Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Packing the necessary things
• Part 2 of 3: Convenient packing
• Part 3 of 3: Bring or buy

When you go on vacation for two weeks, it can be quite a challenge to pack your suitcase. Especially if you go by plane, it requires the necessary preparation. What can and cannot be taken in the hand luggage, how much can your suitcase weigh, and how do you make sure that your luggage can be carried yourself. The trick is to only pack what you really need. With a few simple tips you save a lot of luggage space and you don't forget anything.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Packing the necessary things

1. Pack the essentials. It is smart to keep your travel documents together. Put your passport or ID card, tickets and confirmations from hotels together in a folder or in a separate compartment of your bag. If you are on medication, make sure you bring enough for your vacation. Also consider toiletries that you may not be able to buy at your vacation destination, such as eyeglass. A camera is important for capturing memories. If you have a tablet or phone with a good camera function, you can use it as a camera. Otherwise, take a small compact camera with you. Don't forget to bring an extra memory card and battery.
   • The most necessary things are often also things that you need at home until the last moment. To make sure you don't forget to pack them, make a list. Check shortly before departure that you have everything from your list with you.
   • Take a credit card with you, even if you are going to a country where you can pay for everything with your debit card or cash. Keep your credit card in a different place than your debit card. If one card is stolen, you can get money with the other.
   • Check well in advance which documents you need to enter your holiday country. An application process for a visa can take months. The ESTA statement you need for the United States takes a few weeks. Also consider the countries you will be traveling through before you reach your destination.
2. Print your itinerary and keep it handy during your trip. With an itinerary, you stay organized while you travel. Moreover, such a travel schedule is a very useful tool when packing your suitcase: if you know what you are going to do during your holiday, it is easier to determine what to bring. Or what you don't have to bring with you, because you know you won't need it. If you are unsure of what you need for certain activities, look for information online. For example, if you go into the mountains for a day, but you don't know what the temperature is there, look it up. You can also look up experiences and reviews of others online to find out what they recommend doing and what to bring.
   • Shoes that you can walk on are perhaps the most important to take with you. Even if you plan on laying on the beach for two weeks, comfortable shoes will come in handy, if only for the distances at the airport.
   • Choose items of clothing that are not too unique and that can easily be combined with other items of clothing that you take with you. That way it is easier to put together different outfits and you will not immediately have a problem if a certain item of clothing is in the wash.
3. Go for threes. Bring at least three pairs of socks, three underpants and three T-shirts. That way, if you do small laundry every day, you'll have enough clothes: one set is in the wash, one set is drying, and one set is on. You can wear pants for several days; one pair of trousers is sufficient per three T-shirts. This main rule only applies to your everyday clothes. If you are planning to go to a special occasion, bring specific clothing for that.
   • If you are going to a warm destination, choose clothes that breathe well. For example cotton, linen or polyester. Polyester clothing has the additional advantage that it dries quickly.
   • Only pack clothes that you can easily combine. With less clothes you still have more different outfits.
   • Jeans and comfortable shorts always come in handy. Or a pair of pants whose legs can be zipped off so that they become shorts, making it even easier to combine clothes.
   • T-shirts in neutral colors such as white, black and beige combine with almost all colors of trousers.
   • If you are going to a cold holiday destination, opt for layers of clothing instead of very thick ones. Instead of three sweaters, it is better to bring a cardigan and three T-shirts. It delivers just as many outfits, but takes up a lot less space in your suitcase.
   • Bring a small bottle of detergent if you have room for it.
