Spouse and I are taking a flight in a few days. We usually do carry-on only, but just today we decided to check our bags (we would have had to check one anyway, decided to check both).
I hate trying to cram everything into a small-ish suitcase, lugging it aboard, fighting for stowing space, worrying about retrieving it upon landing, and wrestling with it through the throng of everyone wanting to GTFU of the plane.
I just ordered a second large suitcase from Amazon (we already own one). So now we have lots of space and an easier boarding and de-boarding experience.
I will have a carry-on backpack which will contain my in-flight essentials.
I’ve gone on several 1 month trips with just a carryon and personal bag. Unless one is going skiing or carrying back large souvenirs, I don’t know how you would need more than that. A full sized carryon is a lot of space, and you get a personal bag to boot. I’ve gone on several trips of about a week with just a personal bag, though that was a bit rough, but a carryon is plenty.
I’m feeling much more sure that this will work out well. My gf usually brings 3X the clothes she ends up wearing so that she has flexibility to pick and choose. She realizes she needs to cut back. Most years I bring 3 pairs of shoes and only wear my slides.
I need to review what’s allowed in carry-on. I usually put anything questionable in my checked bag. We usually bring a license plate (my gf’s ex husband collected them) for a restaurateur friend who has them hanging in his eclectic place (GutSide, great lunches). I usually carry the plate in my checked bag.
The coat thing has always been a sore spot. My gf hates that I’d rather wear shorts, sandals, Hawaiian shirt for travel down and back. Sure it’s a trifle uncomfortable, but she is embarrassed by it.
I have never had any issues packing a week’s worth of clothes into my standard sized rolling carry-on suitcase, and have never had to skimp on bringing something or do laundry while on vacation. That includes socks and underwear for every day, plus extra; shirts for every day, plus t-shirts to wear to bed, several pairs of pants and shorts, a sweatshirt, an extra pair of shoes, and any assorted toiletry items or other small things. I usually even can end up fitting more. You just have to pack efficiently by rolling items, not stacking them flat.
And you get a personal item, such as a backpack, in addition to all that.
Get wool socks, you can easily wear a week without getting stinky. If you bring extra shoes stuff with socks and anything else which would fit.
I get small toothpaste tubes from my dentist.
Just got back from a week-long trip to Mexico and had no issue fitting 7 days’ worth of clothing into a single 22" x 14" x 9" carry-on. I also had a messenger back with other items which stowed easily into the under-seat space. I’ve not personally run into the issue of finding space in the overhead compartments, and not having to wait for checked bags at the baggage claim is always a bonus. The local airport where I used to live was infamous taking upwards of 30 minutes to get bags to the carousel. I can always count on my bag being with me too with no concern over whether or not it made the flight.
Went there the first time on the island 18 years ago. Too crowded for my tastes.
We’d rather rent kayaks and paddle over to Pinel Island. Less crowded, a FANTASTIC restaurant that serves gourmet meals without refrigeration (dozens of coolers are boated over each morning). It’s a nature preserve. About half of us remove our suits at any given time.
Or rather what’s happened is that after Spirit pioneered charging for any overhead bags, the other airlines developed a similar zero-included features fare below the lowest of their ordinary fares which include a bunch of features.
Fast forward a few months and now that crap lossleader is the fare advertised on all the aggregation websites like Expedia, etc. Makingit seem like checked bags are an extra. Rather than part of the baseline.
I ran across this crap just today pricing what I thought was ordinary coach fares on a couple non-discount airlines then was hit with the “Oh, you want the real fare with the overhead bag? Extra $50 for you sucker!”
Cutthroat commerce is its own worst enemy. And often the customers’ worst enemy too.
I almost never check baggage. Pretty much all my international travel (except for multi-day hiking trips) involve a carry on only. They key is everything you pack should have more than one purpose. Just assume you’ll be wearing the same items multiple times, perhaps with a quick rinse out between uses. Footwear is bulky so idenify your needs carefully and wear your biggest pair.
If you’re not sure if you’ll need an item, don’t bring it. I haven’t been to Sint Maarten, but we just got back from a week on TCI and we brought more than we needed, for sure. We brought a few layers for cooler evenings, never needed any of them. If you really need something like that, buy it on the island. I brought water shoes and sandals, and wore a pair of running shoes. One pair of pants, two pair of shorts, and a collection of shirts including sun shirts.
I often pack a few days before the trip, then repack, taking out a few items each time.
When Southwest is the premium, all inclusive airline, you know something has gone terribly wrong with the industry.
The thing that makes me mad, is that addition is easy. I can add up the base plus extras and figure out who is the cheapest. The part that is hard is digging through the dark patterns and footnotes to figure out what extras I actually need. Secret: when traveling with a minor, there is no point in paying to pre-select seats. They will put at least one of the adults with the child.
check the size of your carryon bag VERY carefully.
Different airlines have different sizes for the overhead compartment.
When I recently bought a new carryon suitcase, the sales clerk had a list of every airline and their allowed sizes. My airline (United) was the smallest, so I didnt buy the bag I wanted\
Female here, and I can manage to pack a carry-on (with room to spare) for a two MONTH trip. A couple of outfits, a spare pair of knickers in case, basic toiletries (most hotels provide them anyway). Wherever you’re going, you’re either going to have a local laundry close by OR a vast array of new clothes in markets to buy.
TL/DR, whenever I travel, I leave home with the barest of necessities. I hate waiting around in luggage carousels for my bag to arrive. Coming home, because I land in a smaller airport, I chuck everything into checked baggage, and my stuff is out within a few minutes.
My wife and I do this now, even if we aren’t dealing with customs.
A few years ago we went to Germany for 3 weeks, we traveled around Bavaria by train. No way we wanted to shlep a big suitcase around. So, we just hand washed stuff out every few days. Nylon undies dry faster than cotton. We also bought travel pants that the legs zip off of to turn into shorts.
Did the same thing for Hawaii, of course we didn’t need as much clothes.
Going to do Iceland, the British isles and Norway in Aug '25. We might take a checked piece of luggage on that trip. The British isles are going to be a cruise, so we don’t have to carry anything around.
Traveling light is great. I, at least, don’t care if I’m wearing the same pants for 4-5 days. Same goes for a fleece top over a tee-shirt.
I bought a pair of synthetic, quick-dry underwear with the above in mind and I have never smelled so bad. I’m sticking with merino and just suffering the extra space required.