7 Reasons to Travel Hand Luggage Only (and How to do it)

 This is a weird habit of a girl who loves fashion, and has a lot of clothes. I am well aware. But I'm also a girl who loves travel and not spending a load of unnecessary money.

The general reaction when I tell people I don’t pay for hold luggage and use hand luggage only to travel is usually surprise, with a wee bit of horror. But some people are a bit judgey. Like taking 10 bikinis, 3 pairs of shorts, 2 pairs of jeans, 5 dresses and 8 tops for a 3 day beach break “just in case” makes them cooler than me.

Lol okay. Whatevs. There are so many benefits of travelling lighter and leaving the giant suitcases at home, and I just can't see me ever ditching my minimal packing ways.
**May be important to clarify, when I say hand luggage I'm not talking about a handbag. My favourite is a duffel bag type thing my dad brought home from Peru.

 

These are my top reasons to pack hand luggage only -

1. Save some dollar. This is definitely the number one priority.

Let’s do a little bit of maths. Martin and I are going on 4 trips this year (yes, we are very lucky!). Say we each took a piece of hold luggage, on an EasyJet flight that could be £20 each. So £20 x 2 x 4. That’s £160 on luggage alone. If you're a regular reader, you'll know I'm all about super budget holidays and this is one of my top ways to travel on a budget.

2.  No waiting at baggage claim. This is my biggest hate of travelling. Being able to walk right past all the irritated souls peering anxiously at the carousel is a triumphant moment. Less time waiting, more time exploring this new land. SEE YA LATER, SUCKERS.

3. Fewer material things to worry about. You know the feeling when you lock the hotel room door and leave forever... Have I forgotten anything? And it's only when you get home you realise you left your sandals under the bed. Of course, that can still happen but with fewer belongings there's less to keep track of = easier to rememember everything. Winning.

4. Less time worrying about what to wear. In a world where we share every moment of our lives on social media, and Instagram is the platform to make everyone jealous of your holiday, who wants to share a snap standing in front of *insert landmark/monument/iconic structure here* if you're not wearing your gladrags? Yes, it's nice to look nice but is that really the point of being there? Don't get distracted by trying to live like you're starring in a fashion show - enjoy your time, be comfy, get dirty and ruin your shoes. (The best holidays destroy shoes).

5. Easier to transport. While walking around Paris Zone 5 for hours trying to find our airbnb at 11pm, you best believe I was glad we didn't have huge suitcases. When we got sickeningly lost in the Medina in Marrakech, we only had one bag each to worry about. When we interrailed for 3 weeks our lack of suitcases was a saving grace when running to catch trains. Not all cities have roads made for suitcases, so something you can sling around your shoulder or pop on your back will make the travelling experience much more pleasant. 

6. Less unpacking. This is a pretty ridiculous point. So don't judge me.

I am literally the worst in the whole world at unpacking. I hate it so much. SO so so much. I have been known to not unpack for a month after returning from holiday. There is no reason at all for this, and it's utterly shameful but that's just me. With hand luggage only there are fewer clothes to put away and it is overall a much less daunting task. Thumbs up from me.

7. No chance of lost luggage. This is so important. Luckily it's never happened to me, but you always hear stories of people losing their luggage and spending a week with no clothes. What good is packing all your cute clothes if you have nothing to wear when you get there? Hand luggage never leaves your side. Loyal bae.

Tips on Packing Hand Luggage Only

The biggest worry is toiletries. The dreaded less-than-100ml-and-has-to-fit-in-single-see-through-bag conundrum. And it is a nightmare, quite frankly. Martin and I actually ended up having to throw out our shampoo (my Soap and Glory travel size, boohoo) and Martin's aftershave because we misjudged how much we had. But it's not as hard as you might think. 

• Buy a set of travel size bottles - use 1 for suncream, 1 for aftersun/lotion, 1 for showergel
• For shampoo, facial moisturiser and basically anything else possible - collect sachets of samples from magazines. Raid Cosmo and Glamour (And your sisters, mums and best friends) and pack all their samples. Also pop into The Body Shop and ask if they have any samples. They're usually pretty great at giving a couple of little sachets.
• A dodgy tip - I don't put these in the transparent bag, because they're so little and hold such a tiny amount of liquid it doesn't get picked up by the scanner. Save room for other important things (same with mascara and lipsticks).
• Take a mini deoderant and a mini toothpaste. Literally just the basics.
• In terms of liquid makeup one foundation and one concealer may have to suffice, brownie points if you pump some into a little pot.
• A Z-Palette is ideal for travelling light. Pop in 1 blusher, 1 bronzer and 1 highlight and a few key eye shadows. Please refrain from bringing 2 face palettes and your top 3 eyeshadow palettes. Pls.

And for outfit packing, plan out outfits in whole before you go and try to make each piece of clothing work twice. So my pink midi skirt goes really nicely with a flower cami for the evening and a grey novelty t0shirt for the day. That flowery cami in turn goes with my demin shorts which goes great with my sparkly white top and the previous grey t-shirt. Of course, a dress or two as well and a couple of accessories to really change up the outfits. But it's pretty easily done.

Oh! And a sure fire way of saving room and looking ridiculous at the same time - wear your heaviest and biggest stuff. Even if only for 5 minutes while they check your bag - but wear your jumper, parka, massive floppy sunhat, scarf and boots. Then once you're all checked and good to go, you can carry them or pop them in your duty free carrier bag!

What do you think of my packing style? Does it make you want to curl up and die at the thought of leaving so much behind? Or do you think you'd like to shed some weight on your trips and save a bit of money? I want to know your thoughts!

Teri-May xx

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