Monday, March 21, 2022

Travel Tips for Long flights by Janice Lynn

 


In my Wrapped Up in Christmas series from Hallmark Publishing, one of my butterflies, Claudia, longs to travel (I think she gets that from me! LOL). Definitely, flying is on my brain as later this year my husband and I will be taking our first trip to Europe. We're doing some land things, but also a Mediterranean cruise. We're sailing out of Barcelona and will be visiting ports in Spain, France, & Italy. We've tacked on a few days for visiting London and Paris prior to setting sail. Wanting to not make amateur mistakes, I've been reading lots of blogs and watching Travel Tip videos. I've a long list of tips. I'm noting anything that stands out, but I'll cull my actually bringing with us list way down prior to our trip. 

Although there are a lot of fun and useful gadgets out there, I want to keep my packing simple and light. I doubt I'll end up doing it, but I've been contemplating only bringing a carry-on bag and handbag as that's what lots of travel blogs recommend. My best friend keeps saying No, don't do it!! LOL. I'll make the final determination based upon how much of my stuff fits into my carry-on. For now, as we plan ahead, I have ordered a few items and have them ready for use. 

Some of the more fun items are a collapsible cup. Most of the videos I've watched have recommended bringing your own water bottle. I kept thinking how I didn't want to have to carry a bottle around with me all the time and how much room it would take up in my suitcase. One of the videos recommended using a collapsible cup/bottle. I read lots of reviews and ended up ordering two of this one. We plan to try them out prior to traveling, but I really like how convenient they are. 


Another find I'm happy with is my travel pillow. The gray bag hooked next to the cup has the pillow, an eye mask, and ear plugs in it. When I removed it from the bag the first time, I worried that I would be able to get it all back into the bag, but I got it without a lot of trouble by rolling it up tightly the way the instructions recommended. Yay! Both the cup and the neck pillow bag are easy to unclip. I have the heart clip on my bag as it was something I already had to make my bag stand out from all the other black suitcases. It's small, useful, and easily hooks to the zipper. 

I've bought packing cubes, TSA approved toiletry holders, European & UK plug converters, a selfie stick that works as a tripod and has a remote, and another eye mask for hubby. 

I'd love to hear about your travel must have items. Something I'm still hoping to find is a great personal item bag for international travel. I have a few bags saved, but I haven't purchased one, yet as I haven't found exactly what I want. 

In case you're traveling and interested in some of my finds, I'm sharing links below for your convenience. I am not endorsed by any of these companies. These are just things I found via research that I liked enough to buy and that are in my photo. There may be way better items, but when I compared my options these worked well for me.


Also, I may already have them on my list, but I'd love to hear your cruise/travel tips. Any dos or don'ts that you feel I should know when going to Europe? Am I crazy if I only bring a carry-on?


Janice's Wrapped Up in Christmas books from Hallmark Publishing are available!
Buy Your Copy HERE

USA Today, Wall Street Journal, & Publishers Weekly Bestselling author JANICE LYNN lives in Tennessee with her Prince Charming and their princes and princesses, her vivid imagination, an adorable Maltese named Halo who's the true royalty of the house, and bunches of unnamed dust bunnies that moved in after Janice started her writing career. In addition to writing romance, Janice is a nurse practitioner, a quilter, an exercise queen, a military mama, and an avid supporter of the Quilts of Valor Foundation. Just kidding on the exercise queen. www.janicelynn.com  The WRAPPED UP IN CHRISTMAS books are available at AMAZON Barnes & Noble WALMART & many other place where you buy books. WRAPPED UP IN CHRISTMAS LOVE  coming Christmas 2023.

3 comments:

  1. Hi Janice, I'm so excited for your trip will. You love it. We've traveled to Europe, Australia, and New Zealand with only a carry-on roller bag and a backpack. I wouldn't do it any other way, especially for the land part of your trip. We were gone for a whole month when we went to Australia and New Zealand. We stayed in a few places where we could wash clothes. We also did a cruise and combo land trip a few years ago. Whenever, we didn't have access to a laundry, I would wash things out in the sink and let them dry overnight. I brought a really small purse that would fit in my backpack, so I would only have the roller bag and the backpack that would fit under the seat in the plane. The backpack would fit on top of my roller bag when pulling or pushing it through the airport or train stations. Having no checked luggage is a plus. No waiting for bags.

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  2. Get a passport holder that has RFID protection, and also a credit card wallet with the same protection.

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  3. I've done it both ways. As long as you'll have access to laundry facilities, a carry-on is possible. Packing cubes and the foldable cup/bottle are essentials for me. I have an adapter that includes the UK and several European versions in one. One thing to add to your list: a packable, crush-proof sun hat. Also order some Euros and Pounds from your bank before you go. The exchange rate will be better than you get at the airport.

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