worried about losing luggage

A lot of us do carry-on only to avoid problems with lost luggage. I may check a bag on the way home if I have bought things that cannot be cheeked, but we never check on the way over.

Absolutely! Carry-on only. There are so many things that could go wrong with a flight itinerary like that. Save yourself the stress and keep your bag always with you. It will also save you a lot of time when you land because you won't have to wait for your bag to come in through the baggage claim carousel.

The absolute probability of losing luggage is quite low, probably in the range of 1%. But if it is your day to be a one percenter then it is a real pain in the butt. Our preference is one carry on size bag as is many on this site. But takes some thought and practice to get everything you need in one bag.

The problem is not loosing it. What might happen is that it doesn't make a connection and you have to cool your heels for a day waiting for it to catch up. If you're a reservation-maker and a gnat's butt planner, it'd make a pretty big crimp in what you were trying to do. I work the tightest connections a can in both directions and often check stuff coming home. About a third of the time it chugs in on the next flight, which is usually the next day.

Thanks to all!

LOST luggage is actually fairly rare. DELAYED luggage happens much more often and the risk increases with the number of connections. Doing carry-on on the way to you vacation destination is therefore a very smart choice. On your way home you can add more souvenirs, maybe some liquids, and then check in your luggage. If it is delayed on your way home it doesn't really impact your life. But starting out a vacation in search for your luggage is no fun.

A carry-on bag is the way to travel.

Lola, just how much bacon do you bring home?

Steve, if you can comfortably fit everything into carryon luggage, that's one option. However, you should certainly feel reasonably comfortable utilizing the free checked luggage option on an overseas flight. Luggage rarely gets lost; with multiple connections it is possible it will be delayed. A couple of things will speed up getting your misplaced luggage to you. First, you need to report immediately that it didn't arrive at your final destination and give a good description (size, color, material) along with the copy of the baggage check claim. Besides the tag that the airline will put on checked luggage, I also attach a luggage tag with my last name and the address where I will be staying (on the way home I use my last name and home address). If you are only staying at your first destination for one or two days, be prepared to tell the lost luggage clerk where and when you are moving on to another address. I put the same information right inside of my luggage. Just in case checked luggage is temporarily misplaced, take all essentials (medications, valuables, basic toiletries, etc.) with you in a carryon bag.

I agree that carry on is the way to go. That's what I do on general principle, anyway. But if you decide to check, make sure anything you can't lose, plus a change of clothes and underwear, goes on the plane with you. You want to be covered for at least a day in terms of clothes and toiletries in case the luggage is delayed.

Bacon---lots and lots, along with good fresh crop olive oil and dried porcini.

Steve, I just got back from almost 4 weeks in Europe with my Rick Steves carryon. During my trip I had 6 different flights and because I went carryon I never had to worry about my bag going missing. My favourite part about going carryon?
When everyone else is furiously trying to grab their carryon stuff to rush off the plane to wait in line at the baggage carousel, I sit tight til most people are off the plane, take my carryon and breeze pass everyone at the carousel and I am the first at customs.

Prioritize your things. Put things in order of importance in a carry-on bag. When it's full, put the rest in a bag to be checked. Then, since you don't absolutely have to have what's in the check bag, assume it's not going to get there anyway and leave it home.

Once I had to spend 4 days cooling my heels waiting for my bag to arrive. I met my daughter in Newcastle, England, and we were going to spend a week driving around Scotland. No reservations, no place for the bag to be delivered. So we waited in not-very-scenic Newcastle, while my bag made a tour of Europe (even was sent to Dallas and back). Since then, I have only traveled with carryons. And we generally travel 4-5 weeks at a time. We often check our bags on the way home, and several times they have not arrived with us, but that's fine, because we're home, and they're delivered to our door a day or two later.

I like Lee's tip - great advice. My husband's tripod forces us to check our carry-on size bags - even though the tripod fits in his bag. You can verify at checkin that the bag is properly tagged by the agent. And checking in early gives better odds that your bag is on the same plane as you Tight connections lowers the odds. Even if you check bags you do not want to lug too much stuff around on any trip.
If I ever ski in Europe I will carry on my ski boots :-)

A decade ago, I had a 1 hour connection in Detroit to Germany. It was winter and snowing, and our plane had to de-ice and was an hour late leaving Denver. There were 13 of us on the Denver flight transferring to the Germany flight, so the airline met us at the gate with a van and took us around to the international terminal where we just made the Germany flight. I doubt that any checked luggage made the connection. My carryon bag was in my lap in the van. No problem. It got to Germany with me. On the same flight were some businessmen headed for Stuttgart. They had checked everything and were walking around hands free - fat, dumb, and happy. I imagine when they got to Stuttgart they were still fat and dumb, but no longer happy. Back in 1990, I was on an Aviaca flight from Frankfurt to Paris that was going on to Bogata. Because it didn't usually carry passenger between Germany and France, the baggage handlers at CDG didn't go out to get checked luggage, and my bags almost went to So. America. As Frank says, it's not the probability, it's the consequences. Same reason we wear money belts.

