Holiday luggage – What I took and what worked well…
I always try to travel light and I’m sure you can all relate to the experience of over packing…but it’s so tricky trying to decide what to take – what makes the cut and what doesn’t.
So, I thought it might be helpful if I shared my holiday packing experience with you. I initially thought that only having 8kg was going to be a challenge, but the reality was that I had plenty of clothes and options and in all honesty, I could have gotten away with less.
My dilemma, understandably like most people, was to look and feel good on holiday and enjoy wearing my outfits without having excess baggage. My solution is to have a good selection of jewellery to make outfits feel different and change things up a bit. However, what you ultimately decide to take obviously depends on your holiday plans and your style of vacation.
This is what I took:
Cotton jacket – the plan was to use this for travelling but it was so warm here when we left, I didn’t need it. However, the island we stay on (Kythira) is often quite windy and I anticipated it being chillier some evenings, so it did come in useful on a few occasions.
Light weight jumper – panic last minute decision but with my jacket I didn’t really need it, although it was worn on a particular windy occasion! And useful with the excessive air con on the flight but I could have easily used my jacket instead, so in hindsight not necessary.
2 pairs of shorts for daytime wear – one denim which are so versatile and go with everything and a thin cotton pair for hotter days.
Beach dress/costume coverup
2 bikinis and a sarong (which was surprisingly versatile for getting changed discreetly on the beach, using when my towel was wet and even as a pillow when reading!)
3 vest tops – whilst I like the idea of white, I resisted taking a white vest top for purely practical reasons
1 linen top – this was white and I wore it to the max!
1 traditional T shirt – to use for travelling home
3 short sleeved shirts – that could be mixed and matched and also used for more casual evenings and I travelled out in one of them
1 pair black linen shorts – for evening (but could have been worn in the day)
1 long strappy dress – for evening
1 playsuit – for evening (could easily be swapped out for a skirt)
1 jumpsuit – for evening
1 sunhat
2 pairs sunglasses – day and evening to ring the changes
Jewellery – selection of different pieces planned with each outfit in mind but with a level of versatility so I could change around depending on my mood
Footwear – Birkenstocks which I travelled in and wore during the day
Flip flops
Trainers – as we often travel over rough terrain to get to remote beaches
Black sandals for the evening
Yoga kit – as I did 4 sessions whilst I was away (beautiful in the open air location)
Rucksack for hiking and a cotton beach bag which actually I sneaked into my husband’s bag!
Toiletries – always a challenge – I decanted what I really needed into small containers and cut back on my normal routine of luxury to what I considered the bare essentials. I then bought sun protection, aftersun/moisturiser, toothpaste, insect repellent etc when we arrived.
Oh, and then there’s the specs, Kindle and some undies, which can always be tucked in any shoes you are taking!
Having made that list it seems a lot, but all fitted in my holder and just came to under 8kg! And I also saved on paying for luggage which can be very hefty with some airlines.
