My Carry-On Essentials
Packing can be a dreaded hassle and learning to pack can take years to perfect. Here I’m breaking down the list I have developed over years and years of traveling to pack all of my carry-on essentials. Just reference this for your next trip and you’ll be set to go!
Carry-On Bags
I like to be as organized as possible when traveling—the more prepared I am, the less anxiety I have about the travel. It helps to have luggage that aids the process, too. These are the bags I carry and some other top picks for your carry-on needs.
Overhead rolling bag
Underseat backpack or tote
Seat pocket pouch
Passport/ID
Should be the top of your list because let’s be honest, if you forget a passport or an ID, you’re screwed. But to keep yourself a little more organized, here are some of my favorite passport cases:
Wallet
Second only to your passport, you’re going to need some money for that trip, so be sure to remember your wallet. I personally carry a smaller wallet, but many prefer a travel wallet that holds all of the absolute essentials they need for the trip.
Phone
Most of us never leave home without our phone nowadays, so I doubt you need help remembering this one, but nonetheless.
Organizer bags
As I mentioned, I like to keep my bags as organized as possible so I can reduce as much of my travel anxiety as possible. I couldn’t do this without a variety of organizer bags, packing cubes, pouches, and the like. Here are my favorites:
Headphones (wireless and wire)
I carry two pairs of headphones with me, one that’s wireless to use with my iPhone and another wire pair to plug into airplane seats if ever there is on board entertainment. It can also be useful to keep a headphone jack adapter with your wire headphones for those annoying planes with outdated two-prong plugs.
Eye Mask
A lot of people have trouble sleeping when they travel, let alone on an airplane, and one of the biggest reasons is the light. Block it out with a nice eye mask and you’re good to go!
Earplugs
For the same reason as the eye mask, earplugs are essential when you travel so that your sleep will be as undisturbed as possible regardless of the noise around you that you can’t control.
Face Moisturizer with SPF
It’s super important to hydrate and protect yourself when on a plane and this is extra important when it comes to your skin. I like to find a moisturizer that’s non-oily because of my blemish-prone skin and also something with SPF because the amount of UV rays you’re exposed to on a plane, especially in the window seat (my preferred seat assignment), is frankly horrifying.
Face wipes
It’s not always practical to bring along a bottle of cleanser, so instead I’ll bring a pack or a few individually wrapped face wipes to clean off excess oil and grime from a long day of travel. Especially on long-haul and overnight flights, it’s a must to clean your face off.
Lip balm
As mentioned and you may already know, flying is super dehydrating. It helps to replenish the moisture in all the places that need it and your lips are a big one. No one wants to arrive to their destination with dry flaky chapped lips. I use an intensive overnight lip treatment so I’m getting as much moisture as possible.
Hand lotion
Again—moisture! Hand lotion can not only keep your skin hydrated, it also doubles as a perfume if need be!
Hand sanitizer
Let’s be honest—airports and airplanes are very dirty places. I don’t even want to think about the millions of germs hovering around on any given surface you’ll come into contact with as you travel. Keep yourself clean and germ-free by constantly either washing your hands or using hand sanitizer.
Disinfecting wipes
Again, planes are disgusting. Even Naomi Campbell doesn’t have the luxury of always flying private but she knows full well what might be lurking on a plane, even in first class. Wipe. That. Sh**. Down!
Toothbrush and toothpaste
I generally will only pack my toothbrush and toothpaste for long-haul or overnight flights, but it doesn’t hurt to have it handy. Get a foldable toothbrush and a small travel tube of toothpaste and keep those pearly whites sparkling.
Contact case and solution
Obviously, if you don’t wear contacts, you can disregard this one. But I have horrible vision and I wear two-week disposable contact lenses. I have to keep a contact case and solution on me for any time I want to sleep or just rest my eyes.
Concealer
Couldn’t sleep on your flight? Had a long and exhausting layover or had to wake up at 3am to make it to the airport on time? Concealer is your best friend because you only get so many bags allotted and under-eye bags shouldn’t be one of them!
Reusable collapsible water bottle
Flights are incredibly dehydrating and you’ll want to drink water often to combat the effects this can have on your body and health. One of the best and most eco-friendly ways to do so is by carrying a water bottle with you that’s easy to refill and easy to pack.
Medications
I have an old purse dust bag that I keep all of my essentials medications in. For me, these include Motrin, Excedrin, Bonine, Allegra, birth control, Ritalin, and melatonin. Anything that you could not replace or things you might need in-flight should be in your carry-on.
Jewelry
Although I don’t necessarily have the most fancy jewelry in the world, I have a lot of pieces that are irreplaceable and I wouldn’t ever want to lose. So I keep my jewelry with me just in case, all organized in a nice little jewelry case.
Camera equipment
I keep all of my fragile valuables in my carry-on, as you should (if you didn’t know, airlines take little to no responsibility for broken items in checked luggage). This especially applies to my camera equipment—my camera body, lenses, batteries, memory cards, etc. all get packed in my carry-on luggage.
