I am a bit obsessed with packing/travel blogs. I love, LOVE those pictures of what people carry in their carry-ons when they travel carry-on only, all those well-planned capsule wardrobes for every country or season, thoughtful recommendations for (usually MUCH too expensive) baggage and luggage, the endless lists of tips and tricks to make packing and travel easier, better, smarter, stronger, faster...you get the idea!
And there are lots and LOTS of blogs about family travel and/or travel with kids, but there are very few posts that cover any NEW ground for how to travel or pack light with kids, the holy grail of travel, as far as I am concerned. Oh sure, there are posts that remind you diapers are available in foreign countries (duh), you can rent baby gear in the US and some European countries (only $10 per day for a car seat--are you kidding me?!), kids don't need to bring as much as you think (seriously, they don't), wear your heaviest clothes on the plane (check), and many, many posts about how to keep kids entertained during transit (two syllables: i-Pad), but even these kinds of posts seem to be missing something for me. So I have decided to take it upon myself to write the post I want to read, specifically 9 Tips for Carry-on Only Travel with Kids: Europe in Winter/Spring on Budget Airlines. (Why a subtitle? Because I think I might make this a regular series, so we're starting with our most recent challenge, Paris and Barcelona during April.)
--Stay in locations with a washing machine. This is absolutely my number one travel tip! Find a place with laundry facilities, preferably a machine you can use yourself on your own time, but a laundromat or even a hotel laundry service will work in a pinch, though those cost more, of course. We booked our apartments in Paris and Barcelona through AirBnb, and you can filter your results by whether or not a washer/dryer is available, which is exactly what I did. If you know you can do laundry, you can reduce the amount of clothes you have to bring significantly, for both yourself and your somehow-always-dirty kids. Then pack as few as 2-3 outfits per person no matter how long your vacation, knowing you will be able to wash as needed. And bring your own detergent from home. If space in your TSA-approved bag is at a premium, try something like these little packs of laundry soap sheets. Very light and not liquid. However, if you've got space for one more liquid, decant a little Method concentrated detergent into a spill-proof container. A little goes a very long way! Also, I always bring a travel bottle of fabric refresher like Febreze to freshen up clothes (particularly jeans) in between washings. (Don't tell anyone, but sometimes you can skip washing jeans altogether on the road if you make good use of Febreze--shhhh!) And for heaven's sake, skip the travel wardrobe capsules on Pinterest and only bring the clothes and (one pair of) shoes you will need for the activities you have planned--I have never needed a little black dress on any of my trips with the kids, full stop!
--Take quick-dry clothes as much as possible, which reduces both washing and drying times and helps in the event that you need to do washing in your sink for some reason (with kids, I advise against sink washing because it takes up too much time, but that's just me). As a bonus, quick-dry clothes tend to be much lighter than non-technical fabrics, thereby further reducing the weight of your luggage. For adults, quick-dry fabrics are available in pricey "travel wear" options, but I like to hit the athletic section of stores like Old Navy or Target instead for the same fabrics in much cheaper and often cuter options. (However, I do adore the shirts I have from Eddie Bauer's Travex line and would love to have every piece if money were no object!) Kids' quick-dry travel clothing is usually only available at a premium in high-end camping/outdoor gear retailers, but instead you can go to the activewear section of your local discount store to find sports shirts and shorts for kids that dry very quickly even though they might not be marketed as quick dry. And be creative: for our trip to Sri Lanka last year, I went to various thrift stores in Utah while we were on vacation and found brand new quick-dry shirts and shorts for the boys for pennies. And always pack swimsuits and shorts for everyone, no matter the climate. We did bring suits that the boys used on the beach in Barcelona but neglected to bring shorts and were hit with an unexpected heat wave in Paris, so we had to make a quick run to H&M for shorts--oops!
