It is perhaps the trickiest summer on record to be a hand-luggage-only holiday traveller.
Some budget airlines are squeezing us by reducing their free carry-on allowances to dust, while others are “giving back” a few centimetres here and there.
Depending on which carrier you’re travelling with, and which tier of service you’ve purchased, your ticket might afford you a 56cm high wheelie plus a handbag, gratis, or as little as a 40cm rucksack to crush it all into. Ryanair and Wizz Air, newly, are the stingiest out there, including only a 40cm x 30cm x 20cm bag in the basic fares for all passengers, while British Airways leads on cabin bag generosity, with a 23kg limit.
Here, two frequent fliers from The Telegraph give their tips on how to pack everything you’ll need for a stylish week in the sun, whilst going hand luggage only.
Greg Dickinson, travel editor
‘I can easily fit a full week’s worth of outfits in my backpack’
I pack light. When I cycled across Cuba, aged 19, I packed two T-shirts for a month away. In my 20s, I went to Prague for a one-night getaway and took no luggage at all. Don’t ask.
Now, I am older and wiser, and yet I still put limited thought into what goes in my bag. My excuse is that I put so much effort into drawing up my family’s travel itinerary that, after sorting flights, accommodation, transfers and all the rest of it, I have little mental capacity remaining to consider the small matter of what I will be wearing.
I usually take a wardrobe stock count around 24 hours before departure, and realise everything I want to pack is in the wash basket. After putting on a hasty wash-and-dry cycle, I have little option but to pack in a rush, usually on the morning of departure, much to my partner’s dismay.
A backpack is all I need: I currently have a black waterproof roll-top. I have never owned a wheelie bag (too noisy). It would take a lot – like, a fortnight in Antarctica – for me to consider checking my North Face duffel bag into the hold. Although these days, I have even less space to play with. Now that I have a son, aged three, at least half of my carry-on capacity is taken up with toys, sticker books and snacks.
For the flight, regardless of destination, I usually wear black trousers (only one pair needed for the entire trip), a white T-shirt and either an over-shirt or a jumper, plus a pair of Vans or equivalent. In the bag, I will have an array of rolled-up T-shirts, a few shirts, two or three pairs of shorts, a pair of old sports sliders, swimmers, a cap, some sunnies (Specsavers prescription ones), plus enough boxers and socks to last the trip.
Toiletries consist of deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste – crammed loose in the bag’s front pocket alongside the plug adaptor and USB-C charger.
Despite packing fairly light, my backpack usually weighs a fair amount from the additional extras. I don’t go anywhere without my FujiFilm X100V; it takes photos with a depth that smartphones still can’t achieve. I also like to pack a notebook plus a pen (a travel writer never switches off). I’ll pack a physical guidebook, a short work of fiction or two, and a magazine. Then of course my trusty Chilly’s bottle to fill with tap water, to save on wasting dozens of plastic bottles while away. Oh, and a canvas tote bag, for days at the beach.
With all of that extra stuff added in, the bag is right on the edge of being small enough for low-cost flights’ basic bag allowance, so I will nonchalantly fling it over my shoulder at the gate to create the illusion of lightness. That’s it. The perfect travel backpack, with room to spare for the obligatory fridge magnet for the return journey.
Worn to travel in
Trainers, black trousers, white T-shirt, blue over-shirt
Greg’s packing list
- Backpack
- Tote bag
- 4 x T-shirts
- 3 x shirts
- 2 x casual shorts
- sports shorts
- Swim shorts
- Sliders
- Pyjamas
- Underwear for the week
- Cap
- Sunglasses
- Stray toiletries
- Digital camera
- Guidebook
- Book
- Magazine
Water bottle
Tamara Abraham, fashion editor
‘I choose light clothes that I know can fold to nothing’
The great thing about summer travel is that summer clothes don’t take up a great deal of space.
Since my day job requires me to dress up a bit, I like my holiday style to be low-key. No heels, and bare-minimum make-up is how I like to do downtime.
The travel outfit should do a lot of heavy lifting. If you like to work out or go hiking, wear your chosen sports shoes to travel. This saves masses of space. I wear loose white jeans, a T-shirt, a cotton knit and trainers. The knit can be worn over my shoulders if it’s hot. I use a basket bag as a handbag so it can double for the beach.
I used to travel with my wash-bag in my handbag, but now that it’s not necessary to remove it at security in some airports, it can go in the case. There’s a compartment within it for my jewellery too. Glasses and sunglasses do go in the handbag, along with a phone charger, Kindle and lip balm.
In the case itself, I use packing cubes for my lingerie, swimwear and jewellery – it makes everything easier to find, unpack and repack. Shoe dust bags also work well.
Whether I’m staying with in-laws in France, or at a smart resort in Italy or Greece, I know that my daytime go-tos are linen shirt-and-shorts sets – I have them in blue and red. I’ll wear them with bikinis for the beach, and with tank tops for exploring. They are chic, practical, lightweight and keep my arms and shoulders protected in the sun. A packable sun-hat is also non-negotiable.
This doesn’t mean I can’t dress up. Two or three silk dresses take up next to no space, don’t crease and can look very fancy when teamed with gold jewellery. A cocoon-shaped Toteme skirt looks very luxe with a ribbed tank top too.
I always take a pair of long, loose trousers in case of evening mosquitos, although, as a rule, I keep “just in case” items to a bare minimum, because it can be a slippery slope to having to check bags in the hold. A couple more black or white ribbed tank tops mean that I have myriad outfit options for day and night. This will easily do me for a week.
Remember that it’s OK to wear an outfit more than once. I love my favourite holiday clothes so much, it’s a shame not to get more wear out of them.
If you do find that your clothes get very sweaty, I appreciate that you might need to pack more, especially if you don’t fancy washing the odd piece in your hotel bathroom sink – although, honestly, it takes all of five minutes, and everything dries so fast in the sun. I always rinse chlorine and saltwater out of the family’s swimwear at the end of the day, so one or two more garments are no big deal.
One of my most reliable hacks is to buy sunscreen in duty free. I can get one bottle of SPF 50 for the whole family and be confident that we’ll get through it.
Worn to travel in
Lightweight wide-leg trousers, T-shirt, cotton knit, trainers, basket bag as handbag
Tamara’s packing list
- 2 x linen shirts and shorts sets (blue and red)
- 2 x silk dress
- 2 x tank tops
- 2 x t-shirts
- Silk skirt
- Long loose trousers
- 2 x swimwear
- Dust bag of lingerie
- Dust bag of jewellery
- 2 x flat shoes (no heels)
- Foldable hat
- Foldable evening bag
- Toiletries bag
- Sunglasses
- Evening bag