PACKING FOR IRELAND

I am so excited to be planning my next trip. I am going to Ireland! I hate to say it, but I have never really thought about going to Ireland. It is my best friend Terry’s bucket list. Since she went with me to Italy, I agreed to go to Ireland with her. We will be flying out of Toronto Canada even though our home airport is Detroit. We find that most flights out of Toronto are less expensive. There is the trouble of getting over to Toronto of course, we go in the night before. But, what the heck, we get to tack on a extra day of travel, and with the hotel, and the gas, we are still cheaper to fly out of Toronto. Always a good idea to check ALL airports for the cheapest flights.

We are going and as always with carry on luggage only. We will be moving on airplanes, trains, and cars and we will want to be as light as possible. Anyway, I never use everything I bring when I pack a large suitcase. Never. But, HOW do you determine WHAT to bring? Space is at a premium, you can only bring what you are absolutely going to use.

How I determine what to bring is these three things:

1. I look at my itinerary. I will actually type this out on a spreadsheet each day. Where am I going, how am I getting there. Then I think about what would I want to wear? Am I going to the beach? Am I going on a bus tour? A train tour? A long walking tour, a little bit of all of these tours? LOL. I have actually done that. BUT! Ok. So, lets say you are going on a 12 hour all day tour and a bus will be your transportation. I will wear layers. I will want a sweater for the cold bus, and to cover my shoulders in case of a church, a tank top, and either knit pants or knit shorts, depending upon the weather. Bam! Done. So, now I know what I need for that day. Then I go down the line, and list what to wear each day, by what I am going to do that day, and that is my packing list!
2. The time of year, and what is your location. For instance, I am going to Ireland this time at the end of September. I am going to want to bring a couple of pairs of shoes, and one of them if not both should be water proof, since there could be a lot of rain and so on. I will also invest in a really nice raincoat. We don’t want to have to cancel a tour we have been looking forward to, instead, throw on that raincoat and go!
3. What do I wear everyday? What you wear each day is what you are most comfortable in. So, I usually wear nicer knit stretchy pants or shorts with a tank top or nice t-shirt. So, that is what I bring. That special outfit or dress, save that for the cruise. Carry on only, you need just what will make sense and what you will feel comfortable in.

I like to create what everyone calls a travel capsule. It really works. You pick a couple of colors. I usually go with white, black and another color. Most of the time, its taupe or a cream color. Boring I know, but it is dressy enough that I wont look homeless, and easy to wear on most occasions, and most importantly, everything will go with everything. You will wear these clothes multiple times, so, you will want to mix things up. Make sure they all can be worn together.

I will bring as I mentioned, a carry on, but I also bring a backpack. I made a huge mistake once when I went to Venice for the first time and overpacked my backpack. Lesson learned! After walking from our hotel to the train station over all the bridges and the cobbled stone streets I was done! I could not carry the backpack on my carry on, I had to put it on my back! Horrible! Make sure that you practice with your backpack. They make them these days to fit so much stuff inside them, and that is fantastic until you have to carry it around for a period of time. Pack what you are going to bring, and actually put it on your back and walk around a bit with it.

I only put what I am going to need on the plane in my backpack. Since when you get on the long haul flight, your suitcase will be up in the overhead and hard to get at. A lot of the time they ask or require that you check your carry on with fuller flights. I have had that happen more times than not. So, I make sure that everything that is valuable to me, is in that backpack. Medicine, magazines, snacks, lots of water, I don’t like to count on or wait on staff to get this for me in a long haul. DRINK LOTS OF WATER. My iPad with downloaded movies. I have been on a long haul flight and my entertainment system wasn’t working. I was saved by having movies downloaded on my iPad. That would have been a VERY long 10 hour flight!

What else do you bring on the plane? You are going on a 10 hour flight over the pond, what are you going to want to make your flight the best you can. Its over night, so, you are going to want to try and get some sleep.

First thing I do, is make sure that I spend a bit more for the best seat I can get. This trip its Premium Economy. What does that mean? Bigger seat, more leg room, and better meals. But lets say you can only do economy. Who cares!!! Go away! But, make sure that you still pick a good seat. If you book early enough, you can get the emergency exit row. My last two long haul flights I was able to get this row and both times it was only around $100 extra per person. We purchased a blow up foot stool, and set that baby up, and bamo! You got a recliner! I actually did sleep both times, and I never usually sleep on a plane! I do bring a neck pillow, but this time I wont. In Premium Economy, they give you nice size pillows. But, everyone is different, and they make all kinds of these. I heard someone say the other day, that they purchased the blowup foot stool and put that on their food tray only a little inflated, and leaned forward and slept that way. I thought that was a great idea. A window seat works well, so that you can lean on that to sleep, but harder if you want to get out and stretch and go to the bathroom of course. They also are selling those feet slings that slide over your meal tray and hang down to put your feet in. Some airlines will tell you to take those down, but, you might luck out and get away with it. Premium Economy seats normally have a calf support and a foot rest. But the cost of course is higher. My daughter and her cousin are going with Terry and I go Ireland. They are going economy and paid $618pp round trip and Terry and I paid $1200pp round trip. Its really just your preference and what is important to you.

