Packing Light but Right: 13 Carry-On Travel Essential Must-Haves

Never know what to include in your carry-on flight hand luggage?

We recently travelled from Cape Town to Bali and made a list of our travel essentials that we had to make sure we included on the flight.

These 13 carry-on essentials for long-haul flights got us through hours of travelling and made our travels easier, more comfortable and convenient.

I always like to over pack our checked luggage bags – because options.. Huge problem! Whereas Julia, balances things out and is more realistic about what we need and what we don’t need for an international flight.

Here are our 13 carry-on travel essentials that we make sure to have with us in our carry on bags for international, and even domestic flights.

1. Lip Ice Carry-On Essential For Long-Haul Flights

Being on the flight, our lips always get dehydrated and cracked from the dry air in the cabins. Nothing worse than your skin and lips being so dry that it comes sore!

Best Lip Ice

We always use the Med Repair Labello lip ice which keeps our lips super hydrated and soft. Before we left for our trip, we stocked up on a few because you never know with these tiny things. You need one for each bag and they always somehow go missing!

2. Refresh for Your Skin with Face Moisturiser

I wish I could show you my flakey skin during the flight… I went to the bathroom and looked at my skin only to go back to apply a huge amount of face moisturiser on. For those who don’t know, I have been working with a skin specialist since March 2025, due to an overgrowth of cutibacterium acnes, which is an anaerobic bacteria. Having PCOS, acne is unfortunately one of my symptoms. I have been able to get it under control with the right face products and creams. And no, I didn’t take any oral medicine to clear my acne. I still have plenty of scaring, which I am currently working on at the moment.

Which Face Products am I Using

Firstly always make sure your face moisturiser and products are within the set ml that you can take on the flight. Since my products are quite large bottles, I decanted enough product for the days that I was travelling. You can find the little containers at most shops or even online stores.

Morning Skin Product Routine:

Face wash: PH Formula Exfo Cleanse
AM face moisturizer: La Roche-Posay Effaclar H Iso-Biome
Serum: Vichy LiftActiv Vitamin C Serum
Sunblock: La Rochay-Posay Anthelios 50+
Lip Ice: Labello Med Repair

Evening Skin Product Routine:

Face wash: PH Formula Exfo Cleanse
PM face moisturiser: CeraVe Facial Moisturising Lotion PM
Retinol: Aklief (Require a script)
Lip Ice: Labello Med Repair

One thing I wish was part of my carry-on essentials for long-haul flights, was the La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water Mist 300ml for my dry flaking skin. My skin specialist posted it on her Instagram page and I was super intrigued about it – it will probably be my next purchase after our travels.

When to Prepare Your Face For Products

It is tricky to remember to continue with your normal skin product routine while travelling. Sometimes we even forget. Make sure to apply your skin products as you would if it were a normal day. Changing things up isn’t ideal for your skin, especially if you have problematic skin like me. I usually wash my face and brush my teeth on the flight at the normal time I would do it if I were back home. Depending on the situation and how my skin looks and feels, I will go to the bathroom in the layover airport and wash my face properly and reapply a big portion of creams to allow it to set into my skin. This also helps get my body into either morning routine or nighttime routine to sleep more easily.

3. Face Mask To Keep Your Skin Glowing

I saw this lady on the plane apply a lovely refreshing face mask mid flight which she was planning on sleeping with it on.

I really thought this was a brilliant idea, especially since my skin gets super dry when flying. We haven’t used these before, but I will consider purchasing face masks for our flight back home.

There are other perks of applying these masks – they can restore lost moisture and help your skin feel refreshed after many hours of travelling.

This is one product that I 100% will include as part of my carry-on essentials for long-haul flights.

4. Germs Everywhere: Hand Sanitiser For the Win

Touching everything that hundreds of passengers have touched. I think this brings the germphobia out of me.

I always keep the mini hand sanitiser with me in my hand luggage to reduce the risk of picking up any unwanted bugs and germs.

