Entertainment for Long Haul Trips

Catch up on your favorite TV shows/Movies

Refer to my previous post on some great apps to watch shows on the go by downloading movies and shows to watch at a later time.

Enjoy a snack or a mini meal

Enjoying a nice healthy snack while traveling can be quite comforting. There is so many reasons to pack your own lunch, airplane food doesn’t taste great, if you travel by bus you are very limited to what you can actually buy which is usually fast food or overpriced gas station snacks, if you’re traveling by train such as Amtrak you’ll have a nice experience but yet pay for overpriced airplane food. Take my word and pre-pack a snack or small meal.

Play card games

Some of my favorite card games such as Phase 10 and Skip-bo are great for traveling. It’s also a good thing that you can play with as little as 2 players since there is limited space available to play on whether you travel by bus, train, or airplane.

Become a photographer

No matter what form of transportation you are taking look out your window and take lots of pictures! After you can take your time editing and posting on social media, but enjoy the scenery and take in everything you see along the way! One of my biggest regrets was not taking pictures of the beautiful windmills in the Netherlands while on a bus ride to Amsterdam. I had just pulled an all-nighter in Paris with plans to sleep on the bus, I trusted that my camera was charging (which it wasn’t) and missed out on taking some amazing shots!

So don’t be a dummy like me, charge all your electronics and take as many pictures as you can, you won’t regret it! (Unless you have limited storage then you might!)

Read a book

Simple enough, a popular first choice when it comes to staying busy.

I personally get motion sickness when I don’t keep my eyes on the road so I prefer to listen to a audio-book, a great app for audio-books is Audible. Now if you read one of my previous posts about using offline apps to download tv shows and movies and decided to subscribe for Amazon Prime you’ll be able to get Audible for free! You'll be able to stream from a rotating group of more than 50 audio-books. You can also listen to ad-free content including podcasts

Activity Books

Coloring books aren’t just for kids now, bring along a activity book to entertain yourself for hours on end! I personally found a wonderful coloring book with a spiral bound which took me a while to find. You can purchase my favorite coloring book here!

Along with coloring books there are multiple other types of activity books to bring along with you such as Sudoku, word searches, crosswords, and many others!

Organize your life

You have hours ahead of you, why not take the time to organize bills, plan an itinerary for your next trip, write an email to an old friend, write in your journal or start a journal, set some goals for the next few months, delete old emails that are taking up space in your inbox (sure it’s not fun but hey at least you’re doing something proactive!), make a small list of movies you want to watch on your next long trip, write out a new bucket list and if you don’t have one start one!

If you chose to start a bullet journal and need ideas click here!

Play games on your electronics

Here’s a small list of games you can download to play offline:

• Plants vs. Zombies

• Two Dots

• Temple Run

• Giant Boulder of Death

• Stupid Zombies

• 1010!

• Perfect Tower

• Six!

• Terrarium

• Word Search

Take a long nap

When traveling to a different time zone this is a must for me! It might be near impossible for some but some noise canceling headphones, a comfortable eye mask, and a comfy headrest will do the trick!

What I’ve done in the past is wear ear plugs then wear noise canceling headphones over my ears then play some soft music, it works every time! Not even the loudest baby will wake me!

Meditate

When I say meditate I don’t mean taking up the aisle doing full yoga, but simply sitting still, closing your eyes, taking deep breaths, and enjoying the silence. Sure you might think I’m explaining how to take a nap but there is multiple reasons why you might like to meditate on any transportation, whether you have anxiety like myself and you just need to take a few breaths in during turbulence or if you need to center your mind because there’s just too much going on with your thoughts. Practicing meditations will help make your travel overall more enjoyable.

Thanks for reading i hope these few tips help your travels feel quicker and more enjoyable!

Favorite Travel Apps

google drive

I use Google Drive to write out all my itineraries, and it also have the offline feature so you can see all of your documents offline without connection to service or WiFi. I also used this app to save a copy of my passport & license in case of a emergency.

google translate

Google has such great travel apps and one of them is Google Translate. This app just like the previous others allows you to download, that’s right you can download a whole language on your phone! Definitely comes in handy when it comes to asking for directions!

google maps

Google Maps is a life saver when it comes to navigation. The app has a downloading feature to be able to see your maps offline. A neat trick I used was entering multiple destinations from my itinerary into Google Maps and once done I would choose the walking route and begin the day.

google duo

Google Duo is a video-calling app that allows you to audio call or video call anyone who downloads the app, similar to FaceTime but is not limited to just iphones. You set up Google Duo with your phone number and

On the app you are able to leave a video/voicemail in case the person you call doesn’t answer. Once you get a notification that someone left you a message, you can watch or listen to your message by clicking on your contact’s picture then after you watch or listen you get the option to save it to your camera roll, which is so nice!

spotify

Spotify is by far my favorite music app, although there is Apple music, Pandora, Youtube, none of these are as good as Spotify in my opinion. I do think subscribing for their premium plan is definitely worth it since you can download all the unlimited music that you want and listen anywhere! Subscription for premium is $9.99 a month or $14.99 for a family subscription, if you’re a student there is a great deal (50% off $9.99 and a free subscription to Hulu & Showtime, $5.99 for all 3 is a DEAL!).

netflix / amazon prime video

A subscription for Netflix is $8.99, with the option to change how many screens are able to watch at the same time on multiple devices.

