When I travel abroad by plane, I prefer to fly with only a carry-on bag and a personal bag. If you’re wondering what to pack in my personal bag for flying?, you’re in the right spot to get expert advice! You see, while my larger bag has all my clothes, there are some things that always, always go inside the personal bag.
How to choose your personal bag for flying
When you choose a personal bag for flying, make sure it has:
- Lots of available space
- Plenty of pockets
- Sturdy zippers.
Here are some of my favorite smart bags that you can use as a personal bag for flying when you have checked luggage:
Get an 8% discount with THETRAVELBUNNY% coupon code at Nayo Smart
What to pack in your personal bag for flying
1. Documents and money
Always keep your passport, boarding pass, and wallet inside the personal bag, in an easily accessible pocket. As long as you have these three items safe, you’ll be ok during your trip. All three of the travel backpacks above come with a hidden pocket on the side closest to your back. It’s difficult to notice even when you’re not wearing the backpack.
If you’re traveling for business, pack any work documents, handouts, marketing materials, etc. in a folder. A good business travel bag should have plenty of space to keep important work papers safe and crease-free. That’s just one of the things I love at my Nayo EXP: I can keep work-related documents in more than one place.
Some other useful things to pack in your personal bag can be a local map, a copy of your itinerary, and a small selection of translated words and phrases.
2. Inflight entertainment
In another compartment of your personal bag for flying, you should keep your laptop and power cable, to use during the flight or after you reach your destination. The backpacks above come equipped with padded compartments, perfect to keep your laptop safe from any shocks. The Nayo Almighty also has a padded compartment for your tablet. And both Nayo Almighty and Nayo EXP come with pockets for your power bank, plus a USB cable for easily charging your devices in-flight.
Also for inflight entertainment, you could bring along a book or magazine that you plan to read on the plane. And if you love to snack while reading or watching a movie, take some extra snacks with you.
4. All fragile items
While it’s best not to travel with breakable items, sometimes you don’t have any other choice. Fragile items that aren’t too large to be taken inside the cabin should be protected in bubble wrap or tissue. Make sure that when you’re packing them inside your personal bag you don’t allow them any room to get jostled around.
Carefully stow any bottles bought from the duty-free shops, too!
5. Liquids
Except for the ones bought from the duty-free shops, all liquids brought in your hand luggage must be in small containers of 100 ml at most. If you packed checked luggage, there’s no need to bring any liquids in your personal bag. However, if you’re traveling with carry-on only, it’s best to keep all your liquid containers in a transparent resealable bag, as requested, inside your personal bag. That way, it will be much easier and faster to take them out for the security check.
6. Small items
Some small items must be packed in your personal bag. If you’re wearing glasses, make sure they come with you on the plane, even if you’re wearing contacts during the flight. In case you need peace and quiet during the flight, add some noise reduction headphones in one of the top compartments of your personal bag.
Other small things like chewing gum, mints, and pens can also fit in one of the tiny pockets of your travel bag.
7. Extra set of clothes
Sometimes checked luggage doesn’t arrive on time. Sometimes it gets lost or stolen. So it’s best to plan ahead and pack a set of clothes in your personal bag. Think about all those things you’ll need to wear in the first 24 hours after arriving at your travel destination. That should be enough to wear until you can file a claim with your airline and go shopping.
Your question of what to pack in your personal bag for flying just got answered! It will be much easier to pack your personal bag for flying in the future. And though I hope it won’t be necessary, now you’ll be prepared should your checked luggage get lost or stolen.
Mirela Letailleur is a Romanian travel blogger living in the South of France. She writes on The Travel Bunny travel blog about affordable travel in Europe, creator of unique free travel guides, local travel expert. Problem solver. Wannabe coffee guru.
Learn more about your personal bag for flying from The Travel Bunny
Essential guide to the ultimate carry-on packing list