If the thought of being separated from your luggage for a couple of days causes you stress, I'd suggest that you figure out how to carry-on. I'm in the minority on this board. I always check my bag when traveling on vacation. I love not having to deal with it when going through security, not having to hoist it into the overhead bin, not having to rush through airports with a bag, not having to cram every liquid into the 3-1-1 bag, and being able to bring a knife and a corkscrew without worry that it will be confiscated. To me, this is worth the risk that I won't have the bag for a couple of days. If you check, I do suggest that you make sure that you have a change of clothes or two in a bag you carry on along with any essentials like meds and any travel info you need. Make sure that you have your name, phone number, and email address inside your checked bag, as well as outside. I have had my bag delayed 4 or 5 times in the last 25 years. All but once, it was delivered the next day. One time it took 5 days (a direct flight from Geneva to Stockholm on SAS ... nothing unusual about the flight). Ironically, I've never had my bag lost on a tight connection. To be fair, there have been periods of time where I traveled weekly for business, so my bags have been lost on a very low percentage of flights (less than 1%).

Yes, the thought of not having luggage upon arriving in Europe is a stressful concept as our first night is typically not spent in/around the arriving airport. Do I want to wait for succeeding flights, etc.? Nope. Travel light, travel fast, travel comfortably.

I like that, Bruce - a new acronym and tagline for questions pertaining to packing light: TL/TF/TC: Travel light, travel fast, travel comfortably

I want to change the T/F from Travel fast to 'travel fashionably' as you can do that with a carry on also... or we could just add another T/F... lots of people assume if you only take one bag that you look like a frump the whole time you travel... it is so not true!

Steve - Carry on is the way to go, and not just because of multiple connections. if your flight is cancelled/changed gate agents are MUCH more willing to work with you. They don't have to worry about re-booking your luggage customs is a breeze public transportation becomes easy it is safer - you aren't distracted because you only worry about one bag European hotels are tiny - one bag takes up less of that precious space onebag.com is my favorite site for learning how to travel with just a carry on.

OK, Terry Kathryn, how about: TL/TF²/TC - Travel light, travel fast and fashionably, travel comfortably

@Rose... perfect... and I, being from Ann Arbor like the 'squared' as we call our town 'A2' (don't know how to make the '2' small, but you know what I mean)

There is nothing worse than finding out after a long day of travel that your bags didn't make it. Last year in Rome I found out that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" certainly applies when it comes to getting your misplaced luggage returned. Tracer tags are equal to way more than a pound of cure in my book. They allow the airline or anyone else who finds your bags to immediately contact you by email or text (without revealing your personal information) with a pickup location. I got mine at Mystufflostandfound.com It worked like a charm for me and I ended up getting my lost bag back in less than 2 hours. Now I have them on my phone, laptop, passport and almost everything else that travels with me.

I appreciate everyones advice. I am leaning towards carrryon. Next question. I want advice on how to keep the bag light and only bring the essentials. Should I only bring the travel size shampoo and toothpaste and other hygiene essentials as well as an extra pair of socks and underwear? Then go to a department store in Spain and buy socks and underwear cheaply that I don't have to carry home?

Steve, below are some helpful resources. The Joan Robinson video obviously leans toward women, but it includes some great tips that are helpful for everyone. Same with the women's packing list; it gives an idea of how many of various things to bring. It's possible to buy underwear and socks that can be hand washed quickly in a sink and will dry pretty much overnight. There should be a travel store in Albany or Schenectady where you can go look. Or check out Magellan's or TravelSmith online. Bring travel-size shampoo and toothpaste; use sparingly; you'll be amazed at how little you can get by with. Buy more in Europe if need be, but I can stretch a travel-size toothpaste to cover 2 weeks. My dentist says Americans in general use far more than they need anyway. Packing Light Video - Joan Robinson http://youtu.be/H8UPNh0Qr6Q Packing Light Video (Shorter) - Rick Steves http://youtu.be/58HdRSTAFec Rick's Packing List (Women) http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/womenpack.htm Rick's Packing List (Men) http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/packlist.htm

We always take checked bags and the only problem we ever had was thirty years ago. However, one good tip if you are traveling with another person: Distribute your packed items evenly between both suitcases. That way, if one gets lost, you still have clothing for a few days. Once you reach your destination, you can each put your clothing into your own individual suitcase.