How We Packed "Carry-On Only" For A Family of 5

For our family's most recent 5-day vacation in St. Maarten, we were able to travel with carry-on bags, no checked bags, and it was great! Packing for our two sons, using one Rume Garment Travel Organizer ("GTO"), allowed their items to fit into one carry-on, which made it super easy to use only carry-on bags, and also helped us to organize in a way that made unpacking simple.

So, as promised in My Cruising Family's Feature blog post on June 2, 2018, we are now sharing more about how we pack using the Rume GTO.  We hope that these 2 videos are helpful to you.  As you will see, there is one version in which we did not include our children's shoes in the Rume, but then, we decided to include their shoes because there was definitely room to do so.  So, there is also a version showing the Rume GTO packed with clothes and shoes for our two young children.  

Although not recorded, my husband and I also packed our carry-on bags using the Rume GTO.  My mom, who usually travels with us as well, also packed only a carry-on bag, but she did not use the Rume GTO.  So, in total we had five carry-on bags: one containing our two sons' clothes and shoes, one containing my husband's clothes, one containing my clothes as well as cereal, snacks, disposable bowls and spoons, and another containing my mom's things.  The fifth carry-on bag contained toiletries, medications, beach towels, and sandals and shower shoes for my husband and me.  We each also had a personal item, which for our boys was one bookbag each; for my mom, my husband and I, we each had a small over-the-shoulder bag. 

This was, by far, the lightest we have packed since traveling with our children who are now 3 years old and 7 years old.  Even with that, we still over-packed a bit.  That being said, I am now hopeful for more "carry-on only" travel in the future!  You may also be interested in our article: What My Cruising Family Packs: Carry-On Edition.

Have you enjoyed "carry-on only" travel with your children?  We are loving our Rume GTO, yet we are also open to hearing if you have any additional tips for "carry-on only" travel, especially as a family!