Has anyone travelled with just an under seat bag?

[YourNimbleOchrePoster]

I am just about to book a five solo trip to a hot country and am debating whether to save £90 and not take a suitcase. Has anyone travelled with EasyJet or Tui with only a bag that will fit under the seat? I’m not sure if I’m crazy to consider it.

I've done it on Ryanair when staying with a friend for a week, as I didn't need toiletries, towels etc. Prefer to book with Jet2 though as you get a small 10kg suitcase included, plus an unspecified sized bag that must fit under the seat.

Yeah Tui is completely different from Ryanair and easyJet. Tui still includes 10 kg hand luggage, so does Jet2 as it goes. But Ryanair and easyJet only let you take a "small personal item" 40x20x25 centimetres and if you want actual hand luggage that costs extra now.

Word of warning, make sure your bag is the exact dimensions specified or smaller. I have been at the departure gate before and seen Ryanair staff refuse entry to people with bags that were too large unless they paid to put their bag in the hold. They do police hand baggage quite militantly sometimes...

Yes, we've done that a couple of times for a week's holiday (family of 4 with teens, usually flying easyJet). Totally do-able, especially if you take laundry sheets and manage a wash. We're going skiing soon and I'm already annoyed that we'll have to wait at the luggage carousel when we're used to breezing through arrivals...

I did it last year for a three night trip with my ski boots in the rucksack too! But it was definitely oversized so I was lucky the staff didn't check it. I've heard EasyJet have started to crack down on enforcing the hand luggage size though, so I think I'll have to pay for the larger hand luggage this year (but still not paying for hold luggage!)

I have had them check the duty free bag and see that not everything is from duty free, had to pay for an extra bag. (Ryanair)

But usually get away with this.

Check the last page where the hold bag costs are displayed first, because I travel a lot with easyJet and recently, the 15kg hold bag is often much cheaper than the 10kg cabin bag (unless you just don’t want hold luggage and the waits it incurs). I just booked a 23kg bag on my upcoming easyJet flight for £2 less than the cabin bag would’ve cost!

Plan the minimum you think you need to take. Remember you can buy travel sizes of essentials and buy when you get there too.

Check whether all that will fit in a bag of the correct dimensions. Make sure your bag does fit the criteria, it's very expensive to have to pay for baggage at the airport.

Good luck.

Word of warning, make sure your bag is the exact dimensions specified or smaller. I have been at the departure gate before and seen Ryanair staff refuse entry to people with bags that were too large unless they paid to put their bag in the hold. They do police hand baggage quite militantly sometimes

You are definitely best with a soft fabric tote or rucksack rather than anything rigid or on wheels. If your bag is over your shoulder and you carry it with confidence then you are unlikely to get checked. The people I have seen getting checked tend to be those with a case on wheels or hold-all style bag which you can see they are struggling to carry due to excess weight

Yes ive done it. Id only do it for a hot country though. I have a 30l backpack which seems to work with the budget airlines so far and you can get a lot in.
A couple of summer dresses. A shawl/pasmina, a light cardi. A couple of pairs of cropped leggings. 1 cossie and a bikini. 5 knickers.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/KDJXZ-Stuffable-Travel%EF%BC%8CNeck-Adjustable-Essentials/dp/B0CYPV5CQ2/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=P41UZBAIWYJ8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.AEWMx_Wanu3xc8aXrqlxn0EGlYI0mfTj9J6xwOkcZKbDA0IqdenGW_cRndgMoQYfINJalkTTyzam5hGJerjn_8Xsgj8d4evixM0c4T7w67PwXRVv4D3E6DucMdntyMccnwfzXM3toWHcAL9gU4jsIuaIR1EGTJzK5Vd8p-ekXK2srnpatxegqyP-HM9kPMAUp7lQ3PE254EoYKUuAQieQVBUfG7URZH6XzIrAUEw9OERj-w9DlYkA6SNWTgHrayTzW_2H9f63vCpZHYPXnefAoskeHwDCJbiuH65UKUTuto.B4POpfq2CtFbUfW5v4DEak5k-2pjWCTo4FHHxZYJllc&dib_tag=se&keywords=stuffable+neck+pillow+for+travel&qid=1736711713&sprefix=stuffa%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-3

I have also got a stuffable neck pillow like this which can fit a surprising amount in.

Use a bumbag as your handbag too as otherwise they will count your handbag as luggage, but a bumbag round your waist and a neckpillow round your neck is not.

I'm a size 20. Can do a week with a small underseat backpack. Only take one pair of shoes. Wear heaviest clothes. Buy cheap toiletries when I arrive.
I'm not fussy about stuff.

