Don’t Just Survive Long Flights - Follow These 5 Travel Tips

Some things my husband and I have figured out leaving from Dulles airport near Washington DC is when going to Western Europe, we always take an evening flight! We get there the next day and immediately walk around while putting our suitcases at the hotel. We then take about a half hour- 45 minute nap somewhere around three or so and then go to sleep at a reasonable hour that night… And nine times out of 10 we have not had really any jet lag! It’s amazing! And we are 62 years old! On the plane, I highly suggest doing some leg movements every once in a while and just getting up to walk up and down the aisle every few hours or every couple of hours… That’s a good idea for those of us over 60!

Please, please, please everyone…don’t use anything with fragrance before you get in the plane or on the plane. A lot of us get migraines from fragrance! Thank you!!

I don’t mind a long haul overnight flight because I can sleep, but I despise long haul daytime flights coming back from Europe. So for my trip this fall I am planning a transatlantic cruise back home. I don’t mind sea days because I can go to the gym, go to a lecture and walk around whenever I want. Plus I get to go to 6 ports along the way.

I’m not putting anything in the seat back pocket—ick.

My favorite tip from you was to pack a cube of clothes in case luggage is lost. I have been doing that ever since. Thank you!!🥰

Now if someone could just tell me how to actually sleep on that overnight flight. All the “stuff” is great but if I don’t sleep I’m like a cranky 2 year old when I get there.

If you put your toner on toner pads and then in a zip lock, TSA does not consider it a liquid. So you can still take it and you don't have to put it in your liquid's container or miss it. It's like a wet wipe.

Thank you for encouraging people to go scent free on a flight!

This tip is costly, but in my eyes, worth it. Jet lag has always been a burden for me - you arrive at your European destination @ 6 in the morning, and you need to figure out how to keep yourself up until you can get into your hotel room by 3pm (sometimes later). It's always been an incredible struggle - so, I pay the extra $200 or so to book my room for the night before I arrive, alerting the hotel I won't be arriving until say 7 or 8 in the morning, and when I arrive I can go right up to my room, unpack, shower, take a 2-3 hour nap (enforcing that with an alarm clock so I do indeed get up), then go out and attack the city for the balance of the day, retiring at a normal evening hour. Instead of paying the extra $$$ for an upgraded airline seat to make the 8-hour flight more comfortable, I think this is a better use of the money.

Luv your tips, but the easiest way to lose / forget something is to put it in the aircraft seat pocket.

PRACTICAL INFLIGHT: pack all the things that you want to put in your pocket during the flight in a small sandwich bag or a small mesh zip bag. That way you can put it in your personal item and when you go through TSA, you can put all those items back in your pocket. For items that you want in flight in the pocket in front of you, just use a Ziploc bag that has a slider on the top for easy access. Those airline pockets are gross and this way all your things are away from the germs and easy to find in a clear bag. If you don’t want to always use plastic, then you can buy a silicone reusable bag and then just disinfected when you’re done. Practical and inexpensive. 😊 Going to Iceland in August. Icelandair has one of the smallest personal item bag dimensions with under a 6 inch depth. Be sure you know your international flight bag restrictions. Bento bag and Nomad lane bags will not meet their requirements.

15:44 Learned it a hardway. Always put a packet or two of Antacid in the medication pouch because airline food and irregular sleep can cause acidity and discomfort.

My husband and I (both 79) are leaving in May for Italy with our 2 teenage granddaughters. Right now I'm feeling overwhelmed with all the information But I'll do my best to follow all your great tips. Thank you Laurie, I follow you everyday to be sure I don't miss anything. Pray for us to find the energy we'll need.

Hi Laurie, thank you for the tips! One item I add in my inflight bag is a Vicks inhaler for those times it gets stinky in the aircraft…

We take a lot of red eyes, and I used to stuff my jacket behind my back like a lumbar pillow, but for our last flight, I bought a little inflatable pillow that you can inflate to exactly how much support you need depending on the airplane seat. It is such a game changer for my sleep comfort.

I purchased the vacuum bag for dirty laundry on the return trip. It never packs well because we just chuck it all wadded up in a laundry bag. It ends up taking up a lot of space. This seemed like a great solution for that issue.

No way I'm putting things loose in the seat pocket - those things are FILTHY 😂

The bag over your item under the seat is going to be a must in my book no matter what length of flight. We just got off a flight were a little one got sick and it drained down onto the items under the seat. It was quite a mess. Kudos to the fast acting flight attendants that took care of it quickly and covered everything while we were landing.

Laurie, everyone here loves your tips! Thank you so much… We are headed to France for about 2 1/2 weeks in just about a month! I always start watching your tips faithfully coming up to a big trip!

We flew to Milan for the Olympics. I am nursing a torn hamstring so sitting for long stretches is awful. I found, on Amazon, a USB heating pad that plugged into the airplane ports. A total lifesaver!! It also ran off of my power bank battery on the trains.