How to travel with just carry-on luggage for a month

We never check our luggage. Ever. Frankly, I just don’t trust the process and want my things with me at all times. Here are a few tips I’ve learned along the way to avoid checking my luggage – even for month long trips.

1. I have an international 4 dual spinner wheel carry on. It’s a Tumi and I love it, but I also really like Travelpro for a more affordable option. I’ve resisted the urge to transition to a hard side, but there are many nice options if that’s your preference. Four wheels are a must for easy walking.
2. My Longchamp expandable travel bag holds an incredible amount of travel gear yet still fits easily beneath the seat in front of you on the plane. I previously had a beautiful Lo & Sons travel bag that had a sleeve that went over my spinner luggage handle, but it didn’t hold nearly as much as my Longchamp, so I upgraded. I also have a Lo & Sons Catalina Deluxe in a pretty grey canvas that is equally as spacious as my Longchamp bag. A sleeve is a benefit that my Longchamp does not have, but I just slide the small handles over the spinner handle and wrap the shoulder strap through the handle to keep it in place. Alternatively, you could purchase a luggage strap to hold your bag in place. I’m guessing a luggage strap purchase is in my imminent future.
3. Travel cubes for rolling and packing all of my clothes. I use eBags, but I also like Eagle Creek. Because my husband is tall and his clothes are larger, he also has the Eagle Creek garment folder. He can fold and compress a shocking number of pants, collared shirts and long-sleeved tops in this magical product. It even comes with a lightweight folding board.
4. I collect samples of beauty products to use while on vacation. I’m kind of a Bluemercury fanatic, and whenever they have a package deal, I grab it. Bluemercury’s 2024 Celebration Edit was amazing and I’ll be using many of the small versions of products on my next trip.
5. You can find several TSA approved travel container options online for shampoo, conditioner and other liquid beauty products.
6. If you’re traveling for several weeks or a month, you may also want to consider buying products when you arrive at your destination.
7. Airtags are stowed in my spinner and Longchamp in case we ever get separated. A year ago, we were on a train and someone stole another passenger’s backpack from the bin directly above him. What a nightmare! The good news was that he had an airtag in the backpack and pictures of all of this credit cards, so he was able to alert the police, track the bag and freeze his cards. This also reminds me to recommend NOT using the luggage racks at the train door for your spinners. As much of a hassle that it might be to have them in front of you in your seat, you won’t have to worry about someone taking your bag. The spinner is also a good footrest if there’s room on the train.

Clothing, shoes, underwear and outerwear

• When selecting outfits, I only pack items that match with virtually everything else I’m bringing. To accomplish this, I stick with a pretty stringent color palette (e.g., white, cream, grey, navy and/or black).
• I layer rather than pack bulky sweaters or jeans.
• Lightweight athleisure wear can be dressed up or down and rolls up into practically nothing. Plus it doesn’t wrinkle.
• I wear my bulkiest walking shoes on the plane and pack just two other shoe options. Typically, I have one pair of tennis shoes in white or black to match everything (they even look great with a dress!) and maybe a pair of comfy sandals (think Oofos) for warm weather travel, a kitten heel sling back for dressing up and/or grey patent leather loafers or grey ballet slippers. Again, all of the shoes must look good with all of the clothing I pack for maximizing options and they must also be comfortable for long days of walking.
• Just four or five pairs of bras, undies and socks are sufficient if you have access to laundry facilities.
• I wear a raincoat or trench coat on the plane. I bought a K-Way pop over hooded rain jacket in Belgium last year that rolls up into a small package, keeps me dry and warm on a cold or rainy day, and can easily be packed in my spinner or Longchamp bag if I don’t want to wear it on the plane.
• Cloth shoe bags for my packed shoes to keep my clothes clean.
• Two or three colorful scarves help to expand your wardrobe and keep you warm if the weather turns unexpectedly chilly. If it gets too hot for wearing a scarf, I just tie it to my purse and it looks like an intentional accessory.

Other things I bring along on the trip

• My L’ange Le Volume Brush Dryer to dry and style my hair with just one tool. I used to have such short hair that I wouldn’t need to bring anything, but alas, I’ve grown it out, so here we are.
• Tru Earth (or any brand) laundry detergent – I pack as many strips as I think I’ll need in a quart size plastic bag.
• My chargers, international travel adapter, an iPad and/or laptop, Apple AirPods, wired air buds (or grab the air buds they offer when you enter the plane) for in flight movies, and cell phone.
• A light grey cashmere wrap that I bought a thousand years ago – great for a blanket on the plane and chilly nights. Quince has some very pretty and affordable options.
• An empty water container to fill after I get through security. I’m considering a collapsible version because I almost always end up leaving my Yeti at home because it’s just too bulky and it’s frustrating to buy a $5-7 bottle of water at the airport.
• Travel sizes of any makeup or other products I’ll need.
• One quart-sized storage bag for liquids and one other toiletry bag for dry items (e.g., loose powder, lipstick, anti-perspirant).
• An adjustable belt bag or small, packable cross body purse for just the essentials. I have a black lululemon everwhere belt bag that goes around my waist or over my shoulder. I honestly never thought I’d want a ‘fanny pack’, but even the kids are doing it, so it must be acceptable. Cool, even. Right?

My Longchamp holds my electronics, quart-sized liquids bag, toiletry bag, water bottle, belt bag/crossbody, wrap and one change of clothes in a small eBag storage cube (just in case I need a change of clothes in transit). Everything else goes in the spinner. This way, you’ll never need to access your spinner in flight. Who wants to lug it out of the overhead bin and awkwardly try to open it in the aisle or your seat?

Before we leave on our trip, I take a quick picture of everything we’ll need to arrive at and access our rental so I don’t have to hunt for Wifi or spend time searching for the details. This includes a snapshot of the rental address in the event we Uber or taxi from the airport or train station or at minimum use Google Maps to walk. I take a picture of my passport and I also have a paper version in my spinner’s outer pocket. I also have pics of the front and back of our credit cards in case they are stolen. I say all this not to worry you, but to prevent something from possibly ruining your trip. We have fortunately never had any theft issues, but it’s better to be safe.

One item I nearly always buy when we arrive at our destination is a lightweight canvas tote for groceries and other purchases. When we were in London, I received a free tote from a clothing store. It was in commemoration of King Charles’ inauguration. What a great memento! In Belgium, I’ve purchased two totes from our favorite Dille & Kamille and in Amsterdam our favorite hotel (Banks Mansion) provided a complimentary tote on arrival. Clearly, no one can ever have enough canvas totes! At home, we’re fortunate to live a block away from our grocery store and just three blocks from the farmers market, so three totes live inside my shopping trolley to keep things separated and contained in the trolley. Lastly, if you forget something, my husband always reminds me that our destination has stores too.

I hope you’ll give the ‘carry on only’ experiment a go on your next trip. For me, it’s a carefree way to travel.

One last tip: If you buy too much during the trip, you can always expand your spinner and check it on the way home or – and we’ve done this for gifts as well – shipping things home or to gift recipients is a fairly easy and low cost option.

Best,

Lisa