David and I have been on the road traveling as magicians for almost 17 years together, and David was touring for about 3 years before we married. We feel that from our packing and unpacking experience we should share some “road worrier” tips with you.
We feel that we have our packing system down to an art, although as airlines keep changing their rules, we must make adjustments too.
Travelling via plane these days is certainly a lot more stressful than it used to be. Airlines now impose a lot of restrictions when it comes to what can be packed in cases and how much can be packed. If you over pack a case, then it is likely that you will incur extra charges, which is not a great start to a holiday.
Remember that a big suitcase is going to weigh a lot. Before you have even started packing your bags, you will already have a lot of weight with you. Try and use smaller cases rather than bigger ones as they are likely to be a lot lighter. You can start by rolling clothes up to save space, rather than just chucking them into a case. This will save space and ensure that the small case is actually big enough. Alongside this, rolled up clothes will be able to fill in certain gaps that folded clothes would not have been able to.
Another thing to consider is that airlines are not currently particularly strict when it comes to hand luggage. Take advantage of this fact and ensure that you take a small duffel bag for your hand luggage. If anything makes your suitcase overweight, then you can stuff it into a duffel bag and ensure you take everything you need when travelling.
The biggest mistake that a lot of travelers make is purchasing too much when they are abroad. Take into account how much below the luggage limit you were on the way and only purchase things that you know will keep you under that limit. A lot of people purchase lots of clothes because they are cheap, only to find that they incur lots of charges for luggage on the way home.
We are huge fans of Packing Cubes like these from EBags – that keep clothes organized. When you open your suitcase at your destination, clothes don’t fly out everywhere and you can move the entire cube into a drawer at your hotel.
Hope that helps next time you are traveling. What tips have you found that work? Put it in the comments below.
To learn more about what we do, visit us online at http://www.knightillusions.com