Hand Luggage Only
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by Brenda Murray
When my children were little we lived in Seoul, South Korea and we traveled back and forth from Seoul to Toronto or Ottawa fairly often. I remember the ginormous suitcase, the diaper bags, the car seats (more than one), the bag of toys etc. Travel is so much easier now that everyone is grown up and responsible for their own luggage.
As a travelling adult, hand luggage only is my best advice for some very good reasons. First, wrangling a giant suitcase from your trunk over the curb into the airport and then again collecting it off the luggage conveyor belt, finding a trolley, only to have to possibly lug it up narrow stairs in your super cute European boutique hotel—all of that is for someone with more muscles and patience than I have. I discipline myself to carry hand luggage only so that I can manage it myself without help.
Secondly, travelling with one small piece of luggage that you can manage yourself means you’re going to save money on porterage.
Thirdly, while you’re tracking down a trolley or staring at the endless sea of suitcases on the conveyor belt, you’re more likely to lose track of your handbag or hand luggage and one of those things will go missing or cause you a lot of stress.
Fourthly, if you don’t have a checked bag you can stroll right past the luggage carousel straight to customs and you will get out of the airport a lot faster.
Finally, you don’t need to bring a lot of stuff. You really don’t.