6 Winter Travel Packing Tips

Packing even for a beach trip in just a carry-on can be a little tricky if you aren’t used to packing light. Carry-on travel has become more and more popular as baggage fees have become the norm among most airlines. 

Not only does packing light save money, but it also saves time, because travelers don’t have to stand around the baggage carousel waiting for their luggage to (hopefully) make it off the plane. Having minimal baggage can save your back, too. Not sure where to start when planning your winter travel bag? Here are some tips to keep your carry-on light, but still have a large wardrobe.

Mix and Match

When you carry fewer items, you need all your clothing to work together. Throw out the idea of packing a whole outfit for each day and instead look to mix and match everything you bring. Pick a color palette and stick with it, or make sure either all your tops or all your bottoms are a neutral color. If all your tops go with all your bottoms, you’ll find your choices are more than expected.

Scale Down

The only one who will know that you’ve worn the same clothing separates more than once on vacation is you (and your travel companions). It’s unlikely you will see the same people more than once on a trip, and if you do, they probably won’t notice that your outfit is similar to what they saw you in before. The magic numbers for what to bring: Five tops and three bottoms. These, coupled with the outfit you’ve traveled in, net you over three weeks of unique outfit combinations.

Layer, Layer, Layer

Just because it’s cold today, doesn’t mean it will be tomorrow. Plan for days that can vary in temperature by packing layers. You might have an unseasonably warm day in the middle of winter or an unexpected cold snap in fall. Be prepared. Pack a few sweaters, a scarf and a mix of tanks and tees. When it’s warmer out, you can opt for a t-shirt. When it’s really cold, you can add two or more layers together to keep chill out. If you’ve brought a dress, toss a pair of tights into your bag to protect your legs. Don’t forget your favorite jacket, which you should leave out of your carry-on to save space for other necessities. It can double as a pillow on the plane or can be stashed under the seat in front of you.

Choose Two

Shoes are the biggest challenge of everyone’s travel bag, it seems. A pair of flip flops is a staple to any carry-on, as they take up little room and are perfect for quick jaunts to the lobby or to the hotel pool. Other than those, two pair of shoes is all you need. When your destination is projected to be cool, a pair of comfortable boots and another pair of walking shoes are going to be your best bet. Don’t bring anything you haven’t worn before or that you can’t walk in for long periods of time comfortably.

Wear your walking shoes on the plane and leave your dress up shoes at home. You’re not going to want to wear high heels after a day of sightseeing. If you really want to wear a pair of nice shoes out, look for a fun pair of ballet flats or wedge booties that will go with other outfits as well.

Accessorize

If you feel that what you’ve brought is kind of drab and not really exciting for a night out, then accessories will elevate those plain Jane items. A scarf, a belt and some statement jewelry can pack small and make a big impact. Jazz up your little black dress or a simple tank with a funky necklace. Even if you’re specifically planning to go to an upscale restaurant or clubbing, you probably won’t feel like leaving your fancier clothes at home was a bad idea. If you aren’t going to wear something two or more times, it is just taking up valuable real estate in your carry-on.

Do Laundry

There’s no way around it. If you pack light and you’re gone for more than a week, you’re going to have to do laundry. Schedule some downtime (which you should do anyway) to clean your clothes. It doesn’t sound fun, but you can take the time to hit the pool, watch a show or catch a nap. Just need to freshen up a piece? Spray some vodka on it. It deodorizes, and since it doesn’t have its own smell, you won’t reek of booze.

Carry-on packing can be difficult at first, but with some practice you can become a pro and save baggage fees. With fewer bags to deal with, you’ll feel freer as you waltz off the plane and get right onto your vacation while everyone else is still waiting for their suitcases. 

Are you taking a Winter vacay this year?

Holiday Travel Headaches to Prepare For

The holidays are coming and that means braving the crowds and being ready for all the extra headaches that come along with it, including delayed and even cancelled flights. Soon you'll join the millions of people traveling to visit friends and family or, if you're lucky, going on a winter getaway. I definitely approve of those, because the holidays can be stressful and getting away from everything is always nice and relaxing.

The airport during the holidays is a madhouse and security lines can be longer than usual, so let's talk about how to get through them with as little annoyance as possible (at least when it comes to yourself). This year will see a lot more delayed and cancelled flights due to pilot and crew shortages. 

