tinabina

We are leaving Monday for a 2 week trip to NW England and London. It will be myself, my husband, 13 y/o daughter and 11 y/o son. We are swapping a house in Lower Heswall on the Wirral Penisula. Although I will have access to a washer/dryer, I am doubtful we can fit our necc. items in carry-ons. The weather is rainy and cool in general, as of today. We will be visitng London for 4 days, and attending tea at the Ritz. What do I pack and still look okay for a fancy local? I am going nuts staring at my closet. Help. Any suggestions would be great!

queener

I agree with your husband - ESPECIALLY if you have a washer/dryer!

hax

tinabina,
Maybe you and your 13 year old daughter are lower maintenance than me and my 16 and 19 year old daughters, but there is no we could have carried everything on during our recent trip to France--not because the clothes wouldn't fit (we actually fit it all in 22'in carry-on rolling bags), but because you can't carry on all the "necessary" lotions, hair gels, toothpaste, foundations, contact lens solutions, perfumes, acne meds, suntan lotions, shampoos most teenage girls (and their Moms) require! I travel a lot for business, and am able to make do with little travel sizes for a weekend, but it's really so much easier to just check at least one bag with all the liquids. We each checked our bag and carried a small tote on, and we had no problems.

Gardyloo

If you're flying into the UK (and not taking the train or ship) you'll need to remember that the rule for flying OUT is ONE cabin bag per person, not one plus a handbag, etc.

queener

Oh ya - I forgot about the toiletries.... on our last 2-wk trip we carried on clothes but checked one (bag that collapsed into nothing and fit in my clothes suitcase and was used when flying home for extra stuff purchased - used bubble wrap for toiletries on way over). We didn't want to risk losing our clothes, but figured we could always purchase shampoos, lotions, etc. if they were lost.

nona1

You are at an advantage with swapping houses though. Presumably you can agree with your swappers to use each others' shampoo/soaps/hairdryers/toothpaste etc etc etc?

J_Correa

I think it can be done.

Remember, you each (including your 11 year old son)have your 1 quart bag of liquids and gels. Really, how many liquids and gels does your son need - LOL? He wont fill up his bag. Your husband probably wont fill up his ziplock bag either - so you and your daughter have extra space in their bags. Get small travel bottles and put just what you will need to take with you. Also, you can buy some things once you get to England. Whenever we fly, I generally pick up sunscreen and that sort of thing once we get to our destination since I know we will go through a bunch. Even if I plan to take everything, I always find something I need to go to the drug store for anyway.

For clothing, just stick to the basics and you will be fine. I find that a pair of slacks or a mid-length skirt and a blouse work for most occasions where I need to dress up a bit while travelling. If you take a skirt, a pair of slacks, and 2 blouses that go with each, then you have 4 presentable outfits for things like tea at the Ritz. Make sure that either the same pair of shoes works with the slacks and the skirt or that the shoes you take for each work with other clothes you will be bringing. For the rest of the clothes, just make sure they can be mixed and matched so you don't have to bring too much.

JeanneB

A dryer?! Man, if I had a dryer over there, I'd be in packing-light heaven!

bardo1

My son is Europe for 31 days right now. His only luggage was a 20" long, 8" diameter gym bag. His water-proof jacket folds into the size of a deck a cards. He won't be going to the Ritz but is planning on an opera or two and will be dressed appropriately. Unlike you, he does not have the advantage of staying in any houses but instead will be in 1 star hotels and hostels and visitng laundymats occasionaly. I really think that with a washer/dryer IN THE HOUSE you'll be fine. I'll even bet the house will have umbrellas, etc.

nytraveler

Since you will be staying in a house - and moving with luggage will be mnimal - and know that at least some things you want to do require nicer clothings I think it would be silly to try to stuff everything in carry-ons. If your husband wants to do it fine - then let him deal with doing laundry on vacation while you guys have fun.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking checked luggage for a 2 week trip - we always do - just not 30" body bags.

