International Travel for 10 Days: Do NOT Pack!

How do you pack for an international trip in only a carry-on suitcase? I will teach you how to pack for this long vacation while you learn what travel essentials to not pack. For international travel, we usually pack for a 10-day trip or a two-week vacation in only a carry-on suitcase for three reasons. One, so we do not risk the airline losing our luggage. Number two, so we do not have to wait in baggage claim after a long international flight. And number three, just to save money because we've spent all of our money on this bucket list vacation to a foreign country and now we are ready to pack for it. The two most important items you must pack in your personal item bag for a long flight to another country are medicines and battery chargers that have lithium batteries in them. Do not let either of those two things be packed in your checked luggage or in a bag that has to be checked last minute because there's no overhead bin space. Here is what you can do throughout this video. You're going to make a list of what you do not need to pack from what I'm showing you. Your needs are going to be different than the other viewers on this Travel Tips by Laurie channel. If you do not use a curling iron or your own hairdryer, you will not need to pack a converter. As a pilot's wife, we can only travel with a carry-on suitcase so we do not delay flights if they need to take our bags off of the airplane. One week before your international flight, you need to research these two items. Number one, what is the correct carry-on size for that foreign airline? If you fly to Tokyo, Japan from the United States of America you most likely will not have to go through another country to connect to get to Tokyo. They're mostly direct flights from here. If you were flying to an international country where you do have to connect in another country, that airline is the one that is going to dictate how big the bag can be for your carry-on size limit as well as for a personal item bag weight maybe. So be sure you do that. That's why this list of what you do not need to pack is going to help you so much. You also want to research what is the rule for bringing medicine into that foreign country. Asian countries can be really strict about what is legal to bring through airport security in your carry-on bags for example, as far as medicine goes. For example, Sudafed is illegal to be brought through or into Mexico as well as in Japan. Here are two tips for packing prescription medicines for a foreign country. Number one, pack them in their original bottle after you have researched that country's rules for medicine. You can ask your pharmacist to make a smaller prescription bottle for just the amount with a few extras of what you need for that two-week trip. You may also want to ask the pharmacist if they can make a plasti, that foil-lined sheet for your pills. This is a very important tip because a pilot got his eye drops taken away that were prescription because he did not have them in the box that had the label on it. So have the label for the prescription on the actual bottle. Here are my tips for how I pack my travel outfits for an international 10-day or two-week trip even. I'm going to first check the weather based on my activities I'm going to be doing. If I'm touring all day or going to be hiking, I need shoes for those like solid footing for cobblestone roads, for example. I have a whole video on supportive shoes for travel, but I'm also going to notice if it's going to rain at all. I have one pair of my shoes that are going to be water-resistant. Your vacation outfits are crucial to being able to only pack the essentials in a carry-on suitcase for that long of a trip. The number one tip is to pack a minimal amount of shoes. Try to only pack two pairs because they take up so much space in a carry-on suitcase. You do not need to pack more shoes for another country because you also have your airplane outfit shoes to wear and to match all of your travel outfits. My newest travel hack is I sprayed Scotchgard on my super lightweight hokas that do not make me feel frumpy. Some of the hokas are so bulky, but people love them. And now I, these are my most favorite tennis shoes from my entire life. And I wore them like when I was a teacher, even with those awful dresses and dress pants to an interview. Here are some packing hacks for carry-on luggage travel in another country. Shoes do not have to be packed together in a shoe bag. Pack one shoe in this corner. Pack one shoe in the middle of these luggage handles. Another travel hack is to pack one shoe in a produce bag or a free newspaper bag. The number two packing tip for travel outfits is to mix and match vacation outfits by packing solid shirts or bottom pieces. You're going to wear those solid colors with other solid color bottom pieces that are versatile for your vacation. But here is the problem that most of my viewers have when packing for a long international trip. They refuse to re-wear their outfits. And I have a solution for you. My tip is to pack laundry packs that you can wash your clothes in the bathtub or the hotel sink. Use the shampoo to wash some clothes. Pay for a laundry service or check a suitcase. These next travel tips are for those passengers who will re-wear their outfits so they know in their list what is not needed to be packed in a carry-on suitcase. Tip number three is to pack your outfits in compression cubes. I have a whole video where I show you the differences, like where I fold them, I just roll them, or I pack in compression cubes. I do that all with the same amount of travel outfits that might help you decide or help you test in between different trips. But again, here is a problem for many of my viewers. They