winter to the tropics

[FerChitsNGiggles]

Hi everyone,
I was just wondering if anyone from a snowy region what would wear on the plane on their way "home". We will be leaving Iowa in December and can't decide if I want to freeze at this end of our trip or bake at the other end. We are doing the park and fly out of O'hare so we can leave our coats in the car. Can't decide the best type of clothing to wear. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!! 119 Days, 15 hours and 50 mintues to go.........

[Lindad]

We are from WI and fly out of Minneapolis. Last year I left my heavy coat in the care, I wore jeans and layered a light weight (Tank top or T-shirt) with a sweatshirt or sweater. If you dress in layers, you can start to take off the heavier stuff as you get to the warmer climates, then just stuff them in your carry-on bag. When I got to the lounge, I would put on a pair of shorts out of my carry-on. Some suggest the zip-off pants, but we don't have any. For us it's a long 7-9 hour trip depending on the layover in Atlanta, so being comfortable is a must.

[Marnies]

Wear layers! We wear our under armour hoodies and soft shell jackets to the plane in Toronto. When we are getting close to landing, we switch to under armour tshirts and shorts. You can change on the plane or at the Couples Lounge. Warm up pants are the best for flying, very comfortable and you know you will be able to get them on after a vacation of incredible food!
One year we went, it was -30c in Toronto and +30c in Montego Bay!

[csr]

Greetings from the shores of lake erie. we have traveled to jamaica in jan and feb. my best advise is layers.... I don't like to be overly dressed in the heat, so i have always started the return trip with light weight pants and tank tops and carried sweater or sweatshirt. Like you we left winter coats in the car. nothing helps get through the long winter like a trip to couples.....not gonna lie, i'm jealous.
hope you have a great time
csr.

[Wally]

We are also from Iowa and travel to Jamaica every January. We wear blue jeans, t-shirts, sweat shirts and tennis shoes on the plane. We also do a Park-n-Fly (out of Moline), so we leave our coats in the car and just freeze on the 5 minute trip to the airport. We pack shorts and sandals in our carry on and Vicki changes in the Couples Lounge when we get there. That's when my sweat shirt comes off too. Since the van to the resort is air conditioned, I usually leave the blue jeans on until we get to the room. The worst part of the whole plan is after we get back to Iowa, and get out of the van, both the car anf the coats are cold, so we freeze until the car gets warmed up.

[kandl]

we fly out of dm or kc in december. i wear shorts. my husband wears sweats but takes shorts in the carryon to change in ja. we both wear shorts home. brrr. we do have winter coats in car. december is a great time to go. have fun.

[Beergirl]

Hi FerChitsNGiggles,

We travel from Iowa in December also, but out of Des Moines. Heavy coats are just too bulky to take, so we leave them in the car, wear a light raincoat to the terminal, and freeze on the return trip until the car warms up. We stash the raincoats in our checked luggage.

We both wear lightweight slacks on the plane, but I carry on shorts and sandals and change in the Couples Lounge when we get to MBJ. Ken just wears khaki pants all the way, with closed toed shoes. Then, he's got them for the fancy restaurant.

It's totally worth freezing for a bit to not have the hassle of hauling around heavy coats all the way.

Enjoy!
Beergirl

[Coloradojuli]

I layer and my husband is very hot natured so he doesn't dress as warm as I do. He wears a t-shirt and zip off pants with tennis shoes. I wear a tank top, sweatshirt, blue jeans, socks and tevas. We fly from Denver so we always have a layover. At the layover (usually Dallas or Atlanta), I switch over to shorts, but leave the sweatshirt and socks on. Either when I get hot on the plane or just before we land, I remove the socks and sweatshirt and I am ready for the heat. No need to stand in line in customs and sweat. They now have air-conditioning there, but it is still hot. On the way home I reverse and am able to stay warm. We usually have a friend drop us off and pick us up so we don't freeze in the car, but this works pretty well and we are neither too hot or too cold. I also travel with a travel blanket (one like they used to have on planes) and can always put that over my legs if they get cold. This would also help to keep you warm in the car until it warms up.

[RubiGal04]

We start our vacation when we leave home for the airport... shorts, flip flops and t shirts. We freeze for a minute or two between the car and the shuttle to the terminal, but it's fine. Then we're good to go once we get in the airport, and we're already in vacation mode that way. Same thing on the way home, we just wear our shorts, flip flops and tank tops on the way home. Of course our winter coats are in the car and we put them on when we get to the car, but we just try to be "on vacation" as long as possible!