I never pay for luggage and go away for 10 days at a time. I travel in jeans, chunky cardigan, , big scarf (for chilly nights as a shawl) and bulkiest shoes. I’ve tried many bags and find rucksacks best, bikini, sarongs, summer dresses take barely any space. Carefully plan 3-4 evening outfits and rotate. You only wear them a couple of hours. Mini travel towel, small knickers, one white bra (I travel in a black one). Tiny bare minimum toiletries.
I also take a large handbag, it fits my mini laptop and a book. At the airport I get a snack from boots using my points (I’m exceptionally tight ) and get a large paper carrier bag. Pop handbag into boots bag when boarding. I actually love it, travelling light and walking straight out of arrivals). I even have space for my espresso pot or cafetière/travel kettle which I always take.
good luck

I do it all the time and go away for 4/5 nights at a time.

Wear your biggest pair of shoes like trainers to travel in and pack flip flops in your bag.

buy any toiletries online and have them delivered to the boots inside the terminal to collect once youre through security.

Only take the amount of outfits that you’ll need and try and wear things like shorts multiple times with different tops or take things like sundresses that can be folded up very small.

New job, new life, maybe a permanent move or a good few years.
I’d much rather do that than pay so much for a cabin bag 😂 I’m planning on going over 3 or 4 times a year so would much rather shop there. 😁

Yes, I did 4 nights/5 days in Palma. Got a bag like this to max out the allowance.

I wore my one jumper/coat/trainers. I also took a cotton towel that doubles as a sarong but wore it as a scarf on the plane.

Took quite a lot of outfits as I took two swimming costumes and a bikini, day vests and shorts and evening dresses (but small summer ones). Shorts pj as was sharing a room. Bought travel toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner and had saved mini perfume and makeup. Flip-flops and a pair of sandles. Also took a couple of pairs of cycling shorts and sports bras for running.

Lay it all out, careful planning and roll everything tight. Remember you need room for chargers, adapters etc.

Book on kindle app on my phone.

I bought suncream at the airport.

I do this regularly. Take a fabric shopping bag that rolls up and takes up virtually no space. Wear trainers, pack flip flops/sandals. Wear layers to travel in, including a jumper/cardigan which can double up as the one warm item you might need. I often wear a pinafore dress with lots of pockets, with a long-sleeve top, cardigan and tights. On arrival, tights and trainers get swapped for bare legs and flip flops and long-sleeve top gets removed so I'm effectively in a nice cool shift dress. It all goes in the fold up bag.

Don't take toiletries unless they're specialist ones - you can use hotel shampoo/body wash or buy it out there. If it's a hot country you only need one bikini - wash it when you shower after a swim/sun bathe and it'll dry almost instantly afterwards

Also...wear a coat with lots of pockets and fill them 😂

I've chickened and paid for one cabin bag each as we're away for 4 days and the weather might be variable so will need layers.

But I wish I'd been able to stick it to EasyJet. Was disgusted to find out they wanted to charge us £50 each, each way to take a cabin bag (which is included as standard with the majority of other airlines) - added £200 to our flights instantly.

I did exactly the same last summer using this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cabin-Max-45x36x20cm-Easyjet-Underseat/dp/B0BTM79TQD?ref=asttstodp&th=1&psc=1
It was fine! I wore my jacket and chunkiest shoes on the plane, stuffed my other shoes with underwear, rolled everything up and took a travel towel (or could have hired a pool towel from the hotel). I have a similar trip booked for later in the year and will be doing the same. I mainly wore cotton jersey summer dresses which rolled up nicely and lost their creases at the other end. I also had a flat fabric bag in the case for taking book/towel to the beach etc.

This bag ( link) fits under seat and fits tons in it! And then you can buy easy pack compression cubes, you’ll be able to fit loads in. Obvs that’s spending a bit of money but you can save on luggage in future too.

share.temu.com/0NsrnijtceA

We only ever do this. EasyJet under-seat bags are completely fine. That includes us - dh and I - taking sheets, duvet cover, towels, etc. Ryanair is harder.

I recently had my handluggage pulled at an airport for a check. Next to me was a women who had vacum compressed all her stuff, she was told she need to open all cubes until they found what they were looking for.

She wasn't happy and definitly struggled re-packing.

Yes, it's doable, but you need to be ruthless with the packing. I picked up some essential toiletries at the airport, as you can take them on in a separate carrier bag, or you can buy them when you get there.

Yes, wife and I have done a week on easyjet with just cabin bags. It is very doable.

Thanks this is encouraging. I’ve travelled lots of time with the small cases as hand luggage that used to be allowed but since easyJet etc changed the rules to only include the much smaller bags as hand luggage I’ve always checked in a suitcase.