Hand luggage tips

When going away on a city break or a short trip, travelling with hand luggage only will not only save you time, it can also save you pounds on checking in your luggage, making your break even better value for money. However, you have to be careful not to fall foul of hand luggage size and weight restrictions. Here are the benefits of employing the hand-baggage-only technique and our top tips on how to make your journey as easy as possible.

What are the benefits of travelling light with hand baggage only?

1. Quicker – no need to join a check-in or bag-drop queue on departure and no need to wait for bags at the luggage carousel on arrival. Plus you get to the taxi queue or car hire rental desks before the rest of the passengers you have travelled with.

Be aware, though, that easyJet is reducing the size limit on hand luggage it will guarantee can travel in the cabin with you from July 2, 2013 to 50 x 40 x 20cm. This is due to limited overhead locker space on busier flights. Passengers will not be charged any extra for bringing hand luggage with the previous dimensions of 56 x 45 x 25cm, but it may be placed in the hold for the duration of the flight.

2. Safer – you keep your bag with you at all times, therefore it cannot get sent to a destination different to the one you are flying to. It is not going to get damaged being loaded or unloaded and it is not available for someone unscrupulous to break into and steal your personal items.

3. Cheaper – you avoid checked-in bag charges which can be up to £160.

4. Less stress – you are in control of your things, not reliant on the baggage system and you can avoid lots of queues.

Our top tips

1. Know your limits – ensure you know the hand luggage restrictions for the airline(s) you are travelling with, especially if you are connecting from one to another or if you are returning on a different carrier. These can vary and it will affect bag size, number of bags allowed and whether there is any weight limit. easyJet, for example, will accept any weight as long as you can lift it whereas Ryanair is strict on the one piece, maximum weight of 10kg rule.

Some also allow one piece of hand baggage plus one duty free bag – so you can buy items you may need such as toiletries, water, guide books, magazines etc to your heart’s content, and place them in one carrier bag from the airside shops. Some airports such as Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester also allow you to buy duty free and then collect on the way back – meaning that you never have to take the items on board, avoiding cabin bag weight limits altogether. If you do have hand baggage that is over the limit, be prepared to have the bag taken from you and an excess baggage fee charged.

2. Buy the right bag – once you know your hand luggage size limit, ensure your bag fits within this. If you can, choose a soft bag for carry-on luggage as it will be easier to cram into overhead bins and it is lighter – giving you more weight for your items.

We have teamed up with Flylite to bring you a special discount on luggage that is ideal for travelling with hand baggage only. Not only do you save on hold baggage charges of up to £60 each way on Ryanair if you stick to the 10kg limit, you can also save  25% on the price of these excellent luggage solutions.

Choose from a range including two sizes of foldaway cabin bags, two sizes of  trolley cabin bags or a rucksack for the cabin as well as a foldaway wheeled holdall option all made of lightweight materials to maximise the items you want to pack.

Prices start from as little as £15 for small foldaway bag excluding our exclusive 25% discount offer and you’ll get a free foldaway rucksack with any order you make.

For full details click here and quote the code TSM to obtain your discount online or over the phone.

3. Only pack what you need – the tip here is to be ruthless. The aim is to carry as little as possible and to buy items you can find locally wherever you can. Clothing is where you can make a major hit – see note below.

4. Packing techniques – there are three main schools of thought on packing techniques for small bags: rolling everything around a central item, folding everything into squares or bundling items around each other.

5. Which clothes? - Always wear any heavy items you need such as coats, jeans, hoodies, boots, shoes and belts. Otherwise stick to the concept of the capsule wardrobe. Essentially, a small number of pieces that co-ordinate to produce multiple outfits by all working together. The longer the trip, the more creative you need to be here, however be sure you are going to need everything you pack – if not, don’t pack it in the first place. In most places you can always buy something if you really need to get an item that you left behind quickly.

All clothes should be lightweight – many companies specialise in selling items that are light, wrinkle free and easy care. This allows for less stress when unpacking a crumpled shirt or blouse and also means they can be hand washed at your hotel and worn again. If you plan to wash items at your hotel you could use a laundry service or wash them yourself – in which case take a plug with you as most hotel bathroom plugs are poor.

6. Toiletries – you need to obey the 100ml rule at present and decant items into small bottles that fit within one plastic bag for security. You can always buy items airside or on arrival. Most hotels will give you soap, shampoo etc. Ladies (and increasingly men) should try to minimise the toiletries and make up they take. Do you really need all of that? If so,  use travel size bottles or packets only or buy locally. Toiletries can weigh far more than you think.

7. Pockets – use the pockets of your clothes to take heavier items on board which you can transfer to your bag once you are on board (eg phone charger, camera, books, and toiletries). Use pockets as well for travel documents such as your passport, tickets, travel insurance, driving licence and money.

8. Phones/iPods/Laptops/Notebooks – these often start to add weight especially if you have multiple items and multiple chargers. Be smart, can you download guide books/info/entertainment/games/music etc onto one item and just take the one with you? Notebooks are smaller than laptops and if you are travelling for only a few days then you may not even need the heavier and larger items.

9. Don’t pool your hand luggage – most airlines will not allow you to pool your hand luggage allowance across a party of people, so ensure that each bag is not over the limits where a weight limit applies.

Last updated: May 23, 2013.