Agree with Claudia!We went on this tour in 6 /24.with carry on only.There are frequent moves on this land tour you barely have time to to unpack and pack.This was our first trip with carry on only; we had no issues at all.Definitely need to pack layers for the weather!Nobody cares if you repeat your outfits!
I’ve heard people say time and time again “they just can’t do carry/on” even for a one week trip! Yes you certainly can and it is so liberating. There isn’t anything bed worse while traveling taking a suitcase taking a heavy suitcase and only berating half the items. Store for travel isn’t a fashion show anymore.
The US Embassy site has dates of the airport strikes. We are on the October 22 land tour of Portugal and Spain, arriving in Lisbon on Oct. 21. Fortunately, ours is not one of the strike dates. As for carry-on only, maybe we could do that if we were only going for a week, but as we are extending our 14-day tour with 4 days in Barcelona, we will be checking bags. Hopefully, there won’t be a problem, other than a potentially longer wait, with baggage retrieval
I did 2 weeks in Scotland a few years ago with carryon only and it was great. I did this because we were going to take a train to/from Oban after Tauck's tour and stay for a few days at a hotel very close to the station. I knew my limits on dealing with heavy full sized bags.
It isn't "easy" to pack light. It takes time and effort to learn how but there are tons of resources on the internet - websites and youtube videos. But you have to be willing to take the time to do it. A good resource to start with is Rick Steves website. He has a whole section of his Travel Tips devoted to this.
I’ve read these tips before but just had another look. Many of Rick’s tips work for Europe but not in other countries…such as getting toiletries or even being near shops. But I am all in favor of just carry on though I’ve only managed it a handful of times
The trouble is, Tauck continues to emphasize bring resort wear and jackets which makes people think there is a dress up standard that needs to be maintained. Personally I just hate that, it means I am constantly tempted and do take extra clothing I like and would hate to lose ff baggage goes missing…..just in case all these elite Tauck travelers look down on me if I wear sensible travel clothing.
I must admit, when I travel with a couple of other companies it’s a relief to cut down on the clothing I bring because mostly everyone else on the tour does the same. I really should just do carry on more often, as indeed it is liberating. And considering I obviously don’t need many of the things Rick suggests I ought to be an expert at it.
For years we were carry on only, even for trips as long as 3-4 weeks. It can be done. The motivation was having our bags go astray while going on a cruise with our three young kids. This is when we learned to always have enough clothes for a few days with you. And don’t check anything you’d have trouble replacing. On that particular trip we checked all my wife’s shoes. She wears a size 4.5-5. And our kids had no underwear,
As noted, there are lots of resources. The obstacles to packing light are not all physical. In order to do it you have to be willing to wear outfits more than once, give up having many pairs of shoes, forego large sizes of lotions and potions, be willing to sink wash small items, maybe use hotel laundry or drop off launderettes.
How to do it? Here is one of my favorite videos: https://youtu.be/PDn9l20NlWw. The problem with this method is having one large bundle. It means you unpack everything. We overcome this by bundling “smarter” having clothes we want when we arrive in a separate bundle near the top. We also combine this with packing cubes for some smaller clothes.
Do we always pack light, meaning not check a bag? No, especially since we started to travel with Tauck where people dress up more. But, if we check a bag it’s one medium hard side Away suitcase (It’s the only bag we own other than rollaboards). Inside is nothing we could not afford to do without if we had to if the bag went missing. On the plane we have two international size rollaboards, two personal items, one CPAP. If we were traveling independently before or after a tour we’d make a greater effort to not check a bag as handling that extra bag is difficult. See what I did there? More days, less luggage. Counter intuitive I know but if you’ve done European train travel you get it.
Free advice from a retired flight attendant on packing:
I clipped my wings and retired after a wonderful 36-year career. One carry-on regulation rollerboard and an REI 🎒 backpack will get you through a 3 week charter to Japan and back. If I can do it, so can you!
I'm amazed what people pack for short excursions and longer trips. Way too much! Keep it simple, roll, carry laundry detergent sheets (flat) in your outer rollerboard pocket, and accessorize!
Pieces that always come with me: Rubber Birkenstocks, running/walking shoes (wear on the ✈️ for quick connections), swimsuit, sarong, my trusty LL Bean hanging toiletry kit, travel umbrella.