--Select carry-on luggage very, VERY carefully. Check out the carry-on dimensions on your airline's website, then pack your bags and measure them as precisely as possible. (If you are flying on more than one airline, use the most restrictive guidelines.) Traveling with only a standard sized carry-on and a "personal item" as we often do the States is really no sweat, but some budget European airlines do not allow personal items, and what constitutes the right size for hand luggage is much smaller than you are probably used to. In addition, check the weight restrictions just as carefully. 10 kgs is not a lot. And finally, practice, practice, practice. Have children take their backpacks out on the town for a day at home. Can they really manage to walk with their own luggage? Would they be better off with a rolling backpack they can pack around when necessary and otherwise roll along? (HINT: in almost all cases, the answer here is an emphatic YES!) Most importantly, in the event of total meltdown, can you manage your luggage AND theirs? Don't kid a kidder: you know those meltdowns happen, so see if you are prepared to pack your luggage as well as theirs when under duress. We ended up carrying one boy's bad each up and down stairs a lot and I was glad that I could roll their bags with mine on my back when the going got tough for one or both of them. For all these reasons, I recommend a bag with backpack straps for parents to leave hands free (with a waist belt if you are going to be doing any kind of trekking) and rolling, school-sized backpacks for children under 8 or 9 years old (preferably the cheapest kind of character backpacks because they are SO much lighter than the more expensive varieties). Older children can use a regular backpack without wheels as well, but keep the contents to 10-15% of their body weight or under the airline weight limit, whichever is less.
--Limit bags to no more than one per person, preferably even fewer if possible. Anytime I have more than one bag or one purse for myself, I always forget something crucial (like the food/snack bag). At home, this is annoying; on a trip, this can be the difference between a successful day and a horrible one! So limit everyone to just one bag. Then pack collapsible shopping bags or travel day packs or purses or whatever you like to carry on your day trips in that bag, to be used while your luggage stays safely stowed at your hotel or apartment. The fewer bags you have, the more quickly and easily you can move when you're in a hurry, the faster you get through customs and immigration, the less likely you are to lose any of your luggage, and the happier you are in the long run! We ended up with 5 bags, 4 backpacks and a cross-body satchel for snacks and passports, etc. which meant we didn't need to check anything, ever! Huzzah!
--Start packing early. While I simply cannot understand it, I know some people (the husband included) like to pack the night before. I am not one of those people, particularly when traveling with children. I prefer the long-term gathering method, in which I put everything I think I might need, as soon as I remember it, in a big pile in some out-of-the-way corner over a period of weeks. I will most likely not bring all these things, but if they are all in one central location, my actual packing, which I start at least a week in advance, is much easier. I also never, EVER pack without a list. A list helps me to stay organized, which is sanity-saving, but when packing light with kids, a list also helps me avoid any overpacking, which is crucial. There are packing lists available all over the web, but be sure to use these with caution (most are definitely NOT designed for traveling light) and customize them to fit your needs and those of your children. Cut out as many non-essentials as possible to streamline both your list and your packing so you can get everyone down to just one bag, your ultimate goal.
--Bring a light-blocking curtain panel, some binder clips, and duct tape. Wait, what? Didn't I just say to cut out non-essentials? Am I serious? Completely! Of all the things with which I travel, a light-blocking curtain panel has been indispensable, particularly in Europe, where it stays light for so very long. My children do not need total darkness to sleep anymore (thank goodness), but they also can't get to sleep very easily when it isn't even close to dark yet. In some areas, like Barcelona, we do alter our schedules a bit to account for the later nights, but generally we try to stay as close to our normal sleeping and waking times as possible, particularly on school breaks lasting only a week, to make transitioning back into school easier. Enter the light-blocking curtain, which can help simulate evening light in a very bright bedroom. Use the binder clips to attach the panel to an existing (almost always too sheer) curtain. Alternatively, use the duct tape to attach the panel to a door or window frame. (HINT: affixing tape to the upper ledge of door or window frames means that if any paint happens to come off, no one will see it. And duct tape can also be used to repair luggage, clothing, and shoes in an emergency.) Sigh in relief as your children drift off to sleep in relative darkness.
