Luggage...

[campbecn]

We are leaving on Tuesday and it's our first trip ever going out of the country and really our first real plane ride. I'm worried that we are over packing (only taking 1 large suitcase). I've slimmed down the suitcase twice and I've weighed it right at 50 lbs. I don't want to get to the airport and the luggage be too heavy b/c their scale is different than mine. So, any suggestions for what we can leave at home?? I don't feel like we're bringing anything unnecessary, but I know there won't be any room for souveniers with the suitcase this full. Also, we're each carrying on bookbags w/ our bathing suits, flip flops and cover ups. So, please help!!! Thanks!!

[Vee]

We go for a week, and I fill up a suitcase to exactly 50 lbs. And a have a decent size carry-on. I use everything in my suitcase, so.... there you go.

We might bring a duffel this trip for souvenirs and pay the $25 checked bag fee at MBJ, just to make sure that we DO have room, and DO stay under the limit.

But if you are looking for stuff to leave at home, here you go:
1. Daytime clothes. You are going to pretty much live in your bathing suit.
2. Shoes. I bring ONE (yes, only one) pair of dressy black heels for dinner, a pair of flips for the beach, and my running shoes. Period.

Those are two easy things to take out of your bag.

Also, I have noticed at the airport, that if your bag is like 51 lbs, they don't give you a hard time, and usually let you slide. Otherwise, they're gonna fine ya.

Have a great trip.

[Amy]

Make sure you're only packing one outfit for dinner each night because you'll be in a bathing suit from breakfast until dinner. Narrow your shows down to only a couple pair. Don't pack a hairdryer - they have small ones in the room.

But if I were you, I'd check the large suitcase, but bring a small one as a carry-on. This way you can stash souvenirs in it on the way home or throw some clothes in it if you are a couple of pounds over.

[Samantha]

Shoes seem to be what weigh the most and what I don't always use. The other item is any purses. I never bring any, I use my husbands pockets for any essentials I may need.

Also, make sure you bring travel sizes, that will also decrease the weight.

[Melissa]

hello. We leave on American on Monday. We are allowed at least one suitcase for each person traveling without any charge. We generally bring two suitcases.
Melissa

[Beach-bum]

My wife pushes the limit on every trip. She brings to many shoes and even packs her beach towel. I can never convince her not to bring a beach towel because Couples supplies a clean one each day. I gave up on that one and the shoe thing also.

Our luggage ALWAYS comes back home heavier. This is because of the added souvenirs and the extra weight from the humidity that our clothing absorbs. We have had to shuffle stuff between bags at the Montego Bay airport before due to being over the weight limit. We try to put some of the souvenirs in our carryon luggage to help. And I pack her heavier items, like makeup, in my luggage. Extra swimsuits seem to be most important. They don’t dry out each day and we spend a lot of time at the beach.

Be sure to pack a smile.

[Kegger]

Pack a small duffle bag in one of the front pockets of your suitcase (most soft sided suitcases have them)or in your book bag. You can find an inexpensive nylon duffle almost anywhere. If you suitcase turns out to be over the weight limit at the airport you can take some things out and use the duffle as a carry on bag but remember to keep your liquids in the suitcase unless they are 3 oz. or less and in a baggie for the TSA secuity check point. You're allowed two carry ons per person, as long as they are not too large. Then you can use the duffle on the way home to pack dirty clothes, books, shoes, etc. so you have room for your souveniers in the suitcase.

[dandj]

If you will need everything in the case you could aleays split it into two cases. Of course if you have to pay for your bags that will be false economy. We fly American and we do not pay for checked bags so we always take as mich stuff as we like.

[ORV]

You are allowed 2 suitcases each plus a carry on and personal item each on international flights. I'd spread the load across more smaller bags. I travel a lot and this works for me. I also make sure that everything I have rolls or attaches to something that rolls. Enjoy your trip.