A Amazon Prime membership is $99 per year, but you can sign up to be billed monthly at $8.99 a month rather than all at once. Not only will you get next day shipping in amazon for all your travel essentials, you’ll get Amazon Prime Video! All the shows that Amazon Prime Video has exclusive to prime and aren’t on Netflix nor other apps.

Both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video offer offline watching by downloading shows and movies.

Travel Resources

booking flights

Google Flights - My all time favorite option for finding cheap flights!

A feature this website has is you can see the prices across months in advance to figure out which date is the best deal to book or most convenient for your travel plans.

Skyscanner - If you can’t decide where to travel to and you wish there was a “just surprise me” option, well with this website there is! Honestly, the best site for finding the cheapest location to travel to when you just aren’t sure where you want to go.

GoEuro - I’ve used this site quite a few times and I highly recommend! This site shows you the price for traveling by train, bus, and plane at the same time, you can sort the results by different categories including: cheapest price, quickest travel time, and departure time.

booking accommodations

Booking.com - This is my go to site for booking hotels because I personally like that it displays the total price for your stay rather than per night which will help you budget accordingly for your trip.

Hostelworld - I absolutely love this site, I used it while traveling across Europe and was a big fan. They have the option of choosing between a bunk bed in a dorm for really cheap or a full size bed in a private room for fairly cheap. The dorm option is usually about $10 per bed and the private room $20-40 which is a great deal!

camping/roadtrips

Freecampsites - Whether you are living the vanlife, RVlife or sleeping in your car life this site helps with finding places to park and sleep overnight. You look up a location and it will show all the locations that you are allowed to park overnight, some more shady than others but you can read the reviews left by previous visitors and whether or not they would stay there again. I do appreciate that it mentions if the roads are paved, the number of campsites available, the amenities, and the type of camping permitted.

Once you search a location there are 4 different colors of campsites that might popup:

Green: Free campsite.

Red: Campsite with a fee.

Blue: Campsites you need a permit.

Yellow: Call ahead or do more research before camping for availability.

Park Advisor - This site is free site and app, a bit more detailed than freecampsites, it shows photos, websites, and Google Maps linked making it easier to locate.

Just like freecampsites you’re able to find:

Campsites, RV Parks, State Parks, Public Parks.

Rest stops, Welcome Centers, Gas Stations.

RV & Traveler Friendly Stores: Walmart Super Centers, CrackerBarrel, Camping World, Cabela’s, Casinos.

I’ve used both of these sites and have stayed at each one of these options and honestly, if you are on a budget and have the space in your vehicle I would give it a go!

Long Flight Essentials

I have a love/hate relationship with flying. I absolutely love the rush of getting on a plane and get super excited to land, but my excitement is soon over once I get tired and crabby on the flight so here are some of my tips to help you prepare for your night trip!

before the flight

Wearing comfortable clothes is always a must! My go-to outfit consists of:

T-shirt, sweatpants, sweater & compression socks!

While you’re waiting to board your plane, take a quick walk maybe go get yourself some water or at the very least stand, you’ll have plenty of time to sit on the plane.

Bring a empty reusable collapsible water bottle to fill after you pass security, to save on spending a few dollars on a water bottle at the airport.

Packing healthy meals and snacks in reusable silicone food storage bags ( they’re a great investment!) or using a leak-proof lunch container.

Fruit & Veggies, my personal favorite is bringing chopped cantaloupe and watermelon, sliced kiwi and peaches or a pre-sliced cucumber with baby carrots.

Granola bars/nuts: I tend to always have a KIND bar of the peanut butter varieties in my purse along with trail mix.

Sandwiches: most times I pack simple ham and cheese, almond butter and jelly, or club sandwiches (ham, bacon, lettuce, tomato) with mayo on the side.

For more snack ideas check out these 19 Healthy Snacks to Pack for a Long Flight.

Pack along 1 or 2 tissue pocket packs in case of a runny nose or to use after your snacks.

what to pack in personal item/ carry on

Carrying on a back-bag makes things so much easier than a purse but to each their own.

Electronics: Laptop, Ipad, foldable tripod, camera, noise canceling headphones, travel plug adapter, chargers, power banks and of course, your phone.

Invest in a small toiletry bag that is easy to access on your flight and pack:

Medicine: Dramamine, Aspirin, Melatonin, Antacids.

Bathroom essentials: mini toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, holding hairbrush with mirror, and hair ties.

Other Toiletries: Eye drops, cough drops, chap-stick, moisturizing hand lotion, ear plugs, and a eye mask.

I like to put the items I’ll be using towards the top of the bag for easy access on the flight.

Travel Navigator to keep everything together:

Passport, license, credit cards, and cash.

When traveling, make two copies of your passport ID page and license one your phone and one to a trusted family member just in case you lose your information.

on flight

Usually a few hours in my legs start to fall asleep so I like to stretch a little by walking to the lavatory and doing a few stretches! Usually the flight attendants are fine with you doing a few stretches in the back. I’ve been in flights were people get a little extreme with their stretching, we are all sitting really close to one another so be courteous to the people around you if you stay in your seat and want to stretch your arms and legs, that is why would recommend the back of the plane and the lavatory.

Do you have any tips and tricks? Share with me on Instagram!