Traveling to Australia with just a carry on

10 July 2023

I’m on my way to Australia to visit family and participate in my niece and her new husband’s wedding celebration. Lucky me! I’ll be gone ten days, though of two of them will be spent in the air. I’m going to Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, which are temperate, even in the winter.

I’m traveling alone (my husband was not up for such a long airplane ride) and wanted to make sure I could navigate the trip as easily as possible, so I worked hard to pack light. The last time I bought a suitcase was about 2011, so I treated myself to a new, lighter carry-on roller bag with spinny wheels that roll smoothly. (I bought this Calpack Hue suitcase at The Container Store!) I also bought some Calpack compression packing cubes so I was able fit all my clothes (including pajamas and robe) into the two cubes on one side of the suitcase. My shoes and toiletries went on the other side. (The suitcase has two equal-sized compartments.)

I wear merino wool 365 days a year, which is great for travel. Every garment I packed was merino wool, which is lightweight, warm, breathable and odor resistant. For the long flights, I’m wearing wool joggers and t-shirt and sweatshirt and I packed three dresses, a cardigan, leggings, boots and a couple of scarves. (I packed a non-wool sun hat too.) This is probably actually more than I need, but it will give me a little variety.

I started by making a list of what I wanted to bring and then I started crossing off those things that weren’t absolutely necessary. After I started packing, I realized I needed to cut back more. Using the carry-on suitcase as my space limit made it easy to edit down what I took.

I’m writing this in Los Angeles, where I arrived last night. I’ll be leaving for Australia close to midnight tonight. I’ll report back on whether I wore everything I brought or if there were things I’d edited from my suitcase that I wish I had packed. I’m excited that I was able to get everything into a carry-on!

Tagged with: australia, travel