say that they are restricted on the weight of their suitcase, so therefore they do not even think about packing in compression cubes. But I have a solution for you as well. What you're going to do is you're going to stack and weigh all of your vacation outfits after you've followed my tips for choosing what to wear based on the weather and your activities. Then you're going to take out any shirt or any bottom pieces from your travel wardrobe that can only be worn one time during your two-week vacation. That is not needed in your carry-on suitcase. You can do better. But in a nice way, you can choose another top that can be worn three times during that two-week vacation instead of that unitasker like Elton Brown talks about. Then after you've stacked and weighed, then pack in compression packing cubes. They make them like books, which does not make them heavier, but you have open space in your suitcase which you can pack trinkets in, but it just helps you be less stressed because you have all this space and you feel like such a conqueror. I did test a brand new packing method where I packed my travel outfits in the small compression cubes. And you can choose whatever one. Choose a cheap one if you want to. It doesn't even have to be compression. Here are four travel outfit tips. Number one, have your outfits be versatile. Number two, pack trousers that are stretchy for overeating. Pack blouses that are multifunctioning so they can be casual during the day with shorts or jeans, but they can also be worn to a dressier activity at night into a restaurant with some versatile pants that you've packed. And the fourth tip is to pack effective outer layers that are going to keep you warm without adding weight, without adding bulk. I wore a solid blue cashmere sweater in the summer because it was cold at night, or I wore it inside the airplane. Cashmere and merino wool, they both keep you really warm, but they're thin and lightweight to pack and wear. But there's also merino wool short sleeve shirts and t-shirts that will be quick drying if you do want to do laundry while you're on your international bucket list trip. Here are some tips that I use when packing for airport security in another country. These tips are going to be really important for your return flight home, because like I said, going through the United States airport security is fairly easy because we are so relaxed on our liquids rule. But when you are coming back, like in London Heathrow, I will have their website for their liquids rules in the first comment for you or the description paragraph. But in London Heathrow, in Edinburgh, their bags seem smaller than our court-sized bags. And on the London Heathrow site, it says that the liquids bag can be eight by eight, which my liquids bag is, but I just do not trust it. So I always pack my really thin one. And real quick, remember that the liquid containers are what have to be 100 milliliters or smaller or 3.4 ounces or smaller. You can pack as many as you can fit in there, but the liquids bag has to zip. And here's another tip. If you're taking prescription medicine that's liquid, that does have to be placed in the little bin going through their airport security, as well as in the United States. It does not have to go in your liquids bag, but it has to be screened. So in Belgium, I had my liquids bag and my laptop, because they don't have TSA pre-check there. And then I had my liquid prescription shampoo separately, and I just put it in a little Ziploc bag. I do have a master list that is good for any vacation. It's totally free to download in the first comment as well. If you are packing an anti-theft cross-body bag, I don't know why we assume it's for Europe. It could really be needed in any city in the United States as well. But my cross-body bags have slash-resistant straps. And I love the mini one that is champagne colored. It's so smooth and doesn't feel like one of those anti-theft bags. But when I was going to Belgium, I needed a larger one. And this black one holds so much without being large and just bulky for me. I was able to put my mini-sized travel umbrella in there, along with my double-sided glasses case and other essentials that I talk about. But the straps are what are slash-resistant, as well as the body of the bag. Remember, in the United States, they may be really strict now and say that your cross-body bag has to be packed in your personal item bag. One travel hack I thought of was to make anything that's inside your backpack or your tote bag vertical so that you then put your cross-body bag inside there vertically as well. It's easier to fit it in. But I leave a little bit of space at the top for that reason. I really did like, on this cross-body bag, the outer little pocket for throwing Euros in my cross-body bag when I was out shopping. Most of them took a card, but if it was like a $3 glass of mulled wine, I used my cash. And then just, it was just easier and less, I was less of an opportunity to be stolen from by just throwing those in that outer pocket. If it will be raining when you are in your international trip, you have two options. Number one, you can pack this totally cute rain jacket that I finally found that is lined, but it's not stiff and it's not heavy to me. It has a detachable hood as well as sensible hood, which is majorly important if it's blowing rain. But you can detach that hood for less weight and then just pack your mini umbrella in your cross-body bag or wherever. Or you can pack both, the umbrella and the entire rain jacket. One thing to notice, if you are looking for rain jackets for travel, is to make sure that they have the feature where it tapers around your wrist. Because if it is raining and you're holding the umbrella, the water goes down your arm, which