Travel by Stephanie

Why Just a Carry-On?

Simply put? It’s an easier packing process! Our family’s transition to carry-on-only luggage has streamlined our trip preparations and made travel much less stressful overall. (An exception to this was for our month in Portugal, since we needed to cart school and work with us! Our family of three packed two checked bags and two carry-ons for this adventure, along with a small personal item each.)

Most people drastically overestimate what they need for their trips. Becoming more comfortable with less and packing strategically eventually makes traveling easier and lighter!

Here are my reasons for recommending carry-on-only traveling to my clients and why our family packs this way:

Get off the plane and get where you need to go, faster.

There is something freeing about deboarding the plane and heading for your ride without a (sometimes very lengthy) stop at the baggage carousel. While everyone else is waiting for their bag to circle around, we’re well on our way to getting to our destination and enjoying vacation sooner.

Checking in for flights is often easier without checking luggage.

When you don’t need to check a bag, you can sometimes avoid the lines at the airport and check in online instead. Note that for certain destinations, online check in might not be an option – you might need to check in at the airport and present your identification before receiving a boarding pass.

Worry less about lost luggage.

When your bags are with you, you don’t need to stress about them getting where they need to go. While you might sometimes be required to gate check a carry-on, more often than not, you’ll have both this bag and your personal item very close by.

You could save money.

Avoiding checked bag fees is one more incentive to condense the packing to a carry-on and personal item. While some airlines charge for carry-on bags, for many flights, this won’t be a concern.

How to Travel with Just a Carry-On

1. Start by choosing a great piece of luggage

Without a well-designed bag, you’re immediately setting yourself up for packing woes. Try to purchase a bag after handling it in person, or at least do your due diligence when it comes to research.

2. Pack a capsule wardrobe

Choose your clothing items wisely by selecting items appropriate for the weather of your destination and ensuring that your items are able to be mixed and matched. Start with black or navy blue as your base color and build from there.

3. Roll clothes and use packing cubes

Try rolling your clothes to help reduce wrinkles and save space in your luggage. Then, tuck items into packing cubes and into your packed shoes to maximize your luggage real estate further.

4. Plan on doing laundry

The ease of doing laundry on vacation runs the gamut, but if it is an option for you, this small chore can really help simplify packing. Detergent sheets are very easy to take along with you for self-serve laundry (at Walt Disney World Resorts or with Disney Cruise Line for example) or you can explore the cost of laundry services before travel. Our family has done laundry on cruise ships, at our Airbnbs, and at our Walt Disney World Resorts. (We actually schedule doing laundry on our itineraries for WDW trips, and it’s usually combined with a resort/rest day with pool time!)

5. Wear your bulkiest items

Keep your jacket, hooded sweatshirt, or bulky sweater on your person and sport your largest, chunkiest shoes. You might benefit from layers on a cold plane, and your carry-on bag will benefit from more space for other necessary items.

6. Choose a great personal item

Part of being a carry-on-only traveler is also using a fantastic personal item, which can take a bit of trial and error…not to mention, certain trips might cause for specific types of personal items. A wheeled under-seat bag? A backpack? A messenger bag? A diaper bag? Consider your travel needs to find what works best for you for the specific trip. If you also carry a purse, cross-body bag, or belt bag, stuff it into your carry-on or personal item until you can retrieve it. (I’ll be publishing a post soon about what I call my “in-flight bag!”)

7. Be smart about toiletries

Toiletries are one of the easiest things to overpack for vacation. Start with thinking about the products that will be available to you in destination or from the resort or cruise line. Can you use those instead of packing your own? For items you do need to pack, remember the TSA rules for liquids in a carry-on bag and plan accordingly. Before travel, pay attention to how much product you use each day, then purchase travel containers to fill for your trip. For some destinations, you might be able to order a delivery to obtain necessary items on arrival.

Pack Smart, and Follow Your Airline’s Policy

Make sure you adhere to the airline’s size/weight requirements for carry-on luggage, as many are strict about their policies. Be careful about overstuffing your bags, even ones with dimensions that initially align with airline regulations – you don’t want to incur additional charges for checked bags at the airport! Some carriers will have you drop your bags into small crates for measurement to ensure they fit the requirements now that you have packed them for vacation.

---

Are you ready to become a carry-on-only traveler? Let’s book your next trip so you can practice your packing skills!

We will also cover packing tips in the custom Know Before You Go documents I prepare for my clients, and we can address your questions during our pre-departure phone calls, too!