Seasoned Travelers Use Carry On Luggage
Savvy road warriors are well aware that bringing along only carry-on bags, and traveling light can often be the difference between the trips failure or success. Likewise, doing so can result in a pleasurable vacation or one that’s ruined.
The statistical probability of the things you need and count on, becoming damaged, stolen or even lost completely, is incredibly high when you check bags, so if you’ve got to have it upon reaching your destination, don’t check it, carry it with you.
Even if your bags end up getting to the place they should be you can save loads of time and circumvent hassles by not standing in line at ticket counters or kiosks, nor especially later at baggage claim. You can take your time getting to the airport, you escape it sooner, and best of all, you’re first in line at the taxi stand or rental car counter.
However, actually receiving your bags in the condition in which you parted with them means not only do a whole bunch of things have to happen right, but those things are the responsibility of low-wage agents and handlers, who in conjunction with luggage eating conveyer systems, may or may not choose to treat your bags with care, not rifle through them stealing any of the contents, or even bother getting them on the right plane.
I may be skeptical but that seems like a fairly lofty expectation. Past experiences, astute observation of the process, travel packing tips from seasoned travelers, plus their horror stories, thoroughly show that checking luggage is nothing short of risky. It’s far better to rely only on carry-on luggage.
So how do you succeed at packing light and still have everything you need? Take a look at some proven travel packing tips.
First realize you’re not trying to replicate your closet or bathroom upon reaching your destination. We just don’t need all the stuff we think we do – not really. At home we tend to spread out, adding more and more to an ever increasing clutter.
Stop and think through what it is you will be doing on this trip and where. Mentally walk through each day and visualize your activities. Consider the climate and customs, along with the company you’ll be in. If you can picture this, it will tell you just what to pack. And even if some item or another ends up left behind – it won’t be the end of the world, and if it can’t be done without, it can likely be obtained locally.
Next, lay out everything you’ve visualized using, and pack it. If it won’t all fit in a carry-on then thin out your clothes by making choices that can be worn for more than one type occasion. Remember also, that things can be laundered or even sent out for cleaning while on your trip.
For those who find it hard to visualize without a starting point, go ahead and lay out everything you think you might need, then use it to help do the visualizing. As with the first approach, eliminate the excess until it fits in a carry-on.
Few people will bother to go through this sort of thought process and inevitably they pack all kinds of junk they don’t use. They rationalize they’ll be prepared for any contingency, but the opposite is true.
Without any thought behind it, they have only the illusion of preparedness. On top of that, it’s ironic how pursuing such a shotgun approach still leaves out something important.