My motto: Be prepared to sleep anywhere.

Traveling is so much fun, and it’s even better with your spouse by your side! Recently, we were able to travel to Italy! The most dreaded part, flying of course. Not necessarily the act of flying, but the 4 different plane rides we took from Greenville, to Philly, to London, to Pisa; and not to mention the layovers in the airports. Mitchel was dreading this BIG TIME. But Katie planned ahead (mostly because she learned. Last time we had a layover when we flew back from Hawaii, it was the most miserable experience because we weren’t prepared). Here are our top tips for flying internationally with your significant other!

1. Buy your own neck pillow and have a blanket!

   This is a must have, whether you are traveling with your spouse, or alone. One fun thing that we happened upon before leaving for Italy was a double carabeener clip. We both got one for our backpacks while traveling so that we could easily secure our neck pillow, and then our water bottle once we got to Italy. It’s super helpful all around!

   Also, it tends to be really cold in airports if you have a layover, and also on planes! Most airlines give you a really small blanket for the plane, but I just like having my own! Plus, those tiny blankets are almost pointless.

2. Bring lots of snacks!

   This is a big duh if you ask me! We each had our own snacks so there was no fighting over them! Fun-fact, some airports let you get bananas through security. We thought for sure we’d have to throw them out!

   Honestly, we took a whole bundle of bananas, a box of granola bars, and even some sandwiches on the way back. We had enough snacks for the whole plane!

   The TSA has a long list of things you can and can’t bring on a plane, but it’s super simple to figure out what’s a no-no. You can even send the a picture of the snacks and they will tell you if it’s okay to fly or not.

3. Pick one person as the passport/airline ticket holder

   On our travels, this was me (Katie). It just made sense for us to keep them together while we were making our way through security, running from terminal to terminal, or shuttling to one across the airport. I found a cheap, cute passport wallet that held both of our passports, boarding passes, and had room for cash/cards. I picked a bright color so it was super easy to find in my book bag and fit really well in the side pocket for easy access.

4. Talk through travel expectations with your spouse

   Just know that you’re going to have to compromise. Maybe you have the aisle seat (Mitchel) but you know that Katie will want to get up and stand or go to the bathroom a million times on the plane because her legs get tingly, so you compromise and give her the aisle seat. It saves you both a lot of annoyance.

5. Allow extra time

   Whenever possible, allow extra time! This always seems to make me more at ease, which helps me to be less snappy or upset in a stressful situation. Usually when I am snappy/grump/tired, etc. it gets taken out on Mitchel. Even more so when we travel.

   This is one of the most important tips we can offer. There is no worse scenario than missing a plane because you were a couple of minutes late. Always allow PLENTY of time. This will give you time to sit down and catch your breath before hopping on the next flight.

6. Wear comfy clothes!

   This one goes without saying. We traveled over 20 hours to Italy and almost 30 hours back with layovers. It would have been 10 times more unfortunate if we had not worn comfy clothes! Leggings, a light cotton top, and sweater were my go-to. I also attached a pashmina scarf to my backpack in case I got cold. Mitchel wore his usual: basketball shorts, a t-shirt, pullover, and those dreaded flops with socks. (intert eye roll emoji here) lol.

   The days of dressing up for a flight are LONG GONE. If you’re going to be sitting around, you might as well be comfortable.