Most of the time when I am traveling, I can’t really decide on what exactly I need to bring and what clothes I would want to wear. So I would just throw everything I can find into a big suitcase and check it in and deal with it later. But you know those stories where airlines lose your luggage? Yeah, that almost happened to us in Iceland and we’ve read so many stories of it happening to other people. This got us thinking maybe we can just fit everything into our carry-ons and avoid the hassle of baggage claim.
Also, our itinerary for our upcoming trip to Bangkok, Phuket, and Bali involved a lot of flying and we didn’t want to waste more time waiting for our luggage and worse yet – risk losing our things in the middle of our trip!
This is a list of the things we packed into our 2 carry-ons and 2 personal items for 2 people
Essentials
-Passports
-Bug repellant
-Sunglasses
-Chapstick
-Medications (Tylenol for pain/fevers, Exedrin for migraines, Benedryl for hives/allergic reactions, inhaler for asthma)
-Toiletries (deodorant, contact solution, tooth paste)
You can purchase these travel size containers at Target and put things you need like shampoo.
-Make-up (eyeliner, foundation with built-in SPF, etc.)
-Multiple outfits (shirts, shorts, swimsuits, shoes)
-Adapters (this depends what country you are visiting. We brought type C, F, and G with us. Check this website for more details – whatplug.info)
Type C
Type F
Type G
-Wifi box (we got ours from Tep Wireless). We had it shipped to our house and it came a couple days prior to when we needed to activate it. We haven’t used this company before so we’ll see how good the signal is.
-Chargers
-Charging block so that you are able to charge multiple devices at the same time
-Snorkel equipment (mask, fins, socks – if you don’t want to purchase any, you can rent some at the destination as well)
-Portable chargers (we brought 2 with us)
-Weight bands and weights (for underwater photographer if you need assistance diving down or want to free dive)
-Dry bag
-Microfiber towel
Photography Essentials
-Cameras (we brought the Sony a7 RIII and Sony Rx100 V with us)
-Camera filters
-DJI Osmo Pocket (Brea is really excited to try this out!)
-GoPro Hero 7 Black
-Gorilla Tripod with a ball head (make sure to get a big enough one to support the weight of your largest camera set-up)
-Fantasea Housing for Rx100 V for underwater shots
-KUVRD Universal Lens Covers
-DJI Mavic 2 Pro & DJI Mavic 2 Zoom
-LumeCubes
We managed to fit everything in two 21 inch Samsonite rolling luggages and two backpacks. We needed a backpack to fit Brea’s fins since they’re over 32 inches long so we borrowed her sister’s Christmas present. Surprisingly this backpack was able to hold a massive amount of stuff comfortably with the multiple pockets.
These were the bags that we used:
Here are some tips to help you pack a lot of things efficiently:
1) To pack a lot of clothes, try rolling each one item them up and then packing them
2) Try to space travel gear in different luggages or bags instead of putting them all into one bag. This way you can use the clothes as a buffer
3) We wouldn’t suggest using packing cubes if you need to put a lot of things in one bag because the cubes limit the way you can arrange your items
4) Try to leave all your important items or things that you will need often in your backpack (personal item) and place them under the seat in front of you on your flight
Hopefully we can get through Air China and our many other flights with no problem!
We did not weigh any of our bags because we are not used to doing that for any of our carry-on luggages–domestic and international. We mention this because Air China’s website seems very strict about luggage restrictions. It does come with a free check-in bag, but that’s not the point!
Hope this was helpful!
