There are essential steps travelers need to take in order to make the trip stress-free no matter where you’re headed on your next adventure. To start, making a packing list is the best way to ensure you have everything you need while preventing over packing. This will also avoid having to pay for checking your luggage, a time consuming and expensive option. If you have specific events then think about the clothes you want to bring for those events – the cute top you bought yourself to go out to dinner or that new mini dress you got before having an actual event to go to. Lay out outfits including accessories and shoes on your bed to see all your options. Here you can visually find any unnecessary articles of clothing and see if you can use the same pair of shoes or purse for multiple outfits. Do you really need to bring two different heels for going out with your friends? Or five different tops for clubbing when you know you’ll only do that twice? You may want to bring a back-up outfit or a “just in case” top and this is where neat folding really saves the day. There are many videos you can find online to figure out how to fold properly for the best way to save space with either flattening your clothes or rolling them up by outfits. Depending on where you are going it is always good to save a little bit of room in your suitcase for anything you may buy such as a touristy sweatshirt or T-shirt.
A suitcase, from either a low-cost brand such as Amazon or a high-cost brand such as Away Luggage, can be an essential part of the organizational process. Certain features will help you pack a lot into a bag that fits the size regulations of the overhead storage compartments. I have found that the best suitcases have a section with a flap attached to the base with straps that can be tightened. This allows you to fit a lot of clothes in one section of the suitcase, placing the flap on top and tightening the straps, and squishing the clothes down; which allows the suitcase to easily close without you having to sit on it to zip up or worry that your zipper will break. I also like luggage with a TSA approved lock so my items are secure. Though, anything I would be completely distraught about losing, such as a certain jewelry piece or my computer, I always keep with me in my second carry-on bag that goes under the seat in front of me. This bag is also where I have anything I will need on the flight. A suitcase with a charging port or space for a portable charger is a nice feature in case there are no outlets and your phone is on that desperately low yet surprisingly long lasting 1%.
A comfortable outfit like the Abercrombie travel dress, which enables you to look cute without wearing pants, or a cute pair of sweatpants with a sweatshirt is always a great travel go to. I suggest wearing layers especially if you are moving from a cold climate to a warm one for Spring Break. The plane may get hot when you land and you don’t want to be stuck boiling in a thick sweatshirt with only a bra underneath, unable to take it off – unless of course you’re somewhere I don’t know about that allows you to walk around like that. Comfy sneakers make life so much easier when traveling or if you are going to a ski resort for Spring Break then wearing the heaviest boots is always useful so that you have more room in your suitcase for other things. Usually I crave warmer weather for Spring Break, but you do you and enjoy the snow!
A beach book or a magazine from one of the many lobby shops within the airport is a great way to spend your time sitting in a plane eagerly waiting for your arrival. Or, if your like me where you can literally sleep absolutely anywhere, bringing airpods or earphones to listen to music while you use either a neck pillow or just put your arms crossed over each other laying on the tray table to nap is a dandy way to catch up on sleep so that you are bright eyed and bushy tailed when you land. MAKE SURE YOUR MUSIC IS DOWNLOADED! That is the worst when your phone is on Airplane Mode and you can’t play any of your music on Spotify. On that note make sure to put on Airplane Mode or pay for wifi if you use any apps otherwise you make the mistake of racking up your phone bill; which some of us, maybe me maybe not me that detail isn’t important, have fallen victim to and had an astronomical charge that only becomes greater with every hour on a flight. Let’s say you use Snapchat on your way to London, a 7 hours flight, then you are royally screwed if you don’t do this. Hopefully you have a dad or parent who will argue for your sake, while giving their adult child side eye, in order to thankfully get the bill cut in half – just a random scenario that could happen to anyone. The last thing to do on a flight, besides watching a movie or binging the series you are currently addicted to, is work. I know it sounds dull or boring, but trust me that’s where I can get most of my work done if I didn’t have time to get ahead before my vacation. Strangely enough, listening to music while I write this article on my flight is so relaxing and feels like I’m being productive while sitting on my butt doing nothing for two hours. Even though for some reason I have absolutely no problem sitting on my butt for hours while watching Euphoria without stressing about work when I am in my dorm room.
There is the benefit from the mask mandate on aircrafts, besides feeling safe while traveling during a pandemic, of being able to wear a hydrating mask or pimple cream to prevent any travel induced acne and get rid of any current impurities. This is a way to combat maskne or future maskne from long flights and travel days so that your skin is glowing throughout your vacation. If you are affected by how your skin looks then the risk of damaging your confidence or stressing about your skin all vacation becomes one less thing to worry about. Just make sure you don’t have it on before the security checkpoint because they do ask you to pull down your mask when they take a look at your ID. I don’t know about you, but I would rather wait and put my pure white drying acne mask on in the bathroom before boarding rather than having it on and shocking the TSA employee.
For some this will be the first Spring Break in a while, so make sure going to and from your desired destination is as easy as possible by taking these preventative measures, especially after all the exhaustion from midterms.