What a Carry-On - Travelling Light (Again!)

A couple of days before we headed to Glastonbury Jet2 had a 24hour flash sale and we managed to snaffle a couple of return flights to Corfu for £60 each (it's well worth joining the mailing lists for your favourite budget airlines even if the constant emails drive you daft!) It's a common misconception that flights get cheaper if you leave it until the last minute to book, when I checked for the dates we're flying, the same flights are now £249 each. After buying the flights I checked Booking.com and discovered that all the accomodation in our preferred area was fully booked, with the exception of a posh apartment which was way beyond our budget. Nevertheless, I popped it on the wishlist and researched locations elsewhere on the island but, a week later, I received an alert from Booking.Com - the price of the posh apartment had been reduced by £200. 

Pass us the credit card, Jon!

My cabin suitcase measures 56m x 39cm x 22cm

Our flights allow one piece of hand luggage weighing up to 10kg and with maximum dimensions of 56cm x 45cm x 25cm plus a personal bag, small enough to fit beneath the seat in front. Travellers have the option to pay an extra £48 per person each way for an additional 22kg of hold luggage ...not that we'll be doing that, we'd rather wear the same clothes on repeat and put that £200 towards our next adventure! 

As I've explained before, the benefits of carry-on travel has loads of advantages. Aside from the money saved from not paying for hold baggage, it totally changes the way we move about. Only carrying a single, lightweight bag enables us to walk the 1.5 miles to the railway station & catch the direct train to BHX, not relying on friends to drop us and our bags at the airport or annoying other people on the train by clogging up the aisles with huge suitcases. At the airport we can head straight to security, avoiding the scrum at the baggage drop, and be enjoying a pre-flight pint in the airside branch of Wetherspoons less than an hour after leaving home. On arrival, once we're through passport control, we bypass the passengers anxiously waiting to reclaim their suitcases from the carousel (no chance of losing your luggage with a carry-on!) and take public transport to our destination. Other than not having a different outfit every day and honestly, who's even going to care that you're wearing the same clothes? There really is no downside to travelling light. 

Read more about how I pack light HERE.

Having been to Corfu before (this'll be our sixth visit) we'll be doing exactly the same as we usually do ... by day, sea swimming, sunbathing and exploring the island by public transport or on foot with our evenings spent chilling out in laid-back tavernas. The daytime temperature will be a delicious 35°C, dropping to 26°C by midnight. 

I cannot wait to throw myself off the rocks and swim in the Ionian sea! 

So what am I taking? 

 A raffia bag (Monsoon, 2024), a rayon cover-up (River Island via Vinted) , a foldable cowboy hat (Vinted), a backless cotton maxi dress (Zara via Vinted), a silk maxi dress (Red Haute via Vinted), an art silk kaftan (Walsall market), Teva flatforms (retail, 2024), Teva midforms (retail, 2023), 2 x bikinis (Accessorize via Vinted & Adidas x Farm Rio), my Greek cotton co-ord (Vinted), vintage Levi's cut-offs (charity shop aeons ago), Monsoon cotton smock top (courtesy of Nikki) and a Moroccan straw clutch (charity shop, 2018). 

A shedload of silver & turquoise jewellery.

Cotton throw, sarong, headscarf, googles, E-reader, prescription sunnies/readers. 

Hair stuff: Brush, hairbands, hairpin. Face stuff: 30 x magnifying mirror, mascara, eyeliner x 2, eyebrow pencil, eyeshadow, brushes, pencil sharpener, tweezers, lip stick, blusher. I never bother with make-up during the day but love bright lips and a smoky eye by night!

Do not adjust your screens - those are full-sized bottles of sunscreen! Birmingham Airport has just relaxed the 100ml liquid rule, allowing passengers to carry liquids in containers up to 2 litres in their hand luggage. But before you start filling your carry-on with full-sized bottles of your favourite products, remember that most of the world's airports still only allow containers of 100ml (which must be presented separately in a clear plastic bag at security) so unless you intend to use everything up while you're away, bear in mind that you won't be able to bring your half-used  containers of larger than 100ml back in your hand luggage. Stick to decanting your toiletries into smaller containers and don't forget to pack a couple of clear plastic bags so that you can bring back what's left of your liquids, pastes and gels without getting your stuff confiscated. 

We're taking: 2 x Factor 30 once a day sunscreen, once a day facial sunscreen, 2 x bamboo toothbrushes, toothpaste, bamboo interdental brushes, Lush shampoo and conditioner bars, hair serum, eye make-up remover, reusable cotton pads, Greek olive oil soap & loofah, bamboo cotton buds, razors x 2, shave gel, mozzie repellent, facial oil, Karma solid parfum, nail file, nail clippers, lip balm, plasters and ibuprofen.

Lots of tourists pack tester/travel sized products and travel with old/cheap clothes and footwear which they leave behind when they go home. I don't feel comfortable doing this, not everywhere 

(especially small islands) have the recycling facilities that we do and disposing of tourist waste is becoming a huge problem. Instead I do what we're told to do at festivals and Leave No Trace.

I'd intended to travel in my blue dress but Mrs Kaur on the haberdashery stall forced me to buy this art silk kaftan when I popped in for some elastic earlier today. It was reduced to £5..how could I resist? 

 

In my personal bag I'll have tissues, my water bottle (which I'll fill up at the airport), my Kobo E-reader, prescription specs and I'll have my jewellery packed in my make-up bag ready to put on once I'm through security. 

Don't worry, William and Gordon (and the house) will be loved and cared for by our fabulous friend, Michelle and their uncle Marcus (my brother!)

See you soon! 

PS Best of luck to our amazing Lionesses later - we can do this!!!!