[WandA]

You might want to pack a very lightweight duffel bag in the suitcase for any extras you may want to bring home. If you're already checking one bag, why not just check a 2nd?

It's humid in Jamaica and usually the clothes you're bringing home will be damp and "heavy" on the way home, especially your beach clothes.

[Linda]

If you are not taking a direct flight, make sure you put at least two complete changes of clothes for each of you in your carry on also. That will free up some of your suitcase and also give you options in case your luggage doesn’t arrive with you. (I’m speaking from experience – we arrived at CN on February 12 and didn’t get our luggage for two days!) Luckily, we each had a bathing suit and one change of clothes in our carry on, but it wasn’t enough! From now on I will fit as many clothes onto my carry on as I can. Have fun!

[pepsi24]

You might want to rethink that idea of only checking one bag for the both of you.... what about bringing stuff home that you buy, where are you going to put it?
My wife and I check two bags, and one of them is almost EMPTY... that way there is room to buy things and pack them!

[carla]

bring 2 bags instead of 1 this way you have room for souveniers.

[IACouple]

Split it into 2 suitcases so you can bring 50lbs of rum home with you.

[melody]

I would just bring two suitcases. Many airlines allow one per person free to Jamaica. Check with your airline. We will be bringing two large suitcases and a garment bag along with our carryons. We are going to be gone two weeks and have to bring all our wedding stuff with us and then to Jamaica since we won't be going home first.

[Indymommy]

Bring another suitcase!!!!! Sometimes, we pack a suitcase inside a suitcase so that on the way back, we have room for souvenirs. You each get one more carry on, so why not pack an empty carry on inside your suitcase, or carry it on and empty your suitcase just a little?

[onepiper]

Only "One" suitcase? My God, Is your husband bringing any clothes? I wish I could get my wife to cut down so we could only carry one suitcase. Is there any chance that you could switch to two medium size so you could fit a little more in for your trip home? Besides the great things that you will find from the vendors at the resort, there are items from the beach vendors that you're sure to buy, not to mention the items at the duty free shops at the airport. You have to make room. My wife, in the begining (28 trips ago) would take complete matching sets (tops, bottoms, shoes, belts, etc.) for every night, plus a few extra sets "just in case." We used to jump up & down on two huge suitcases to get them closed (before restrictions) and I got to put my clothes in our carry-ons. Try to do what I try to get her to do. Take a top for each night and mix & match a couple of bottoms (skirts/shorts/slacks) and only a couple of your favorite shoes/sandles. Feel good/comfortable, but believe me, no body will notice if you wear the same skirt/shorts on Thursday that you wore on Monday with a different top. So, that would be about 11 or twelve, in stead of 21 if you went for the ensamble thing. Summer dresses cut items down too. Remember, you'll need a nice outfit for a reservation restaurant and since one night is usually a BBQ on the beach, you can wear any old thing. Believe me, stay simple. As for your husband, please let him bring more than he's wearing on the plane. I do the mix & match thing and nobody, in 15 years, has come up to me on Saturday and said, "Aha, you wore those same pants two days ago." One or two pairs of long pants (he'll need a pair to get into the up-scale restaurants at whatever resort you'll be at),a couple of shorts, 6 - 7 shirts (one collared for same reason), one pair of closed shoes (same reason) beach footwear. Leave the socks at home. Then, stuff all you can in your carry-ons. Just don't have any liquids in them or you'll be leaving them at the airport. I hope this helped. Any other questions you can write at my screen name at aol dot com. Have fun.

[rocket dog]

We are leaving on Tuesday and it's our first trip ever going out of the country and really our first real plane ride. I'm worried that we are over packing (only taking 1 large suitcase). I've slimmed down the suitcase twice and I've weighed it right at 50 lbs. I don't want to get to the airport and the luggage be too heavy b/c their scale is different than mine. So, any suggestions for what we can leave at home?? I don't feel like we're bringing anything unnecessary, but I know there won't be any room for souveniers with the suitcase this full. Also, we're each carrying on bookbags w/ our bathing suits, flip flops and cover ups. So, please help!!! Thanks!!

