Introduction
Packing can be a chore! It never becomes easy or more enjoyable.
However, it can become easier. In part two of our two part-series, we share our tips on how to efficiently pack your carry-on bag. Believe it or not, two weeks with only a carry-on is not only possible, but easier than you might imagine!
Whether you pack one for your whole trip or in addition to a full-size suitcase, this post will help you organize it in a way that works for you.
Carry-On Bag
Do you have friends that talk about how easy it is to fit everything in a carry-on? Frankly, I thought they were crazy. Until I did it.
Guess what? It wasn’t that bad! It took a bit more planning, but it was totally worth it. Well, kind of… but more on that in another post.
What counts as a carry-on anyway?
You probably already know that airlines allow one carry-on suitcase and one personal item that must fit under the seat in front of you. There are exceptions of course – purchasing a basic economy ticket or flying budget airlines, for example – but for the most part, they’re allowed. This post will assume you are allowed a carry-on bag but be sure to check with your airline. Each airline has their own policy.
Spinner > Duffel
What are we talking about here? There has been plenty of posts on the differences between the two.
Our preference is a carry-on spinner combined with a tote bag as my personal item. I have tried to use a soft duffel bag as a carry-on in the past, and I always regret it when I have to carry it through the airport.
Our verdict: Spinners are the way to go. They’re easy to maneuver through crowds, they leave you hands-free when you inevitably have to stop at the bathroom, and they save your back and shoulders.
The only downside is that if an aircraft is on the small side, you might be asked to gate-check your bag. Don’t worry. That’s where your personal item comes in.
Personal item
Your personal item can be a backpack, computer bag, small tote bag, or purse. It just has to fit underneath the seat in front of you, which is generally pretty easy to do. Again, double-check the policy for your airline. I once witnessed a study abroad companion pay 40 euros to gate-check a backpack because it exceeded the dimension limits for the budget airline we were flying. Not ideal for a broke college student.
Since I use a crossbody purse when I get to my destination, I usually have that packed and ready to go. This usually contains our passports, credit cards, external battery pack, etc. However, I want more than just those items when transiting through the airport. This is particularly important when dealing with layovers and entertaining myself and my daughter on long flights.
I travel with a small to mid-size tote bag as my personal item. Once we are ready to board the plane, I toss my crossbody purse inside the tote bag, consolidating down to the allowable number of carry-on bags. Why not just start off that way? Because when you’re checking in and going through security, you don’t want to dig through a bag-within-a-bag to get your credit card, passport, boarding pass, and so on. Consolidating at the gate is a slightly genius way of having everything you need easily accessible at the right times – just make sure it fits before you leave home.
What goes in the personal bag?
Most important: anything you would hate to lose. This could include things like prescription glasses, sunglasses, and medications. Anything else can be replaced, but these would be very difficult for me to cope without. For another traveler, it might be hearing aids or maybe an international driver’s permit. Everyone’s priorities are different. Anything you would hate to lose should be in your personal item – NOT in your carry-on spinner, just in case it gets gate-checked unexpectedly.
One time my carry-on was a garment bag that had my wedding dress in it. You can bet I was not going to let that get gate-checked! Gate agents and flight attendants are sometimes able to make exceptions for special items like a wedding dress (by hanging it in the first class closet, for example), but most of the time, you should prepare for the possibility that you might be separated from your bags.
Side note: when traveling internationally, check for restrictions on medications in your destination country. Some medications, though legal in your home country, might not be legal where you are going. Or they might be legal, but only when accompanied by a certificate issued by the destination country 317 days in advance plus your firstborn son (or any other seemingly arbitrary red tape process). If you’ve ever seen the show Locked up Abroad, you know what I’m talking about. Educate yourself before you go – remember, you are a guest in their country.
Okay, mission-critical items are packed. What next? Entertainment! If you are fortunate, you might have in-flight entertainment built into the seat in front of you. But sometimes it doesn’t work, you might get sick of looking at a screen, or sometimes you just can’t find any good options to watch. For these circumstances, I recommend a backup plan. I love to travel with my iPad because I can download shows, movies, books, and audiobooks onto it ahead of time. Even if I end up watching in-flight entertainment for the whole flight, I still love to have my tablet for the wait at the airport. It is lightweight and doesn’t take up much space. Even though it has a good battery life, I also carry an external battery pack with a charging cable for my tablet and my phone.
Toileteries
Next up – toiletries.
What you need will depend on the length of your flight, the length of your layover, the time of day you are expecting to land, and the expected availability of replacement toiletries should your bag get lost. Let’s say you are taking a short flight, arriving in a familiar city in the middle of the day, with plenty of CVS or Target stores to choose from if you should need to buy a toothbrush – by all means, put your toiletries into your checked back or your carry-on spinner that might get gate-checked.
By contrast, let’s take the example of our trip to Thailand via Qatar. We had a redeye flight to Qatar, then a several-hour layover, then another redeye flight to Bangkok. That’s two straight nights sleeping on planes. Fortunately, there are showers in the lounge within the transit zone so we knew we would have the opportunity to shower.
In our personal bags, we each had a toiletry bag with a toothbrush, toothpaste, a few flossers each, a few Q-tips each, deodorant, moisturizer, a comb, hand sanitizer, and a hair tie for me. We packed more in our checked bag, along with the rest of our preferred toiletries (like certain hair products), but having these items with us, along with having access to shampoo, conditioner, and soap in the airport showers, we had everything we needed to stay clean and comfortable while in transit.
Final Thoughts
While packing for two weeks all in a carry-on sounds crazy, it can be done! With careful planning and focusing on what can be purchased at your destination you too can avoid checking your bag.
