Jul

Mrs. Hacks: Europe for a week and a half, no checked luggage – how I did it

Pat on July 28th, 2010

A few readers have asked how my wife managed to travel for 11 days in Europe, with stops in Rome, Sorrento, London, and (on our return) Chicago, without checking any luggage. After spending several weeks cajoling, pleading, and downright groveling (I exaggerate slightly), she finally agreed to write a brief post about her packing method; here it is…

Okay, gals, I know you’re wondering how I managed to travel 11 days in Europe with one carry-on piece of luggage. Honestly, it wasn’t that difficult; it just took a little bit of careful planning. And believe me, I do care about how I look and it was important to me that I feel somewhat stylish!

However, one thing is certain: it’s a lot easier to do in the warmer months. I’m doubtful I could do this in fall or winter when sweaters, coats, long pants or jeans would be needed. So, keeping that fact in mind, here’s how I approached packing:

Chose only black and white pieces. This way I didn’t have to bring several different colored shoes, jewelry, or other accessories.
Carried a large purse on the plane so I could place makeup, jewelry, and a backup pair of sandals (in case the ones I planned on wearing proved to be uncomfortable, which they did!). I also had a small cross-body bag in this purse which I used the entire time sightseeing.
Brought 4 pieces of Breezies underwear (brand from QVC) that I washed out at night. These dried very quickly, and I actually only used 3 of them.
Brought 2 “shrugs” (one white, one black) for cooler days/nights and restaurants, and one extremely light, waterproof rain jacket that folded to nothing (Columbia sportswear – in lime green – the only colored piece I used that I knew would work with my black and white outfits).

Now for the specific pieces of clothing I used:

2 pairs of black capris—-one a cotton blend that wouldn’t wrinkle that much, and the other made of that “slinky” material that never wrinkles and folds to nothing.
2 pairs of white capris
2 sundresses and 1 dressier skirt
5 tops that I could mix and match with the capris and the skirt (again these were made of a synthetic material that doesn’t wrinkle and packs to nothing)
2 pairs of casual sandals and one pair of dress sandals. I did not bring sneakers, and didn’t need them.

Well, I believe that’s it! Because we spent half the time in Rome, and the other in Sorrento, I knew I could repeat what I wore at least once or twice, and honestly, who’s going to notice or care??

One final note: I used those plastic packing bags that you roll up to squeeze out all the air so they collapse to nothing. (You know who frowns on them, but what does he know?? Wink ) This gave me extra room for the top and leather purse I bought in Sorrento!

I hope this helps you if and when you decide to travel light. It can be done!

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Travel, Travel Gear

11 Responses to “Mrs. Hacks: Europe for a week and a half, no checked luggage – how I did it”

Maria
July 28th, 2010 at 11:38 am

Thank you!

Interesting, as I find it easier to travel in cooler / cold weather. (Prehaps I get too “sweaty” and have to change clothing more often, do more laundry.) Besides, sweater sets are easy to layer!

- Plan carefully

- neutrals that you can mix and match

- very few shoes

- clothing that is comfortable, washable, and can still look dressy enough to go into nicer places

- no large sized toilitries / cosmetics. Place what you need into smaller containers (Test at home first: dispense toothpaste for example into a small container such as a Gotoob, and note how long it takes to use it up! Then you know how much you may need for your scheduled trip.)

- use scarves or other lightweight accessories for colour if needed

And if you find you need something once you get there, what a great excuse to go shopping!

Great post and detail by the way. And what’s wrong with plastic bags to organize and save room?

[Reply]
Kevin Reply:
July 28th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Maria: I think compressible bags are wonderful if you use them for the right types of clothing. Most of my travel these days involves quick trips for business, and I don’t find the compressible bags work well with things like dress oxford shirts and dressy/casual slacks. I’d rather use the bundle method or carefully fold things with a (Pack-It) folder. Also, like the folder, the bags add a (small) amount of extra weight; for this reason, I still prefer bundle packing. YMMV!

[Reply]
BobbyD Reply:
August 1st, 2010 at 10:43 am
Kevin: I just spent 8 days on the gulf coast with nothing more that my red oxx PR4. Thanks for a great review on a great bag. For a little bag this thing is huge.

[Reply]
Anne Peters
July 28th, 2010 at 12:04 pm

Traveling light is absolutely the way to go! My family (me and hubs, two teenagers) traveled to Europe early last summer for 16 days and only took two daypacks (one with my camera gear in it, the other for water bottles, travel book, and souveniers, jackets) and a carry-on per person.