[Pamela]

We are originally from Michigan and now live in New York. We've been traveling to Jamaica annually since 1998, only travel with carry-on luggage, and are able to travel comfortably. Our saving grace: L.L. Bean.

In our flight down, we board the plane in an L.L. Bean Ultralight 850 down jacket,* L.L. Bean convertible pants, a lightweight top/shirt, and running shoes. As we near Jamaica, we remove the lower leg portion of the pants, and we're in shorts. Then we take off the winter coats, stuff each one into its own self-contained pocket, and stow them in one of our bags. Without leaving our seats, we've gone from winter dress to summer dress.

On the way home, we reverse the process, adding the lower leg portion to the shorts to turn them into long pants again and retrieving and unpacking the down jackets.

*These jackets compress to a small size and fold into a self-contained pocket. L.L. Bean currently has none of the jackets on its web site, but it does have down vests that compress to the size of a pair of gloves. I spoke to an agent at L.L. Bean b/c I was planning to order one of the jackets as a gift for someone, and she told me that the jackets will be reintroduced sometime in the fall.

[Jed]

We went to CTI from KC in Dec
We decided it wasn't worth it (as others have said) to worry about the cold here.
It was 8 degrees in KC when we left
So we parked as close as possible. We wore our long heavy coats and lugged our suitcase over to the terminal door. I took my coat and the wife's coat back to the truck. Then I ran as fast as I could to the terminal.
I wore shorts and a short sleeved shirt
She wore jeans and a tank
We were both comfie
We got some funny looks in KC, but when we got to the transfer in Memphis, lots of people were looking enviously at us.
When we arrived in Mo Bay it was 88 and we were very comfie

Funny story
We got to the Couples lounge and sat for 5 minutes to have a Red Stripe
This guy walks up right after we did and started taking his pants off.
We were a little shocked, but he had his shorts on under his pants
Everyone in the lounge laughed a bit at that one

John

[NDakotacpl]

We are from north dakota and we went in the freezing/blizzard month of february. My hubby wore knee length khakis with just a tee shirt and a hoodie, I wore nylon sweats over shorts with tee shirt and light sweater. We were also dropped off right at the airport entrance. on the way home I did wear capris. We will dress the same for this years trip in february. sooooo excited can't wait to get back home.

[FerChitsNGiggles]

Thanks all for the suggestions. They were great and I think I have an idea what I want. Of course it means I get to go shopping. :-) John, my hubby said the same thing about wearing shorts under sweatpants and I laughed at him. Ooops, I was wrong!!! (yes, mark that one on the calendar).
Thanks again!!!

[Jan]

Pamela,

We live in northern Minnesota and sometimes find ourselves dealing with 20 degree below zero temps when we get home.... I hate it! I'm typically not an LLBean fan, but will go on line tomorrow to do some shopping. Thanks for the great ideas!!

*** I can't even imagine traveling with a carry on bag. You're good! I'll make sure my husband doesn't read this!

Jan

[izzyandbella]

We fly out of Moline, Il and wear jeans and a tank top or t shirt with a light jacket. Our layover is in Atlanta and we change into shorts there. That way the minute we land off comes the jacket and we are ready for the warm weather. No having to change at the Couples desk in the airport. One reason is that the bathroom is always busy and people are waiting in line to us it. Seems like we only wait about ten minutes for our shuttle. Thats enough time to get a beer, water or soda. This works for us.

[warmweatherfriend]

We leave from Pittsburgh, PA in February. This February we had record snowfall & temps. We leave the winter coats in the car parked at the airport. I usually wear capris, tank top with sweatshirt or hoodie on top. I wear sneakers on the plane and pack flip flops in my carry-on bag. Before I get off the plane in MoBay, off comes the sweatshirt and sneakers and on go the flip flops. We forget where we came from and are in vacation mode immediately! Only 6 months to go....

[Happytimes42]

You can dress in layers and start removing items on the way. Or wear shorts and and tank under your warm clothes, change at the airport. When you reach Jamaica, you won't be roasting. Do the same when you return. After getting your luggage before you go out change into warm clothes. Last Dec that was a huge storm at home, had to stay an extra day in JA (that was tough), I changed at the airport and was glad I did. There were people trying to dig themselves out of 18" of snow in shorts and sandles. We also take our 4 wheel drive so if it does snow, we don't have a problems getting home. Last year was our 4th trip and the only one so far that we came home with a storm like that. Have a wonderful vacation