Mix and match your clothing according to climate, don't forget to roll......and bring your smiles!
I'd love to travel with just a carry on. But it doesn't work if you can't lift the weight over your head to get the bag into the overhead bins. That is one downside of being a solo traveler who doesn't have great upper body strength. Flight attendants won't help because they might get hurt.
I forgot to mention this land trip takes you to a palace for farewell dinner;very few wore jackets; mostly people wore nice looking clothes; nor necessarily formal.If any one wants to try carry on only this trip is perfect for the duration as well as weather.
The key to lifting heavyish bags into the overhead bin. Just make a few slow, feeble attempts, but make sure you block the aisle while doing so. The next person(s) in line behind you will be quick to lift your bag for you so they can get to their seat!
Alan. You are right on. People see me struggle with those overhead bins and rush to help. I guess they figure that if they don’t get the old lady settled then they aren’t going .
This is what I don’t understand about over packing and specifically, dress-up attire. The chances of seeing the same people on another tour is very slim. Who has seen other passengers more than once? On all my trips, I’ve never bumped into the same people twice unless I plan to travel with friends. Really, who cares what you wear. I dress for myself; not others. We were on a one week trip last year, and one couple had a 30” luggage each. I also heard of one person using two carry-ons for their airline travel because two pieces are the allowance on flights. Just sharing.
You are of course correct Ourtravels. The experts that most stands out for me was a couple who were on our Warsaw, Vienna, Budapest, Prague tour years only wore what I would call ‘safari gear’ the entire tour, even at the fancy dinners. Everyone looked down on them, made aside comment , we loved them, they were experienced travelers and fascinating to talk to.
We have only met one couple we have traveled with before on all our Tauck tours, whereas we have had the same Tour Directors quite frequently. With another company we travel with, we’ve met up with people we have traveled with before a couple of times and it’s been great,…we know we’ve seen each other in the same travel gear too. Fun.
Comments
There are planned strikes periodically until the end of the year. I've seen two different date ranges.
Sounds like a good time to plan carryon only packing. For a 1 week tour that shouldn't be too hard.
Agree with Claudia!We went on this tour in 6 /24.with carry on only.There are frequent moves on this land tour you barely have time to to unpack and pack.This was our first trip with carry on only; we had no issues at all.Definitely need to pack layers for the weather!Nobody cares if you repeat your outfits!
I’ve heard people say time and time again “they just can’t do carry/on” even for a one week trip! Yes you certainly can and it is so liberating. There isn’t anything bed worse while traveling taking a suitcase taking a heavy suitcase and only berating half the items. Store for travel isn’t a fashion show anymore.
The US Embassy site has dates of the airport strikes. We are on the October 22 land tour of Portugal and Spain, arriving in Lisbon on Oct. 21. Fortunately, ours is not one of the strike dates. As for carry-on only, maybe we could do that if we were only going for a week, but as we are extending our 14-day tour with 4 days in Barcelona, we will be checking bags. Hopefully, there won’t be a problem, other than a potentially longer wait, with baggage retrieval
I did 2 weeks in Scotland a few years ago with carryon only and it was great. I did this because we were going to take a train to/from Oban after Tauck's tour and stay for a few days at a hotel very close to the station. I knew my limits on dealing with heavy full sized bags.
It isn't "easy" to pack light. It takes time and effort to learn how but there are tons of resources on the internet - websites and youtube videos. But you have to be willing to take the time to do it. A good resource to start with is Rick Steves website. He has a whole section of his Travel Tips devoted to this.
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/packing-light
I’ve read these tips before but just had another look. Many of Rick’s tips work for Europe but not in other countries…such as getting toiletries or even being near shops. But I am all in favor of just carry on though I’ve only managed it a handful of times
The trouble is, Tauck continues to emphasize bring resort wear and jackets which makes people think there is a dress up standard that needs to be maintained. Personally I just hate that, it means I am constantly tempted and do take extra clothing I like and would hate to lose ff baggage goes missing…..just in case all these elite Tauck travelers look down on me if I wear sensible travel clothing.
I must admit, when I travel with a couple of other companies it’s a relief to cut down on the clothing I bring because mostly everyone else on the tour does the same. I really should just do carry on more often, as indeed it is liberating. And considering I obviously don’t need many of the things Rick suggests I ought to be an expert at it.
