Posts Tagged ‘Smart Travel’

It’s a general rule that people want to avoid checking bags when they fly at all costs. It was bad enough before when you simply feared that your bag wouldn’t show up at the other end, but now that the airlines make you pay for the privilege, it becomes even more important to find a better way to get your stuff to your destination.

The easiest thing to do is get married on a beach. Then you only need to bring a swimsuit. Problem solved. (I tried this one on my wife for our honeymoon, but it didn’t exactly go over very well.) The reality is that you can find a way to pack smart, and that means you can get things to fit in a carry-on bag.

First of all, how big can that carry-on be? Most of the big guys in the US have standardized around 45 linear inches total (length x width x height). But some low cost carriers will let you bring more. Frontier allows 49 inches. Southwest, Virgin America, and JetBlue’s Embraer 190 aircraft allow 50 inches. AirTran allows 55 inches, and JetBlue’s larger A320 aircraft allow 56 inches. So pick your airline wisely.

Now you’ve got your bag, but you still need to fit everything in there. You can use an old flight attendant trick and roll your clothes instead of folding them. You’ll fit more in your bag that way. But what really takes up the most room? Toiletries and shoes.

Again, I go back to the beach idea. Flip flops are a lot smaller than hiking boots . . . . I find, however, that toiletries are usually the downfall of most wannabe carry-on travelers. That dreaded 3 ounce liquid rule kills most dreams of carrying on. Just remember, anything that you don’t have in a 3 ounce size can usually be dumped into a smaller bottle that will fit. And if it can’t, it’s safe to say that you’ll be able to buy what you need when you arrive. If that’s really not possible, then you can always stick the offending items in a box and ship it ahead. That will still end up being cheaper than paying to check a bag anyway.

I understand that for men, this is a lot easier. I brought a duffel bag on my two week honeymoon in Tahiti while my wife had a huge, honking checked bag full of, well, shoes and toiletries I think. Most people won’t be able to carry on for a trip that long, but for shorter trips, these tricks should help.

Let me be clear about one thing. I am not a wedding guy. Don’t get me wrong – I’m thrilled to be guest blogging here, because I know how closely weddings and travel are tied together. See, I was married just about a year ago, and there was a ton of travel involved.

My wife and I live in sunny Southern California, a beautiful place for an October wedding. But of course, we decided to go elsewhere. Our decision to get married in the Napa Valley meant there were countless planning trips to find the venue and nail down the details. It was fantastic, but it ended up being a fair bit of work.

Then we had to find hotels for our guests (not a cheap thing in wine country during the crush, I might add) and help them fly in from places as far away as London. It took a look of work, but of course, it was worth it. Coordinating travel must be brutal for those of you who don’t live it and love it. (I’ll just guess most of you don’t consider yourselves to be an airline dork like I do.)

Planning becomes even more difficult if you’re putting together a wedding off the beaten path. Maybe a surfing wedding in Chile? How about a volunteering wedding in the jungles of Africa? They all have one thing in common. You have to get there.

So I’ll be writing here every couple of weeks to try and demystify the entire travel planning experience around weddings. I’ll post tips and tricks, deals, and more. Of course, not all travel planning is painful. There’s always the best part of the wedding to plan as far as I’m concerned . . . the honeymoon.

I’ll cover all these things and more over the next few months. If you have questions or suggested topics for me, you can always email me at cf@crankyflier.com or come visit me on my site, The Cranky Flier.