Any tips for longhaul virgin?

[grendel]

We fly to NZ with our DD (9) for a once in a lifetime holiday in December. We have an 10 hour flight to Hong Kong. 3 hours at the airport then another 11 hours to Aukland.

I'm not looking for tips for how to entertain DD specifically - I'm figuring that she will be able to manage as well as the rest of us. What I want to know is any tips from experienced long haulers to make the whole thing easier for everyone.

For example:

• We start with a night flight. At some airports I've seen people walking around in those velour-type sweat pants, presumably making for comfy sleeping. Is this a good idea or will people think I'm in my pyjamas?
• I'm assuming pillows and blankets will be provided, but I've seen people carrying their own around. Does this count as hand baggage?
• We have 3 hours at Hong Kong airport. I'm thinking we might be able to have a shower and change our clothes. But don't want to take up space in carry on baggage with towels. Can you hire them? Do they even have showers?
• Never had to sleep on a plane before. Does everyone recline at the same time?
• Eye masks, ear plugs - should we bother?

Any other top tips from you seasoned travellers to help prevent us from looking like total newbies?

Sounds very exciting !

My crucial tip for travelling long haul is to be comfortable - tight jeans, tops or anything else will just make for a miserable flying experience. Travel in something (not pyjamas) like a tracksuit or comfy trousers and try to layer tops as the plane can be cool once everyone settles down. Pillows and blankets on board so don't take your own - it's just a PITA to fly with. Don't wear tight-fitting shoes because your feet will swell during the flight and can be horribly painful to force shoes on when you land. Pack some cream for your face and hands as the air is very drying ( some eye drops will be handy too)
Pack a change of underwear and a clean T-shirt in your hand luggage ( for freshening up and in case your luggage goes adrift)
Reclining seats - generally happens after dinner is served as it can make for quite awkward eating otherwise, but you do with your own seat as you wish.
You might want to pack a little bag of healthy snacks or something for DD as time zones can play havoc with little tummies. You don't nmention the airline, but a lot of them now have some snacks etc on board for midnight munchies. Most airlines will also provide a courtesy toiletry bag which will have ear plugs and eye masks - I found that the headphones and some soft music drowns out all the snuffling, snorting and snoring ....
Hong Kong Airport is huge and so 3 hrs is not really a long time, particularly if you have to change terminals. They have these lovely Airport Ambassadors who wander around and will happily answer all your questions, needs etc. I think there are showers, but obviously involve a fee (with towels provided)
Drink at least 2 litres of water as it will help hugely withthe jetlag and make sure you walk about at regular intervals - stretching will also help.
I would almost always pack a lightweight jersey or wrap of some description that can double as a blanket, extra pillow padding and to ward off the cold.
Hopefully that will get you off to a good start - happy travels

Thanks Coolmama. That's really helpful!

Agree with Coolmama, the most important thing is to have comfortable clothes on. The plane can get hot or cold, so make sure that you can take stuff off/put stuff on. You are likely to get socks to wear in your in-flight 'comfort pack' and it's a good idea to put these on to keep your feet warm.

It may sound obvious, but if you wear contact lenses, don't forget to take your solutions and a pair of glasses to wear on board.

Don't get stressed if you can't sleep. It's not the most comfortable way to spend 10 hours! I recommend those blow up neck pillows. Don't buy a beanie pillow as they take up too much room, the blow up ones are much better.

There should be plenty of good films to watch, but just in case there aren't, make sure you have plenty of books/magazines and take some music/an i-Pod.

But above all, just try to enjoy it! It's the start of a holiday; you will be fed and watered, and you can enjoy drinking wine/spirits/beer if you want to (although do beware that too much alcohol isn't great on a plane - so drink plenty of water as well).

Take a change of underwear at the very least - and if you can shower at Hong Kong I would recommend it.

Have a great time!

My friend gave me this advice for what to wear when I went on a 10 hour flight recently and it worked really well. She has been to and from Australia a few times.

I wore a floaty denim skirt with leggings underneath and packed some cozy socks in my hand luggage and wore a vest with a long boyfriend cardi.

I could change my vest when I got to the airport and the leggings and skirt were dead comfy to sleep in I never felt sweaty or snything. The socks were much needed because my feet felt COLD! I wore loose ballet flats. I was worried I would be chilly without a coat but the temp on the plane and in the airport was fine.

Agree with everyone's posts, loads of good tips!

I would make sure you don't have too much hand luggage and think about getting one each of those little wheelie cabin bags. And I always take my own food and water (used to be cabin crew...)

Don't stress too much about the sleep, just plan which films you want to watch and the chances are you'll nod off during the best one!

Have a lovely time!

Wear comfy clothes - sweats are great. Don't worry about what people in teh airport think.

The airline will give you blankets and a small pillow, and an eyemask.

If you really want to sleep, then think about taking sleeping tablets (antihistamines). Eat in the airport and forego the airline meal, if the timings dictate. If you are looking after little ones, it probably isn't a good idea to be drugged up though. .

For the plane, take a book (light reading), or a puzzle book, or anything that you can jsut get on wth (knitting is not good because they think you will overthrow the plane with your needles).

It's a pity you can't mumsnet - if you could, the 10 hours would be gone in an instant.

Wear comfy clothes - sweats are great. Don't worry about what people in teh airport think.

The airline will give you blankets and a small pillow, and an eyemask.

If you really want to sleep, then think about taking sleeping tablets (antihistamines). Eat in the airport and forego the airline meal, if the timings dictate. If you are looking after little ones, it probably isn't a good idea to be drugged up though. .

For the plane, take a book (light reading), or a puzzle book, or anything that you can jsut get on wth (knitting is not good because they think you will overthrow the plane with your needles).

It's a pity you can't mumsnet - if you could, the 10 hours would be gone in an instant.