For years we were carry on only, even for trips as long as 3-4 weeks. It can be done. The motivation was having our bags go astray while going on a cruise with our three young kids. This is when we learned to always have enough clothes for a few days with you. And don’t check anything you’d have trouble replacing. On that particular trip we checked all my wife’s shoes. She wears a size 4.5-5. And our kids had no underwear,
As noted, there are lots of resources. The obstacles to packing light are not all physical. In order to do it you have to be willing to wear outfits more than once, give up having many pairs of shoes, forego large sizes of lotions and potions, be willing to sink wash small items, maybe use hotel laundry or drop off launderettes.
How to do it? Here is one of my favorite videos:
https://youtu.be/PDn9l20NlWw. The problem with this method is having one large bundle. It means you unpack everything. We overcome this by bundling “smarter” having clothes we want when we arrive in a separate bundle near the top. We also combine this with packing cubes for some smaller clothes.
Do we always pack light, meaning not check a bag? No, especially since we started to travel with Tauck where people dress up more. But, if we check a bag it’s one medium hard side Away suitcase (It’s the only bag we own other than rollaboards). Inside is nothing we could not afford to do without if we had to if the bag went missing. On the plane we have two international size rollaboards, two personal items, one CPAP. If we were traveling independently before or after a tour we’d make a greater effort to not check a bag as handling that extra bag is difficult. See what I did there? More days, less luggage. Counter intuitive I know but if you’ve done European train travel you get it.
Free advice from a retired flight attendant on packing:
I clipped my wings and retired after a wonderful 36-year career. One carry-on regulation rollerboard and an REI 🎒 backpack will get you through a 3 week charter to Japan and back. If I can do it, so can you!
I'm amazed what people pack for short excursions and longer trips. Way too much! Keep it simple, roll, carry laundry detergent sheets (flat) in your outer rollerboard pocket, and accessorize!
Pieces that always come with me: Rubber Birkenstocks, running/walking shoes (wear on the ✈️ for quick connections), swimsuit, sarong, my trusty LL Bean hanging toiletry kit, travel umbrella.
Mix and match your clothing according to climate, don't forget to roll......and bring your smiles!
I'd love to travel with just a carry on. But it doesn't work if you can't lift the weight over your head to get the bag into the overhead bins. That is one downside of being a solo traveler who doesn't have great upper body strength. Flight attendants won't help because they might get hurt.
Time start lifting weights
already do -
And, as I age, I swear that those overhead bins are getting higher and higher. I can lift my carryon, but often can't reach the bin.
I forgot to mention this land trip takes you to a palace for farewell dinner;very few wore jackets; mostly people wore nice looking clothes; nor necessarily formal.If any one wants to try carry on only this trip is perfect for the duration as well as weather.
MCD - I don’t think the bins are getting higher; we are getting lower! 🥴
If a woman is shrinking it’s not normal, get a dexascan
The key to lifting heavyish bags into the overhead bin. Just make a few slow, feeble attempts, but make sure you block the aisle while doing so. The next person(s) in line behind you will be quick to lift your bag for you so they can get to their seat!
Having had someone open an overhead and his bag fall on my head, I’m not really in favor of heavy carry ons. 😢😢
Alan. You are right on. People see me struggle with those overhead bins and rush to help. I guess they figure that if they don’t get the old lady settled then they aren’t going .
This is what I don’t understand about over packing and specifically, dress-up attire. The chances of seeing the same people on another tour is very slim. Who has seen other passengers more than once? On all my trips, I’ve never bumped into the same people twice unless I plan to travel with friends. Really, who cares what you wear. I dress for myself; not others. We were on a one week trip last year, and one couple had a 30” luggage each. I also heard of one person using two carry-ons for their airline travel because two pieces are the allowance on flights. Just sharing.
You are of course correct Ourtravels. The experts that most stands out for me was a couple who were on our Warsaw, Vienna, Budapest, Prague tour years only wore what I would call ‘safari gear’ the entire tour, even at the fancy dinners. Everyone looked down on them, made aside comment , we loved them, they were experienced travelers and fascinating to talk to.
We have only met one couple we have traveled with before on all our Tauck tours, whereas we have had the same Tour Directors quite frequently. With another company we travel with, we’ve met up with people we have traveled with before a couple of times and it’s been great,…we know we’ve seen each other in the same travel gear too. Fun.