I’m not sure if this is an upside or downside of Wanderlust, but often times a long flight is involved with exploring the world. I don’t know about y’all, but I feel like for the most part it’s a small price to pay when you get out and see the beautiful sights of Greece, Italy, Egypt, Spain, etc. I’m typically flying from Houston so this often means 10+ hours on a flight, and I’ve gotten pretty good at making the most of these long-haul flights. Now some of these tips are actual items and some are just suggestions, but I hope they help y’all as much as they’ve helped me.
Dress comfortably – This doesn’t necessarily mean wear pj’s on your flight (though I’ve seen people do that), but wear something you’ll be comfortable in for hours at a time. For me that means a comfy pair of solid colored leggings, a tunic, pullover or jacket and a scarf that can also be used as a blanket. I also wear glasses on my flights instead of contacts, saves me eye drops and I can usually find a fun big pair in my collection. I have TSA Pre-Check so I don’t have to take off my shoes anymore, but I still wear a pair of slip-on shoes like TOMS so that I’m able to slide in and out of them quickly. That also means that they’re fairly easy to slip off once I get settled in on my flight.
Compression socks – If you don’t remember anything else in this post, remember this: compression socks (and even compression leggings if you can get them) are you best friend. Wearing them on flights that are 4+ hours help reduce your chance of deep vein thrombosis, and also reduces swelling in the legs. Take my word on this, the last thing you want to do is come back home off of a 16+ flight and realize you have swollen legs. Not a great feeling and neither is developing a blood clot in your legs because you were trying to be cute and rock a sundress and wedges on your flight.
Sleep – This tip not only covers sleeping on the flight, but getting your body adjusted to the time zone you’ll be visiting a few days prior (if your schedule allows). Whether this means you’re taking a sleeping pill like ZzzQuill on the plane or drinking some sleepy time tea (stay away from the alcohol if you can because it’s dehydrating), try to get some rest on your flight. When I went to Paris and London last December I hit the ground running as soon as I landed. I explored the city of lights after dropping my luggage off at the hostel, and thank goodness I got a bit of sleep on the flight over or else I would’ve done more than taken a 10-minute power nap on the Big Bus Tour. I would’ve wanted to go back to my hostel and would’ve ended up wasting an entire day of my vacation sleeping.
Staying comfortable on a long flight is a breeze if you follow these tips! Share on X
Drink water – Remember how I said that you shouldn’t drink too much (if any) alcohol on your long haul flights? I meant that. If you can, drink water instead. The recycled air in the cabin can be drying and not only will drinking will help counteract that. Ask your flight attendants for water instead of the soda they’re offering at meals, or bring a refillable water bottle if you’re flying a budget airline and try to stay hydrated.
Eye mask & neck pillows – They tend to turn the cabin lights off for a bit so passengers can get some sleep, but if you’re like me you’ll probably get sleepy before that happens. That’s where eye masks come in handy. Those coupled with a neck pillow that works for you (there are so many different types available) will help you get more comfortable and help you rest better.
In-Flight entertainment – A lot of planes now have screens in the seat rests for this, so you can watch movies, television shows, play games and even track your flight from the comfort of your seat and often times free. I watched quite a few movies on my Dubai flights, and was grateful to Qatar Airways for their free in-flight entertainment, but in case that’s not offered on every flight you can always provide your own. I typically bring my iPad mini 4 on every trip and thanks to Netflix’s recent update I can download shows and movies and watch them even when I’m offline. I also have my Kindle app and Spotify for those times when I want to read or catch up on my podcasts. Noise canceling headphones are a god-send and I make sure that I have mine for every flight, as well as a AUX cord for when I want to connect them to the plane’s in-flight entertainment system. I’ve yet to come across one that lets me connect via Bluetooth.
Now these are just a few tips I have that should make your long-haul flights more comfortable. If you think of any please feel free to drop them in the comments or tweet me!