Australia for 2 weeks...help me go with just carry-on! (restrictions, best, airlines)

[SuSuSushi]

Title says it all. Going to Oz for a couple weeks. Due to the airlines charging for checked luggage now, I want to go strictly carryon. I don't need anything fancy, not doing much other than visiting a lot of friends while I'm down there. I figure a couple pairs of jeans, three or four shirts, underwear/socks, one dress in case I go out, and my swimming suit. Anything else I should easily be able to pick up down there, and spend less than I would if I paid $25-50/bag for several flights down and back. I figure I'll buy all my toiletries down there too. One carry-on size bag, and my laptop bag, that will be it.

Any tips?

[ChunkyMonkey]

Just so you know that the bag charges only apply for U.S. domestic flights, not international flights. So, you can at least check in 1 bag for free when going to Oz if not 2, depending on your airline.

[SuSuSushi]

Originally Posted by ChunkyMonkey

Just so you know that the bag charges only apply for U.S. domestic flights, not international flights. So, you can at least check in 1 bag for free when going to Oz if not 2, depending on your airline.

Yep, and I have two flights in the USA to get to my city of departure, and two flights in the country on the way home. So yeah...it looks like they'll hit me with bag charges if I take checked luggage.

[FlightAttendant]

for sure they will charge you for the in-country checked luggage. Other countries are even more strict than the US

What you said you plan to bring should be fine. They have a lot of laundromats there. Have fun..you will LOVE OZ

[nitram]

If it's a once in a lifetime adventure, go for it and pay the extra costs if necessary. You won't regret it later. How do you plan to bring back your souvenirs and other goodies you find?
BTW some airlines still do not charge in the states for extra baggage. We just flew NWA and they did not charge for the extra bags.

[warptman]

I went on a backpacking trip for three weeks in Europe back in May. I had a carry-on size backpack from Rick Steves and a North Face day bag. Since it was hot over there and me being from Alaska, I just brought one pair of sweats, underwear, five pairs of trunks (fold down small), and a few tshirts which you can buy there. This worked well and most of the things I had were hand washable but on days I splurged and did my clothes in a laundromat. You can google "packing light" and get some great ideas from that. Also you should consider buying extra memory cards for your camera, I wound up buying some in Switzerland for twice the price over here in the states.



After packing and unpacking I made the bag a little smaller than this. The nice thing about the pack is that it is expandable by unzipping the bottom edge.

[mommytotwo]

I don't know what the carry on restrictions are on the airline you are flying, but I recently flew Al Italia and their policy is one 11 lb bag. And, if your bag is anything like mine, it weighs over 4 lbs itself. We ended up switching to a smaller size carry on that only weighed 1lb, then we could really stuff it up to 11 lbs. (the bigger bag weighed 11 lbs and there was hardly anything in it.

So I would make sure the limits on the carry on before trying to attempt to pack only a carry on. Just in case.

Btw, no one checked how much our carry ons weighed, in the end. Sigh.

[statefan]

Best to check with your airline on restrictions first. Carriers like Quantas and Air New Zealand only allow 15 lbs for carry on bags. American might be a little higher. I think the both also restrict the number of bags to one, plus a personal item such as a purse, and depending on the size of your laptop case, it may or may not be considered that "one" piece.

That being said, we have never had them "weigh" our carry on bags on several trips back and forth to Australia and New Zealand. Nor could I imagine spending 2 weeks there on 1 carry on bag.

[fnord]

Wear one, wash one. That's my motto when traveling, and I never check in luggage. With an efficiently packed backpack like the one pictured above, you can get by just fine. Off the plane and you're out of there. If you need a few extra clothing items while you're there, just hit a thrift shop and then donate them back before you leave. Everything else is disposable.

[SuSuSushi]

Originally Posted by nitram

If it's a once in a lifetime adventure, go for it and pay the extra costs if necessary. You won't regret it later. How do you plan to bring back your souvenirs and other goodies you find?
BTW some airlines still do not charge in the states for extra baggage. We just flew NWA and they did not charge for the extra bags.

My souvenirs will be pictures. I already have plenty of souvenir-type stuff since I have a lot of Australian friends that have come up repeatedly to visit me. I'm pretty set on traveling with just the carry-on, because I can do as another poster said if need be -- shop at a secondhand store, and get off a lot cheaper than paying the extra baggage fees.

Thanks everyone!