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We asked flight attendants in the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about all the best travel products, and here are their recommendations!
1. A compact, portable, rechargeable personal fan perfect for the moments when the plane (or the airport, or the taxi to your hotel, or just the general weather) is uncomfortably hot. You bring a jacket for when it's chilly, so it just makes sense to also have something to combat the heat!
Promising review: "This is my best travel accessory purchase. I saw another flight attendant with this fan on a hot summer plane during boarding. I knew I had to have it. Sometimes the air conditioning isn't that great overseas so having this fan helps. I get a solid 12 hours on the low setting and about 5 hours on the highest. The low setting is more than adequate." —Patti T.
Get it from Amazon for $14.99+ (available in 6 colors).
2. A packable, brimmed sunhat that's A) UPF 50+, meaning it'll actually protect you from the sun and B) rollable so you can put it in your suitcase without it taking up a ton of room OR getting damaged. Protect your face and make your outfit sing at the same time!
It has a tie on the inside so you can easily adjust it to the size of your head! My sunhat does the same, and it's the best way to make sure it doesn't blow off with the breeze.
Promising review: "A must have! These are amazing! I rolled them up, packed for our trip and they came out perfect. Perfect for my flight attendant life!" —Fly Girl
Get it from Amazon for $24.99 (available in 19 colors).
3. A collapsible, refillable, leakproof water bottle that won't take up a ton of room in your bag when you don't need it (like when you're going through security) but expands to hold a full 25 ounces that you can fill at a water fountain. TBH, pretty much every flight attendant who commented mentioned a refillable water bottle, because it's true that flying seriously dehydrates you!
4. Or a water bottle with a filter so you can fill your bottle at pretty much any sink or water fountain and KNOW that it's going to taste delicious, not funky or chlorine-y.
5. A short-sleeved comfy jumpsuit so you can stay super cozy on your flight, but still feel stylish when you walk into the fancy hotel lobby ten hours later. The fabric's super stretchy, so it's basically like wearing PJs — the ideal situation when you have an overnight flight over the Atlantic.
Promising review: "I'm a flight attendant and you want to wear comfy clothes that look posh when flying on planes, it's part of our rules. This jumpsuit is beyond perfect. Fabric is on lighter side, but not sheer. Has nice stretch to fabric and loose look. Ankles are tapered, waist is elastic and has tie strap for looks. Button at top, which you can leave unbuttoned for an off the shoulder look. You can wear this to the beach for a nice casual look or put a belt, heels, blazer and necklace to dress up for a night out." —sassywahine
Get it from Amazon for $28.79+ (available in sizes S–3XL and 24 colors/patterns).
6. A resealable travel-size pack of antibacterial wipes because planes and airports can get germy, and these can wipe up a tray table and your hands before you eat, potentially saving you from someone else's cold.
7. A tube of Weleda Skin Food, which is an ultrarich, plant-based moisturizer that helps combat the dry skin that goes along with all the dehydration flying brings.
8. And for those extra-long flights, a pack of sheet masks to help give your skin an extra boost of serious moisture and hydration.
9. A set of four packing cubes so you can efficiently fit lots of clothing in your bag without messing up your careful folding and organization just because you need that one pair of pants that happen to be all the way at the bottom, beneath your neatly stacked tops.
10. A luggage drink cupholder because it simply Velcros around the handle of your carryon, then securely holds your latte, phone, AirPods case, etc. — literally anything you'd normally have to rummage through your roomy purse to find — even as you rapidly roll your way through a last-minute gate change. Then, when you're ready to put your carry-on in the overhead bin, simply detach the Velcro, and voila!
Promising review: "I’m a flight attendant and I love this one! I love the Velcro 'quick detachment'. It’s the best! I had one before without the Velcro opening that just stretched over the handle and it was a PAIN! This one is great! There’s room for two large drinks and a slim pocket for phone or wallet. Many people see it and ask where I got my clever little caddy!" —Debra G
Get it from Amazon for $10.99+ (available in 32 colors).
11. A mini-steamer to quickly coax all the wrinkles out of your clothes, no ironing board required — even if your clothes have been stuffed into packing cubes for just so. many. hours.
12. A little collapsible travel kettle and a French press travel mug because hotel coffee is decidedly not tasty most of the time, and this lets you genuinely enjoy your morning caffeine boost.
13. A super soft multifunctional jersey scarf wrap because it'll look cute with your outfit but then expand to keep you warm when the evening temps suddenly take a turn. Pack light so you have plenty of room in your luggage for souvenirs!
Promising review: "A flight attendant loaned me her wrap on an overnight flight as there were no blankets. I was amazed at how soft and warm it was. It’s so versatile and compact. I throw it in my handbag for a blanket at the movies. Easy to pack and use for travel. They make great gifts!" —Don Hammond
Get it from Amazon for $46 (available in 9 colors).
