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Flying for the first time hand luggage only. 1 whole week. Long haul. Alone. Well for those that know me, know that this was a boarder line miracle. For those that don’t know me. Rest assured. Until this point hand luggage only scared the hell out of me. But you can make it work and here’s how.
I flew British Airways and American Airlines, they both have a pretty generous hand luggage allowance and I saved over £150 by taking hand luggage only.
The bag.
First of all, find the right case for you. I chose a Roxy 30 litre wheeled bag. It came with 2 compartments and a front laptop zipped area. Also important for me was that it was light weight, I need to be able to lift the bag myself above my head.
Packing Cubes.
Oh my swear by these, they’re honestly a game changer and were less than £10 from Amazon. They make everything so much tidier and better laid out in the case.
Liquids.
This was the most challenging section for me. Decanting shampoo into little bottles along with my makeup. I still managed to over pack and had to remove some hand cream in security.
Clothing.
This is the tricky bit. And honestly I over packed. So for 7 days what do you need?
7 Pairs of underwear (Even though my mum always taught to pack extra ‘just in case’)
3 Bras (black, white and a ‘comfy travel bra’)
2 Pairs of tights
1 Swim Suit
2 Jeans
2 Jumpers
2 Dresses (Going out and a day dress)
1 Skirt
3-4 Tops
2 Pairs of Shoes (1 trainers or comfy shoes and 1 pair fancier)
1 Large scarf
I travelled in a pair of trainers, jeans and a big jumper. I also always travel with a big scarf. You can use it on the plane if its cold, use it as a blanket or just as a fancy scarf.
Electronics.
Hotels these days have hair dyers so I didn’t take mine. So thats an easy one to omit, however I squeezed in a few other items. (A woman in security did unpack her kettle and I did think that was commitment to Tea)
1 Straighteners
1 Laptop and charger
1 Camera and charger
1 Kindle
1 Phone charging cable etc
1 Set of headphones
Miscellaneous.
All necessary medication (with a copy of your prescription)
Notebook and Pen
Sunglasses
Hairbrush and bobbles etc
Currency
So there you have it. A list of sorts to what you should pack for a week away using hand luggage only. It is 100% do able unless you are off somewhere really off the beaten track you can pick up items on your travels.