Hand Sanitiser Travel Tip For Long-Haul Flights

Always purchase the Woolworths alcohol-based sanitisers and make sure that they are in smaller bottles that meet the hand luggage liquid security requirements.

5. Hand Wipes are Handy too

Back up point number 4 – germs are all over!

Not only are they used to wipe down your hands, you can use them to clean armrests, tray tables and any devices since you are constantly touching things.

Face wipes are another one, quick and easy to freshen up on your long-haul flight and remove any make up if you wear make up.

6. Get Your Water Intake

The amount of water that we drank on the flight to Bali…wow! We usually get our 2l of water intake daily, but of course it’s more difficult to keep track when you are being served water in little 150ml cups. Every time the cabin crew came around, we opted for water. Fizzy and fruit juices spike our insulin levels and with PCOS we try to keep that at bay best we can. Dehydration is definitely a top reason why travellers feel groggy after long-haul flights. At times we felt like the air hostess got to learn what we wanted every time she came around.

Take an empty bottle with you

If you know us, we always have our water bottles with us.. Since you can only travel with a set amount of liquids, you can’t take water in your bottle, but you can take an empty bottle and fill it up at airport water stations. You can also purchase water once you have gone through customs – most of the time they can be quite pricey but buying from duty free can also save you some bucks.

Read our other blogs

For those feeling adventurous and have more time to explore South Africa and Africa, get some inspiration from our blogs below.

Perhaps considering a 5 day trip to the Victoria Falls, or a trip up South Africa’s West Coast to Langebaan? I am sure you have heard of Churchhaven and Kraal Baai, two spectacular beaches inside the West Coast National Park. For those who are time restricted, you can base yourself in Langebaan and do day trips from there.

7. A Warmer Jersey To Keep You Snug Mid Flight

Bbbrrrrr! Nothing worse than being super cold on a flight with no warm top and you have goose bumps all over your body.

Especially when travelling from colder weather to warmer weather and visa versa. We always travel in tracksuit pants, short sleeve t-shirt and carry on a warmer long sleep top with a hoodie – you never know when you need to make an extra pillow out of it!

Leaning on your sister’s boney shoulders isn’t so fabulous… pack the extra hoodie.

International flights usually offer you blankets, headphones, eye goggles, ear plugs, mini tooth brush and socks in a little gift pack, which always comes handy.

8. Carry-On PCOS Snacks

Well any snack matters! For every traveller, whether you have PCOS or not. Of course, travelling with PCOS is more complicated than those travellers without medical conditions – they can just go. It takes a fair amount of planning what meals/ snacks we require to sustain us for the long-haul flights. Airline food is always unpredictable – like a lucky packet! We are fussy eaters and have been working with our nutritionist for 1.5 years and we know now what our body needs for nutrients and to refuel. We have previously tried DBML (diabetic meal) selection onboard and to be honest, we also weren’t big fans of the meal options given.

PCOS Friendly Carry-On Choices

We came super prepared for our recent long-haul flight to Bali. Cape Town – Dubai – Bali = two days of travelling. Meaning two days of not eating what we usually would.

Items that we snacked on mid flight:

Future Life Protein bars
Saltycracks
Dark Kit Kat – treats always
Woolworths chicken wraps

When we weren’t fans of the food options, we ate whatever we were given and liked, and snacked on the above items when we got hangry. Can airlines have fares that exclude meals? I am sure we can save big time…? Being aware of the foods we can eat and foods that we avoid in general (sugar / high carb etc) is a game changer during long-haul flights. We were able to keep our blood sugar levels stable and avoid any spikes. Having had PCOS for around 16 years, we know what our body “likes” and “dislikes” – there are very clear side effects when we eat something that doesn’t gel with our bodies.

9. Neck Pillow To Try Sleep On a Flight

Making long haul flights more comfortable. Well of course for those who aren’t so fortunate to be sitting in Business Class… One day, one day… Emirates…

To make Economy Class as comfortable as it can possibly get, we highly recommend buying a neck pillow. You can always find these at the airport if you need one last minute.

