Carry-On Chronicles: Two Weeks in Europe

My Two-Week, Seven-Flight, Four-Country, 7-Night-Cruise, Zero-Checked-Bags Extravaganza

Let’s face it: travel is fun. Dragging a 60-pound suitcase up a flight of stairs in a no-elevator Airbnb? Not so much.

Here’s why I’m going carry-on only for a trip like this (and why you might want to try it too):

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Why Go Carry-On Only?

1. No Lost Luggage Meltdowns
Raise your hand if you’ve ever stood at a baggage carousel with slowly mounting dread as everyone else grabs their bags and leaves. 🙋‍♀️ Yeah, me too once, years ago. Never again. The risk seems higher now, and I’d rather keep my bag where I can see it (or at least within overhead-bin distance).

2. Baggage Claim is a Vibe Killer
Waiting for luggage eats into your gelato time. So does schlepping a massive suitcase over cobblestones or up charming but evil spiral staircases. Even worse? Trying to wedge an oversized bag onto public transportation in a busy city. No thanks.

3. We Can Actually Lift Our Bags
Our bags top out around 25 pounds. Even with my husband’s lifting restriction, he’s got it handled, and I lift my own bag so he isn’t doing repetitive lifting. One of my travel pet peeves? Watching someone board a plane with a suitcase they clearly cannot lift, then expecting help. PSA: If you can’t hoist it overhead, check it.

4. We’re Seasoned (Packing) Pros
We’ve checked a bag once in the last 20 years, when our kids were tiny. Otherwise, we’ve traveled internationally dozens of times, from tropical beaches to chilly European cities, without ever checking a bag. Practice makes… perfectly packed cubes.

Step 1: The Pre-Packing Spreadsheet

Yes, I have a spreadsheet. I tweak it after every trip. It sparks joy.

It’s my ultimate travel-planning tool: organized by climate, activity, and number of days. Post-trip, I review it like a mission debrief and adjust. Nerdy? Sure. Effective? Very. Here’s an example:

Page 1: The Personal Item - Nomad Lane Bento Bag

Page 2: The Suitcase - Monos Carry-On Plus

For this trip, we have 7 flights, including two European carriers, so lightweight packing is key. Bonus: we have unlimited laundry service on our cruise, which helped me scale down even further.

Things to keep in mind when packing for Europe:

• Try everything on. Make sure your items go together, are comfortable, and that you have the appropriate undergarments for everything.

• Shoes: Test-drive required. Cute doesn’t count if you’re limping. A trip to Europe is not the time to break in a new pair of shoes. Even if you’ve worn a pair of sandals around town at home, you’ll likely be walking a lot more steps than usual, and on uneven surfaces, so be prepared with some moleskin just in case.

• Laundry is usually wash only. If you’re booking an AirBnB and hoping to do laundry, it’s probably only going to have a washing machine. If you’ll need to do laundry on your trip, pack items that dry quickly while hanging.

• Respect local customs. If you're from the US, you're unlikely to blend in as a local in Europe, but you can still avoid looking like a walking advertisement for 'Merica!' and reduce your chances of attracting pickpockets and scammers. A few things to stay away from in general:

  • Prominent logos

  • Tight athletic wear (unless you’re actually working out)

  • Denim shorts or distressed denim jeans

Also, be mindful of the expectations for dress/coverage when visiting religious sites.

Step 2: Suitcase Tetris Begins

Once I’ve laid everything out, it’s go time. I cross each item off the spreadsheet like a game of Packing Bingo.

Inside the Bento Bag:

• Front: Essentials

• Top: TSA + snacks

• Inside back packing area: Makeup, meds, in-flight freshening magic

• Inside front packing area: Tech Pouch, Extra cardigan, Ziploc bag with change of socks & undies

• Laptop slot: Kindle + bleach wipes

In the two easy access top pockets I keep my liquids bag and snack bag. Since we’re going through the notoriously picky security at Heathrow, I opted for the zip top quart size Glad Flex & Seal bag for my liquids, (they’re slightly stretchy, so you can cram more in there), instead of my normal TSA bag.

The Bento Bag opens up clamshell style and has packing compartments on both sides. In the back section I have 3 pouches I like to have handy during the flight; there’s also a top zipper for this section which makes it easy to access.

The black and grey pouches are the Travelon Compact Hanging Toiletry Kit. Black has all my non-liquid makeup items. Grey is my “medicine cabinet” with all my prescription and OTC meds, hydration packets, and extra mints. The leopard bag is my in-flight “bathroom bag” with things like hair ties, lip balm and deodorant wipes.

Inside the Carry-On Plus:

Zip side:

• Taos sandals (in shoe bags)

• Flat sandals tucked on the edges

• Jewelry sleeve and important docs in the mesh zips

• 2 Packing cubes:

  • 3 dresses + 1 pants (large cube)

  • 2 workout sets, swimsuit & coverup (medium cube)

Compression side:

• Travel blow dryer

• Toiletry bag

• Cross-body purse

• 4 Long/Skinny Packing cubes:

  • Hair tools

  • Undies/socks

  • 4 tops + Bras

  • Shorts (2 pairs)

• Curling iron

Everything fits. Everything has a place. And when we touch down, I’m not stuck playing suitcase roulette with airline staff or dragging a mini-fridge-sized bag over cobblestones through a medieval village.

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Final Thoughts

Is carry-on-only travel for everyone? Maybe not. But if you like saving time, avoiding stress, and knowing your stuff will arrive when you do, give it a shot. Just maybe start with a long weekend before tackling Europe + Cruise + Flights x7.

Or go all in, I'm not here to stop you. Just bring moleskin.