Anxious flier? These are the 10 essentials that keep me calm when I travel

As a regular glasses-wearer — I need these to see, guys — my specs always have to be clean. The one time I wasn’t prepared to clean them on the fly made for the most uncomfortable trip of my life. I was flying home during Christmas of 2015 and accidentally smudged my glasses when trying to adjust them on my face. Of course, that was the one time I’d left my cleaning cloth at home. I didn’t want to chance scratching my lenses with my shirt, so I stared at my fingerprint my entire five and a half hours in the friendly skies.

When home, I immediately ordered this lens cleaner spray kit from Koala. It’s the No. 1 bestselling glasses cleaner on Amazon and since it only takes one spray per lens, this stuff lasted for years. It’s 2024 and I’m only on my third bottle.

I’m not the only fan. Over 39,000 shoppers have given it a perfect rating. “My glasses are clean and streak-free,” one shopper wrote.

I travel with a lot of tech — laptop, tablet, smartwatch portable charger, over-ear headphones. Yes, I have a lot of stuff to charge. In true type-A fashion, I was thrilled to find this $10 case a few years ago. It has just enough compartments to keep all of the cables for my devices neatly stowed, organized and easily accessible. What I love most, though, is that it doesn’t take up much space in my hand luggage either.

Over 15,000 Amazon shoppers are big fans too. “I was able to fit more than four different charging cables, a power bank and a small power brick,” one five-star reviewer wrote before co-signing my note that it “doesn’t take [up] much space at all.”

I have a confession: I have a huge fear of my luggage being lost or stolen. After all, many of my favorite things are inside. So when Apple introduced its now super popular AirTag tracking device, I felt like it was made for folks like me who just needed a little peace of mind. I use this every time I travel — one in my carry-on luggage and, if I’m going on a long trip, the other in my checked bag. After I hand my suitcase over to the agents at bag drop, I’m able to track it, no matter where I am in the world, from the “Find My” app on my smartphone. As an added perk, when I’m waiting for my luggage to come out at the conveyor belt, the app shows me when it was taken off the plane and when it’s getting close to me.

“Our luggage did not make it to our ship,” one reviewer wrote, sharing that he and his family used AirTags in their luggage during a cruise vacation. “No one seemed to be able to tell us where our luggage was, but we knew. We were so thankful for these AirTags.”

After spending a whopping $7 on a disposable bottle of water at an airport kiosk, I decided to start carrying a reusable water bottle when I travel. Someone needs to do an exposé on why bottled water at the airport is always so overpriced. Meanwhile, I’ll be taking this Owala insulated water bottle with me everywhere. It’s slim, so it doesn’t take up much space in my hand luggage. It even has a built-in straw, so I don’t have to toss my head back every time I want a sip of water.

“I can fill the water bottle with some ice, take it through security, fill it from a fountain and have cold water the entire flight,” one shopper wrote after dubbing this the “best airplane water bottle.”

This is one of the newest additions to my air travel product roster. On certain airlines, the in-flight entertainment is pretty top-tier, with recent releases that aren’t even available on streaming sometimes being included in the movie list. But when I used those low-quality wired earbuds that plug into the seat’s headphone jack, I would hear the plane’s engine more than the dialogue in the movie. This Bluetooth transmitter allows me to tune in with my noise-canceling headphones. Also, setting it up took me maybe five seconds.

“It was [a] game-changer for a nine-hour flight,” one impressed Amazon reviewer wrote. “The free earbuds they hand out hurt my ears after a while and don’t cancel out the loud noise of the plane. This device was exactly what I was looking for.”

As someone who struggles to fall asleep anywhere besides my own bed, getting some shuteye on a plane has always been a bit difficult. Planes tend to be inherently uncomfortable and, if you’re traveling during the day, the bright light streaming through the window can be distracting when you’re trying to catch some Z’s. A couple of friends recommended eye masks to block out the sunlight, but were too restrictive and didn’t block out the light. It wasn’t until I tried this contoured eye mask from Ostrichpillow that I was actually able to sleep soundly on a plane. It’s like blackout curtains for your eyes and has blink-friendly eye cups, so you can open your eyes without taking the mask off.

When I want to get extra comfy on super long-haul flights, I also use the brand’s Go Neck Pillow. It’s the only travel pillow I’ve used that doesn’t hurt my ears and easily contours to my neck and jaw while supporting my head completely.

It’s recommended to occasionally get up from your seat and stretch your legs when you’re on a flight since you’re likely sitting for hours on end. I have to admit, though, that I’ve never done this and I’ve paid the price. I can’t tell you how often my legs have cramped and even occasionally swelled a bit on flights due to cabin pressure and sitting in the same position for too long.

Investing in compression socks made such a difference for me since they help increase blood circulation. I’ve tried a few budget brands as well as some high-end ones and found that these mid-priced ones from Bombas were the most comfortable. I don’t feel like my calves are being strangled when I’m wearing them! They’re available for both men and women in a bunch of colors and patterns.

I come from a family of nervous fliers and many of my family members ask me how I stay so calm when I travel. This bad boy is one of the main reasons. When I’m organized and everything I need is easily within reach, I rarely get flustered, and this passport wallet consolidates both my travel docs and standard wallet, so I’m not digging through my bag for a card, cash or my boarding pass — it’s all right there in one place.

There are a few reasons why this particular passport wallet is my absolute favorite. It has four card slots, two side slots for cash, a main passport compartment and a flap that magnetically closes for your boarding pass. There’s even a pen slot in the middle for filling out travel forms. Plus, I love that I won’t easily lose the pen (which comes with the case) since it’s magnetically attached, so it won’t just slide out.

Also, since this case is made of genuine Horween leather, it looks even better the more you use it. I recently started using mine and it’s already got a little bit of character. I know I’ll have this for years to come.

Comfortable shoes make travel so much easier and more enjoyable. There’s nothing worse than wearing restrictive shoes that don’t breathe or sandals that are too loose when you’re trying to run to your gate. I’ve been raving about these sneakers for years and recommend them to anyone who’s willing to listen. They are the most comfortable sneakers I own, hands down! They mold to my feet so seamlessly that I feel like I’m just wearing socks when I have them on. And, best of all, they’re machine-washable, so when they get scuffed, I just toss them in the washing machine.

I have the true white ones and I’m still surprised at how crisp and bright they get after washing. Also, as a man with pretty large feet, I appreciate that these run up to a size 16. Rothy’s makes a similar style for women that feels just as comfortable — I got them for my 65-year-old mom last Christmas and she calls them her “tried-and-trues.”

I’ve been using this bag as my personal item for over five years now and it hasn’t failed me yet. Before this, I used a standard travel tote, but digging around the main compartment to find whatever I needed only made me more anxious. This bag has so many compartments to keep you organized: four on the inside (complete with a laptop sleeve) and two on the outside. It also comes with a removable QuickSnap Modular Kit that has tons of compartments for storing your passport, cash, a pen, gum, keys and more. There’s also a trolley sleeve on the back, so you’re able to slide the bag right over your carry-on luggage handle and pull them both with just one hand.

What I appreciate most about this bag, though, is that it fits under the seat on airplanes seamlessly with just enough room for spare for stretching your legs all the way out. For reference, I’m 6-foot-2, and it leaves just a sliver of space for me to occasionally stretch when needed.