I'm not a fan of flight (except for when I'm filling out a map, then I just go to creative mode), since I do think it discourages infrastructure a bit. In an Extreme Hills biome near a giant cliff between you and a village? Better tunnel through it and build a road or a rail line too, if you don't want to go through half of your food every trip. Or, make a jetpack.
What I find helps me is carrying a satchel/knapsack/backpack (depending on what mod) full of cobblestone and a crafting table. This way I have materials to mark out a path as I go and to make stairs or slabs when I need. Then later on I can actually make the road out of whatever I want and replace the cobble.