Plus Size Travel Tips

Fly Friends, do you have travel anxiety? I’m pretty sure that it’s almost impossible to not have at least some travel anxiety as a plus size person. Some common fears I’ve heard are that you won’t fit in the seats, the seat belts don’t fit, people treating you badly in other countries, keeping comfortable while walking and exploring, and the dreaded hotel amenities. I’m going to touch on all of these topics and give you my pro tips!

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Plus Size Travel Seats

While I’ve heard many people talk about how they find train and bus seats to be more accommodating and easier to wind up having two seats or a whole row to yourself, it is not the same case with planes. This is why I prefer to fly Southwest any time that I can! On Southwest flights, the width between armrests is 17 inches. If you feel that you would need more room you can purchase a second seat on any Southwest plane. After you travel, you can have your additional seat REFUNDED. This means that you are not actually paying for that extra seat.

You can take your chances and talk to the employees at the gate about needing extra seating on any plane and they will check the roster and do their best to accommodate, but with Southwest, you can buy a second seat that will be refunded after travel and guarantee that you’ll have a safe and comfortable flight with plenty of room!

You can book online with the instructions below, but if you call Southwest and ask about their customer of size policy while booking, they will give you the lowest price possible on your second ticket so that it’s less coming out of your bank account that you have to wait to be refunded!

When you get to the gate, you can also preboard as a “person of size” so that you don’t have to deal with as many people as you make your way to your seat and live your plus size travel dreams!

Seat Belt Extenders for Plus Size Travel

So here’s the tea. You can ask for a seat belt extender from any airline. If you are scared or embarrassed to ask, just remember that you paid for your ticket. You paid to be there. You’re there to have an experience and you’re going to have a good one, dammit! 99.9% of the time, no one will give you any grief. I’m sure there are the one in a million wild stories out there, but don’t let them scare you. Handing out seat belt extenders is part of every flight attendant’s job and they are totally used to it.

If you want to skip asking for a seatbelt extender altogether, you can bring your own! Here are two great options if you’d like to buy one for yourself or anyone else!

Seat belt extender 1 $14 on sale, extender 2 $45

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Being Judged by Locals While Traveling

There is no quick fix or product that I can recommend for this one. This is something you have to push past. It can be hard, but it is so worth it. You deserve a vacation. You deserve to see the world, have unforgettable experiences, explore, and learn about other cultures, cuisines, and customs. Don’t let other peoples’ opinions of you ruin even a second of this beautiful life that you have in this beautiful body!

The truth is that other people are way more focused on themselves than whatever it is you’re doing or how you look doing it. We’ve all had experiences where that is not the case, but say it like a mantra and all of the sudden other people don’t matter to you. Their opinion of you is none of your business. This goes for activities and excursions as well! We are done letting our fears of being seen as plus size people keep us from living our life to the fullest! Ride the dolphin. Do the zip line course. You won’t regret it!

Just a little tip from me while traveling out of the country. Most people are more annoyed that you’re American than anything else. So just blame that one whoever the president is at the time and move along with your day.

Comfy Plus Size Travel Items

Keeping comfortable from the plane to your destination is so important, especially in the summer and winter months when you have high and low temperatures and weather to worry about. Here is a compilation of all of my favorite travel accessories!

Make sure to have your Megababe products on you at all times! The thigh rescue and bust dust are sweaty life-savers. They will help with any boob sweat and chaffing and are small enough to fit in your bag and take with you on the go. Thigh rescue also comes in an even smaller travel size for $10! Not only am I sweaty, but I’m somehow dry too. Flying can do all kinds of weird things to your skin, so I chose the Summer Fridays “jet lag” mask in a mini travel size. It is super hydrating and will help you keep your skincare shit together while traveling. I also made sure to include the best pair of wide-width sneakers that come in tons of colors, a gel-padded seat cushion to make any travel seat more comfortable, and this amazing chic fanny pack that extends up to 54″ and comes in tons of colors!

LINKS: Megababe thigh rescue $14, Megababe bust dust $16, Sketches wide-width sneakers $70, fanny pack $23, gel seat cushion $37, jet lag mask $25

Hotel Amenities

It is no secret that hotels carry skinny towels and skinny robes. I don’t know who they think is relaxing wrapped in under two feet of fabric, but it sure ain’t me! The first thing you can do is call the hotel you’re staying at ahead of time and ask if they have larger towel and robe accommodations for larger guests. Sometimes they will! If that’s not the case, here’s where you can get a luxe robe, towels, and even wide-width slippers so you can relax with ease.

I chose two pairs of slippers, both wide-width, a mule style, and a moccasin style. Both come in multiple colors and are nice and fuzzy inside! Whenever you’re looking for an extra-large towel, use the keyword “bath sheet.” This is like a step up from a regular boring skinny towel! The white is 40″x80″ and the pink is 40″x70″ and a bit more bougie. They both come in multiple colors! To round it out, I chose two robes for plus size travel. The black robe goes up to size 30W and the pink patterned robe goes up to a size 30.

LINKS: Black robe $30, Pink patterned robe $65 on sale for $30, white bath sheet $35, Turkish cotton bath sheet $50, mule slippers $30, moccasin slippers $12

Plus Size Travel Tips

I hope these tips will help you on your plus size travel journey! Let me know if you try any of these travel hacks! Do you want to see more plus size travel content? Drop me a line on Instagram!

XO Victoria