12 Tips to travel only with hand-luggage

Save yourself a checked bag fee and carry more in your hand-luggage with these smart packing tips.

Travelling with carry on hand-luggage only is a bit of an art form. Most airlines have strict regulations for the size and weight of your bag, as well as restrictions on liquids – but if you get it right, you can save money, get in and out of the airport quicker and travel for months on end with just the bag on your back. Not to mention the risks of checking your luggage at the airport, such as stolen and lost items.

The challenge is to make an efficient bag with only 8 to 12 kg! To help with this mission - which may be almost impossible depending on the passenger, the days of travel and the destination - I have prepared some tips for those who like me usually travel only with hand luggage. It's time to put aside all that is superfluous to get on board without paying any extra for a checked bag, since it's common for companies to cover for that service.

1-Choose the right hand luggage:

Your hand-luggage will go with you everywhere, so choose comfort over style like a wheel luggage (but make sure you respect the maximum dimensions of hand-luggage allowed by the airline). A classic and versatile model can do both vacation and business travel - a real 2 for the price of 1. I would suggest in this case a soft-sided hand-luggage. Hard cases are great to protect the content of the luggage, as they can take more of a beating, but you’ll have this bag with you for the whole time, and soft-sided packs let you squeeze in even more! Interior pockets for organisation are great, but remember that the more ‘stuff’ in an empty bag means more weight and less space to pack.

However, the ideal carry-on luggage to mix with locals is a backpack. Put the backpack on your back and start exploring with the freedom to keep your hands free while jogging. Even better, choose an hybrid backpack with wheels.

2-Plan your style:

When you’re choosing your clothes, pick styles and colours that go together. Take at least 3 outfits that you can combine, plus what you wear to the airport. If you take 3 t-shirts, 3 pairs of trousers and a couple of shoes that all work together, you’ve got 18 potential outfits from only 8 garments!

3-Be ready to dress up:

You never know where you’ll end up when you’re travelling, so always pack a shirt and some chinos. Perfect for that fancy looking bar you might stumble across!

4-Wear your heavy clothes on the plane:

Don’t pack bulky items like heavy knits or jackets – if you need them, wear them to the airport to save space in your bag! You can always take them off when you get through security or use them as a pillow or blanket during the flight.

5-Roll it up:

I suggest rolling your clothes instead of folding. Roll it the night before your travel, so there’s no extra air. The rolls also fit into the bag better and don't leave as many creases in clothing as folding.

6-Fill in the dead spaces:

Don’t forget to fill all those dead spaces in your pack. Stash your underwear and socks inside your shoes or your t-shirts and belts in your pockets! 

7-Take vacuum bags to keep the volume inside the allowed:

Often the problem in packing is not the weight, but the volume. To help solve this case, it's better to always have a vacuum bag inside the suitcase. It helps reduce the volume of clothing and magically makes it fit a few more pieces inside the carry-on luggage. Very useful in that moment of despair when the suitcase does not close.

8-Pack travel-sized toiletries or buy at the destination:

After perfecting your packing, the other downside of travelling with carry on luggage is in packing liquids in hand-luggage. Travellers are only allowed to bring small quantities of liquids in individual containers with a maximum capacity of 100 ml each. These containers need to be packed in a durable, transparent, resealable plastic bag (e.g. a Ziploc freezer bag) that is no more than 20cm x 20cm in size and no more than 1 litre in capacity.

The key here is to take only what you know you definitely need and in small travel size, everything else can be purchased at your destination.

Note: Every airport has its own rules when it comes to liquids in luggage. Some airlines are also more heavily regulated than others and have their own particular guidelines about what it will and will not allow on flights. You should check these beforehand.

9-Pick your most essential gears:

Essential gadgets are exactly what those words mean: enough chargers and cables to juice up your devices, portable battery, headphones, phone, and anything that offers benefits during the trip or is required (say, your work laptop for a business meeting or a plug adapter for international travel). For everything else, imagine what your trip would look like without the item, and then decide if you need it. Ultimately, what you bring is up to you — only you will know what’s essential — but less is likely more.

10-Prepare for security check:

When you’re packing, make sure your washkit and electronics are at the top of your bag and easy to access so you can whip them out in a flash and get through security with minimum fuss.

11-Weigh your luggage:

Invest in some luggage scales and make sure you weigh your bags on both legs of the journey to see how close you are to reaching the weight limit. If you’re close to the limit, consider wearing some of the heavier items or cutting down on what you pack in the first place.

12-Save your Maps:

There's no guarantee you’ll have signal everywhere you go. Luckily, you can use Google Maps app to save the maps you need during your travel so you can use them offline. Just type in the area you want, click on the place name at the bottom, and select download!