Every day, more than 10 million people fly to their destinations. Many of these people will be beginning or ending long-haul flights across the globe.Anyone with experience of travelling far and wide knows that long-haul flights can be exhausting and uncomfortable. That’s why planning ahead and preparing yourself for a long flight is so important.
Take Long-Haul Travel Preparation Seriously
Even if you’ve been on long-haul trips before, good preparation for the next one will always make it easier.
- Choose your seat early: A good seat makes long-haul travel more comfortable and easier to bear. Book yours early to avoid disappointment.
- Wear comfy clothes: Even if you never wear baggy sweats in public, prioritise comfort over fashion. Feeling constricted will make travel harder.
- Stay hydrated: Low humidity on planes can cause dehydration and make you sluggish. Drink water often and avoid caffeine.
- Upgrade if needed: If you find long-haul flights difficult, consider treating yourself to an upgrade. Extra legroom and comforts may go a long way.
- Pack small comforts: A neck pillow, sleep mask, earplugs, and noise-cancelling headphones can all help improve your travel experience.
Think back to the best flights you’ve had in the past. What was it that made them better than others? Having a window seat? Drinking hot tea and eating comfort food? If you can pinpoint the highlights, try to include them in your next trip.
Be Ready to Treat Your Homesickness
You may feel a little homesick on long-haul travel days. Plane journeys may seem to stretch on and on. Delays can set your schedule back by hours, and you might start to miss little parts of your usual routine.
One way to ease homesickness is to stay connected to your daily activities. Visiting the same websites you browse at breakfast, for example, may help. These might cover news from your local area or entertainment that makes you happy (e.g., anime or gaming).
But whatever your go-to websites are, they might block your access or show different content as you travel. Installing a Virtual Private Network (VPN) app on your device will help you get around geo-blocking and regional content variations. A VPN will connect you to servers in your home country and let you view the same content anywhere.
If you’re wondering, “is my VPN working?“, run a quick check before you settle into your usual browsing routine to make sure the connection is active and you’re linked to the right server location. Checking that the VPN is active means you won’t load a page only to find that your usual content is unavailable.
Load Up Your Devices with Entertainment
Losing yourself in a great movie, audiobook, podcast series, or game can make those endless travel days easier. Whether you’re bingeing a brand-new Netflix series or rewatching your favourite film, the time should pass a little faster.
But make sure you load up your devices with more media than you expect to need. You never know when tough weather conditions or other issues could create delays. To prevent yourself from ploughing through your downloads too soon, take as much content with you as you can.
Fight Jet Lag Before Your Flight
Jet lag is hard to handle during long-haul travel. Moving between time zones disrupts your circadian rhythm and can make you feel as if your whole system is off-track. You may experience:
- Problems with falling and staying asleep
- Frequent headaches
- Frustration, irritability, and anxiety
- Concentration issues
- Disrupted digestion
That’s why it’s best to prepare for jet lag and try to minimise its impact on your trip.
Experts recommend trying to fight jet lag in different ways before you even leave home. One example is to adjust your internal clock by going to bed and getting up earlier. If you can, gradually move your sleep schedule one hour at a time to match your destination.
Making this change may take effort, especially if you work full-time. At the same time, it could help lessen the effects of jet lag. Another option is to take a melatonin supplement to help you sleep and stick to your usual bedtime routine.
A Little Preparation Goes a Long Way
Long-haul travel can take its toll on your body and mind. Jet lag could throw you off during the first days of your vacation, and you may dread the flight home. But being kind to yourself, planning your flight in advance, and trying to adapt to changing time zones can help.