The Simple Way Emma Roberts Prepares for Travel Mishaps—and Her Very Relatable In-flight Routine

Though Emma Roberts is a busy actress (American Horror Story, «Madame Web»), producer (Hulu’s hit series Tell Me Lies), and mother to 4-year-old son, Rhodes, you will often find her with her head in a book, especially when she is traveling. She says books are what get her through those pesky flight delays we all experience. “I always prepare for them with books and good stuff downloaded to watch,” she told Travel + Leisure recently. She has a slew of other clever travel hacks up her sleeve, including skincare tips, the best travel uniform ever, and what she always has in her carry-on.

In order to survive a trip, whether it is for business or leisure, the actress always travels with Kiko Milano under-eye patches and Lumify Eye Drops. She says her go-to plane activity is reading with a glass of Champagne, which often leads to a nap, for which she dons her Drowsy Sleep Mask. With her in-flight routine down to a science, it’s no surprise Roberts has also perfected her travel uniform. Her go-to is Aritzia sweatpants with a black hoodie and the Visvim backpack in black. “It is the best travel bag I have ever owned!” she told T+L. And what will you find inside her bag? “Always bring fuzzy, warm socks in your carry-on!” She also always packs a deck of cards in her carry-on to play solitaire, “or perhaps gin if someone else knows how!” 

Roberts is an avid reader, so she started an online book club called Belletrist Book Club with her good friend Karah Preiss back in 2017. The club teamed up with Penguin Random House and Apple Vacations in March to create a program called Pages in Paradise. Dubbed the “ultimate beach read program,” its aim is to provide book lovers with the ultimate vacation at nine Dreams Resorts and Spas across Latin America and the Caribbean with a curated library and book-centric events. 

As someone whose trip is very impacted by the books she brings, the collaboration is a passion project for Roberts. “Honestly, the idea came from a very real personal struggle—I’ve always found it tricky to pack the right book for a vacation. I’ll think I’m in the mood for historical fiction, but then I get to the beach and suddenly all I want is a good memoir or a timeless classic. Pages in Paradise is really a dream come true in that sense—it’s a curated library filled with authors Karah and I love, designed for people to discover the perfect book that matches their vacation vibe,” she told T+L. She admits that this also helps save room in her carry-on. “And selfishly, it saves me from packing five books, just in case, because I’m definitely someone who can tear through multiple reads on a beach day! No more overthinking or overweight suitcases!”

As for what Roberts will read on her next trip, she says, “I love a novel for the summer, and in the fall I tend to gravitate more towards memoirs! I haven’t figured out why. Right now, I’m starting “The Quick and the Dead” by Joy Williams.”