--Pack a poor man's noisemaker. Years ago, we used to shlep around a machine that was supposed to be used in spas that contained the sounds of rushing water or crashing waves or what-have-you. In fact, we still have one of those at my in-laws house that we use every summer. However, when traveling internationally and when traveling light, those kinds of machines take up too much precious space and often simply don't work (we burned one out on our first overseas trip with J when he was a one year old). Enter the lowly battery-operated clock radio. We have a tiny clock radio that's about the size of a deck of cards that we bring with us everywhere. We tune it to a station that's nothing but static and voila! Instant white noise! Not only does it help the kids fall and stay asleep, it helps us all to stay happily in one hotel room when we have to, because we are less likely to wake up the boys accidentally. In both our apartments this trip, we were serenaded one night at bedtime by pianos somewhere in the building. I just turned up the static, and they went right to sleep undisturbed. And, in all honesty, after listening to noisemakers for more than seven years now, they help me fall asleep, too! Everybody wins!
--And for heaven's sake, don't forget where you packed the ziplock bags you prudently remember to bring on every. Single. Trip! (Not that that has happened to anyone I know recently or anything....)
--Invest in a scarf with a secret pocket like this one or these. These are a GENIUS invention: if you get the right fabric (mine is textured black), the zipper is completely hidden and pickpocket-proof. You can carry passports, travel cards, cell phones, wallets, whatever you want in there. We left our passports at the apartment but I carried my wallet, the husband's wallet, and my cell phone every day perfectly securely. The husband even almost got roped into a street interview pickpocket scam but I wasn't worried that we would lose anything because he had absolutely nothing in his pockets, and no one would have guessed where we were carrying all our valuables.
And there are lots and LOTS of blogs about family travel and/or travel with kids, but there are very few posts that cover any NEW ground for how to travel or pack light with kids, the holy grail of travel, as far as I am concerned. Oh sure, there are posts that remind you diapers are available in foreign countries (duh), you can rent baby gear in the US and some European countries (only $10 per day for a car seat--are you kidding me?!), kids don't need to bring as much as you think (seriously, they don't), wear your heaviest clothes on the plane (check), and many, many posts about how to keep kids entertained during transit (two syllables: i-Pad), but even these kinds of posts seem to be missing something for me. So I have decided to take it upon myself to write the post I want to read, specifically 9 Tips for Carry-on Only Travel with Kids: Europe in Winter/Spring on Budget Airlines. (Why a subtitle? Because I think I might make this a regular series, so we're starting with our most recent challenge, Paris and Barcelona during April.)
--Stay in locations with a washing machine. This is absolutely my number one travel tip! Find a place with laundry facilities, preferably a machine you can use yourself on your own time, but a laundromat or even a hotel laundry service will work in a pinch, though those cost more, of course. We booked our apartments in Paris and Barcelona through AirBnb, and you can filter your results by whether or not a washer/dryer is available, which is exactly what I did. If you know you can do laundry, you can reduce the amount of clothes you have to bring significantly, for both yourself and your somehow-always-dirty kids. Then pack as few as 2-3 outfits per person no matter how long your vacation, knowing you will be able to wash as needed. And bring your own detergent from home. If space in your TSA-approved bag is at a premium, try something like these little packs of laundry soap sheets. Very light and not liquid. However, if you've got space for one more liquid, decant a little Method concentrated detergent into a spill-proof container. A little goes a very long way! Also, I always bring a travel bottle of fabric refresher like Febreze to freshen up clothes (particularly jeans) in between washings. (Don't tell anyone, but sometimes you can skip washing jeans altogether on the road if you make good use of Febreze--shhhh!) And for heaven's sake, skip the travel wardrobe capsules on Pinterest and only bring the clothes and (one pair of) shoes you will need for the activities you have planned--I have never needed a little black dress on any of my trips with the kids, full stop!
