Help! What Should I Bring on Long Haul Flights to Pass the Time?

Long haul flights require a little advance planning—especially when it comes to staying comfortable, entertained, and sane for hours on end. Whether you’re packing electronics, travel accessories, snacks, or just the right pair of stretchy pants, what you bring on board can make the difference between a miserable journey and a surprisingly manageable one. In this guide you’ll find the best things to bring on a long haul flight to pass the time—for solo travelers, couples, and families alike.

As frequent flyers, Chris and I have taken more than a few long haul flights that seemed to last forever—but nothing quite prepared us for our first international family trip to the Philippines, which clocked in at over fifteen hours. Talk about an interminably long journey. That trip taught us everything we needed to know about what to pack, what to skip, and how to arrive at your destination feeling like a human being.

Things to Bring on Long Haul Flights

To ensure that you arrive at your destination with your sanity intact, consider packing some travel essentials for men, women, and children. New to international travel planning? My international trip planning guide covers everything you need to know before you go—and for more tips on making every trip smoother, my guide to traveling like a pro is worth a read before you zip up that carry-on.

1. Phone

In my opinion, a smart phone and a portable charger are equally important when planning what to pack for long haul flights (or when you are stuck on long layovers at the airport).

Smartphones are travel essentials—a must have if you will—that you don’t want to leave home without. It is my top essential travel accessory to pack to pass the time on long flights. You can use your smartphone to:

• Set an alarm if you want to sleep
• Receive flight updates
• Touch base with family and friends via texting
• Listen to music or podcasts
• Watch a movie or TV show
• Take pictures
• Organize pictures
• Surf the internet
• Play games
• Keep your kids occupied
• Post to social media

Some of these options may require the use of Onboard Wifi.

Many options are available for smartphones these days, so choose what best fits your personal preferences. If you are still in the camp of not owning a smartphone, get one!

2. Portable Charger

I recommend that you always travel with a portable charger—maybe even two—for charging your electronic devices (especially your phone).

A travel charger is one of the essentials for long haul flights that I ALWAYS pack.

The INIU Portable Charger works like a charm and is one of the best travel accessories for keeping your phone charged to receive important travel updates. They are also essential if you are taking long flights with kids who love to be on a device all of the time. When you are checking your list of things to do before you leave, make sure your charger is packed!

These chargers are perfect for your day-to-day travel needs as well. If you are using your phone to take pictures, navigate, or search for tours, you will need to keep your phone charged all day long.

3. Cables & Cable Organizer

Don’t forget to pack your cables in your backpack, personal travel bag, or carry on luggage. Having cables in your “checked” luggage won’t do you any good if you need to charge your devices during a long haul flight. If you devices run out of battery, keep the cable organizer close by. Passing the time without access to your devices is not always fun.

Invest in a cable organizer to keep everything categorized. Get in the habit of double checking your organizer for cables you may have forgotten to unplug and pack. Many organizers with clear pockets can help you tell in a glance if you have forgotten something.

4. iPad and Keyboard

As a travel blogger, having access to my iPad and a keyboard is essential. Sure, you could use the on screen keyboard on your iPad to type blog posts, but I have done that before when I forgot to bring a keyboard and it is neither fun nor easy.

How do you pass the time on a long flight with kids? Make sure you have games accessible and favorite tv shows or movies downloaded on your iPad (or other tablet). Parents, you may want to catch up on work, text with family or friends, or even post to social media. If so, having both your tablet and a keyboard is optimal.

5. Water Bottle

Yes, you can buy a water bottle at the airport, but having a reusable water bottle is not only earth friendly but also less expensive. Fill and refill your water bottle as needed. Staying hydrated on your long layovers is important too.

6. Backpack or Personal Travel Bag

I love my The North Face travel backpack designed especially for women and picked it for a variety of reasons. It is definitely one of my travel essentials for women. It is packed with all of the things I use to pass the time and stay comfortable as I fly.

There is also a standard size The North Face Backpack that is perfect if you are looking for travel essentials for men. Chris LOVES his.

