline app; it’ll help you with connections and itinerary changes due to delays. Another helpful app is “FlightAware.” It will show you current airport and flight delays.

9. Always always always keep your important items (passport, wallet, keys, medication, etc.) in a small personal bag in the event your carry-on suitcase is checked (and in the worst case, lost in transit). If you prefer to travel light and with only a carry-on suitcase, keep a small bag inside of the suitcase which you can transfer your important items to, and bring with you onboard. Think reusable grocery bag or small canvas bag.

10. Always being a scarf for flights. The planes get cold, and a decent scarf can double as a cute accessory, a blanket or even a pillow. When I travel for leisure, that’s one item I don’t leave without; it‘s versatile and will serve you well. Here I am sporting one of my favorite travel scarves.