Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo

10 Must-Haves to Include in your Carry-On

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Ohio U chapter.

I not only love traveling but I crave it. I always am up for exploring new places and my ultimate goal is to travel the world; just like everyone else, right? With that being said, I have decided to travel to two different countries this upcoming summer; Australia and France. I will be in Australia for one week visiting my best friend whom I haven’t seen in nearly two years. Shortly after, I will be on a flight to Paris, France where I will study abroad for a month. Literally a dream come true.

However, I have never flown alone and get stressed out so easily. Asking myself, “what do I pack? What if I miss my flight? How much are my bags supposed to weigh?” You get the point. The thing that stresses me out the most though, is what do I put in my carry-on? I’m a girl, (sterotypically) we like to pack a lot and convince ourselves we need this and that when in reality we don’t. So, I have done my research and have found 10 common must-haves everyone should put in their bag.
Don’t forget; before you pack, check with your airline to see what size and how much weight your luggage can and cannot be.

 

  1. Gum. This is vital to have in your carry-on. Chewing gum will help equalize the pressure being built up in your ear.

 

2.  Headphones. Make sure you download music or movies onto your phone, iPad, laptop, etc. I feel like the worst thing would be being on an extremely long-flight unable to listen to what you want or watch what you want.

 

3.  Snacks! You can’t bring food when going through customs; it’ll get thrown out. Wait until after security to purchase food items. It’s a good idea because you never know if the airplane food will be good.

 

4. Toiletries. Need I say more?

 

5. Chapstick. The elevations can dry out our lips so make sure you keep those suckers moisturized!

6. Phone charger is a must. We all know how miserable it would be without technology on a flight.

 

7. An eye mask and neck pillow. Comfort is a necessity on flights. Plus you need to block distractions out in order to get some Zzz’s so you aren’t a complete grouch when you get off.

 

8. Sunglasses. If your flight is overnight and you didn’t catch much sleep, how else are you going to cover those dark under eye circles?

 

9. A water bottle. Hydration is a thing.

 

10. Clothes. You never know, the plane could be cold or you could feel gross considering you’ve been sitting on a flight for 10+ hours.

 

(all gifs courtesy of giphy.com)

Just a quirky fashion journalist trying to get it right!