What's your golden travel rule?

[Bindibuys]

You don't always have to tell your hubby where we are going....

 

[offshore171]

I'm going to take an unpopular position and disagree with the rules on travelling light.

Largely agree with what youre saying. There is a middle ground here. People sometimes seem to think the only alternative to HLO is travelling like Imelda Marcos with 10 suitcases and 500 pairs of shoes.

HLO works for some trips, but it's definitely not a one size fits all solution.

For example, if you're visiting Europe for a few weeks and plan to maybe visit som well regarded restaurants – or, in fact go out in general, you don't have to go everywhere dressed like an American tourist on a Rick Steves tour wearing a sweaty pair of "all purpose" zip leg trousers.

Or maybe you're going to Lapland doing outdoorsy stuff, or going skiing, and want to be self sufficient. As they say in Finland, "there's no bad weather, only bad clothing".

So absolutely, check a bag, take some decent outfits, esp in winter.

Also as you suggest, AirTags are a great addition to a travellers kit.

 

[mandolino]

I think I have broken every one of these rules or tips at one time or another.

Last week I got an email from a hotel in Bergen where I'd stayed two weeks before that. It was a picture of a cheap comb I'd left in my room, asking me if I wanted it shipped to me in the UK. I was tempted, but in the end just ticked the "nah forget it" box.

Normally I strip the bed before leaving to make sure I haven't missed anything.
I do pack toiletries most of the time, because I don't want to have to go shopping the first day I get somewhere. But am pretty chill about it because there are normal retail outlets airside in UK airports like Boots & WHS that sell travel size toiletries.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Not sure if this has been mentioned already?

Courtesy of the British Airways Club magazine, the #1 recommendation was to ‘always travel with a silver teaspoon. Place it in a tumbler of iced water provided by the cabin crew and use it under your eyes to reduce puffiness’.

And here was me thinking there’s not much left to learn

 

[Seat0B]

I'm going to take an unpopular position and disagree with the rules on travelling light.

The Seat family whole heartedly agrees with you.

 

[mandolino]

Not sure if this has been mentioned already?

Courtesy of the British Airways Club magazine, the #1 recommendation was to ‘always travel with a silver teaspoon. Place it in a tumbler of iced water provided by the cabin crew and use it under your eyes to reduce puffiness’.

And here was me thinking there’s not much left to learn

Given that the BA Magazine is called "High Life", they may have had other uses for the silver spoon!

 

[Daver6]

Never, ever use a hotel room kettle.

Genuinely curious as to why not?

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I'm going to take an unpopular position and disagree with the rules on travelling light. Yes, if you are a young backpacker who will need to walk long distances and navigate crowded subways with your luggage, or if you need to fit your luggage in a locker at a backpacker lodge or in a cramped cabin on a cruise it pays to travel light. But if you are like most of us and taking taxis or comfortable trains between the airport and your hotel? Bring the stuff that you might want and check it in rather than lugging it around the airport and fighting for space in an overhead locker.

I've taken hundreds of trips over the years. My checked in luggage has never been lost and I can count on one hand the times it has not arrived on the same flight as me. With air tags, it's even less likely to go missing. With wheeled luggage, it isn't difficult to move even a large suitcase around. And every time I have travelled light, I have regretted it. I'd rather have 2 or 3 pairs of shoes so I don't need to worry if my shoes get soaked. I'd rather have 7 or 8 shirts and 2 or 3 pairs of trousers so I don't have to stop and do laundry in the middle of a trip. I'd rather have all my toiletries and a first aid kit so I don't need to interrupt my trip to go shopping. I'd rather have my swimwear and my gym clothes even if I might not use them so I can if the mood takes me. Other than bragging rights, what do I gain from travelling light? If I spend a little more time waiting by the carousel, that's more than made up for by less time doing laundry or shopping for things that I miss.

We are all different, and so yes a golden rule is to travel in the style that suits YOUR NEEDS best, including choice of luggage and weight.

Sorry if my post above was misleading as the example given was more ultralight on that particular trip than what I would deem as travelling light. Though it did also highlight how the couple behind us had very different luggage needs than we did. It was just topical as it was my last international trip. We travel light, but normally always travel with checked in baggage as we did this time.. We just forgo the using all of the 40/60/80kg allocation that we might be entitled to on our trips

What bags and weight we take we tailor to each trip. Though lol "bragging rights" is never a consideration.

