Do your kids take their own luggage on holiday?

[SassyS89]

I'm due to travel to Turkey with my kids (age 8 and 6) and potentially my partner. Last time I went on holiday with the kids they were babies and so all of our clothes were in one big suitcase. Now they're a bit older, I'm wondering whether it's worth them having their own luggage or if I should put all our clothes in one suitcase again (my partner will more than likely have his own suitcase).

What would you suggest?

Family of 4 here, we take 3 cases and mix clothes up a little, just in case one doesn't make it (dh went on a work trip a few years back and the airline lost his case 🙄).

I used to do the one big case but the last time we travelled, the airline were really strict about going over-weight. So, now we do 3 medium-sized cases.

Family of 5 here. A couple of suitcases, stuff mixed and matched in case one goes missing, as PP said. 4 and 6 year olds have a small Wheely bag with their snacks/colouring book/tablet/spare knickers in.

Try to put some basics in a cabin bag if at all possible, so we are covered until we can go to a supermarket if baggage gets lost.

Depends on the trip and the airline.

If I have to pay per case then I'll make it work as it's nice when it's only DH and I who have a case each to drag.

But next holiday is a fortnight in Orlando so long haul premium economy which means we get 2 cases per person.

I can't be dealing with that much luggage but my plan is 4 cases between us on the way out 3 of which have our clothes etc and the 4th with an extra case in it.

So yeah I'm already dreading policing them dragging the cases through the airports each end but it won't be for long and we need the space.

(Just did a week in the canaries hand luggage only so we each had a cabin bag and they managed ok but it was so stressful trying to cram stuff in coming home that I'll take the trade of the 4/5 big cases to not have the stress of space!)

Oh but they do have their own bag for on the plane.

I take myself a case and DS 7 his own case. Cases are full to the brim! We always travel for 11/14 days though.

No, clothes are spread out across cases in case something gets lost but last year by 5 year old was in charge pulling one small case. Own rucksack on the plane.

Thanks all, that's really helpful. To be honest, I am worried about having to travel around the airport with 3 suitcases especially if my partner doesn't end up coming, but I guess I can check them all in as each person gets 23kg baggage allowance.

Do you think I should take one large and one medium suitcase, or 3 medium suitcases? We will all have rucksacks as our hand luggage as well.

Definitely check the airline rules very carefully as it depends on the airline and also rules for airlines change all the time.

I’ve arrived at long-haul airports and they’ve had no baggage carts available. So, make sure you don’t have more than you can manage.

This year I have just invested in the max size cabin bag for each of us so we can avoid massive queues at baggage check in and the very real risk of it not turning up at the other end. The problems this year have been the catalyst but I think we will try to do this for every short haul trip in the future now. Older DC though - 11 and 13.

Haven’t checked in a bag for years. We al just take a cabin case and have gotten very adept in packing them. The heavier stuff we wear
to travel as never know what the weather is going to be like when landing.

Split between 2 suitcases with outfits for everyone in both. Daytime, evening & swimwear.

Really helpful if one gets lost

Should have mentioned that we will be going for 7 nights and I am 5 foot in height so will struggle with putting any cabin cases in the overhead compartments 😂

We all take small rucksacks on the plane with our personal stuff in it.

Id go for one big case and a medium case and hopefully your 8-year-old can help by pulling the smaller case along if you get stuck.

If your partner goes, take two larger suitcases but check if there are any size restrictions with the airline and weigh your suitcase at home to make sure it isn’t overweight.

Yes we tend to travel with hand luggage so each have our own bag. No waiting for bags at reclaim. Buy beach toys there. They are normally trashed by the end of the holiday anyway

Check the heavy bag weight for your flight. Some airlines will separately handle bags over 23kg, I've known others refuse them.

Mine have had their own case since about that ages, (contents mixed!) though I admit the 6yr old struggled. My 8yr old can handle a small wheel case.

A trick perhaps is to use 4 wheeled cases so that they can be pushed rather than dragged - I've propelled 4 of those across an airport lounge with dh child wrangling before. Also make sure your hand luggage has straps to attach to bigger bags so they can sit ontop.

@SassyS89 could you try fitting everything in 2 medium suitcases? I would then get a foldable duffel bag as a potential extra suitcase in case you buy a lot of stuff on your trip. If you don’t use it then great but you’d still have it as back up.

The bonus to it being a duffel bag is that you can loop it through the handle of a suit case and place it on top. One less item to drag through the airport.

@SassyS89 for example, there’s a foldable 40L duffel bag from Mountain Warehouse. I bought this one last week after having the 10L version for the past five years. They fold down to little cubes and can packed into other luggage very easily

www.mountainwarehouse.com/cabin-sized-packaway-holdall-40l-p14081.aspx/black/

A lot of planes you can put your case under the seat. Just check the dimensions for the company you are using

I use a smaller version of these for beach and other days out abroad. Really come in handy.

We tend to travel with 2 large cases but we stay in villas/ cottages with washing facilities so don't need 2 weeks worth of clothes. It's easier abroad where you need smaller lighter clothes, worse on UK trips where you need to pack for sun/ rain and snow all in the same holiday.

We take a medium case each but cross pack so each case has something of everyone’s in. Put a piece of paper on top of your clothes in each case with your contact details on in case the tag comes off the outside.

Last time we went away each dc (3) had their own sports bags, but we weren’t flying. If we were flying I’d probably pack as much together in 2 suitcases. As someone else said, mix it up in case bags are lost. I’ve had it happen before.

We take two suitcases and a soft duffle bag for the three of us and mix the clothes in case a bag is lost.

I think DD was 9 when she started pulling the smaller suitcase on her own. So a 8 and 6 year old may be able to handle one suitcase together.

Best tip ever is to pack your swimwear in your hand luggage so at least if your case is lost you can still go swimming (if you love swimming as much as I do). And mix up your clothes in each case....