All In Your Hands

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Budget airlines and low cost fares have made travel much more accessible. There was a time, not so long ago, when the cost of air travel was so expensive that only the well-off, or those able to save, were able to jet off to destinations that couldn’t be reached by car. Luckily, nowadays we can head off on a jaunt to a European city, or a beach break on the Med for often less than the cost of a holiday in the UK!

Whilst air travel costs are now lower, I’ve recently found that the cost of adding on baggage bumps up the price considerably. It’s important to note that the price you see on searching for bargain flights, is often not the price you will end up paying. Add on baggage, occasionally insurance (although I’d certainly be arranging that myself!), taxes, check-in fees, and the cost goes from ‘ooh that’s cheap’, to ‘ooh that’s not so good’.

It’s through many of these occurrences I decided to try travelling on the light side, and foregoing expensive baggage fees. Now, I am a girl that generally doesn’t know how to travel light, so this was somewhat of a challenge, but it was surprisingly easy once I got my head around it!

Hand luggage allowance is generally free, and although the weight restriction and size varies from airline to airline, there are several companies offering a little more in the way of cabin luggage. Monarch, Jet 2 and Easy Jet all offer more than the standard 5kg allowances with the likes of Thomas Cook and Thomson. I recently travelled with Turkish Airlines, and was offered 8kg hand luggage, and then Monarch and Jet 2 came in at 10kg. It doesn’t sound a lot, but if you’re willing to buy your toiletries at the airport, it is possible to cram a week’s worth of clothes and accessories into a 10kg case. Surprising, but true!

This challenge turned out to be a difficult one in terms of what to take, but once I cracked it, it saved me around £40, not to mention time as I didn’t have to wait for my case at the packed carousel – straight onto my transfer, and onto my destination!

Whilst we’re on the subject of saving money through baggage, let’s look at saving even more money, meaning more to spend whilst you’re in resort, or even at duty free, which is certainly one of my favourite perks.

Getting to the airport can often be a costly business, especially if you’re booking taxis, trains and coaches, not to mention the inconvenience of it all. The last time I took a coach to the airport it took five hours, when the airport is literally a two hour drive away. It’s through this I decided to pre-book Luton Airport parking for my holiday last year, and since then I’ve been hooked. The cost was lower, the service was fantastic, and I was chilled-out and raring to go by the time I arrived at the airport. I would highly recommend this service for anyone who is able to drive, and no matter where you’re flying from, you’ll find a service to suit. I’ve also used Stansted parking in the past, whilst taking advantage of a very cheap flight from the capital, and again, I can’t rave enough about it.

A little packing planning and a few sneaky extras can mean a considerable amount of money saved on your holiday. Consider it a challenge – see how much you can cram into 10kg!

Choose The Right Number And Type of Luggage For Your Travel

There are several factors to consider when choosing the right luggage for your travel and how many you should take.  Not all countries will have the same baggage size restriction as the US does. It pays to be aware of them too so you can take that into consideration when you choose your luggage and decide how many you will take.

My family and I have been traveling for more than a decade since we became employed in the airline industry. We actually have several luggages at home. I know, how can one have too many luggages. Well, to be honest, we have 2 hard cases and 3 soft ones and because there is 3 of us traveling, having 5 luggages in possession is reasonable. Why you might ask, here's why and some other tips to consider to choose the right luggage for your travel.

Decide on the number of bag you will carry according to the weight restriction and duration of your trip

That is why we have 5 but we don't all use them in one go. We only take a maximum of 3 checked ins and 1 hand carry (usually the hard case stroller to put our gadgets in) when traveling to Asia and Europe. However, it is a different in the US. If we know we are going to shop and not go to other states, we carry the usual allocation of 2 pieces of luggages. In this case, we take 1 hard case luggage for check in and the rest soft ones.

Consider the weight you are willing to spare for a hard case versus the soft one

If you are like me who loves to shop overseas, then consider carrying a soft case because you can spare the extra weight for your purchases. Do carry a small hard case trolley for any breakables you will buy to protect your fragile purchased goods.

Note how many of you are traveling

If it is just you then stick with the airline restrictions in the number of luggages and the weight. Usually, if you are a sole traveler, you tend to carry less stuff so a backpack or an overnighter will be right. If the whole family are traveling then it is okay to have few hard cases and few soft ones to balance the weight around.

Take note of the things you will pack

What you will pack in your bag will be a factor to note of since a hard case bag will be suited to protect fragile objects while the soft ones will be good to carry clothing stuff.

Take your pick.