Sign up for TSA PreCheck

You probably have time to apply for PreCheck and get approved before the holidays, since the government has restarted processing applications. For $85, you get 5 years of bypassing the main security lines and going through a much shorter line with less strict rules. You can keep your jacket, hat, belt and shoes on and your laptop and toiletries can stay in your bag. When we were up for renewal, we decided to upgrade to Global Entry, which works internationally and also includes domestic PreCheck for just $100. We used it on our trip back from France and we were able to use the Global Entry monitors and skipped the long customs line and ended up going straight to an agent while everyone else was waiting. Both of these require you to go through a Federal background check for approval.

Get There Early

Longer lines mean longer wait times and the holidays means more traffic. Don't cut it too close to get to the airport. Give yourself at least two hours before your flight if it's domestic and three if it's international at the airport. Accidents happen, extra long lines happen, computer glitches happen. Just be prepared. Bring a book or magazine to keep you occupied if you end up having a long wait at the gate...or go check out your airport's art or do some gift shopping. 

Fly With Just a Carry-On

I've been flying with just a carry-on for a decade now. I've gotten my packing down to almost just the bare essentials, since I now know what will get worn and what won't. The trick to packing small in the winter is layering and not caring if all your pictures are you wearing the same coat and scarf (maybe two). Here's a post I did on packing light in the winter.

Don't Wrap Any Gifts

If you are visiting friends and family and haven't shipped your presents ahead (which I highly recommend), don't wrap them and stash them in your carry-on. TSA may very well want to inspect them and will not be sorry for you if they have to unwrap them. So, I suggest packing small gifts and saving the wrapping for when you arrive. This takes up much less room too.

Go Left

Most people get to the security lines and head right to go through the x-ray machines. This makes these lines longer. Instead, go left if given a choice. These lines are shorter, making them a bit faster. Try skipping any lines with small kids, because they usually take longer.

Keep a Zip-Top Bag On Hand

Always have a bunch of things in your pockets? If you don't have an empty accessible pocket on your bag, have a plastic bag with you and then empty your pockets into it, so it doesn't get lost in the bottom of your bag or you don't have to stand at the end of the conveyor picking everything out of one of those little round bins to load your pockets back up.

Have Your Liquids Bag and Laptop Easily Accessible 

This is super annoying. All your liquids need to fit in a one quart see through bag in 3.4oz or less containers. Have this out and ready to toss in the security bin along with your shoes and laptop. When you're holding of the line rummaging for things that you knew you needed to have out, everyone gets that much more irritated and grumpy. You saw the signs. Don't pretend you didn't.

Wear Slip-On Shoes

Having to tie and untie your shoes to get through security is just another hassle you don't need. Pack those in your bag and wear some easy on easy off shoes. You will thank me. Anything that's hassle-free is nice, and can get you on your trip faster.

Don't Wear Any Accessories 

If you can get away with it, skip the jewelry and watch and belt. Those are just more things you'll need to take off to put through the scanners and nobody wants to wait behind you while you're spending an extra five minutes de- and re-accessorizing. If you want to wear something cute, try to stick to smaller, non-metal jewelry, like your favorite friendship bracelet.

Download Your Airline's App

Carry one less thing. You're already walking around with your phone, so download your airline's app so you can easily check in, get updates and have your boarding pass on hand instead of stuffing it into your pocket or a book and then having a small panic attack when you can't find it. You can have everyone's boarding pass in your party on your app. Another brilliant tip: screenshot your boarding passes in case your app logs you out or the airport has shoddy WiFi right before you need to show it to someone. This has totally happened to me more than once. Never again!

Your Chill

Don't be that person who gets all irritated when things don't go your way. Everyone's trying their best, the airline employees are already dealing with dozens of jerky people everyday. Don't make their life harder. Just close your eyes and breathe before you start yelling. Find your chill. Ask if it's really that important. Everyone's having a hard time, but they're dealing with it. Lots of things can't be helped, so you being grouchy and mean isn't going to change anything.

The holidays are supposed to be a happy time. Smile, even when you don't want to, think of the awesome trip you're about to go one, play games with your travel buddies and think of this as just another part of your adventure.

Don't Forget:

With Covid (and the flu and RSV) still hanging around, make sure you're staying safe, because having to quarantine from everyone in the middle of a trip due to sickness isn't going to be fun at all. We still wear our masks on planes, in packed seating areas in the airport, and other crowded indoor spaces.

