Planning a spontaneous romantic trip or a relaxing weekend getaway for the family? These top five alternative travel essentials are compulsory for traveling comfortably. Enjoy stress-free travel with these five items.

Language Guide: Make the most of your in-flight experience and soak up some local lingo with acountry-appropriate language guide next time you take an international flight to an exotic destination. Practise ‘bonjour’ or ‘por favor’ on a flight to Europe and impress the natives with your newfound lust for language. After an hour of study, enjoy a foreign language film on your in-flight entertainment system and perfect your accent.

Disposable Camera: While most tourists shun the idea of the analogue camera as a travel essential, personally I would beg to differ. Not only does this affordable piece of apparatus take more artistic and original photographs filled with the nineties nostalgia of a time long past, disposable cameras function on a very practical level. Whether you’re meandering down the ski slopes of the French Alps, clambering up Kilimanjaro in Tanzania or soaking up the sun on a luxury beach in Dubai, the disposable camera can survive and thrive in almost any climate. Once you’ve caught your cheap flight home, pay affordable prices for digital developing so you can upload your photos online.

Sewing Kit: Any frequent flyer knows the importance of the handy sewing kit when traveling abroad. It doesn’t matter if you’re planning a romantic getaway, pool-side retreat or a fall vacation, the travel-size sewing kit is an alternative travel must have. Mend a dress in Dublin or sew a button back on in Budapest; wherever your travels take you be sure to look the part with clothes that fit.

Smartphone: Although it might seem obvious to take a Smartphone abroad, with Wi-Fi connections almost everywhere and more affordable roaming packages on the market every week, many tourists are reluctant to take their treasured technology on vacation. Book flights with CheapOair’s Travel App, use your device to store important itinerary information or stay in contact with friends on a student travel trip, there’s never been a better time to carry this handy essential when traveling abroad.

Gifts: You never know when you’ll need to thank someone on an adventure abroad, so for my final alternative travel essential I would implore you to pack a small gift specific to your native country. As a Brit, I can recall many a time imparting tea bags and royal memorabilia on those foreign tour guides or guests who have made my stay an extra special one. If you’re taking a flight from the US, pack a last minute bottle of Jack Daniels for your Turkish tour guide next summer vacation or perhaps an 'I Love NY' t-shirt for a family friend, whatever gift you pack you’ll be sure to win over even the most frosty of foreigners.

With hand tailored travel deals, seasonal offers, and last minute getaways, get packing now for the perfect trip abroad with cheap international flights at CheapOair. 

Photo: Joanna_pan