Travel
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Traveling Light?
We are going to Ireland for 10 days in March. Any tips for traveling light? Links? Personal experience?
I am looking to take only what I will wear, stick to only one base color (black or brown), with colorful accents.
Also, bought a travel hair dryer that is really small, but I normally use hot rollers on a daily basis. Any subs for those? My hair is really long, extremely thick.
Thanks in advance!
Re: Traveling Light?
Bring a jacket. Emphasis on a. Put your hair in a ponytail or a clip. Wear jeans that you can wear more than one day. Layer and swap out the outermost layer with stuff you can wear more than once.
I did a week in Ireland in a carryon bag.
Our little Irish rose came to us on March 5, 2010
Don't drink the water.
Disclaimer: I am not an MD. Please don't PM me with pregnancy-related questions. Ask your doctor.
I don't ever check a bag unless I'm carrying bottles of wine or something. Being clothes that are neutrals and can be mixed and matched. No more than 2 pairs of shoes unless you're a serious athlete and are going to run every morning. Dresses are far more flexible than any other item of clothing and take up little space.
I'm still perfecting my light packing abilities (getting better every trip!) but I have been to Ireland and managed to do it with one carry on + one shared checked bag (mostly we used the checked bag to bring some stuff to Ireland for the friend we were visiting and then we had it packed FULL with all sorts of stuff we bought while we were there). If I were to do the same trip again I think I could do it carry on only the way there and I'd reign in my purchases a bit.
Do laundry if you have a chance, or wash stuff in the sink. Ireland is pretty casual, so we spent our whole time in jeans and t-shirts.
Consider alternatives to hot rollers -- for example no heat headband curls (I've done this one, it really works! My hair is super think, but only about shoulder length) or sock bun curls (haven't tried this one yet, waiting for my hair to get longer).
I love traveling with a carry-on only. I think you have the right idea with bringing only the necessities and clothes you can mix and match. The PP's also had good advice.
I can only think of two more things: Rolling clothes takes up less room and they don't get wrinkled as easily. And if I take jeans I always wear those on the plane since they're thicker and tend to take up more room in my luggage.
GL!
I typically wear my bulkiest clothes/shoes on the plane so they don't take up the space in my bag. Also, pack for 5-7 days, buy some Tide packets and wash clothes in the sink as you go. Most hotels we stayed in in Ireland had towel warming racks in the bathroom that we also used to dry our clothes.
If you can't smoosh things into a carry on, you can use space saver bags. It may wrinkle things more, but will help with space.
As far as hot rollers, I'd leave them at home. It's so rainy and damp in Ireland, I don't think it would be worth it. Just pull it back in a pony and call it a day. My hair is very long and super thick, and it was out of control frizzy in Ireland. I didn't want to do much more than pull it back and forget it.
Our two girls - Chenoa and Maddie
DH and I did 3 weeks in Europe with a backpack each...but we made sure to stay in places with Washers and Dryers so we could clean clothes. For a 10 day trip, I'd probably pack for 5 and do one laundry day in the middle of the trip. I always wear my bulkiest clothes too...I would also suggest trail pants...Mine zip off at the knee for shorts and also tie up at the bottom for capris...they were great in Ireland because it was slightly chilly at times and also warm at times. I generally stick to black pants and colored tops. I also pack short sleeved shirts or tank tops and then add my cardigan/sweatshirt jacket if I get cold. You'll definitely want to bring a rain coat...maybe one that packs up nice and tight
DH and I did 6 months with stuff that fit in two carry-on bags. Though we ultimately checked one of the bags so that we could have a pocket knife and DH's safety razor. When we are checking a bag anyway, we typically will now bring one larger backpack that we put all the light stuff in (ie: clothing; this is DH's bag), and one day pack that we put the heavy and valuable stuff in (ie: electronics, guide books, water bottles; this is my bag). This allows us to quickly and easily drop the big bag in a locker or at our hotel and go.
The trick is to pack as if you were going on a weekend trip, make sure everything goes with everything and you have good layering opportunities in case it is colder than expected, and plan to do laundry in the hotel sink. I'm a huge fan of the packing list/instructions on the Rick Steves website (though I always bring one skirt and one pair of zip-off pants, rather than two pairs of pants). http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/packlist.htm
I bring only a carry on when I travel, and that included 2 weeks in London and Ireland last May. I love packing cubes and highly recommend them for packing light!
It will be cold and likely rainy in March. Bring warm clothes, wool socks, fleece, a non-bulky but warm jacket, waterproof jacket shell, shoes meant for walking outside in damp conditions. I brought one nice outfit for going out to dinner/theatre/etc. But for the most part, you'll be most comfortable in casual essentials. You can also do laundry if needed, so dont feel the need to bring many outfits. Your idea of a few basic colors with accent accessories is good.
There will almost certainly be hair dryers wherever you stay (even most B&Bs have them). Dont bring your own, it will fry the motor even with a converter. I would also practice doing your hair without hot rollers. Not only will that be one less thing to haul around, but your hair probably wont hold the style very long if it's drizzly.