So, how do you pack light, but practically for travel ease
and in-flight comfort?
- Small, draw-string back-pack: large enough to fit all listed below in
- Wallet: pack your purse in your checked bag, take your wallet
- Ditty bag: All below should be packed in a small, ditty-bag-like zippered bag, so you can keep it organized without having to dig through it.
Hygiene
- Small package of wet wipes
- Hand sanitizer (put this with sunscreen in a small sealable sandwich bag and place near top or in backpack pocket for easy access to go through security)
- Chap-stick
- Gum – for helping with pressurizing ears on take-off, landing
Privacy/sleep
- Eye mask
- Ear plugs
Travel First-Aid
- Small travel sunscreen
- Eye-drops
- Allergy Tablets
- Tylenol
- Airborne or Emergen-C
- A few packets of Cold remedy
- A few Cough drops – you never know when you’ll need them…
Food/Drink
- Empty water bottle - fill after going though security, and stay hydrated
- Individual size water flavor/instant tea mix
- Power/energy bars
- Small, travel snacks: power bars, trail mix (Travel food is listed below)
Entertainment
- Headphones
- Phone charger
- Book- make it a good one, one that you'll read on the plane & on the trip
- Iphone w/Pre-load new games and music onto phone before trip
Layer –
short-sleeve shirt, hoodie or sweater and Jacket (for your comfort due to
varying temperatures during the flight/travel)
Wear bulky items: long pants or
jeans and tennis or heaviest shoes, to keep warm and reduce bulk in packing
suitcase
Light-weight scarf for warmth on
the plane and to keep the sun off your shoulders
Hat: stylish,
yet practical. If, like my experience, the weather during your vacation is
windy, you’ll want a stylish, newsboys-like hat to both shade the sun off your
face and keep your hair from flying. This is a guys-equivalent of a ball-cap,
and can be nice to wear on days you don’t want to do your hair. I almost left
mine at home, and I’m so glad I didn’t; I wore mine every day!
I hate spending too much money on food, and I hate limited,
calorie-heavy choices, so here is what I packed. I like tea, and not coffee or
soda, so I packed several types of hot and iced tea packets (a few different
kinds for different choices, then asked for hot or cold water on the plane).
- Reusable grocery bag – to hold everything
- Hot & cold, foldable, reusable bag – for refrigerated items
“Bistro” Boxes – I copied Starbuck’s Bistro boxes, since this is the kind of food I like to eat, without the price tag or unknowingly eating unwanted calories. I prepared it all the night before, and grabbed in out of the fridge in the morning, put straight into the refrigerated bag, with frozen grapes to keep it cold like-edible ice cubes.
- Breakfast boxes: whole wheat bagel, almond butter, grapes, sliced apples, hard-boiled egg, sliced cheese, hot tea packet
Snack boxes: fruit, crackers & cheeses, veggies & hummus/crackers and cheese, iced tea packet
- Greek lunch box: Panko & Greek-herbed chicken/hummus/cucumbers/tomatoes, dark chocolate, iced tea packet
Fiesta lunch box: fiesta-spiced (taco seasoning & panko crusted) chicken/cilantro-lime Cole-slaw/salsa/guacamole, dark chocolate, iced tea packet
- Mini muffins: chocolate-zucchini, apple-carrot, & banana-blueberry
- Trail mix
- String cheese
While the food may seem excessive, it was easy to make, quick to fix on our tray tables, and made travel so much more pleasant and enjoyable. I, for one, get cranky when I'm hungry or tired, so having good food and a few things along to ease the irks of travel was well worth the trouble. I'd do it again, exactly the same next time, and there wasn't an item I packed that I didn't use, sometimes several times. And we had a few hungry and jealous onlookers while enjoying our food!
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