International Travel Must Haves

Is anyone else an over planner? Or is that just me? Before going on this trip, I OBSESSED over what to buy, what to do, how to sleep, what to wear. Anything that had to do remotely with international traveling was running through my head. Little did I know, I would get stuck in the airport and have to rely on everything I had for 48 hours. 48 long hours. Let me teach you all of my ways.

Let’s start out with what to wear! This was the least amount of thinking that needed to be done. The ONYX MAXI is everything. It is hands down the most comfortable thing that I own. You would have no idea that in the photos below, the first is when we arrived at the airport and the second is 48 hours later when we were finally boarding our flight overseas. Not only that, but when we landed 12 hours later we hit the ground running and spent a day in the same clothes. Three days in the same outfit and you would think I felt gross. I definitely didn’t smell the same, but the maxi was holding strong! Trust me on this one, if you’re debating what to wear on your flight, debate no more. Just buy the dang maxi!

When shopping for luggage I had some stipulations: it needed to be well made; have a hard case; not get lost in the sea of black luggage; hold the ridiculous amounts of things I was going to bring back with me; and take on the brunt of being tossed into the plane. And let me tell ya, Oh Joy for Calpak had it all. Did I mention that our flights were a mess? They were a mess. My large suitcase was taken everywhere but where I was going. It went on a trip to Rome apparently. When it came back to me a week into the trip it looked brand spankin new. Not even one dent. And let’s just take a second to admire the fact that I stuffed a RUG into it on the way home. Never will I ever buy another piece of luggage in all my days.

For the backpack, I scoured the internet. Getting the best travel backpack was high on the list. I found it y’all! Walker Family Goods has made the ultimate backpack. One of the most annoying things when flying is when you place your bag at your feet, realize you forgot that one tiny thing, have to haul it up, and somehow find that thing at the very bottom of the bag. This backpack eliminates that! It has a million pockets and a home for every single item. Not only that, but it zips all the way down. Gone are the days of fishing for the lost item in your bag while elbowing the person beside you. This backpack held my lipgloss, makeup removing wipes, lotion, face masks, melatonin gummies, oil roller, blue light glasses, eye mask, a small makeup bag, an extra camera lens, my dslr camera, and my laptop. Every item had a zipped area to stay in. I will never take another flight without my Walker Family Goods backpack!

Now for the insider tips. The flight was 12 hours. I slept 10 of those 12 hours like a baby. At the back of the plane and in the middle seat. How you ask? First, about 30 minutes before you board your flight get ready for bed. Go to the bathroom and do all the night routines you do at home. Wash your face, brush your teeth, and change out of anything uncomfortable. Next, go buy a massive water bottle and chug it all. You will want a real reason to stand up in a few hours and nothing dehydrates like a long flight. Once on the flight, I put on my compression socks. My ankles still ended up swelling to 9 months pregnant, I cant imagine what they would have looked like if I hadn’t worn my compression socks. After this, I took one Benadryl, one Olly melatonin gummy, put my eye mask and neck pillow on, kicked back, and passed out. Follow these rules and you will sleep like you’ve never slept before! Trust me!