--Take quick-dry clothes as much as possible, which reduces both washing and drying times and helps in the event that you need to do washing in your sink for some reason (with kids, I advise against sink washing because it takes up too much time, but that's just me). As a bonus, quick-dry clothes tend to be much lighter than non-technical fabrics, thereby further reducing the weight of your luggage. For adults, quick-dry fabrics are available in pricey "travel wear" options, but I like to hit the athletic section of stores like Old Navy or Target instead for the same fabrics in much cheaper and often cuter options. (However, I do adore the shirts I have from Eddie Bauer's Travex line and would love to have every piece if money were no object!) Kids' quick-dry travel clothing is usually only available at a premium in high-end camping/outdoor gear retailers, but instead you can go to the activewear section of your local discount store to find sports shirts and shorts for kids that dry very quickly even though they might not be marketed as quick dry. And be creative: for our trip to Sri Lanka last year, I went to various thrift stores in Utah while we were on vacation and found brand new quick-dry shirts and shorts for the boys for pennies. And always pack swimsuits and shorts for everyone, no matter the climate. We did bring suits that the boys used on the beach in Barcelona but neglected to bring shorts and were hit with an unexpected heat wave in Paris, so we had to make a quick run to H&M for shorts--oops!
--Select carry-on luggage very, VERY carefully. Check out the carry-on dimensions on your airline's website, then pack your bags and measure them as precisely as possible. (If you are flying on more than one airline, use the most restrictive guidelines.) Traveling with only a standard sized carry-on and a "personal item" as we often do the States is really no sweat, but some budget European airlines do not allow personal items, and what constitutes the right size for hand luggage is much smaller than you are probably used to. In addition, check the weight restrictions just as carefully. 10 kgs is not a lot. And finally, practice, practice, practice. Have children take their backpacks out on the town for a day at home. Can they really manage to walk with their own luggage? Would they be better off with a rolling backpack they can pack around when necessary and otherwise roll along? (HINT: in almost all cases, the answer here is an emphatic YES!) Most importantly, in the event of total meltdown, can you manage your luggage AND theirs? Don't kid a kidder: you know those meltdowns happen, so see if you are prepared to pack your luggage as well as theirs when under duress. We ended up carrying one boy's bad each up and down stairs a lot and I was glad that I could roll their bags with mine on my back when the going got tough for one or both of them. For all these reasons, I recommend a bag with backpack straps for parents to leave hands free (with a waist belt if you are going to be doing any kind of trekking) and rolling, school-sized backpacks for children under 8 or 9 years old (preferably the cheapest kind of character backpacks because they are SO much lighter than the more expensive varieties). Older children can use a regular backpack without wheels as well, but keep the contents to 10-15% of their body weight or under the airline weight limit, whichever is less.
| The husband's bag this time around was the Stash Duffle by Gregory, which can be worn as a backpack or carried as a duffle and cinched vertically to be made much smaller. However, it proved not to be as comfortable as my backpack, which was a huge bummer, and makes it lot less useful in the end. |
 |
| My bag was an older model, the Airporter by Guerrilla, which I use without the pictured detachable daypack when I am traveling light. I LOVE this pack! |
--Limit bags to no more than one per person, preferably even fewer if possible. Anytime I have more than one bag or one purse for myself, I always forget something crucial (like the food/snack bag). At home, this is annoying; on a trip, this can be the difference between a successful day and a horrible one! So limit everyone to just one bag. Then pack collapsible shopping bags or travel day packs or purses or whatever you like to carry on your day trips in that bag, to be used while your luggage stays safely stowed at your hotel or apartment. The fewer bags you have, the more quickly and easily you can move when you're in a hurry, the faster you get through customs and immigration, the less likely you are to lose any of your luggage, and the happier you are in the long run! We ended up with 5 bags, 4 backpacks and a cross-body satchel for snacks and passports, etc. which meant we didn't need to check anything, ever! Huzzah!
