After a decade in the skies and over six million miles travelled, a seasoned flight attendant has shared her ultimate guide to packing, revealing the common items you should ditch and the clever alternatives that will transform your travel experience.
The Airport Coffee Trap And Food Fixes
Carin Ryan, a flight attendant with 10 years of experience, advises travellers to resist the urge to buy coffee at the airport. Her warning comes as reports suggest food and drink prices at UK transport hubs can be a staggering 48% higher than elsewhere.
Instead of funding this airport markup, Carin recommends investing in a reliable travel mug. Travel experts have put several to-go cups to the test, with the Yeti Rambler and the budget-friendly Smash Twist and Lock emerging as top contenders.
When it comes to food, she suggests swapping flimsy paper packaging for a proper lunch box. Her personal favourite is the Yeti Day Trip Lunch Bag, which she describes as her 'best purchase'. She praises its space-saving, packing-cube-like design and its ability to keep contents cold for hours, a vital feature during flight delays.
Space-Saving Packing And In-Flight Comfort
For organising your suitcase, Carin advises against bulky standard packing cubes. Her solution? Compression packing cubes. She swears by a set of six from Bagsmart, which use compression to save space and feature different sizes and ID tags to keep everything in its place, from socks to shirts.
Another health-conscious swap is choosing compression socks over regular socks. These specialised socks apply gentle pressure to improve blood circulation, which helps reduce swelling, prevent blood clots, and alleviate pain during long periods of sitting.
The Ultimate Gadget For The Global Traveller
Finally, Carin solves the universal traveller's problem of tangled cables and forgotten adapters. Her recommendation is to pack a single universal travel adaptor.
She highlights one from RICOKEY that is compliant with the UK, Australia, Europe, and Asia. Its key feature is multiple charging ports, including three USB-C and two USB outlets, allowing you to charge up to six devices simultaneously from one neat hub, ensuring you never leave a charger behind in a hotel room again.