I never would have thought of. Here's some travel hacks for packing a raincoat. You are going to either fold it, much like a bulky sweater or a thick pair of jeans or something like that in your carry-on suitcase. You can fold it and drape it over the other clothes that you have packed in compression cubes, for example, or you can wear it onto the airplane or tie it around your waist into the airplane. But here's the travel hack. You're going to pack a trash bag inside the pocket of this raincoat. When you get to your seat or when you take off the raincoat, you just roll it up as tightly as you can and stuff it inside that trash bag and then stuff it under the airplane seat or above your carry-on suitcase in the overhead bins. But you decide if you can do it without attaching the hood. And here's my tip for being prepared for unpredictable weather in another country. I pack at least one pair of water-resistant shoes, like I said earlier, and then I pack two tops that can be worn with those water-resistant shoes just in case it rains more often than I assumed. All right, now think about what you do not need to pack for your hotel stay in another country. Like I said earlier, if you are packing a curling iron from the United States or your hairdryer, you do need to pack a converter because it has to change the electricity before it gets plugged into their wall with an adapter. I have now bought a dual wattage curling iron that is mini. So this is 3 1⁄4 inch. And I will put a hair tutorial because I get a lot of questions on how I curl my hair. I have not tested it over there, but it says that it is dual wattage. So for a river cruise in another country, I'm going to use that instead of packing my bulky converter. Now, this is the converter. It has my plug, but in another country, I need the adapter to plug into so that it can fit into their outlet over there. So it says I'm not packing my converter this time. And what I found out that I did not have in Belgium last December is these extra adapters. Since hotels in Europe and other countries do not have as many outlets as we have electronics and things to plug in, I would highly suggest packing these extra adapters. You have like three outlets for one. So you can pack them in a two-pack, use them in that outlet. If you're traveling with family, they can use another two for their outlet on their side of the room. If you are packing a CPAP machine, that does not count as luggage or a personal item bag in the United States, or for the most part in other countries. So use the trolley strap to go over your luggage handles. One tip is they may want to unzip your travel case for your CPAP machine in the airport security. Just be prepared for that. And then you can buy the bottled water in the airport after you've gotten through security in the other country. We had a hard time finding large quantities of distilled water in Spain or Italy with my mom a few years ago. But we looked for pharmacies and they had like a one liter volume of water. Here's one tip also is to ask your doctor. My mom's doctor said just use the sink water for this trip. It's not going to harm it forever. One safety tip for international travel or anywhere for a vacation is to have the address of the hotel on your phone or in a pocket inside your crossbody bag for knowing where to go if you get lost or for them to track down your family members if you are separated or lose something, for example. Oh, one travel hack is to take a picture of the inside of the back booklet cover of your passport. If you do lose it, that will help you expedite having a replacement. I do not pack my passport in a little booklet for travel. It takes up space, minimal amount of space, but you have to take your passport out in airport security. So I would just have my hidden money belt for traveling and touring around different cities in other countries and have my passport in there. Or like what we've done for over 20 years, we just keep our passports in the safe of the hotel. But going through airport security, one tip is you can hold it in most airports or when you are sending your baggage through the airport security screening machines, once you show your identification to the TSA officer, put it inside a zipped pocket on the inner parts of your personal item bag so that it's harder to get to if someone's trying to steal your stuff in airport security. You may wanna pack a valet tray or a bright piece of fabric that's super lightweight to put your hotel key card or your rental car key or your bus tickets on or your jewelry so you do not forget those items that might blend into the hotel furniture. One item you may wanna consider is luggage wheel covers. Because you might be going over rough surfaces or cobblestone roads in another country, these wheel covers are so lightweight. But here's the travel tip. They are only for eight-wheeled suitcases. I have one for my other suitcase and you'll be surprised how bad of shape those covers can get. And they do not mess with the friction of your bag for it being easy to pull or push alongside you. And it's going to make your bag stand out in baggage claim if it gets checked so nobody steals your bag or mistakenly grabs your bag. In another country, bucket list trip of a lifetime. I'm so happy for y'all who get to do this. We're going on our first river cruise trip. We get to go on another one later on in the year and I am so excited. I'm sure I'll have lots of tips. If you have some other tips that I have not mentioned or travel hacks of what not to pack or how to pack in a better way so that it does not take up space in a carry-on suitcase, put them in one of the comments down there after you look at the first comment, if you need that, and say hello if we have not met yet.