4. Take the culture in your holiday destination into account. Different countries have different customs and standards. Keep this in mind when choosing clothes for your holiday. This prevents you from unintentionally offending the local population. Moreover, the less you look like a tourist, the less likely you will be a victim of pickpockets, for example. If you are not sure what is appropriate for your vacation destination, then covering your shoulders and knees is a safe choice.
   • If you are going to a conservative culture then a wide scarf is a good choice. You can easily cover your arms with that. You can even turn a scarf into a long skirt if needed. You can easily stuff a thin scarf into your bag.
   • If you are going to a formal meeting, make sure to pack decent clothes.
   • An easy way to dress for a formal occasion is to use accessories. Even a simple shirt can look neat with the right chain.
   • Men can easily look neat with a tie and a nice watch. These accessories hardly take up any space in your suitcase.
5. Find a reliable travel guide and translation guide. If you are going to a country where you do not speak the language, it is smart to bring a translation guide. Of course, you can also learn useful phrases in advance. You score points if you can greet the receptionist or the taxi driver in their own language, or if you can order a coffee or a soft drink in the local language.
   • If you have internet access at your vacation destination, you can also use an online translation app such as Reverso or Google Translate.
   • If you expect little or no internet access, or if you have limited ability to charge your phone, bring a travel guide and city map or map of the region you are going to.
   • What kind of travel guide you take with you depends on what you need. If you have already booked a hotel, apartment or camping, it makes no sense to buy a travel guide that only contains accommodations. If you want to see a lot of the area, choose a travel guide in which you will find that information.
   • If you love good food and want to try the local cuisine, choose a guidebook with information about restaurants and other dining options.
   • A good travel guide also contains information about the local culture and customs.
   • Make sure the travel guide is up to date. Especially if you want to use the travel guide to find accommodations, restaurants or transport, an up-to-date travel guide is important. An old guide will often contain outdated information.
6. Take into account what you can take with you on the plane. In addition to a maximum weight, there is a whole list of things that you cannot take with you, and things that are only allowed as hold luggage or only as hand luggage. You can find all the information about this on the website of your airline. In any case, keep in mind that you are only allowed to take small packages of liquid in your hand luggage, and that you must put them in a sealable transparent plastic bag. If you are only traveling with hand luggage, buy small bottles of shampoo, shower gel, body lotion and the like in good time.
   • Do not put things in your carry-on bag that could be used as a weapon, such as scissors or a metal nail file. Some razors are also not allowed in hand luggage.
   • Put your phone number on a card and hang it on your suitcase. Prefer not to put your name and address on the card; someone with wrong intentions who sees this will know that your house is going to be empty for at least a few days.
   • At some destinations, for example the United States or Australia, you are not allowed to import vegetable products or meat products. If you are bringing food for the plane, make sure it is finished before you get off the plane.
7. Bring a book, music and your tablet or laptop. On a long flight and while waiting at the airport, it is very nice to have something to do. If you want to save space, download ebooks, music and movies on your tablet or smartphone. Before your trip, check whether your holiday country has the same sockets as the country where you live. If necessary, bring an adapter. On the way back, put it in your hand luggage so that you can charge your devices at a foreign airport.
   • On longer flights, there are blankets and pillows on the plane. Those pillows are only small; if you want more comfort, bring your own neck pillow.
   • On many flights you are only allowed to take one item of hand luggage with you. If you want to keep things with you on the plane, but rather not a large bag, put a bag in a bag. For example, if you have a trolley as hand luggage, you can put a smaller bag in it in which you pack all the items you want to keep with you on the plane, such as your phone, charging cord, book, earplugs and something to eat. Once you have found your seat on the plane, take the bag out of the trolley, put the trolley in the overhead compartment above the seat, and keep the bag with you.
   • Earplugs and an eye mask are useful to have with you on a longer flight. This makes it easier to take a nap during the flight.

