6 tips for travelling with hand luggage only

Planning to book a quick last-minute to the sun, huh? Absolutely right! And if you're about to book, you'll probably notice that nowadays almost every airline (within Europe already) asks an extra fee to transport your luggage. And if you only go out for a week, do you actually need that much? We would like to disprove the stereotypical image that traveling with (small) kids means you have to take half of your household. We often only travel with hand luggage and these are the things we have learned. And guess what: it’s not that hard!

KIDS ARE ENTITLED TO THE SAME AMOUNT OF HAND LUGGAGE AS THEIR PARENTS

An item of hand luggage is with most airlines a bag of max. 10 kg and max. 55x40x20 (to be sure check this link) A standard trolley usually meets the requirements. 10 kilos per person, that means 40 kilos of luggage for a family consisting of two parents and two kids! A bit of logical thinking and an organizational brain gets its travel stuff divided over four items of hand luggage, I guess. Don't think one trolley/person, but collect everyone's luggage and start filling these suitcases in a structured way. Bet there's space left? Attention: Ryanair recently changed his policy and charges an extra fee to carry your hand luggage. Keep this in mind before you book your tickets. More info about their policies can be found here.

YOU PROBABLY DON'T TRAVEL TO THE END OF THE WORLD

There's a very good chance there's civilization where you're headed. That means also a local supermarket or at least a convenience store where you can find diapers for the youngest. But also toys are such a substitute item. So when it comes to toys, limit yourself to the essentials during the flight. By the way, our children loved it when they could choose a toy on the spot. Because what is new is always better ;-)

PAY ATTENTION TO THE LIQUIDS

Crossing the entire airport with four trolleys is not always comfortable. What we usually do is check in our hand luggage as regular luggage and just put them on the conveyor belt so that we only have one trolley left for the cabin. If that's not the case (or you'd rather have your luggage close to you) it's best to pay attention to the liquids you're carrying. This can be anything, but most of the time these things are in your toilet bag. Sunscreen, toothpaste, gel... Make sure that the containers do not exceed the allowed limit of 100ml/bottle (because it will be affected!) The maximum amount of liquids per hand luggage is set at 1 litre. For those who can calculate well, this means 10 bottles of max. 100 ml. And that with my fictitious family times 4! We can go on with that for a while! 

A TROLLEY IS BIGGER THAN YOU THINK.

You still don't like it? Well, just try it. I am always amazed how much junk (or valuable items ;-)) you get in a trolley. You'll be amazed. A quick course 'where do I put everything' can also help. For example, we put stockings or rolled underpants in our shoes. Or in other words: any place where there is air, means the potential of filling up! A hat? Stuff it with pyjamas. The effect is twofold: your hat stays intact (with a pyjama in it you can't deform it) and you save so much space! Winner!

COUNT!

Ok, moms. I get it. We'd like to have a choice of what we're going to wear on holiday. I've also passed the stage where I can't know what I want to wear tomorrow, can I?! Enter the necessary drama of course. Well, fellow moms, they're just facts. Push on and take the time to think about what you (and the offspring) will do on which day. Think about the fact that you might spend most days on the beach. And they won't do that in a twopiece, will they? So... Think logically and you know perfectly well how many underpants, t-shirts or hats you're gonna need. It'll save you a lot of space.

LARGE HANDBAG

You didn't get everything stuffed away in the end, did you? Don't worry, you can bring a handbag on top of the hand luggage.