14. Or a black sweater that you can rely on to keep you cozy pretty much however you happen to be dressed so you can pack light and stay warm every time the plane, hotel, museum, or restaurant is just a tad too chilly.
15. An Add-a-Lock, which will give you a little extra peace of mind (without taking up much space in your luggage), especially if you end up staying somewhere with a wobbly security chain.
16. A pair of compression socks — if your feet, ankles, or legs usually swell or ache when you have a long flight, these just might help prevent it next time.
17. Some silicone earplugs that supposedly help you avoid that terrible discomfort during landing (another pro-tip: pop your ears! Cleveland Clinic shows you how) and block out a bunch of the background noise without completely muting everything around you.
18. A portable safe because besides being excellent for securing your priciest possessions (at least, those you'd bring to the beach) while you're visiting the seashore, it'll come in handy in hotel rooms without a safe. Or could even function as a smaller secondary safe, depending on how much room your hotel room's safe has!
My BuzzFeed colleague Elizabeth Lilly owns this, and says:
"Like most people (I hope?), I’m always a little iffy about taking a dip in the water at the beach and leaving my wallet and phone on the beach. So when I booked a 2.5-week Europe trip with LOTS of beaching involved, I bought one of these Master Lock safes that I’ve put in several stories. It was a bit bulky in my suitcase, but I left it unlocked and put some stuff in there so it wasn’t just dead space. It came in handy at a number of beach clubs, where my friend and I stashed our credit cards, cash, and case-less phones while we frolicked in the sea. Despite lots of people milling about our umbrella while we had our fun, we felt our stuff was completely safe and could concentrate on *just* having fun."
Promising review: "I'm a flight attendant and really recommend this! It's amazing to keep your things safe!" —Britany G
19. A perfectly clear reusable bag designed specifically for packing all your carry on liquids under three ounces so security's a breeze. It'll be both much more durable *and* at least a little bigger than that one beat-up Ziploc you've used for going on three years now!
20. Or a TSA-friendly toiletries set because sometimes, you DON'T want to use the hotel's free soap and shampoo, especially when you have a very specific routine you don't want to give up while you're away from home. Why even risk a breakout when it's so simple and cheap to bring your favorite face wash you know is the only one your skin likes?? Oh, and the silicone makes it super simple to fill, squeeze out, clean, and refill later.
My BuzzFeed colleague Elizabeth Lilly swears by these, and says: "I own and love this set! it includes the zippered bag, four soft silicone bottles with leakproof caps, three compact jars, an two toothbrush caps. I've used this set on more than five trips and and for trips when I don't require body wash or shampoo (like to visit my parents) I use the extra room in the bag to shove in all my beauty products and daily contacts. Plus! It comes with labels that stay on the containers really well despite my thoroughly washing these containers between trips. I bought this set in spring 2019 and have, admittedly, lost a container or two. But the ones that I've held onto over dozens of trips have all held up well!"
Promising review: "If it wasn’t for me forgetting them in the hotels, I wouldn’t have to buy more. This is my third set and I love these things! I’m a flight attendant and these are easy to fill, use, and pack!" —Raena Hill
Get it from Amazon for $11.99+ (available in 16 variations).
21. A lightweight, compact, and high-speed portable charger. Your phone takes SO much stress out of travel — between providing entertainment, helping you find a good restaurant to try, and guiding you from A to B — and this will keep your battery out of the red.
22. A Velcro-powered Trtl travel pillow that you can easily adjust into the *perfect* position to help stop your head from doing that painful slow bobbing nod as you try to somehow sleep while sitting up.
23. A weighted sleep mask so you can block out even the tiniest bit of light from your seat mate's overhead light, and get a little bit better sleep even in generally uncomfortable circumstances. Plus the weight could help you destress, like a tiny weighted blanket!
24. A trifold travel wallet big enough to hold your phone, credit cards and cash, passport, boarding pass, and whatever other travel documents you need, all while keeping them easy to access at your fingertips, ready to pull out the very moment they're needed.
It comes with *deep breath*: a passport pocket, a boarding pass compartment, three credit card slots, an ID slot, a slim card pouch, a slim pocket, a ticket slot, a cellphone pouch, a coin zippered pocket, a key holder, and a pen holder.
Promising review: "OMG I totally love this! First of all, it’s such a pretty pastel pink color and pink is my favorite color. The quality is also so lovely with all the right amount of pockets to store my IDs and passport and other relevant documents. I’m a flight attendant so this is the perfect size of travel wallet for me. This definitely exceeded my expectations!" —Pravena Jay
Get it from Amazon for $13.99+ (available in 36 colors).
25. An Amazon Fire TV Stick — it's especially useful if you travel regularly, because all you need is an HDMI port to turn any room's TV into your personalized smartTV.