For most of our trips, particularly say 6 weeks or more in Europe, my wife and I will travel with one medium wheeled suitcase each (small enough that travel on trains is easy on trains as we often use trains in Europe) and one small day packpack that we also use as our flight in cabin bag. The small laptop I use will go in that. We might also within Europe hop around on cheap local flights, so meeting their typical weight limits we will bear in mind as part or planning.

Each suitcase will not exceed 20kg (though is often less) and will include all the items that you have listed. Our flight may well have to Europe and back may well have a 40/60/80kg allocation, but we will not use it. Occasionally we will come home with a bit extra and will just put those items in a lightweight duffle bag.

We also tend to go to out of the way off the beaten track type places., and for us personally have more nags than this is a great hassle.

If say short trip to say Thailand then we will use small wheelie bag each.

If say Island hopping in Greece, or mountain villages, a travel backpack will be used. If say more a hiking holiday then a hiking backpack.
While we are both now 64, we find backpacks still easy to carry. Wheelie bags can be painful on cobbled streets, or where many steps are involved...and when staying at places that taxis might not get near too.

 

[Aeryn]

Genuinely curious as to why not?

Because people do disgusting things with them like boil their underwear in them!

 

[Daver6]

Because people do disgusting things with them like boil their underwear in them!

Seriously? I can't say I've heard of that before. On the plus side though and as gross as that sounds, at least you're not likely to get sick if you used the kettle and boiled the water. I'm sure there are way higher risk things in the hotel room.

 

[offshore171]

Genuinely curious as to why not?

People boil their soiled underwear in them.

They’ve also been known to cook raw chicken in them.

Why you should think twice about making a cuppa in your hotel room

What some guests are using the kettle for in their hotel room may shock you.

au.news.yahoo.com

Man's 'unhinged' hack involves using a hotel room coffee pot to cook raw chicken

Alexander C, a professional product manager who is keen to save as much money for his company as possible, had a unique solution for cooking dinner while on a work trip

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[MARTINE]

Because people do disgusting things with them like boil their underwear in them!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

What else would you ‘cook’ that is not ‘raw’??? (perhaps that’s for the grammar thread )

 

[Portsoft]

I always pick an Aisle seat

 

[Forg]

I always pick an Aisle seat

If you pick it, it won’t get better!

 

[jonboixxx]

When in Rome...

 

[Forg]

When in Rome...

… park illegally & badly, yell at randoms on the street, and dress amazingly impeccably given the filth you’re wading through … ?

 

[mandolino]

I'll never look at hotel room kettles the same way again.
Worst of all, I'll inevitably be wondering about boiling my underpants in them.

One tip, that may only apply to me, is that I make sure any mandolin gig-bag I buy has a handle wide enough to slip over the handle of a wheelie suitcase.

Like so:

 

[RooFlyer]

I don't understand this one. Early flights are more likely to be on time.

Welcome to AFF

An early flight saying 8 am means getting the airport about 6 am domestically which means getting up maybe 5 or earlier depending on your commute.

internationally it means getting to the airport about 5 am with the knock-on early rise etc.

And if the flights are at 6 am - fugeddaboutit!

Airline breakfast are usually awful.

I'm going to take an unpopular position and disagree with the rules on travelling light.

For example, if you're visiting Europe for a few weeks and plan to maybe visit som well regarded restaurants – or, in fact go out in general, you don't have to go everywhere dressed like an American tourist on a Rick Steves tour wearing a sweaty pair of "all purpose" zip leg trousers.

exactly. I go HLO when it’s convenient to do so - for instance up to a week in the same climate etc.

I’ve just done a five week trip to Europe ranging from a cruise in the Arctic meaning lots of very cold weather gear, down to Malta where is about 34 to 36 every day various places in France - impossible with HLO.

I don’t want to spend half my evenings doing laundry or finding one.

With a checked bag, I can buy souvenirs like books and maybe some local booze like I did in Bosnia; I took an extra pair of shoes for walking, and a light rain jacket.

Next trip, I’m going to take my own pillow like someone suggested up thread, for better sleep.

 

[Willie]

Totally! It's so much harder to manage morning glitches anywhere in connections/disruptions/cancellations/misadventures.

an airport hotel will sort that out!