Short answer: on trains and planes, people take food that doesn’t melt, leak, smell up the whole carriage or need a fridge: dried cheese, nuts, crispbread, apples, dark chocolate, water. You can’t take liquids over 100 ml in plane hand luggage (yoghurt, sauces and pâtés count as liquids), but anything dry is allowed without restrictions. Below is a list for a day of travel and what is better left at home.
What to take: a list
| Product | Train | Plane (hand luggage) | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dried cheese 14–28 g | yes | yes | dry, odourless, 12–17 g of protein, doesn’t melt |
| Nuts, seeds | yes | yes | filling, compact |
| Crispbread, crackers | yes | yes | crumbs, but convenient |
| Apple, carrot, cucumber | yes | yes (domestic flights) | freshness, water |
| Dark chocolate | yes | yes, but it melts | something “sweet” without a sugar crash |
| Sandwiches | first 3–4 hours | first 3–4 hours | butter, sausage and mayonnaise spoil in the warmth |
| Yoghurt, curd snack, pâté | yes, with a spoon | no, it’s a liquid over 100 ml | on a plane it will be confiscated at security |
| Boiled eggs | yes, but the smell | better not | your neighbours won’t appreciate it |
| Fish, garlic, smoked sausage | no | no | smell in an enclosed space |
Why dried cheese is the perfect travel food
A 28 g pack is about 70 g of cheese without the water: 12–17 g of protein, 135–195 kcal, less than 0.5 g of carbohydrates. It doesn’t melt on the sunny side of the carriage, doesn’t leak in a backpack, doesn’t smell and doesn’t crumble like biscuits. You eat it with your fingers, no knife or napkins, and a sealed pack lasts 18 months without a fridge, so you can keep a “travel kit” in your bag all the time. And it’s not crisps: the only ingredient is cheese. More here: travel snacks.
A day’s kit for the train
- Morning: a 14 g mini pack of cheese + an apple + tea from the attendant.
- Lunch: crispbread + a 28 g pack of Gouda or Cheddar + a cucumber.
- Evening: a 20 g cheese + nut mix, dark chocolate.
- Always: 1–1.5 l of water. Half of all “I’m hungry” moments on the road are actually thirst.
That’s 3–4 packs per person per day; for a family it’s easier to take the SMALL ALL set (10 mini packs and mixes) or a box of 25 mini packs for frequent trips.
Plane: what to know
- Liquids and pastes up to 100 ml in a clear bag: yoghurt, hummus, sauces and pâté count as liquids. Dried cheese, nuts and crispbread are dry, with no restrictions.
- International flights: check whether dairy products may be brought into the country of arrival (the EU, the UK and Australia have restrictions). Within Ukraine and on flights to Turkey, Georgia and Moldova there are no problems. More here: what to bring from Ukraine.
- At altitude, taste is dulled, so you crave something salty: smoked Sulguni or Cheddar taste more vivid than on the ground.
- Drink more: the cabin air is dry, and a salty snack makes that more noticeable.
For kids on the road
14 g mini packs of Mozzarella or Gouda don’t stick to hands or seats, don’t crumble and are gone in one stop. No sugar, so there’s no “sugar rush” afterwards in an enclosed space. More here: snacks for kids.
Dried snEco Cheese “Gouda”, 14 g
Set “SMALL ALL” (10 packs), dried snEco cheese + nuts, 14/20 g
Dried snEco Cheese “Cheddar”, 28 g