‘Tis the season! Between family, friends, work, and extra time to vacation, we’re here, there, and everywhere. I love working this time of year because it warms my heart seeing families reunited. Hearing stories about why people are traveling: whose grandparents we’re visiting to introduce baby to or what our unaccompanied minors are most looking forward to when visiting dad. It’s so special to be a small part of the journey. This time of year also brings new travelers and I just thought I’d share some tips to traveling smart this time of year (but also all the time).
- Get to the airport early to fill your water bottle, get food, and use the restroom all before your flight. Plus, it’s nice to not be rushed!
- Plan ahead if you have dietary restrictions and/or allergies. Pack what works for you and never assume the airport/airline will have a gluten free, vegan, kosher, nondairy, keto, whole 30, etc option.
- Ask friends for music, podcast, movie, and book recommendations and come prepared with pre-downloaded material. Don’t forget your headphones!
- Give yourself more than enough time for connecting flights to save yourself the stress later.
- Essential oils work wonders for nausea, stomachaches, headaches. Just be mindful of others.
- Have empathy and patience for airport employees, airline employees, your fellow travelers, and yourself. You don’t know what someone is going through and everyone will be much happier that way.
- Stay hydrated and bring your favorite snacks!
- Pack leftovers after visiting family and friends. You’re allowed to bring any food items with the exception of things like yogurt and soup.
- Please and thank you goes a long way. Be courteous with your seat mate, cab drivers, hotel staff, flight attendants, gate agents, and TSA agents. So many people sacrifice family time to work during the holidays.
- Don’t forget to pack your vitamins! Keeping your routines consistent is important especially to combat jet lag.
- Extra supplements I like to take while flying are: Flight Fūd (inflight elixir, helps fight fatigue, jet lag, and other negative side effects of flying), greens tablets (I like the ones from Amazing Grass, Nuun (boost of hydration), and ginger tea to help aid digestion. These are not necessary but I’ve noticed a difference in how I feel when I land especially after long flights.
- If you are an anxious flyer, check out my previous blog post written for anxious flyers here.
As always, I’m here for you! You can best reach me via DMs at @kaleintheclouds. Fly safe, fly happy, and fly smart. All the love.