Mimar

tinabina, just to clarify what other posters are saying. Leaving from the US, each person is allowed to bring on-board only 1 1-quart bag of liquids. And those liquids must be 3 ounces or less each. This includes toothpaste, deodorant, suntan lotion, etc. If you have, say, a special shampoo you want to bring and it's larger than 3 ounces, you can bring it in a checked bag. Or you buy it at your destination. Since you're not doing much moving around, maybe one larger checked bag you share with your daughter?

We had to search our my contacts cleaning liquid after arriving in Glasgow. It was only available at optical stores, which were fortunately open.

tinabina

Thanks everybody! It is true that my son won't begin to fill his quart bag, same with my husband. My daughter may have to leave "her signature scent" at home. I'm sure England with be sad to miss the opportunity of catching a whiff of "Warm Vanilla Sugar". The clothes are not as big of a problem as much as the shoes! My husband has BIG shoes and they will take up 1/3 of his bag. I think checking 2 bags will be worth the "Liquid"/ shoe problem. I will keep reading suggestions, so keep them coming. I downloaded Rick Steve's list, but it's more "backpackerish" in nature. I'm going to practice pack and see how it works. Thanks again!

LJ

Just curious: why does he want to do this?

WillTravel

Of course you're not going to die if you're forced to do this with carry-on only, but I can't see a compelling reason to try very hard and I personally prefer having more than the bare minimum along.

I would ensure that your carry-ons do have basic necessities, and that you do not take anything valuable in checked luggage, because the reports of luggage being held up or missing at London airports are not good.

TravelinSteph

my husband and I went to england and germany last summer and we took two backpacks and we had a duffel made so that it folded down really small and that was just for stuff to bring back. We took PLENTY!!! Along with the clothes (pack things that you can mix and match) we each had THREE pairs of shoes Tennis shoes/dress shoes and sandals and my husband wears a size 13! When we got home we still had half the duffel bag to fill up. You can do it and you will be so glad you did!

janisj

I <u>always</u> go to the UK w/ just a carry-on. Having a washer/dryer only makes it even easier. Leaving from the US you will be allowed a carry-on plus a handbag/personal item. Coming back, everything must fit in one bag <u>just for going through security</u>. Once you are in the departure lounge you can take your handbag out of the carry-on and carry both on to the plane.

I don't see any reason you can't do it w/ just carry on's. You are going in the summer so you will still need layers - but no heavy winter clothing. My las visit was in Feb - no washing machine, and same as always, only one carry on.

travelfan1

My DH and I managed an 18 night trip with only carry on luggage, however that was our decision because we were making several trips by train and didn't want to be lugging lots of luggage. It can be done, but if you don't have connecting flights to worry about I don't see why you can't check baggage!

Therese

Yes, you can do this, and you will be very happy to have done so once you realize how easy it is to get around with only a small bag: no lost luggage, no waiting at the luggage carousel, etc. Unless you are very high maintenance indeed (and here I'm using myself as the benchmark, and I'm pretty darn high maintenance from a &quot;product&quot; point of view) you'll have no problem, particularly given that you'll be able to use essentially all of your 11-year-old son's ziploc allotment for toiletries. And remember that each of your husband's shoes is actually its own small suitcase, and should be filled accordingly.

Is your flight to the UK a direct one? If not, are any of your connections tight?

KTtravel

My husband also wanted us to pack as lightly as possible for our first trip to Europe. However, as I ended up washing most of the clothes for our family of 4 by hand and worrying that they'd be dry when we needed them, I vetoed that concept for our second trip. Even if you will have a washer/dryer, you won't want to be spending every day doing laundry when you could be enjoying England or resting up from a long day of sightseeing. Also, you'll want a bit of room for souvenirs.

GSteed

Let your husband pack as he wants to. You pack as you want to and the airline allows. The corner shop has everything you need and more. Actually you need travel with nothing but an absorbing paperback! Why is mother doing the laundry? What can a thirteen year old do? There is no dress code at the Ritz except common sense...