Part 2 of 3: Convenient packing

1. Pack your suitcase on time. Packing your suitcase a few days before your vacation prevents a lot of stress at the last minute. If you find that you still have to buy something, you have time for it. Timely packing also gives you more opportunity to select and cancel.
   • Make a checklist in advance. Check off what you have already packed. That way, you are less likely to forget something important.
   • If you have friends or colleagues who have already been to the place where you are going on vacation, ask them for tips. What do they recommend to bring?
2. Spread everything you want to take with you on the floor. Before you pack everything in your suitcase, it is useful to put everything next to each other so that you can more easily see what you have already packed, what is missing or what may be unnecessary. Then decide what to bring in the hold baggage and what to put in the hand baggage. Or, if you go on vacation by car, what goes in the back of the trunk and what do you want to keep with you in the car. If you've collected more stuff than can fit in your suitcase or suitcases, see what you can scrap. For example, consider not taking some items with you but buying them at your holiday destination.
   • If you have too much baggage, sort your belongings based on what you can or can't live without, rather than what you'd like to bring with you.
   • If you are over the weight limit for your luggage, see if you have a lighter suitcase that you can use. A lighter suitcase means you can take more stuff with you.
   • Make sure your suitcase is robust enough. This is especially important for hold baggage on the plane; there is a lot to be thrown at when loading and unloading. Don't lock your suitcase; if the security service at the airport wants to open the suitcase, they will do so, if necessary by breaking the lock. Instead, put a strap around your suitcase to prevent it from opening unintentionally. If you travel by car, a soft suitcase is more convenient, because you can easily stuff it in your trunk.
3. Consider bringing hand luggage only. There are several advantages of not taking hold luggage with you when you go on holiday by plane. Keep in mind the maximum dimensions and the maximum weight for hand luggage. If you do not check in hold baggage, the weight of hand baggage is often not checked, but some airlines are very strict and charge extra fees for oversized or overweight items.
   • If you only have hand luggage with you, you are less likely to lose luggage.
   • If you miss your connecting flight during a transfer, you can more easily be rebooked to another flight if you do not have hold luggage.
   • You often pay extra for hold luggage; only taking hand luggage with you is therefore cheaper.
   • With only hand luggage, you have to lug less in the car or train to or from the airport.
4. Learn how to compact clothes. By folding clothes as compactly as possible, you can save a lot of space. For example, you can roll up t-shirts instead of folding them. They will fit better in a hole you have left in your suitcase, and they won't wrinkle.
   • You can also easily roll up trousers instead of folding them up. Fold the pants in half (lengthwise), and roll them up from top to bottom.
   • Stuff socks and underpants into shoes you pack.
   • Put on things that take up a lot of space instead of packing them. For example a jacket; even if you don't actually have to wear it during the trip, put on your jacket at the airport instead of putting it in your suitcase.
   • Take as little packaging material as possible with you. A toiletry bag is beautiful, but it takes up extra space. If you want to save space, take your things loose with you.
   • Bring a universal adapter instead of separate adapters for charging your phone, tablet and other equipment.
   • Because you are not allowed to take large packages of liquid through the security check at the airport, a bottle of water is also out of the question. What you can do is take an empty bottle with you and fill it with water after the check. Many airports even have special water points for this.

Part 3 of 3: Bring or buy

1. Take as few toiletries as possible with you. You can probably all buy toothpaste, soap and shampoo at your holiday address. Dishwashing liquid and detergent are often easy to obtain. And if you go to a hotel, there is often shampoo and soap in the hotel room. Therefore, only take these types of items with you in your suitcase if you have room for them, and buy what you need at your destination. Check in advance whether you can indeed buy things on your first day of vacation. Is there a supermarket nearby and open? If you arrive at your destination the night before a national holiday, you better still bring shampoo and toothpaste with you for a few days.
   • In other countries you can not always buy exactly the same items as you are used to at home. Trying new things is part of the holiday fun.
2. Only take food and drinks with you when absolutely necessary. Two weeks without sprinkles and cheese? It's possible. Discover the local cuisine in restaurants and eateries. Even if you don't want to eat out every day, there is plenty to discover. There are plenty of tasty things to be found in local supermarkets. If you don't have a fridge at your holiday destination, keep that in mind; do not buy foods to be kept in the refrigerator.
   • If you really can't live without certain foods, leave room for that in your suitcase when you pack your clothes. Also put those foods on your packing list.
   • You can buy various space-saving items, such as a foldable drinking bottle, at specialist camping or outdoor sports stores. But also, for example, a folding bucket. Handy if you want to do laundry at your holiday destination.
3. Take rain into account, but not too much. If no rain is forecast, do not bring rain gear. If there is a shower, it is better to keep an eye on the weather forecast and make sure that you take this into account with your activities. Rainwear then takes up unnecessary space. If rain is forecast, consider buying a cheap umbrella upon arrival instead of bringing one with you.
   • If you bring walking shoes, make sure they are waterproof or water-resistant. You don't have to bring wellies with you. The same goes for a jacket: rather take a water-repellent jacket with you than one that is not.
   • If you do want to take an umbrella with you, choose a small foldable one, which you can easily carry in a handbag or a pocket of cargo pants.
   • If it does rain a lot more than you expected, buy disposable ponchos at your vacation destination.
4. Bring extra walking shoes. You can buy many things at your holiday destination if you need to. This is difficult for shoes: you often have to walk them in. And with many other things you can often find a cheap solution if you have forgotten to take it with you, while shoes are often expensive. If you plan to walk a lot, bring shoes that you know will fit well, and preferably a few extra.
   • Do not bring new shoes on vacation. If they turn out to be uncomfortable, they will be unused in your hotel room or tent, but they will take up a lot of space in your suitcase.
   • Of course you can also just take nice shoes with you on holiday.
   • If you're dying for space in your suitcase, put on the shoes that take up the most space on the way.