--Start packing early. While I simply cannot understand it, I know some people (the husband included) like to pack the night before. I am not one of those people, particularly when traveling with children. I prefer the long-term gathering method, in which I put everything I think I might need, as soon as I remember it, in a big pile in some out-of-the-way corner over a period of weeks. I will most likely not bring all these things, but if they are all in one central location, my actual packing, which I start at least a week in advance, is much easier. I also never, EVER pack without a list. A list helps me to stay organized, which is sanity-saving, but when packing light with kids, a list also helps me avoid any overpacking, which is crucial. There are packing lists available all over the web, but be sure to use these with caution (most are definitely NOT designed for traveling light) and customize them to fit your needs and those of your children. Cut out as many non-essentials as possible to streamline both your list and your packing so you can get everyone down to just one bag, your ultimate goal.
--Bring a light-blocking curtain panel, some binder clips, and duct tape. Wait, what? Didn't I just say to cut out non-essentials? Am I serious? Completely! Of all the things with which I travel, a light-blocking curtain panel has been indispensable, particularly in Europe, where it stays light for so very long. My children do not need total darkness to sleep anymore (thank goodness), but they also can't get to sleep very easily when it isn't even close to dark yet. In some areas, like Barcelona, we do alter our schedules a bit to account for the later nights, but generally we try to stay as close to our normal sleeping and waking times as possible, particularly on school breaks lasting only a week, to make transitioning back into school easier. Enter the light-blocking curtain, which can help simulate evening light in a very bright bedroom. Use the binder clips to attach the panel to an existing (almost always too sheer) curtain. Alternatively, use the duct tape to attach the panel to a door or window frame. (HINT: affixing tape to the upper ledge of door or window frames means that if any paint happens to come off, no one will see it. And duct tape can also be used to repair luggage, clothing, and shoes in an emergency.) Sigh in relief as your children drift off to sleep in relative darkness.
--Pack a poor man's noisemaker. Years ago, we used to shlep around a machine that was supposed to be used in spas that contained the sounds of rushing water or crashing waves or what-have-you. In fact, we still have one of those at my in-laws house that we use every summer. However, when traveling internationally and when traveling light, those kinds of machines take up too much precious space and often simply don't work (we burned one out on our first overseas trip with J when he was a one year old). Enter the lowly battery-operated clock radio. We have a tiny clock radio that's about the size of a deck of cards that we bring with us everywhere. We tune it to a station that's nothing but static and voila! Instant white noise! Not only does it help the kids fall and stay asleep, it helps us all to stay happily in one hotel room when we have to, because we are less likely to wake up the boys accidentally. In both our apartments this trip, we were serenaded one night at bedtime by pianos somewhere in the building. I just turned up the static, and they went right to sleep undisturbed. And, in all honesty, after listening to noisemakers for more than seven years now, they help me fall asleep, too! Everybody wins!
--And for heaven's sake, don't forget where you packed the ziplock bags you prudently remember to bring on every. Single. Trip! (Not that that has happened to anyone I know recently or anything....)
--Invest in a scarf with a secret pocket like this one or these. These are a GENIUS invention: if you get the right fabric (mine is textured black), the zipper is completely hidden and pickpocket-proof. You can carry passports, travel cards, cell phones, wallets, whatever you want in there. We left our passports at the apartment but I carried my wallet, the husband's wallet, and my cell phone every day perfectly securely. The husband even almost got roped into a street interview pickpocket scam but I wasn't worried that we would lose anything because he had absolutely nothing in his pockets, and no one would have guessed where we were carrying all our valuables.
 |
| It's hard to get a good picture of my scarf because so many of my shirts were black, but I wore it every single day! |
Awesome tips! AND a VERY attractive family. :)
ReplyDelete