Aside from voluntary (but I think still necessary) masks, make sure to bring hand sanitizer, anti-bacterial wipes, and a few Covid self-tests for each person in your party. If you're trying to make your flight more comfortable, a short list of must-haves is:

• compression socks
• eye mask
• noise-cancelling headphones
• a reusable water bottle
• snacks from home (or purchased before you get on the plane, because chances are they will still be cheaper than once you're airborne).

With a little pre-planning, you can make holiday travel as comfortable and stress-free as possible. Stats say that 60% of Americans won't be traveling at all for the holidays, because of both the high cost of flights and rental cars and Covid. So, while there may be fewer people on the road, there may be more people at the airport due to flight delays and safety protocols. 

Where will you be going for the holidays?

Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links and I may be financially compensated if you make a purchase through one of the links. This allows me to keep this blog running, so thank you in advance.

31 Days of Halloween 2024

Every October, I round up some of the most interesting spooky, creepy, and haunting stories on my Facebook page called 31 Days of Halloween. If you're not following me there, I'd love it if you did, as I share different things there than on the blog and Instagram. Maybe you missed some of them or you aren't over on Facebook to see these, so here is my round-up. Happy Halloween!

1: What the heck is "mummy cheese"? Find out what it is and how it's helping reveal historical mysteries.

2: What's scarier than being pickpocketed? Not much, when you're on vacation. Here are the top 5 destinations to avoid at Halloween if you don't want to get robbed.

3: Sometimes a theme park really does a holiday right. Here are the ones that go all out for Halloween.

4: We love a great hotel amenity, but at these hotels, the extras could include ghosts in your room.

5: Looking for actual vampires? Well, look no further than these 16 places where you'll find them if they ARE real.

6: Is a haunted house less scary if it's miniature? A pandemic project turned into something extraordinary and creepy.

7: You've heard of the Boogeyman, but what does he look like and how does this differ depending on where you live?

8: Some forests are haunted and some forests are creepy and some are both. Have you been to one of these, or would you go?

9: Looking for a new book and a good scare? Here are 11 books to get you through the month.

10: If you know me, you know I love a good cemetery. I will make a point to visit old cemeteries when I travel, and London has some great ones.

11: Was this Connecticut family plagued by a vampire? Or maybe they all died of tuberculosis... 

12: Party hard at Dracula's castle, where they throw the Halloween bash of the year.

13: Being hospitalized is scary, but it's even scarier when you aren't in your own home country. What should you do if you have an emergency abroad?

14: It's always sad when a cemetery and its inhabitants are lost for any reason, but this man is fighting to save a mental hospital's dead.  

15: Get your scare on with these 13 books about ghosts.  

16: If you're traveling over Halloween and plan to come home with a new stash of candy, know how to take it through security with these tips from the TSA.  

17: Ghost towns are making a comeback in the US as fun tourist destinations. Here are some ghost towns to plan a road trip around.

18: Creepy crawlies are gross all times of the year, so here's how to avoid getting bed bugs when you travel and what to do if you are unfortunate enough to bring them home in your luggage. 

19: Have you heard of the art of radish carving? Check out this tradition that is an alternative to pumpkin (and the horrifying turnip) carving that is so popular here. 

20: Imagine the horror of racking up a ton of airline miles, only to have a travel hacker come along and steal them all.  

21: You ever hear of the London Coffin Train? It transported dead people and their mourners to a cemetery outside of the city.  

22: Remember when you were told to take your candy to the hospital to have it x-rayed for razor blades and now you have to make sure your kid doesn't get pot brownies or whatever? Why is this tainted candy myth still around?

23: Can't make it to Mexico City for Dia de los Muertos festivities? Check out this Texas town instead.

24: While zombies as we know them from TV and movies don't exist, here are 5 ways we see zombies in nature, which is still pretty scary.

25: There are haunted houses and haunted mazes, but imagine getting lost in one of these underground labyrinths in Europe which can be the final resting place of thousands.

26: Have you ever seen a show so scary, you wish it didn't exist? Apparently, that's what happened to this BBC horror show. 

27: Get scared by actual spirits with the most haunted place in each state, so whether you're staying near home or traveling, you can find some ghosts to commune with. 

28: Indulge in your love of hiking and ghosts by hiking one of these 8 haunted National Park trails. 

29: Celebrate Halloween in Nevada why visiting these ghost towns and cool outdoor art "museums".  

30: Ever wonder how horror hosts like Elvira got their start? Here's a history of these fun and spooky emcees.

31: We don't just celebrate Halloween in America, but it's becoming more popular around the world. Check out these Halloween traditions in other countries.