Since there were four of us, instead of going with two hotel rooms we rented apartments in each city (Rome, Paris, London)that had w/d in them, which turned out to be a cheaper option. We stuck to khaki slacks and shorts and nice shirts and polos – nothing with printed slogans, etc. This way we would look nice enough to visit anywhere we wished.

And logistically, getting one carry-on on and off the train or subway was so much easier than a big suitcase would have been. We packed a collapseable duffel bag. On the flight back home we loaded it full of dirty laundry to check at the airport and packed up our souveniers in one of the carry-ons.

BTW, having an apartment was great. We were able to shop for b’fast food and snacks (food shopping in Rome and Paris was an wonderful experience in itself!) and had a refrigerator for doggie bags from restaurants.

My husband and I and another couple hope to be traveling to the Czech Republic and Croatia next year and are planning to rent an apartment instead of going the hotel route, packing very lightly, of course.

[Reply]
Maria
July 28th, 2010 at 3:12 pm

Kevin – I was trying to be funny, but seriously – I put clothes in giant zip-top plastic bags. Keeps things clean if I am picked to have my bag opened, and I can see everything that is in there, plus the plastic bags take up less weight than heavier packing cubes. Also, I use themfor laundry – to keep clean and dirty clothes separated.

Thank you again for the posts!

[Reply]
K-eM
July 28th, 2010 at 6:09 pm

Thank you Mrs. Hacks. Please convince Kevin to let you post more often. The “packing light” stuff seems to be dominated by men.

Good point about clothing colors. While I don’t stick to black and white, I do keep the color pallet simple and only bring a couple jewelry options. The only person who sees that I’m repeating myself is my husband and he doesn’t care what I wear as long as I’m happy and comfortable.

The key to packing for colder weather is to find clothing that gives you maximum warmth with minimum bulk. That’s not always possible but, for example, if you choose a very light alpaca sweater you get just as much warmth as you would from a heavy wool sweater or even a thick fleece. But yes, it’s still easier to pack light for warm weather travel than cold weather travel.

[Reply]
Berg
July 28th, 2010 at 7:59 pm

Thanks for the post, Pat!

I did 12 days in the chilly New Zealand spring with one carry-on & one small backpack. The key to packing light in cold weather is layers. Still, I don’t doubt that packing for warmer weather is definitely lighter (and thus, probably easier).

Please post again!

[Reply]
Adriano
July 29th, 2010 at 6:48 pm

A few points on cold weather
1- yes, you may need to pack more, but then you can also wear more stuff, thus reducing packing.
2- my personal experience in temperatures down to -30°C (I ignore the Farenheit, but I can tell you this is damned cold!!): the layer system (aka as onion strategy) is just great. Why? the air between two layers acts as insulator;
3- there are already plenty of lightweight solutions for fighting the cold. Polypropylene underwear, softshells with windbreaker membranes, multifunctional scarves. For many sport activities (winter jogging, cross country skiing, biking, hiking etc.) there is a huge demand in lightness and performance, so you can “borrow” ideas from them and use them in everyday travelling life.
just have a look in a sportsgear shop and you’ll be more than happy.
4- for these same sports activities a hat is always recommended. Why? A huge amount of heat is lost through the head.
5- my idea of cold is different form yours. Bear this in mind when someone tells you “Don’t worry, it’s warm-ish here!!”

To Mrs Hacks,

Should you make courses on the art of travelling light, I’d enrol my female colleague, who left home for a 5-day business trip by car with 2 huge suitcases!! ;-)

[Reply]
Pat
July 31st, 2010 at 7:41 am

All: thanks for your comments and suggestions; I’m stunned anyone commented! Adriano, your last comment made me laugh… I’ll let you know when we launch the course! :-)

[Reply]
Adriano
August 1st, 2010 at 6:24 pm

Pat,

Showing that travelling light is possible even for women could already help many desperate husbands/boyfriends/colleagues who are obliged to help some I’ll-bring-this-and-this-and-this-because-you-never-know lady… It could also convince some more gentlemen that they can make it too…

So, please, do it. Maybe even a small section on this website, and all the above mentioned people will be very thankful (as well as hotel porters, taxi drivers and such, all over the world)! ;-)

[Reply]
Barbara
August 1st, 2010 at 10:53 pm

My husband and I just got back from a week’s trip to Portland, Oregon. I was astonished to see many people dragging large suitcases around the airports. They looked like they were emigrating, not going on vacation! I’m so glad I learned to pack for any amount of time with only a carry-on.

[Reply]