HAVING spent more than half my life travelling the world – hitting 50 countries last year – you could say I’m quite a seasoned traveller.
And with many of those trips requiring long journeys in economy, I’ve worked out some of the key ways to make it much more bearable.
Trying to make a cramped basic seat comfortable is near impossible, no matter how many hacks there are to “making economy feel like first”.
I’ve even debunked the common seat booking hack which tells you to book the aisle and window seat to get the ‘free’ middle seat – please don’t do it.
But when it comes to what to pack, there are two items I always make sure to bring with me even when I’m only bringing hand luggage.
One of those is the TRTL pillow (from £49.99, uk.trtltravel.com)
Looking more like a neck brace contraption rather than a neck pillow, it comes with a steeper price than your cheap airport pillows.
But it is worth every hype you read about it if you struggle to sleep on planes.
Gone are the rubbish bead filled pillows which do little more than a scarf.
The pillow which wraps around your neck keeps your head up when sleeping, so no more lolling side to side and waking up with neck pain.
As someone who struggles to sleep on public transport, the miraculous contraption means I manage to get at least a few hours of comfortable sleep even when sitting up.
Of course, it does get you some weird looks when you are wrapping the long bandage-like arm around your neck.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Cara Delahoyde-Massey shares clever mum hack to squeeze extra liquids in your hand luggage on your next holiday” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6359629429112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]And I picked a rather obnoxious red colour when buying it, so perhaps a black would have got me fewer strange looks.
But along with the confused side-eyes from passengers, flight attendants have often asked me if I really rate it, having heard about it themselves.
[authenticated-scripts src=”%3Cscript%20class%3D%22palin-poll%22%20src%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Fpollingwidgets%2Fv3%2Fwidget.js%3Fquestion_id%3D103891%26game%3Dpolling%22%3E%3C%2Fscript%3E” type=”embedded” width=”100″ /]And what higher praise is there is crew are fascinated? Not only that, but it has been leant out to a number of friends who have since said they have been converted.
The other item I swear by for every flight more than three hours are flight socks (from £9.99, see koalasocks.com) – but my colour choice has again left my plane style wanting.
As someone with poor circulation, anything more than a short-haul flight leaves my legs swollen for days.
Dr. Keith Churchwell, president of the American Heart Association, told Today about why they are so important: “[Compression socks] lead to a better pathway for venous return to the heart and decreases blood pooling.”
I remember a flight back from Bali where I had lost my flight socks somewhere along the way.
I was left in so much pain during the 18 hour flight that crew even took pity on me and found some medication in their emergency kits to try and reduce the swelling in my legs.
Even after landing, my ankles remained double the size for days.
But as an avid plane-sandal wearer on flights – no going barefoot to the bathrooms, I beg you – it means yet more strange looks.
Once again, rather than opt for a plain black pair, I was given a bright multicoloured stripey option as a Christmas present – a strange look when paired with brown leather sandals.
But if you don’t mind looking being the plane oddball, I guarantee they will both make the journey much, much more comfortable.
I’ve also shared my top tips on how to pack so you never have to check in a suitcase – even if going away for 10 days.
This includes things like ditching the shampoo and body wash as well as splashing out on some packing cubes.
Here are some other items that the travel team NEVER pack going on holiday.