Of course, my money, credit cards, ID, and passport are ALWAYS kept in my body belt that I wear each day around my waist and under my pants.

SHOES! That are MOST important! As I mentioned, I am bringing a pair of water proof tennis shoes. I usually get a pair of Skechers. A white pair that matches everything. Of course you want to wear these a bit and get them broken in prior to going on your trip. Then I also bring a pair of Ecco brand sandals. They are nice because they can get wet, and you can walk for ever in them. I will, of course, wear my heaviest shoes on the plane, and pack the other pair.

So, here is my packing list for Ireland:

1. 4 pairs of pants, plus the pair I will wear on the plane. I try to use, dark colors that will go with my color palate. Black, navy blue, dark brown.
2. 3 t-shirts. I like the double layer t-shirt, white, black, and cream.
3. 3 tank tops. I bring more of these because I also use them to sleep in. I will bring any colors as long as they are black, white, and cream. I will also wear one on the plane.
4. A scarf- I wear this on the plane. It keeps me warm, I can shove it between me and whatever is poking me when I am trying to sleep. Or I can put it over my eyes, or use it for an extra pillow.
5. A blazer or sweater. I have an amazing black blazer that is stretchy all over. This is my go to for flight wear. It is dressy, I can wear it with anything from knit pants to jeans or even a dress!
6. 2 pair of PJ pants. As mentioned, I use my tank tops for PJ tops.
7. 1 bra, and I wear the other
8. I pack enough underwear for the entire trip. I don’t like to have to remember or be awake enough to wash a pair in the sink when I run out. They don’t take up much room, and I am trying to be on vacation after all! So, I will bring enough for a change each day.
9. 3 pair of socks. I have my compression ones on, then I will need a pair that I can use as slippers in the hotel rooms. I try to get a couple of really nice compression/cushion socks to help with all the walking. I only of course, wear them with my tennis shoes, so only need them a couple of days. I also bring mole skins. They are a LIFE SAVER! Even your worn in shoes, will rub after walking 7 miles a day!
10. 2 pair of shoes as mentioned.
11. Jewelry. I don’t bring anything of value. I even leave my wedding ring at home. I have a costume ring that is very low profile that I will wear when I go. I have a couple nice necklaces. It is a great way to dress up your t-shirt when you want to go to dinner. My blazer, a nice necklace and a crisp white t-shirt looks pretty nice actually.
12. Purse- I bring one purse. It is a Travelon cross body. I take this VERY serious. If I happen to put my money, cards, and passport in my crossbody. I do not EVER take it off. Not to sit an enjoy a meal, not to rest on a train, NEVER! I always keep it locked. Travelon purses come with built in locks for the zippers. If you have a favorite purse you want to use. Just buy a simple cheap safety pin. That will be enough most of the time, as long as you are always watching and keep your hand on your bag.
13. Cell phone strap. I always carry a cross body cell phone strap. This secures your cell phone to your body at all times and gives you enough room to take your pictures and your videos without the worry of setting your phone down and forgetting it or having some one snatch it out of your hand. I also bring a small lock and chain. I know this sounds silly, but, I don’t want my luggage stolen on a train or a bus. So, I lock my luggage to the luggage pole, and when I get close to my stop, I simply unlock my luggage and I am ready to go.
14. Toiletries. I will bring bar soap shampoo. You can get this on Amazon, it works great, and you don’t have to worry about security with it, and you bring it back with you and you can actually use all of it at home after the trip! Or take it again on the next trip. It will last a long time. I get a plastic case to carry it with so that it doesn’t make a mess in my luggage. Mouth wash, I put my favorite wash in a smaller container, as well as my face wash. But you can also get those in wipes now. I grab a small thing of toothpaste, my makeup and away I go! Everyone brings their own stuff, so I wont go too much detail here. Of course there are TSA requirements for these, so I believe it or not, use a quart size plastic baggie. I know, nothing fancy for me. Its just easier for me, and its what I have always used. You can get TSA designed nice or cute bags.
15. Electronics and chargers. I have a special little purse that I use for this though. I like all of this to be organized and I don’t want to leave anything, which I do all the time. Of course, you must have an adapter and/or a converter. Have a close look at what your computer, camera, or hair styling tools require for voltage, and what will be at your location. You don’t want to blow anything out while away.

To use compression cubes or not??? I have done both. I do like to use them because it keeps things neater. I put my bottoms in one, my shirts in another and so on. So its easier to just grab the cube you need. But, really, I don’t think I can pack more stuff with them. Or perhaps I just don’t try and bring a lot of stuff, so there is no need? Not sure. But, yeah, you can get some cute ones and it does tidy things up a bit.

So, there you have it. Those are my tips for packing and packing light. If you have any questions, make sure you submit your comment or question in my comments/question area on the website!

Thank you so much for reading, and REMEMBER!!!! Put good food in your body, and good times in your soul!