Gary Williams

The Best Piece of Travel Advice. Ever.

If you travel, even just occasionally, today is your lucky day. I know you didn’t ask for it, but I’m about to give you one single piece of advice that’s guaranteed to give you more freedom, improve your sex life and make you look younger. Do this, and I promise you’ll have more time to what you love most: listening to my new Nat “King” Cole CD, which is, incidentally, available to download on iTunes right now.Ready? Here it is:

Travel only with hand luggage and never check a bag.

I can hardly think of another piece of advice that is so simple with such huge benefits:

Save Time
Check in online and with no bags and you can turn up at the airport 30-90 minutes before your flight. When you get to the airport you skip the lines at check-in and head straight for security. Better still, when you get off your flight you save another 20 minutes by skipping the wait at the carousel.

In “Up In The Air”, George Clooney tells his protege that most people spend around 35-minutes waiting at check-in lines, which given how often he flies, adds up to one whole week a year. That’s time worth having.

No Lost Luggage
Trusting an airline not to loose your luggage is like trusting a monkey not to eat a bag of complimentary peanuts.

Before I travelled “self-contained” I reckon my bags went missing 2 or 3 times a year. Since everything I needed to work was in those bags I was pretty much stuffed until we were reunited. That’s a challenge at the best of times, but when you’re sailing on a ship that’s in a different country everyday…well, good luck with that one.

How Do You Get It All In?
People are always surprised how much you can squeeze in to hand luggage. Obviously you’ll be wearing your clothes more than once, washing your underwear every few days and doing without your Ascot hat collection. But think how many times you return home to unpack a pile of clothes you never even wore. Economical packing is easier than you think.

Most airlines will accept two bags as carry-on: a small “roller” case and a “personal item” like a handbag, laptop case or backpack.

Like Alan Partridge (“I’ve got a scam going with a plate”) taking his own extra large plate to the buffet, I too have a couple of cheeky tricks. First, I use a backpack that’s probably twice a big as what they mean by “personal”. It’s not huge, but it is…substantial. The only other rule I break is on weight. Most (though not all) airlines have a weight limit for hand luggage. My roller is usually around 15kgs, which is probably twice the allowed weight. Since you check in online and go straight to the departure gate, no one will check the weight of your bags. The only reason this bag is so heavy is because of all my sheet music I have to carry for my show. Since most people are not singing with eight piece bands every week, chances are you’ll be travelling lighter than I do.

My packing list
So I don’t forget anything, I use a packing list. In summary, here’s what I get in to my carry-on bags:

• Two suits
• Four formal shirts
• One pair of formal shoes
• Four sets of underwear
• Trainers and gym gear
• Swimwear
• Cargo shorts
• Jeans
• Four T-shirts
• Flip-flops
• Toiletries
• Laundry detergent
• Sunblock
• Worldwide adaptor plug
• Laptop
• E-Book reader
• Camera
• Blackberry
• Music for two full shows with an eight piece band
• CDs to sell

Tips

• All I need for four different “outfits” is four different ties against a white shirt and black suit.
• The black suit is the right cut to be worn as a tuxedo with a bow tie.
• For footwear I travel with one pair of formal (black patent) shoes, trainers for the gym, flip-flops.
• Think about what you travel in. If I am going somewhere cold I’ll travel in a good coat, sweater and walking boots. If it’s bulky – wear it.
• When I comes to toiletries, you’re limited on the liquids you can check. You can easily decant small amounts of sunscreen, laundry detergent and moisturiser into small carry-on friendly, plastic containers. Use a solid deodorant, small tube of toothpaste, and don’t bother taking any shampoo or conditioner when it’s provided by the hotel.

I Believe in Sexual Equality
When I share all this with my women friends, they laugh and tell me they need two carry-on bags just for their make-up. No comment. As for the rest of it, they always say: “Oh, it’s easy for men!Women need lots of shoes, bags and outfits.” Really? Embrace black as your best friend and your bags will be 10kgs lighter. I promise. A couple of black dresses, one pair of black shoes and plenty of accessories will give you loads of options for a week away.

Good Lord, did I just give fashion advice to women? I believe I did.

If you’re away for longer than a week you’ll just have to accept that you’ll be wearing the same outfits more than once. You might here sharp intakes of breath as you enter a room, people may be shocked and appalled, but it’s all right. You’ll survive.

I’ve been doing this for about three years and have never once been pointed at for wearing the same tie two nights running. For that matter, no airport staff has ever challenged me on the size, weight or number of my bags.

Last year I took around sixty-six flights. I never checked one bag. All in all, I reckon I saved myself about eleven working days of time. Is that worth wearing the same pair of shoes every night? You bet.

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