The 7 Most Important Carry On Items You NEED To Pack

From clicking the “Reserve Trip Now” tab to rushing to get to your flight on time, traveling is always an exciting journey. You know what’s not exciting? Finally sitting down on the plane, only to have that “Ohh noooo” moment. Your essential items are in your luggage and you are stuck an entire flight without them. To bypass that feeling of panic, here are the 7 most important carry on items you NEED to pack.

1. Food & Drinks.

Not a lot of people know this and as many flights as I’ve been on, I even forget that it is OKAY to bring food and water on the airplane. Yes, your 3am craving for a Kit-Kat bar can still be fulfilled 30,000 feet in the air. The airport has tons of snack spots where you can fill up your carry on. Also, pack an empty water bottle. You can save a few bucks by filling it at the water fountain, instead of spending $10 to quench your thirst.

2. Headphones

If you forget headphones on a flight, you might as well not go on the trip at all. Headphones are a necessity if you want some peace and quiet from the man loudly snoring to your left or the crying set of babies on your right. Depending on if the airline has TV access, they will provide you with headphones.

3. Medicine

Advil, Tylenol, cough drops, Benadryl and anything that is going to cease the pain that may start to surge inside of your body is a good idea to have. Most likely, you won’t have a doctor on-board to diagnose you of symptoms that erupted on the flight, but a few Advil might save the day. Also, if you’re really tired and can’t find a way to get to sleep, Benadryl is always an option. Benadryl is an antihistamine which means it gives relief to allergy symptoms and can relieve you of your lack of sleep.

4. A change of clothing

If you are going on an overnight or international flight, you are going to want to change your clothes the next day. After sitting upright for 8+ hours and feeling disgusting, you’re not going to want to land in beautiful Thailand or hot Australia in yesterday’s clothing. Bring an extra shirt, shorts, bra and undies, and walk right on down to the little bathroom and change it up! You’ll feel so much better.

5. It’s all about the hygiene

I have a theory that the vents on the airplanes are specifically designed to make you feel dirty. After a certain point, you WILL start to smell and feel gross. Bring a little bag with a travel sized vaseline, toothbrush, deodorant and some facial wipes. Vaseline will replenish your lips and face and the deodorant will spruce up those underarms. A small pack of facial wipes or even baby wipes can have you feeling refreshed.

6. Socks

It doesn’t matter if you’re going to the Bahamas or to Iceland, you need a pair of socks for your feet. Don’t learn this the hard way and have to constantly sit in the pretzel position just to warm your toes up. Just bring a pair, trust me.

7. Entertainment

Entertain. Yo. Self. I can’t think of anything worse than to being stuck on a long flight with nothing to do. Bring several books to read, a journal to jot your thoughts down and your iPad or MacBook to watch movies or TV shows. DO SOMETHING. Otherwise, you’ll be left to stare out the window and count how many clouds there are.