Packing for your dream holiday: A beginner’s guide
The planning and packing stages of any trip are exciting, so it can be tempting to take everything you own just to be prepared. This can lead to you racking up large excess baggage fees or ending up having to lug large amounts of unnecessary amounts of stuff around with you. To avoid this, it’s important that you pack strategically and make smart choices to ensure that you have everything you need but don’t have loads of excess baggage. If you’re about to take your first big trip, then here’s our beginner’s guide to making the packing process a breeze.
Consider where you’re going and how long for
Before you even start packing it’s important that you think about what you’ll ned to take with you. You need to think about where you’re going and what the weather will be like when you get there, as well as what you plan on doing during your trip and how long you’re going for. All of these considerations will allow you to plan the outfits you want to take so that you always look chic and stylish, but are properly dressed and clean as well. Use an app like Stylebook to plan your outfits, so that you know you’ve definitely got enough clothes for every event you’ll be attending and every adventure you’ll be enjoying.
Find the perfect bags
Once you have a rough idea of what you’ll be taking with you, it’s time to find the bags to carry it all in. You’ll definitely need one carry-on bag and one handbag, and, if you’re going on a longer trip, you’ll need a larger suitcase as well. Both of your larger bags need to be sturdy so that they’ll survive the journey, but not too heavy as you don’t want to use a lot of your baggage allowance on the bag itself.
You also need to consider how you’re going to carry your bag. If your suitcase will be heavy, then find one with wheels and pick a carry-on bag with straps so you can carry it on your back as you traverse the airport. When it comes to your handbag, select something versatile so that you can use it throughout your trip.
Use multipurpose items to save on space
A great way to save space in your case is to buy items that can be used for more than one purpose, such as versatile tops that will go with multiple outfits, black leggings, or shoes that will look great with everything. Go through your holiday outfits and see if there’s any way you can use the same clothes on different occasions, as this will cut down on the number of items you need to take with you.
Space savers will help you pack more
The travel market is a vast space, so there’s now loads of products out there that you can use to save yourself space in your suitcase, such as collapsible water bottles (preferably BPA-free) and vacuum storage bags that allow you to transport large numbers of clothes in a sealed, airtight bag, thus saving you room in your case. Think about the solutions that will work for you and buy them so that you can save yourself room in your bag and make space for added extras like snacks and books to entertain you during your journey.
Be ruthless and remove everything you don’t need
After you’ve initially packed your bag, go over everything you’ve included and remove anything you won’t need. Whilst it’s important that you’re prepared when you go on holiday, you won’t need everything you own, so be ruthless and make sure that anything you won’t require, or something that you might need but which could be bought out there if necessary, is taken out. Remember that you’ll need to have room in your case for the souvenirs and treats you’re going to buy to bring back with you, so take out anything you absolutely won’t need.
Check your bags meet your airline’s standards before you fly
When you’ve finally packed your bags, do one final check to make sure that they aren’t over your airline’s maximum bag weight. Use some quality luggage scales to ascertain how much your bags weigh, and if they’re too heavy then think hard about whether you’re able to take anything out or if you need to pay for a larger baggage allowance. I’d recommend leaving some things at home and packing lighter.
If you’ve followed the above tips then your bag should contain all the things you definitely need, so think about whether your holiday will be affected by the removal of some items, and if so, talk to your airline about increasing your baggage allowance.
Wherever you go and however long you’re going for, use these tips to pack the perfect suitcase for your trip. The less baggage, the easier to travel with.
TIP: Here’s the ultimate travel packing list you can download and check if you have not forgotten any important item.