If you are looking for a travel bag, do a little research and make a list of your must-haves. Not sure exactly what your must-haves should be? Here are a few features to look for:

• A travel bag or backpack that is designed specifically for men or women
• A padded laptop section
• A large middle section for a camera insert
• Lots of interior and exterior pockets
• Expandable side pockets for a water bottle, easily accessible hand sanitizer, and Blistex
• A mesh front pocket
• A sternum strap
• A waist belt

You’ll find that your travel backpack is often your home away from home with all of your essential travel accessories within reach and some of the extras that you bring along for your kids. It might be smart to also invest in backpacks for kids so they can be responsible for items that they want or need to bring.

I also love the Travelon Crossbody Bag (in addition to my backpack). I carry this and my backpack and love the convenience of having essentials close at hand. This bag is my new favorite crossbody bag for travel.

7. Noise Canceling Headphones

If you are wondering how to make long haul flights more comfortable, think headphones. Whether you opt for a corded or a bluetooth set of noise canceling headphones, you’ll enjoy peace and quiet in the midst of travel noise and chaos as you listen to music or podcasts, watch movies, or even try to sleep.

The Bose QuietComfort 20 Acoustic Noise Canceling Headphones are some of Chris’ favorites.

8. Toiletries

Freshening up can definitely help you feel confident as you arrive at your destination. Fill a TSA approved bag with toiletry essentials:

• 1-2 days of your prescriptions*
• Face mask
• Eye drops
• Lotion
• Fingernail clippers
• Toothbrush and paste
• Comb, pick, hairspray and scrunchie

9. Hand Sanitizer

If you are given a packaged wipe as you board an airplane, be sure to wipe down all of the surfaces you might touch. Keep a small travel-size bottle of hand sanitizer handy too. The old adage, “It is better to be safe than sorry,” is timely here. No one wants to be sick on vacation.

10. Snacks

There are times when you don’t have the opportunity to purchase a meal or last-minute snacks for your long haul flight. For instance, your flight is held at the gate and not allowed to come or go due to a mechanical error, staffing issues, weather, etc. In this case, you will want to have snacks readily available. If you are traveling with kids, be sure to pack (or have them bring) packaged snacks THAT THEY LIKE TO EAT!

Built.com offers my go-to protein puff bar. The bars are filling, tasty, high in protein, and don’t take a lot of space in my travel bag.

11. Essentials for Kids

Travel + Leisure addresses the needs you have for traveling with babies, toddlers, and young children. If you are traveling with older children, tweens, and teens, be sure they each have a backpack that THEY carry and are responsible for. You may need to oversee what they pack to pass the time on long flights and nix some of the heavier or non-essential items (think whoopie cushions, rubber snakes, or balls).

No doubt, some kids would love to have an age appropriate entertainment pack filled with items such as crayons, a coloring book, paper, stickers, games, crossword puzzles, search and find games, a deck of cards, etc. If they love to read, perhaps investing in a Kindle or downloading books to an iPad would work to replace heavy books. An Apple Pencil and a note-taking or drawing app, are great to help pass the time too! And don’t forget about headphones for the short and long flights with kids.

Note * One year, when string backpacks were all the rage, Chris and I gave each of our girls one for Christmas, thinking they would make a great backpack for travel. Not so, the “string” straps were uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. If kids have backpacks for school, those packs will double nicely for travel.

A few additional items to pack for kids if you want to know how to make long haul flights more comfortable for them would include:

• Their own bottle of hand sanitizer
• A pack of wipes
• Kleenex
• Snacks
• Their own water bottle
• A hoodie

12. Scarf

A scarf as one of your travel accessories can be used for fashion and function. Find one that is stylish as well as big enough that it can double as a travel blanket when you are wondering how to make long haul flights more comfortable or you wish to sleep.

As a bonus, a chic scarf makes a great gift for the adventure seeker in your life.

>> Related: Great Gift Ideas for Adventure Seeking Women

Click “Take a Look!” below to discover all of my Travel Gear Essentials and Favorites.

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Pack Smart, Fly Happy

We don’t always consider the downsides of travel, but having a long haul flight can certainly bring on the blues. Especially when you are traveling with kids and the flight seems to go on and on and on.

A little advance preparation and planning goes a long way in making your travel more enjoyable. Packing the essential travel accessories, if nothing else, will help to pass the time.

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