Last summer, when my family traveled to France and Switzerland, we packed two large suitcases. I thought we were doing well to just have two suitcases for the five of us. They were big, so we had to check them for our flights.
Thankfully, our flights were nonstop, and we didn’t lose either of our suitcases. However, those big heavy suitcases were a pain to lug up the stairs on trains. Plus, our condo rental in Switzerland had lots of stairs, so that was a pain with those suitcases as well.
But since that trip, we’ve heard of too many horror stories of travelers losing checked bags in Europe. My brother’s family traveled to Europe, and their suitcases were lost for 6 weeks. Two families that we know of on our recent European cruise also lost their checked luggage. They all had to scramble to buy some clothes before the cruise departed, in a foreign country that doesn’t have Walmarts or huge malls like we’re used to.
On this summer’s European trip, we had 4 small carry-on bags and one medium-size checked bag. We only put non-essentials in the checked bag, stuff we knew we could easily buy or replace in Europe. Thankfully, we didn’t have any issues, even with flight connections. But, we realized how much easier it is to travel on trains and boats with less luggage.
I’ve never been that person who says “I only take a carry-on.”. But now, at least for our Europe trips, I’m switching to Team Carry-on. As travel guru Rick Steves says, “There are two kinds of travelers: those who packed light and those who wished they packed light.”
My family has two trips to Europe planned next year, and we will only be taking carry-ons. For our first trip, we’re spending the majority of our time at an airbnb with a washer/dryer. So, that makes it really easy.
The second trip will be a bit trickier with just carry-ons. We will be gone two weeks, and we will be in both cold and hot weather. I plan to pre-pay for laundry on the cruise ship and wash some clothes by hand if necessary.
Have you had a bad experience with lost checked luggage? Do you try to stick to carry-ons?
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
Ideally, no check bags. Trips are typically short (7 days) so mostly able to fit clothes in carry on.
I was introduced to this product that might be of interest: Scrubba Portable Wash Bag. Here is the Amazon link https://www amazon com/Scrubba-Wash-Bag-Portable-Backpacking/dp/B01N68XF0O/
I haven’t tried it but looks interesting.
@Rob Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll check it out.
As a family of five who just returned from two weeks in Europe split between Barcelona and Switzerland and went carry-on only… I can’t imagine doing it any other way.
The ease of getting around in airports, trains, etc, was so freeing. We spent 90 minutes at a laundromat the morning of our last day in Spain, and had the hotel wash our one pair of pants and one sweatshirt (for each of us) in Switzerland, as visiting the Alps is very much a “dress in layers” type of touring. We also did a very small amount of hand washing in the room. But that was mostly due to getting our bags under Swiss’ carry on weight limit than space in the bag (they did check our bag size, but not the weight).
Another kernel of wisdom from Rick Steves on this subject: “with only one bag, you’re mobile and in control.”
@projectx You’re back! I’d love to hear how your trip went. Drop me an email when you get a chance.
We were forced to check-in an overweight hard shell carry-on on LHR because Iberia checked the weight on the gate, while our soft carry-on heavier bags made it to the overhead bins. That was new to us that the airline differentiates on the type of carry on bags. We bring collapsible backpack for daily use and supermarket run. Always mindful of the space restriction while buying souvenir. On the last trip, every AirBnB we stayed not providing enough toiletries, so buying soap and shampoo was necessary. We have our share of bags getting delayed, especially after Australia fiasco when we checked all bags on a whim, because it’s free, without taking out battery charger, resulting on Qantas almost cancelling our flight because we lied to the government. We learn and keep traveling!
We do carry-ons only (with an empty duffle bag) for to our destination, and check-in some bags (including a full duffle) for returning home. Our rationale being we do not want to worry while on vacation, but at home there is plenty of extras while waiting for lost luggage.
On a recent cruise last year, we did handwash our clothes every night and hung them around our cabin. This actually helped with the humidity in our room so it was not as dry.
The biggest problem I’ve run into on 1 week+ trips is that if you don’t bring checked bags you can’t bring back almost anything in souvenirs. There’s also the laundry aspect for us non-Airbnb types. Airtags help a lot, as do packing cubes with a day or two in clothes in our carryons.
@Christian Good point. I’m more comfortable checking a bag on the way home. On our most recent trip, I purchased a tote bag for souvenirs and carried that on the plane instead of my small suitcase.
For most of my trips I am carry on only, especially to Europe. I always find local laundromats near where I am staying and wash early in the morning. I wash socks and underwear in the sink daily. Usually only need to go to the laundromat once every 7-8 days. I’d rather deal with the hassle of going to a laundromat rather than deal with the hassle and expense of not getting my lugage and having to buy new clothes, file claims, get my trip disrupted, and experience unnecessary stress and expense.
@Jason S Wow, washing clothes daily! I applaud you. Next year I’m going to find a laundromat in Amsterdam because I’m using hotel points instead of an airbnb.
I almost exclusively do carryon, even for multi week trips. I’ve accumulated enough lightweight packable clothes that it isn’t very hard anymore. Warm weather trips are of course easier but, I managed 8 days in Iceland with a bag that fit under my seat. I was once forced to check my bags on an inter European flight and the bag went missing a few days. After that trip I downsized to a 30 liter backpack. Just got back from a European cruise and had no problem packing for it and had a few pairs of shoes and a couple of nice dresses. Did my own laundry on the last day. I love not waiting for bags and being able to maneuver easy, more than once I’ve had to keep my bag on my lap on public transportation. Our train was absolutely packed coming from Dover last month and I was thankful for my small bag.
I did check a bag last year when I was backpacking in France, had to pack camping gear, and I’ll admit it was nice not lugging around my bag In the airport.
@Kim 8 days in Iceland with just a carry-on? Impressive!
If you can get by with wearing one pair of shoes, it’s easier to travel light. I sometimes travel with 2 pairs (wearing one). Lack of business dinners also helps.
I once tried bring old clothes with rips so I could throw them away but that’s not practical. Bringing just old socks and underwear and tossing them doesn’t save much space.
@Derek So true about the shoes. Last summer we only brought one pair of shoes to Europe and we wished we had hiking boots in Switzerland. But those would have taken up so much room.
I can’t do carry-on only for cruises. Not possible for us. We did lose 2 of our checked bags last year connecting from Heathrow to Munich but I had AirTags on them so they were easily found and delivered to my hotel at the wee hours of the night. Of course I also have a carry-on with clothes for 3 days in case. I also split our clothes on checked bags in case one gets lost. But of course in our trip last year, I didn’t dream of losing both! I just pack too much stuff – no way I’ll survive in carry-ons only. Although you’re right, we had hard time finding a place to put our large suitcase during our Italy trip this past May during our train ride from Rome to Venice. That’s never happened before on previous Europe trips but I guess everyone is traveling!!!
@Liz Everyone is going to Italy this year! My Facebook feed is full of friends visiting Italy, it’s crazy! Carry-ons are hard for a cruise, but for our recent Europe cruise we decided to skip the formal nights, which cut down on a lot of clothes to pack.
I’m split. Traveling solo, it’s carry-on only. Always.
With kids, I’ve joined the checked bag team. It was so much easier the past two trips with my sons to have just backpacks. For most trips, this means one checked bag that I need to wrangle. But my younger son has opted to check his carry-on size suitcase.
As they get older, in another 2-3 years I’m thinking, we’ll hopefully switch back to carry-ons only. I hate waiting for luggage, especially late at night, which has been the case the last couple trips.
@Ian Yes, with young kids it’s hard to just have carry-ons. I also hate waiting for luggage.
Does that mean you buy every liquid >100ml at your destination rather than bringing it with you?