What to Pack for a Long Haul Flight (Our Top 7 Travel Must Haves!)

Find out what we recommend as our top travel products for a long haul flight or international trip. These travel must haves include the best travel products to help you sleep on a plane, essential oils, gadgets and tips to make your international flight as comfortable as possible - even in economy! Make sure your carry on luggage is perfectly packed for your next flight.

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We are just one week away from our Disneyland trip, so we've been busily setting things aside to pack in our bags, confirming reservations, organising airport transfers and working out what we're going to pack.

And with a 14 hour plane trip ahead of us, I've been organising what I'm bringing with us on the plane. Because our post 10 Travel Products That Are Worth Buying is one of the most popular posts on the blog right now, I thought I'd put together an updated version with what I'm packing for this trip. 

This guide has a bit of a focus on sleep because, like most travelers, I always struggle to get sleep on a long haul flight. With us traveling internationally every year, and oven travelling 26+ hours to visit family in the US, I've tried so many different travel products and have come up with a list of my favourites - as well as some travel products to help you sleep on a flight!

Don't feel like reading? I've made it easy for you. Just look for the highlighted TL;DR links.

So let me share our favourites with you! >> 

The Ultimate Gluten Free Guide to Disneyland (Includes Allergy Menus!)

Disclaimer: #Ad We travelled as guests of Hilton Homewood Suites

How to Eat Gluten Free at Disneyland – This Disneyland Gluten Free Guide shares allergy menus, where to eat, what to eat, where to stay and how to save money to help you have the best gluten-free trip to Disneyland. Includes full menus and options for Disneyland, Disney’s California Adventure Park and Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge with tips for mobile ordering, our favourite snacks and desserts, eating with food allergies or coeliac disease and more. 

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Travelling with coeliac disease is hard - but it doesn't have to be! When we were planning our Disneyland trip last year, I struggled to find one place outlining all of the gluten free options, so I decided to create one. 

This Gluten Free Guide to Disneyland includes where to stay, what to eat and even how to save money. You'll find full menus, lists of delicious snacks, coupon codes and so much more for Disneyland, Star Wars Galaxy's Edge and Disney's California Adventure.

So let me tell you how Disneyland is the Happiest Place on Earth for Gluten Free Eaters! >> 

SIL in Hawaii: Our Favourite Places to Shop & The Best Boutique Hotel in Waikiki

Let's be honest, one of the reasons we really wanted to go to Hawaii was because of the shopping. 

Whilst I love Australia - we just don't have the same variety of stores that are available in the US - so shopping was pretty high up there on the "must do" list whilst in Hawaii. 

Today I thought it would be fun to share our favourite places to shop in Waikiki - as well as the best boutique hotel to stay at that will put you right in the heart of retail heaven. These shopping spots are the best of the best - including a few hidden gems. You won't find run of the mill overrated outlet mall recommendations here! 

So let me share our finds with you! >> 

SIL in Hawaii: The ONE Thing You NEED To Do on Oahu's North Shore

We travel because we want to make memories. 

It's the reason we don't ever really buy gifts for each other on Christmas or anniversaries or birthdays. We're memory makers - and whilst we were on Oahu, we ticket one big item off the bucket list and made the most incredible memories. 

So let me share our favourite moments of our trip to Oahu >> 

SIL in Hawaii: The Wild Side of Waikiki

If you've been reading Southern In Law for a while, you'd know we love our dogs.

But it's not just dogs we love, we are huge animal enthusiasts. 

In fact, we'd probably buy a zoo if given the opportunity... and well... if we knew how to look after tigers and things without either a) killing ourselves or b) injuring/annoying/aggravating them. 

Luckily, there are plenty of awesome zoos and aquariums to visit around the world on our travels so that we don't have to do that. 

So let me share the Wild Side of Waikiki with you! >>

SIL in Hawaii: Exploring the Mighty Mo and Discovering Pearl Harbor's History

I'll be honest with you. I didn't know much about Pearl Harbour before heading to Hawaii. 

Sure, I'd learnt a little bit in school history classes - but not a lot - and really, there's no better place to learn about Pearl Harbour than at Pearl Harbour itself. 