Laptop
You’re never supposed to put laptops in checked bags, plus I wouldn’t want to for the same safety reasons mentioned above, so mine is always in a protective sleeve stowed in my roller bag.
Chargers & Charging cords
Along with a lot of electronics come a lot of various chargers and charging cords. I generally try to bring these all in my carry-on in case I need them during travel and because it’s a total hassle should they get lost and you have to seek out replacements. It’s best, however, to keep them organized. I keep mine in a little designated pouch, but you could also pick a pocket of your bag to keep them all in or something similar.
External battery
It’s not always easy to find wall ports or charging stations when you travel, let alone internationally where there may be different plugs. I always keep a portable battery on hand so I can keep my electronics ready to go. Just be sure to remember to charge the battery before you travel!
Entertainment (e-reader, a book, download movies or audiobooks on your phone, etc.)
Depending on my mood, focus level, and energy level, I may want to sleep, read a book, watch a movie, watch a show, or any number of things. I try to prepare several options any time I’m flying so I have choices once I’m in the air. It’s definitely better to have a few things to do than nothing at all and to be left in the air twiddling your thumbs with boredom.
Travel pillow
Although it is possible to buy these at airports and some airplanes will provide pillows, it’s worth having your own travel pillow more often than not. Get something lightweight and if possible, one that folds smaller into a pouch so it’s not just loosely hanging off your bag. Remember how grimy airports and planes are? Do you really want your pillow, where you will be putting your face, hanging around dragging on the ground or elsewhere? Didn’t think so.
Versatile sweater and/or jacket
I always pack a lightweight soft sweater and carry my favorite denim jacket (or a larger coat for cold weather destinations). Airports and planes are as unpredictable as a spring day in March so you could be going from hot to freezing and everything in between. A lot of people also swear by travel wraps which can double as scarf, wrap, blanket, etc. Whatever your speed, dressing in layers is always optimal.
Socks (especially compression socks)
If you’re taking a long-haul or overnight flight, chances are you won’t want to be wearing your sneakers or boots the entire flight. You also don’t want your bare feet touching the nasty ground. Some airplanes do provide them, but it never hurts to have your own, especially if you get a pair of compression socks which help alleviate some of the swelling that occurs in your legs while you fly.
Foldable duffel bag (just in case)
One of my biggest anxieties when I travel is when they try to gate check my bag. I will literally pay extra for priority boarding because this scares me so much. I carry a lot of fragile and expensive items (most notably, my camera equipment) that I do not want being tossed around the underbelly of an airplane. So, just in case, I carry a foldable duffel bag in the event that the gate attendant forces me to check my luggage, for whatever reason. It’s only happened a couple times but it is such a lifesaver—I just take out the duffel, repack the most important or fragile items into it, and I’m able to hand over my rolling bag.
Luggage scale
I’m that girl who’s always pushing the luggage regulations to their absolute brink, which I couldn’t do without a handy dandy portable luggage scale so I can pack each bag to within 0.1 lbs of the limit.
An extra change of clothes including undergarments (for longer-haul international trips)
If there’s ever a chance of your checked bags being lost (which really is every time you check a bag) it’s useful to carry a day or two worth of other outfits, including underwear, so you’re not left scrambling around a market in a random port town in Turkey trying to find something to wear and paying upwards of $300 for one outfit (yep, it happened to me once and will never happen again). Choose your most versatile pieces that you can wear in a variety of ways, like jeans or a midi skirt, a simple shirt, a jumpsuit, and a scarf.
Glasses
I keep my prescription glasses packed in my carry-on both for use on the plane on longer flights and just in case on shorter flights because it would suck to lose them. This could also apply for sunglasses if you’re someone who wears sunglasses frequently and wants to be sure you have them when you arrive.
3-1-1 compliant toiletries (haircare, deodorant, perfume, etc.)
I only pack toiletries in my carry-on for long-haul and overnight flights, but regardless I organize them in the same refillable containers and bag in my checked bag when I travel. Always prioritize things that would be harder to replace or that you might need right away (shampoo and conditioner, for example, are generally easy to replace, but dry shampoo or a specific perfume is not).
A copy of your passport
I actually keep several copies of my passport—one folded into my wallet next to my state ID, a copy in the bottom of my backpack, and a copy tucked into the pocket of each one of my suitcases, both carry-on and checked. It doesn’t hurt to be prepared and also acts as another form of identification just in case, God forbid, your luggage is lost.
Snacks
I have a go-to when I travel that I’ve been getting for so many years that I actually crave it anytime I travel: pretzels. More specifically, the Snyders — Pretzels, which they sell at most American airports. Whatever your favorite snack is, it’s always a good bet to get something sweet and something salty so you’ll cover all the bases of your later possible cravings.
Is there anything I missed that isn’t on the list? Or have you ever forgotten something in your carry-on that you really regretted not packing? Let me know in the comments below!