26. And of course a Kindle Paperwhite because it lets you carry dozens of books with you at once but weighs just a little over 6 ounces — *and* can 100% handle it if you want to take it in the pool or beach with you on your Spring Break trip!
27. A pair of Clarks heels so you can look plenty professional but still stay comfortable on any business trips...even if you have to stand in a long line when you get to the airport and an even longer line at security.
28. A hydrating skin mist to help your skin hold on to moisture through long layovers — and to give yourself a moment where you can feel super fresh and maybe even relaxed. Let the vacation vibes start now!
29. A reusable, lipstick-sized travel perfume atomizer so you don't have to carefully wrap up your prized fragrance bottle in layers and layers of clothes, hoping it doesn't break mid-flight, OR spend $ on a travel-size version. Bonus: it'll weigh less in your suitcase, too!
My BuzzFeed colleague Elizabeth Lilly uses these all the time, and says:
"^ That's me pumping my signature perfume into one of these travel atomizers I've been using for about a year. As the reviewer down below mentions, it's great to just throw in your purse on the reg for a fragrance re-up throughout the day. As you can see, it's about the size of my thumb and therefore takes up very little room. Plus! It's smaller than most rollerball travel fragrances you can pick up. This first one is working so well, that I just have the other three in storage. But if this one bites the dust this summer during travels, I'll be OK about digging into my stores to use one of the remaining three...especially at this price point."
Promising review: "Perfect scent options for a flight attendant! These are perfect for travel and putting in your purse. You can put different scents and the little bottles hold up well. You don’t need the tiny funnel. Just remember which scent you put where! Definitely recommend." —Britney
Get a four-pack from Amazon for $8.99.
30. A tiny pack of 150 hand soap sheets because you never know when you'll run into a bathroom with no soap and be incredibly grateful to pull these out of your bag. Just one sheet is enough to get a nice and sudsy wash!
31. An oversize travel cooler so you can prep and pack up to several days' worth of meals, if you prefer, and know they'll stay fresh and cold during the flight, stashed under the seat in front of you.
32. A foot hammock for airplanes — you can loop it over your tray table and *immediately* feel SO much more comfortable. My mom bought one of these to use on a long flight earlier this year, and she said it worked really well! Some reviewers say it even helps prevent swelling and soreness, too.
You can easily adjust how high or low you want it to hang, and your feet rest in a very cushiony, soft sling. And yes, you can use it whether the tray table is up or down! I want to get one for my next long-haul flight because I think it would make sleeping on the airplane a little more comfortable, too. Between my mom, this reader, and the 2,000+ people who have rated it 5 stars on Amazon, it just seems extremely promising IMO!!
"I’ma flight attendant that commutes a long way and this is a life saver. So much more comfortable than without. Great quality." —Iris Rose
Get it from Amazon for $14.99.
33. An airplane footrest — you can loop it over your tray table and *immediately* feel SO much more comfortable. My mom bought one of these to use on a long flight this year, and she said it worked really well! Some reviewers say it even helps prevent their feet from swelling, too.
34. A simple luggage strap to latch on to anything that you want to keep right at hand so you don't have to dig it out of your bag (or cram it in there if it doesn't quite fit). Some examples: your travel pillow, a personal item bag, or that heavy coat you needed getting to your airport, but *definitely* won't need even a little when you land in Aruba.
35. An electronics organizer so when you're jet-lagged on day one, it's about a billion times less painful to find your phone charger — or the one specific cord for your kiddo's Nintendo Switch that they've been asking for incessantly since you got to the hotel. You'll know exactly where each cable is stashed, and won't have to spend any precious vacation time detangling wires.
Promising review: "I am a flight attendant and I LOVE this organizer! I keep my iPad, passport, cords, paperwork, and hand sanitizer in here. It keeps me organized! Definitely recommend to anyone who travels and needs to keep organized." —amazonislife
Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in four colors and two sizes).
36. A set of Sea Bands — they feature a little plastic button designed to press into the acupressure point on your wrists that might help eliminate (or at least cut down on) nausea. May as well keep them on hand, because carsickness, seasickness, or other travel-related motion sickness can pop up at any time!
Read more about acupressure and nausea at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Promising review: "FLIGHT ATTENDANT APPROVED! They work. 100% of the time." —Jessica
Get a set of two from Amazon for $8.53.
37. A mini lightweight flat iron perfect for keeping your hair looking exactly how you like it to, no need to shove a full-size, heavy hair tool in your bag when you're planning to just bring a carry-on.
It also comes with a heat-resistant pouch for easy carrying!
Promising review: "This fits perfectly in my toiletries travel bag that I take with me as a flight attendant. Anything that comes in a small size and still works well is perfect for me." —Kathy S
Get it from Amazon for $14.97+ (available in three colors).
Responses have been edited for length and/or clarity. Not all products were recommended by Community users.