Although I had managed to get a ticket to London for a steal, there were some obvious drawbacks. At $60 for my first checked bag, I knew that I had to find a way to pack everything I needed into my carry-on. Not only did I manage to do that, but I had tons of leftover space for souvenirs. How, exactly, did I do this? Here are the guidelines I used: 1. Wear a few pieces multiple times, in order to minimize space (within reason; don't be gross). I packed four pairs of pants for an eight-day trip, so I would wear each pant twice, and brought only one hat, coat and scarf. Of course, to pull this off, this meant I needed most of my clothes to match--since I have a fairly minimalist wardrobe to begin with, I just picked neutral colors for all my clothes, and packed a couple of accessories for color. This ended up helping me in the mornings, too, because then I could spend less time coordinating my outfits when I could be doing more important things, like sleeping. 2. Be smart about where you pack things. For most flights, you’re allowed a free carry-on and a personal item. I packed my clothes into a small rolling suitcase, the largest size the airline would allow (making sure to measure first, because nothing sucks more than turning up to your flight/train and being told your bag is too big), which would be stored in the overhead compartment. I then put everything I might need on the plane (my phone with books downloaded onto it, notebooks, melatonin, etc) in a backpack which I would store under the seat. This would make it incredibly easy to maneuver around airports/train stations/etc, without juggling half a dozen bags. In addition, I wore all my bulkiest items on the plane. If I had tried to pack my heavy coat, it would have taken up half my suitcase! By wearing it and my wide-brimmed hat on the plane, I was able to maximize the amount of space in my bag. 3. Don’t worry about missing things. Did you know that you actually can buy extra underwear/socks/razors/etc. wherever you visit? Yes, people in other countries use those things, too! It’s admittedly a little inconvenient, but if you forget to pack something important, odds are you’ll easily be able to replace it wherever you visit. Since I was using only a carry-on, I was limited in some of the things I could carry, and knew I would need to leave a few important things behind. It’s okay! On my last trip to China, I ended up forgetting half of the socks I needed. While I did end up washing a few in the sink (#budgettravellife, y’all), I also was able to find a vending machine that sold socks to make up for those I was missing. So, what exactly did I pack? For eight days abroad in England, traveling mostly in the city but also with a couple of jaunts into the countryside, I took along:
With all that, I had more than everything I needed (and wanted) for my trip, plus extra space left over for souvenirs! Although packing for a weeklong trip using only carry-ons sounds a bit daunting, it’s actually quite easy when you know what to do. Nobody’s going to notice that I wore the same pair of pants twice, so why not save as much space as you can? Are you a good packer? Do you think you could travel abroad with only a carry-on? Like this post? Why not share it?If you enjoyed this article, please leave me a comment telling me what you think! Or, if you found it useful, share it with your friends! You'll be helping me turn my passion for travel into a business, and more importantly, you'll be helping your friends out with any travel questions they might have, too. See more adventuresIf you liked this post, you may also like:
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Hi, there! Call me Kris. I’m a world traveler, author and artist working to showcase the world's beauty and inspire you to find your confidence to see the world!
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