So on one of the first days of our trip, we took our rental car and drove out to Pearl Harbour to do just that. 

So let me share with you what we discovered! >> 

SIL in Hawaii: Why You Should Rent a Car in Oahu + Our Favourite Day Trips

I've had a few people ask me why we rented a car in Waikiki when there's plenty of public transport and most places are walkable - and it's a good question to ask. 

Waikiki is a really great city to visit. You can walk almost anywhere easily, they have a great bus and trolley system - but there's more to Oahu than just Waikiki - and that's why I think you should consider renting a car when visiting the island.

So let me tell you why we rented a car and what our favourite road trips are on the island >> 

SIL in Hawaii: Our Hawaiian Home Away from Home + Our Favourite Beach in Waikiki

Hotels are lovely, but if you ask me; the best way to relax when you're on vacation is to rent your own place. Whether it's an apartment or condo, having your own place to call "home" whilst away from home makes all the difference. 

You can unpack all of your belongings, enjoy long lazy mornings, experiment with local produce or cook your own meals in your kitchen and unwind without housekeeping knocking on your door.

And that's why I'm super excited to share our "Hawaiian home away from home" with you >> 

SIL in Hawaii: Music and Magic - Two Must See Shows in Honolulu

Jesse and I aren't nightlife people. You won't see us dancing up a storm at a club (or anywhere... really... we're not the dancing type 😜) and you won't find us drinking at a bar or gambling at a casino.... but give us live music or a show and we are there. 

Whilst in Hawaii, we saw two of the most incredible shows that we had to share with you right away. Both are completely different - but both are up there as our must sees!

So let me share them with you! >> 

SIL in Hawaii: The Luxe List - Five Star Dining and Accommodation in Honolulu, Oahu

Whilst in Oahu, almost everyone we met was celebrating something. An engagement, a wedding anniversary, a milestone birthday, the last vacation before becoming a family or the first vacation as husband and wife.

Waikiki is just one of those places. It's a little bit magic and the perfect place to make memories - and it also gives you the opportunity to splurge.... because if you're celebrating, you want to make sure you celebrate right. 

So let me show you how to do Waikiki in Five Star Style >> 

And We're Off - TO HAWAII!

I have to apologise for the lack of posts here this week - but there's a good reason! We've been busily packing and preparing for our trip to Hawaii - where we'll be for the next three weeks!

We're leaving tonight and I thought I'd stop in to remind you that we'll be sharing our adventures while we're away on Facebook and Instagram so be sure to follow us there!

We're thinking of doing our very first Instagram live - or Facebook live... or both - while we're there, so make sure you're following!

Find us at @southerninlaw on Instagram and /southerninlaw on Facebook - or just search southerninlaw on either and you're bound to find us!

Speak soon! xx

    

   

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10 Travel Products That Are Worth Buying

With just 15 days before we head off to Hawaii, I thought now would be the perfect time to share some of my favourite travel products with you. There are gazillions of products out there that companies claim you HAVE to have - but I've rounded up my must haves and have come up with a list of 10 travel products that I think are totally worth purchasing!

So let me share them with you! >> 

Travel: Exploring New Zealand's Waitomo Glowworm Caves

See more of our New Zealand Adventures & other travels here!

In our last New Zealand post, I shared the day that really was Jesse's reasoning for choosing to travel to New Zealand. Our Ultimate Hobbit Day in New Zealand was the reason Jesse begged me to add New Zealand to our list of must-visit destinations - but I had some reasons to want to go too!

One of those reasons was to tick something off my bucket list. I wanted to see glowworms. And ohhhhhhhhhhh glowworms did we see, my friends! 

Today, in our last New Zealand post, I'm sharing what really did feel like a magical experience as we headed underground to explore New Zealand's famous Waitomo Caves!

So why don't you join me on the adventure? >> 

Travel: The Ultimate Hobbit Day in New Zealand

See more of our New Zealand Adventures & other travels here!

