In approximately 12 hours I’ll be on a plane headed toward London. As the song goes, “All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go.” I like to travel fairly light but this will be the longest vacation of my adult life (two whole weeks!) so trying to pack everything in a small suitcase and carry-on was more of a challenge than usual.

I seem to have managed with two tank tops, two t-shirts, one jersey dress, one cotton dress, capri pants, a denim skirt, a sweater, a hoodie, and a pair of high heels. I’ll also be bringing the clothes on my back: low cut jeans and a sack dress/top and a pair of Skechers ballet flats.

Comfortable footwear that’s easy to take off for security checkpoints is an essential for my travel. I had a pair of Ecco shoes that were great except for the fact that they had a strap with a tiny metal buckle that would require me to take the things off at certain airports. On our last trip I went with Skechers and was so comfortable after long days of walking that I decided to stick with the ballet flats for this trip.

Another must on board a plane is a pashmina shawl. It’s easy to stash away in your carry on but provides your own source of climate control. It’s especially great when you’re travelling to a warmer country and don’t want to bring a heavy coat.

My sister-in-law noted that Air Canada also has a great feature on their site, Before You Go: A  ‘To Do’ List. I use Evernote to put together a checklist of my own to ensure all the important things are packed.

Just to make sure I was covering all my bases though, I asked the ladies on Twitter yesterday what their comfort essentials were while traveling and here’s what they came up with:

A great list even for those who haven’t traveled by plane (yet). Is there anything missing from the list? Please feel free to add in the comments section.