Suitcase Sizes, Car Boot Sizes

Isle Drink, by Trevor Sharot, about island wine, UK, New Zealand, and many islands worldwide. Order the book from Amazon.

Weighty Books To Read Whilst Waiting

My husband travels to  wineries and wine events with a copy of his book Isle Drink. I travel with at least one of my books. You might travel with your own book to show potential readers, or a product sample to show potential customers. Or take books to read during long waits at stations and airports. For long delays, you might need a suitcase or bag with room for books. Or an e-reader.

Travelling Light & Weighty Items

I always plan to travel light. I look at those videos of tiny suitcases which take rolled up tee-shirts, underpants, and socks. I look at Temu's suitcase organizers. Neat cubes, colour coded. Even zip up bags for cables, or cosmetics.

But by the time I have added a book, a laptop, and a spare pair of shoes, plus underwear, night wear, swimwear, something smart for the last night party, that tiny suitcase is nowhere near big enough. Plus the umbrella. A sunhat. My diary. Ticket and passport. Travel guide - and phrasebook. Hiking guide or map. Second phone, or spare reading glasses. Evening bag. The number of things I need keeps expanding, and so does the suitcase.

Airline Luggage Weights and Sizes

You might check that each suitcase is small enough to be checked into or carried onto a budget airline, indeed any airline. Especially if you have multiple flights. But whether you are doing fly-drive or only driving, you also need to consider the size of your car boot, the luggage contents, and weight.

Contents You Can Cram In A Carry-on Case

I have seen airline staff and others travel with the tiniest wheel on suitcases. How do they manage it? They have work uniforms, so only need to carry a change of shirt or blouse and underwear, maybe a light dress for a woman for the evening, a dress shirt or tie for the man.

I used to travel to writing conferences with my books to display and sell. Lugging luggage up and down stairs at railway stations was tiring. I took a small suitcase. 

Reversible Clothes

Once my small suitcase was filled with books. I wore a reversible dress. That was two outfits. I looked at my other two reversible dresses. I tried one on top of the one I was wearing to see if I preferred the colour. The one underneath was hidden. They were both lightweight. I decided to wear two. What about the third? I wore the third. At the venue I admitted to a friend what I had done. years later, long after I had forgotten, and had turned to car travel, she kept reminding me of the time I had travelled wearing three dresses. 

Suitcase Sizes & Car Sizes

Check the luggage for all the family can fit hidden in the boot (called trunk in the USA). If you give a lift (called a ride in the USA) to somebody else you need room for their luggage as well as the extra person.

You might need to book a bigger car and warn the car rental agency that you need a bigger car for the number of passengers and pieces of luggage. Otherwise they might tell you on arrival that their larger cars are not available. They can only offer people carriers which cost a lot more.

Any sporting holiday requires more equipment. A ski jacket, gloves. Sturdy hiking boots. Thick socks. Goggles. 

Walking Sticks

A folding walking stick is useful for getting up and down stairs and walking about a hotel if an older person or somebody hurts their ankle or falls. Walking sticks are designed for flat ground and have a flat rubberised base which will not damage carpets and wooden floors. Some city walking sticks can fold.

Hiking Sticks And Poles

For hiking you need sticks with a pointed end to stick into sand, gravel and earth to hold firmly. Like walking sticks for city use, hiking sticks are available in versions which fold up for carrying or transporting in suitcases.

Walking sticks with points might be banned because they have the potential to be used as weapons. Or might damage other luggage. You might have to cover the point with packaging. Or check in the items separately as large items - more queueing (Americans say line up) so allow extra time). You will need to allow time to look for and collect separate and larger items, such as sports gear and musical instruments, on the arrival airport. That takes time, whilst your group is getting on a bus without you, or your booked taxi is waiting, charging you money for waiting time, or giving up thinking you are not on the plane.

Folding Hiking Sticks

One solution is a folding hiking stick.

You may need to check whether your existing suitcases are large enough to take a walking stick, yet the weight and dimensions still fit the maximum allowed on a plane, or fit in you own or hire car's boot (called trunk in the USA).   A folding walking stick which is too long might still fit in the suitcase placed diagonally, if you still have room for a rucksack, or life jacket, and/or other bulky items. 

If travelling by car, also pack sunblock, in waterproof and leakproof containers, ideally double wrapped. Videos on YouTube show all sorts of ingenious ideas, from balloons, to Clingfilm to nappies and sanitary pads.

Life Jackets

Another bulky item my husband took to Indonesia was a life jacket. A colleague from Singapore who moved to Indonesia told us that he always travelled with his own life jacket in Indonesia, which has many islands, and often requires an international flight into a bigger or nearer islands, then a smaller plane or ferry. Here's where you need a smaller suitcase to go on the plane. But big enough to hold a life jacket.

After my husband, who is a statistician, checked the latest water accident statistics, he found that there was a sinking or drowning every three days. He bought a life jacket online. The smaller ones are not designed to support you for many hours in open, deep water. But they would still be handy if you fell in the water trying to jump from a big boat into a smaller one in the harbour and needed to stay around for a minute or two until somebody pulled you out, or until you swam in open water to something buoyant which had floated off your sinking boat. 

The smaller life belts may or may not have whistles and lights to attract attention. So you might want to add these in pockets or lanyards, and familiarize yourself with the features of your lifebelt and its size.  Is a smaller lifebelt good enough? It may still be better than no lifebelt.

Expanding suitcases

I like an expanding suitcase. I pack it done up tightly. Then when I buy souvenirs or acquire brochures on the destination I still have spare room in my suitcase for the extra items. Make sure the expanding suitcase is still within the weight limit for your airline, and light enough for your arms to carry up stairs.

My husband likes the opposite. No soft-sided cases with zips which break and lose the zip pull. He wants a hard shell case to protect bottles of wine.

Websites - Useful Backpack & Suitcase Sources

amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Owntop-Buoyancy-Neoprene-Foldable-Lightweight

ebay

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_flotation_device

https://www.finalcheck.co.uk/swim-vest/

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