Today's New Zealand post is actually the reason we ended up in New Zealand in the first place. You see, whilst New Zealand is absolutely gorgeous and filled with so many wonderful things to do - we actually ended up choosing New Zealand as our holiday destination for one very specific reason....

Hobbiton.

You see, Jesse is a huge Lord of The Rings fan and has wanted to visit New Zealand ever since he found out the movies were made there - and when he learnt that you could visit the Hobbiton set, that become the number one thing on his bucket list. 

Whenever we talked about going on vacation, Jesse was always going on about how we NEEEEEEEEEEDED to go to New Zealand so he could tick that off his bucket list - and whilst I would have much preferred a relaxing tropical escape, I got to researching so I could put together Jesse's ultimate vacation - and this was the key part of our entire New Zealand trip; Hobbit Day. 

So let me share our Ultimate New Zealand Hobbit Experience with you! >> 

Travel: Time Travelling in Hamilton

See more of our New Zealand Adventures & other travels here!

Hold onto your hats, friends - today we're heading back in time on a retro-inspired adventure as she share the next part of our New Zealand travels with you!

So let's jump right into it! >>

Travel: Sunshine and Our Very Own Riverside Oasis

See more of our New Zealand Adventures & other travels here!

Our New Zealand trip was definitely a rain-filled one, however, we learnt very quickly that we needed to make the most of every sunny second we had as they didn't last all that long. 

Whilst our last New Zealand post was filled with lots of rain thanks to a freak rainstorm (Crowded House were apparently singing our life story when they sang Everywhere you go, always take the weather, take the weather with you because we seemed to take the rain with us), this one is filled with sunshine!

So let me tell you what we got up to on our next, gloriously sunshine filled, day in New Zealand! >> 

Travel: Exploring New Zealand's Coromandel Peninsula

See more of our New Zealand Adventures & other travels here!

From the first picture, it looks like this post is going to be one filled with sun, surf and sand... but really, I should probably be calling this "What to do in Coromandel New Zealand on a Rainy Day". 

Why? Because after a few sunny beautiful days, the rain returned for our trip up to the Coromandel Peninsula - but that didn't mean there wasn't fun to be had...

So let me show you what we got up to! >>

Travel: New Zealand's Best Glamping Experiences on the North Island

See more of our New Zealand Adventures & other travels here!

So, last week I shared out Adrenaline Packed Adventures in Rotorua with you and today I'm sharing the polar opposite. 

Pure relaxation. Switched off, no electricity, no television, back to nature bliss. It's exactly what we needed after such a heart racing, blood pumping kinda day and I cannot wait to share these two little slices of heaven with you all. 

So let me show you New Zealand's Best Glamping Experiences! >> 

Travel: Our Adrenaline Filled Day in Rotorua New Zealand

See more of our New Zealand Adventures & other travels here!

I feel like when you get married, you find yourself doing things you never would have imagined doing for anyone else.

You do things; like smell clothes to see if they're clean (I always used to tell Jesse that was a disgusting boy thing to do... and now I'm guilty of doing it myself), actually wanting to spend time looking after someone who's sick instead of running away from the germs like your life depends on it and you have way more inside jokes than you ever thought possible. 

You also do things like risk your life for the sake of your husband's enjoyment... or maybe that's just me... 

The next edition of our New Zealand Adventures which I'm sharing with you today is about exactly that. We called this day "The Adrenaline Day" and it was EXACTLY that. A day that was totally, completely and utterly outside this girl's comfort zone, however, I actually found myself loving every second. 

Find out how this day for Jesse turned out to be one of our favourite days of the trip! >>

Travel: Getting to know Rotorua's History

See more of our New Zealand Adventures & other travels here!

Well hey! To break things up, I thought I'd share a little bit more of our New Zealand Adventures with you (as we still have so much to share!). Just like in our last post, this one has BLUEEEE SKIES... but even better than that? 

This post has Jesse dancing. Yep. My "shy" husband doing the haka - but you'll have to read on a little bit for that video. As well as that there's bubbling brooks, boat trips, exploding geysers and plenty more to see!

But enough yapping, let's jump right into it! 

Join us as we explore more of New Zealand! >>