Carry-on luggage only for 2 weeks in Europe: Can you suggest ways to travel light & avoid checking baggage?
asked:
I am taking an 11-day trip to England and France this summer, and I would love to make the flights more manageable by avoiding checked baggage. (I routinely do this on US jaunts lasting up to 1-week.)
I am taking an 11-day trip to England and France this summer, and I would love to make the flights more manageable by avoiding checked baggage. (I routinely do this on US jaunts lasting up to 1-week.)
Am I being unrealistic? What tips can people offer on traveling light, even on a longer international trip?
Maybe you could choose a larger duffel bag and pack only clothes that you will need. Do not pack anything extra.
They usually let you have two carry on items so fit as much as you can. You can also buy things there.
Try using a standard airline carry-on luggage 16×22x9 (approx) and expect to do laundry or simply buy T-shirts while traveling and leave them behind in your hotel room. My partner and I each did this on a 10-day trip through Southeast Asia last fall. You can also take a school backpack because you get one carry-on and one personal item. Enjoy your trip!
you’ll be fine! i travelled to cuba and colombia for almost four months with only carry on, it’s easy once you realise a few things!
buy all your toiletries here, everything will be available and not very expensive. personally, i have this amazing moisturiser that i cannot buy anywhere, but apart from that, and my toothbrush, i stock up on arrival.
clothing wise, it depends where you plan to go on holiday? fancy restaurants or more casual etc. but either way, pack enough clothes for one week, launderettes are available in the uk (now idea about france, but imagine theyre the same) and we all have tumble driers too, so don’t worry about that!
try to pack clothes that you can mix and match together: when i go away, i plan a colour scheme, eg, i have a lot of pink clothes that i really like, so i take a few pink pieces and then some white and black ones to offset, that way, i can wear pink/white/black/pink&white/pink&black/black&white. i just realised i dont know if you’re a boy or girl! if you’re a boy this should be easier, but if you plan your outfits, you’ll manage as a girl too!
although i always take some ibuprofen (tylenol type stuff) for hangovers, everything else that you probably put in your holiday first aid kit will be readily available here!
i have this cool towel that folds up really small and dries really quickly because i usually stay in hostels,but if you’re a little more upmarket than me, you can proably count on the hotels providing them!
as its europe and we have stinky weather, you probably will need a coat or jacket, i would say that if you have one of those raincoats that folds into itself, bring that, and just your normal jacket. if you feel you need it, you could always buy a coat on arrival, we have plenty of stores in the uk where you could buy a coat for maybe £15, and that it’d be a nice souvenir too!
I can;t think of any other things you would take besides clothes an toiletries really! except, if you have a mobile phone that you can use as a camera/alarm clock/mp3 player then all the better! nothing you need is gonna be unavailable here, so don’t worry about it!
also, i don’t know who you’re flying with, but if its one of the big airlines (ie not some dirt cheap budget airline) they’re ususally pretty lax on the hand luggage restrictions so go a little bit over, they ususally don’t even look at your hand baggage!
anyway, have a great time! (especially in the UK!!!!)
Find out what the current luggage restrictions are for ALL of your flights, including those within Europe. They’re tightening down a lot, even for carry-ons.
Avoid jeans — heavy, bulky and take forever to dry. Two pairs of lightweight trousers, two t-shirts, a nicer shirt, a pull-over sweater and a zip-up or cardigan (that can be worn together). Underwear and socks, but only three sets. A lightweight windbreaker that fits over the zip-up. A second pair of shoes if you’ll be doing a lot of walking.
Those are the basics. If you have room left over, add in extras like a sweater (preferably of a different weight).
It’s not really all that different from a week in the U.S. It’s just more washing and probably more variety in the weather.
Important tip — if you’ll be using trains in France, don’t rely on wheels to lighten your load. Every train station I was in had steep staircases to get to the tracks. Backpacks are much better there.
Well, I always check my stuff in. Mostly because I have a lot of things and I love to shop for more clothes!
But, if you want to travel light, see if you can take two bags as a carry-on to the plane. In first class they let you at least on Virgin Atlantic because I fly with them.
And if you can’t just try to see what items and what “necessities” you really need. Sometimes people pack random things that they never use. It just wastes time and space.
I hope I helped.
Love Massie
xoxoxoxo
avoid international flights