Since I’m fresh off an international trip, I thought I’d share the things I enjoyed having as well as those I wish I’d had.

1. Mobile Passport App: The line to clear customs at JFK in New York was MILES long. Luckily we had been forewarned about this by some friends and they encouraged us to download the Mobile Passport App to help expedite the process. Its a free app that allows U.S. citizens and Canadian visitors to save time during the entry process at most major U.S. airports and cruise ports. You electronically input all of you information prior to arriving to customs and they send you to a MUCH shorter que than those who are waiting in the general line. It’s a free app but you can pay for an upgraded version that allows you to save your information, Otherwise, you have to enter everything upon landing, which could potentially be stressful if you are traveling with a group or small children.

2. The TRTL Pillow: Heather McMahan might be the funniest person to follow on Instagram and she raves regularly about the TRTL pillow for travel. Both Dwight and I ordered the TRTL plus on prime day to use for our flight over to Scotland since it was an overnight flight. We were hopeful it would allow us to sleep the whole way over in our economy seats and while I’d say it was good…it still wasn’t as good as sitting in first class and reclining 😉 It’s definitely an improvement from a traditional neck pillow and my favorite aspect of it is that you could use it one either side of your neck as well as in front of your chin, which is the way I ended up using it. It kept my heading from constantly bobbing and I slept for about 2 hours with it until my feet were killing me from swelling, which is why I wish I had the next item…

3. Sleepy Ride-Airplane Footrest: Most of us aren’t lucky enough to sit in those coveted first class seats that practically recline into a bed, so this little gadget looks pretty awesome to kick your feet up. I have not used this so I can’t attest to how it performs but I certainly wish I would have had something to help with my feet and leg swelling. You hang it on the arms of the tray table (it can be up or down) and place your feet in footrest. The straps are adjustable to accommodate your height but it does say its most ideal for people 5’8” or shorter. The sling is made with memory foam, which seems like a nice feature.

4. Marpac Rohm Portable White Noise Machine: Prior to having kids, we slept in a silent room with no problems. But then we had a baby it was a “necessity” to get a sound machine for her…and then we realized how much we liked it too and now we can’t sleep without one! When we traveled to Europe 3 years ago, we of course brought along our beloved sound machine and promptly blew it out on the first night in Paris due to our converter malfunctioning (more likely it was user error on our part). There are great white noise apps out there but they just don’t compare to the real thing. It’s quite a pain to pack the sound machine we use at home due to the weight and size so I was happy to see that they make a travel size version that isn’t electric. You charge it with a USB and it has three different sounds to choose from: bright white noise, deep white noise, or gentle surf. It weighs 3 oz and comes with a rope so you can hand it on a door. The battery charge will last you all night but I believe you need to charge to recharge it after that. Which leads me to my next item…

5. International Travel Plug with 2 USB, 3 in 1 Outlet : This was the only adapter we used for the trip and i was awesome. I loved the compact size of it and we could charge both cell phone and my apple watch in one place in the evenings. Since so many devices are charged via USB, it was nice to have the ability to have one plug for everything. I didn’t bring a hairdryer or my curling iron but this would not work for high voltage items like those. You would need a separate converter. This brand offers the same item for several countries so just make sure you are selecting the correct one for where you are traveling.

6. Barefoot Dreams Cozychic Women’s Heathered Socks: Because having luxury socks on a really long flights makes it less uncomfortable and your feet nice and toasty on the flying icebox 😉 Also, I don’t know how anyone keeps their shoes one with the feet swelling so you want to make sure they are warm.

7. Contoured Eye Mask: Although at first glance this looks like a tiny bra, I assure you its an eye mask 😉 I used my traditional eye mask and woke up with my eyelashes all smushed to my face. This contoured eye mask would be helpful for someone with eyelash extensions or just the person that doesn’t want their masked pressing on their eyes. Its made with memory foam and has blackout design to keep things nice and dark.

8. Rose Water Facial Toner: My skin always gets really dried out on flights so I love to use this periodically during the flight and again once I land.

9. AT&T International Day Pass: Obviously this is only helpful if you are an AT&T user but this is such a great option. It’s $10 a day for talk, text and date and they only charge you if you use it. I’m sure other providers have similar plans but just call and ask before you go to see what they offer.

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I hope wherever you are headed is somewhere wonderful and that something from my list is helpful to making your trip more pleasant.

Happy travels!

Blaire