They allow some quality down time and also prevents neck strain from sleeping in an awkward position.

Neck pillows are also compact to travel with and can easily attach to your carry on luggage when you aren’t using it.

Find out more about us

Read more about our travel stories and the reason behind why we started our travel blog.

10. Easy Slip-On Shoes For Comfort

We always travel in comfortable sneakers because the amount of walking that you do when you aren’t sitting glued to your Economy Class seat is insane.

One side of the airport to the next in uncomfortable shoes? Oh no, thank you!

We have our preferred sneakers that we wear and make sure that they are the soft mesh material to allow your feet and toes freedom when walking and sitting for hours.

Once you have eventually arrived into your seat for your flight, make sure to add an easy pair of slip slops (you can wear the airplane socks with them) just to give your feet some room to breathe.

Being up in the air, your legs and feet tend to swell, so it’s important to make sure everything can breathe and that you can do a few relaxation techniques and exercises to move your body.

11. Moon Bag with Carry-On Essentials

Our online order came later than expected and we were super sad that our new moon bag didn’t arrive in time for our Bali departure.

Moon bags or sling bags over your body are everything when travelling! Not only from a safety perspective, but to have all your important documentation easily available to whip out.

Essentials That We Include in Our Moon Bag

Passport
Boarding pass
Phones
Purse with cards

Nothing is worse than scrambling to find xyz in your hand luggage bags, especially if you are travelling with other people. Who has what and which bag is what in??

I am the dedicated person that carries the moon bag between us. It saves us so much time when you arrive at the customs, boarding gates, or want to purchase something at the shops.

A big factor, it reduces stress by keeping all your valuables close by and on your body.

12. Your Daily Supplement and Medications Supply

Always make sure to calculate how much medication and supplements you require for the duration of your travels.

Since working with our nutritionist, supplements are a huge part of our progress and one of the reasons we have been able to improve our blood work results.

For example, inflammation dropping from a HIGH HIGH of 25 to now in the 6 range, and of course the goal of going even lower.

High inflammation markers are another aspect of PCOS and fortunately we have been able to work with medical professionals to holistically improve these factors.

These are ways in which we prioritize our health while travelling and working remotely.

Our Carry-On Supplements and Medications

Daily prescriptions
Daily supplements
Headache pills
Motion sickness tablets

Travel Medication Tip:

Another factor to consider. Your checked in bags MIGHT go missing. You never know… Make sure to add a few extras in your carry-on luggage just in case you don’t have access to your checked bags for a few hours or days.

13. Keep Your Electronics Close By

There is so much time spent waiting around before, during and on flights, and there is so much time for you to catch up with your latest podcast, reply to emails on your laptop or have a good doom scroll session!

We have one bag for the laptops and keep them together. The main reason is because you have to take your laptop out during security checks. It makes it easier to know that both laptops are together and go back in the bag together after security checks are completed.

Carry-on essentials for long-haul flights: Electronics not to forget

Phone (you can’t leave that behind)
Laptop
Phone charger
Laptop charger
Universal multi plug points
Ear pods
Ear pod charger

We have heard that noise-cancelling headphones are a big win on international long-haul flights. Unfortunately we don’t have them yet, but I’m keen to invest in a good pair!

Enjoy Your Long-Haul Flight By Packing Smarter

Packing light to make the most of your long-haul flight doesn’t have to be complicated. Hand luggage bags are quite spacious and you will be surprised how much one can fit inside there.

No, it can’t only include snacks…

The goal is to prioritize items that make it easier for you to be comfortable and make your travel experience more pleasurable.

With these 13 carry-on essentials for long-haul flights, we are sure you will be sorted for your flight – unless you get lucky and get bumped up to Business Class!

Packing Light but Right: 13 Carry-On Travel Essential Must-Haves