Unless you've tested your scale, I wouldn't exceed 48lbs, just to be safe. Our scale read 48lbs when we were packing to leave CTI last weekend, and the airport scale read 49.5 lbs! (Whoa -- that was close.)

In hindsight, I would have packed one fewer pair of shorts (I only wore one pair the whole week; the rest of the time I wore a swim suit (daytime) and kakhis (nighttime). I also would have brought one less swimsuit (3 instead of 4) and I would have worn my water shoes on the trip there and back, rather than wear a separate pair of sneakers (my water shoes are almost like regular sneakers).

Also, I wouldn't have packed workout clothes (you always think you're going to work out on vacation, but once you get there you just want to relax!) We also brought too much sunscreen: 4 tubes of it. We only used 1-1/2 tubes between us (we stayed in the shade almost all the time, plus it was cloudy a lot). I also would have skipped the bug spray, as they weren't an issue at all at CTI.

Finally, it wasn't nearly as hot and humid at night as I'd expected, so I really didn't need a separate Hawaiian shirt for each night; I could have gotten by with half the number of shirts and wearing each shirt twice, since I only wore them for a few hours each.

Just my suggestions, so take it for what it's worth.

[Coloradojuli]

I suggest you go ahead and split up the stuff into two suitcases. The airport scales might not be the same as yours and if you are even 1 pound over weight they will charge you. Better to be safe than sorry.

Plus, as you mentioned, you won't have any room for souvenirs and I know you will find something that you will want to bring home.

If you are trying to save money by only taking one bag, check with your airline. Most still allow one bag free per customer on international flights. You'll be really happy that you took the extra bag. Plus if there is a cost for the bag, it will be cheaper than the over the limit fee.

[BobandJudy]

Why are you only bringing one large suitcase? We bring two smaller suitcases, since many airlines still allow you to check one bag each for free to international destinations. I usually have about 40 lbs in mine, and Bob has 40 pounds in his - plenty of room for souveniers on the way home.

[Chris]

I'd use a bit larger carry on... put a full change of clothes in there along with a swimsuit, your flipflops, a couple of books, your camera, etc. Even one larger carryon may give you the "safety margin" you're looking for.

[Bearso]

Can't really tell you what not to take since I don't know what you have packed. You might have 20 pairs of shoes and if that were the case, I would tell you to cut it down to two....

[utwonderwoman]

How many nights are you staying - and is the suitcase just for the two of you?

[Vickyj]

Why not do one bag each, then spread it between the two bags? Most airlines allow one bag each free for international flights. Another thing we do is put a change of clothes and a swimsuit in our carry on. That might take some weight out of your checked bag. We also pack a nylon roll up bag that we can use to bring home dirty clothes and use our suit case for souvenirs (in the form of Rum). I also wear my athletic shoes on the plane. Not only does it eliminate that weight from the packed bag, I can't stand the thought of walking barefoot through security where thousands of other have walked.

[Sun Kissed]

We are leaving on Tuesday and it's our first trip ever going out of the country and really our first real plane ride. I'm worried that we are over packing (only taking 1 large suitcase). I've slimmed down the suitcase twice and I've weighed it right at 50 lbs. I don't want to get to the airport and the luggage be too heavy b/c their scale is different than mine. So, any suggestions for what we can leave at home?? I don't feel like we're bringing anything unnecessary, but I know there won't be any room for souveniers with the suitcase this full. Also, we're each carrying on bookbags w/ our bathing suits, flip flops and cover ups. So, please help!!! Thanks!!

Why not take to suitcases and split the weight up between the two suitcases? That way you will have room for any things that you may want to buy down there. How many pairs of shoes are you taking? Shoes are heavier then you may think...trust me!!! Ha Ha. Hope you have a great trip. Where are you going? We leave for CN on Wednesday