Traveling light and packing wisely
adapted from Rick Steves company advice & rules
Like Rick Steves (and like the airlines) we have long experience in the travel business, and like them we have learned the necessity of being stubborn about limiting traveler’s packing indulgence or ill-discipline.
Specifically: one suitcase, airline carry-on size. That's it.
When you travel with only carry-on luggage, it's less likely to get lost, broken, or stolen. Quick, last-minute changes in flight plans become simpler. Every airport, every hotel change is a breeze. Light on your feet, the trip is more relaxed and more flexible. It's a good feeling. Sicily Tour travelers are on our way downtown while everyone else stares anxiously at the luggage carousel; we’re on our way when less savvy travelers are standing around the rear of some bus waiting for loading and offloading.
These days, you can also save money by traveling with only carry-on. While it's still free to check one bag on most overseas trips, you'd likely pay a fee to check two. For connecting flights within Europe or the USA, expect to be charged for every bag.
Remember, packing light isn't just about saving time or money — it's about your traveling lifestyle. Too much luggage marks you as an inexperienced tourist. With bulky luggage, forget about blending in; forget about Europe Through the Back Door; forget about getting to know the ordinary people of a country; prepare to be a target for every con artist and beggar. On the other hand, with one small suitcase, you're mobile, low profile, and in control. Once you travel light, enjoying sweet mobility and freedom, you’ll never go back.
We at Sicily Tour are proud of our travel style of being light on our feet. So we request you travel with one suitcase, no larger than:
48 x 28 x 70 cm (18 x 11 x 28 in)
plus a small purse or shoulder bag that you will carry on your lap or at your feet in our van or minibus.
If you exceed this advice, you we might not have room in the boot of on our light-on-our feet minivan. We might have to ask you to,
1. pay for shipping your oversize bag overland to each upcoming hotel, which would be painful for everyone
or,
2. consolidate into a smaller bag and forward the excess to our final hotel at your expense
Packing Basics
How do you fit a whole trip's worth of luggage into a small backpack or suitcase? The answer is, according to every expert on travel, is simple; bring very little. Take note of our packing checklist. Here is what is universally suggested:
1. First see our Mediterranean climate clothing advice here. Then look at each item you are bringing and ask not whether you might need it, but whether you could find it easily where you going just in case you might need it. That is, don't pack for the worst-case scenario; pack for the best-case scenario and simply buy yourself out of any jams. For example:
2. Pack one small version of each necessity, because you can buy everything everywhere: soap, toothpaste, face cream, and razors can be bought on every street corner from Sicily to Siberia. Pack to allow you to engage with the world you are traveling to, not insulate yourself from it. That is, rather than carry a whole month's supply of toiletries, take enough to get started and look forward to running out of toothpaste in some small Sicilian village. Then you have the perfect excuse to go into the local grocery and actually engage with the locals.
3. Of course, pack enough of the medications you use daily that are prescriptions. Most basic vitamins & painkillers can be bought at pharmacies, if you have special medications, bring prescriptions in case you lose the ones you are carrying.
4. Whether you're traveling for three weeks or three months, pack exactly the same. Bring light, wrinkle-free fabrics. Upon arrival at the hotel, it takes a few minutes to wash underwear in the hotel sink, wring them out, lay them out on the hotel towel, roll it up tightly and squeeze out the last of the water. Then, hung by the open window, or on the balcony, or next to the air conditioning vent, they’ll be dry enough by morning.
The whole world is casual now, even fine restaurants. If you’re traveling with the Duchess of Windsor, you’re probably not on our tour (though we did host Linda Byrd Johnson once and a Deputy Secretary of State). On our tours no one will care if you are alternating between two pairs of slacks and two blouses. If variety matters, you can mix them up and vary the look with a scarf or two.
No need for bulky sweaters or jackets; if the weather promises cool, bring a light jumper. Otherwise, if warmth is needed, layering your lighter garments is the answer given by every travel expert. If the weather proves chillier than expected, you also can buy extra pieces of clothing while traveling, if needed, so you have saved some heavy lifting early and also have a souvenir. Instead of bulky spare shoes, one pair of comfy shoes that look passable can be dusted off for dinner, or carry sandals as your evening pair.
If you like to carry reading material, bring what you can discard or leave for others when you finish it. Better yet, an e-book or Kindle. Otherwise, many places have travelers’ book exchange.
If you still have a struggle to get things into one small suitcase, you might consider zipping them up in packing cubes, airless baggies, or a clothes compressor. Look at specially designed folding boards (such as Eagle Creek's Pack-It Folder) to fold and carry clothes with minimal wrinkling. For smaller items, use packing cubes or mesh bags (one for underwear and socks, another for miscellaneous stuff such as a first-aid kit, earplugs, clothesline, sewing kit, and gadgets). But stuffing the bag to overflowing leaves no room for souvenirs; best to be extra frugal.
The Sicily Tour style is casual, simple, and very light. Remember, there are two kinds of tourists: those who move quickly and easily in and out of airports and hotels, and those exhausted by heavy luggage, loading-unloading, packing-unpacking, worrying constantly about their bags, dominated by their luggage.
