Life hack: The first rule of packing for a summer holiday

Always include a bikini in your hand luggage...

The sunset facing pool at Filitheyo, Maldives.

At New Year my thoughts turn to travel

There are some things you do just in case, and you might continue to do these things for years if not decades, just in case, and then, eventually, one glorious day will arrive to make it all worth it…

As you may well have guessed by the subject line, always packing a bikini¹ in my hand luggage is one such rule that I live my life by. I’m not sure how it started, I can’t remember an early lost luggage incident, maybe I read it as a ‘Top Travel Tip²’ in Cosmopolitan magazine when I was 16 and adopted it as my own, or perhaps one of Jilly Cooper’s early heroine’s swore by it. Those two sources being my main stream of wisdom back then.

I’d like to think that our kids have also adopted the practice, having spent years with me barking ‘bikini in your hand luggage’ at them whilst packing for holidays.

From an early age, say six or seven, our kids were very adept at doing their own holiday packing, maybe this was because they grew up in a blended family and were constantly switching houses, so were hyper aware of the annoyance of having ‘the important thing’ in the wrong house at the wrong time. It certainly paid dividends for us grown-ups not having to do it, and I’d like to think it also helped them along their road to independence.

Charlie in particular used to relish having autonomy over his packing and particularly his hand luggage. In which, he would always take great care to include an outrageous comedy item, that he would pull out mid-flight to amuse and delight us.

It started when, out of his standard-sized rucksack, he pulled out ‘Ralph’ his almost life-sized stuffed toy Labrador. Greeted by incredulous laughter from the rest of us, he then promptly settled Ralph into the window nook, rested his head on him and slept for a good 5 hours. Genius.

On the following year’s flight, we were even more surprised, when from the same rucksack he pulled out a full-sized sheepskin rug! Layed it out carefully over his economy seat and thus transformed it, with his 7-year-old frame, into First Class, albeit in an Austin Powers styley. 

Gencraft AI image: ‘Austin Powers sitting on a cream furry airplane seat’. I love the way it has tried to over-deliver by also putting AP in a cream furry suit. 😂

Another year, we had a changeover in Dubai and were all feeling the chill of the über air-conditioned airport, when, of course, Charlie produced his fluffy dressing gown from his hand luggage and toasted himself up a treat.

Always one to commit fully to a joke, he then pulled out a pair of huge fluffy slippers to complete the outfit, whilst receiving a full round of applause from his little audience of three. Mary Poppins herself could not have worked more magic with that Berghaus rucksack, it was unbelievable!

Back to the bikini…

So for 20+ years, I’d been studiously packing a bikini in my hand luggage for seemingly no reward, until one perfect day mid-way through our honeymoon.

We had gone for a two island combo in the Maldives, and after a dreamy, super-lux five night stay at Coco Palm Bodu Hithi, we transferred back to Male to catch another seaplane to the rather more shabby chic Filitheyo.

The seaplane terminal is a very busy place, with about 25 planes loading and unloading at any given time.  

Seaplane terminal at Male, Maldives, simply my favourite place in the world to wait for a flight.

As we walked along the jetty to our plane, I thought I caught sight of our luggage on a trailer next to another plane! Eek!  

Me (Newly Wed Mrs.D): I think our luggage is going to be loaded onto another plane!

Mr.D: Don’t be ridiculous.

Me: I’m fairly sure it was ours, it looked like ours and I can’t see ours in the pile for this flight.

Mr.D: I’m sure it’s fine, that trailer might be heading for our plane too.

We boarded the plane, sat near the front and obviously I then spent the next ten minutes craning my neck to see if our luggage was somewhere amongst all the stowed luggage onboard. I wasn’t hopeful.

Me: I really think our luggage is on another plane.

Mr.D: It’s fine, I’m sure it’ll be in there somewhere.

We landed by the pontoon at Filitheyo, disembarked and were then told that some of our luggage was indeed on another plane, which would be coming back here in about 3-4 hours.

“YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!” Exclaimed a Newly Smug Mrs.D. 

For three reasons:

1. This made me ‘right’³.

2. It justified the 20+ years that I’d been packing and carrying a bikini in my hand luggage! Yay!!!

3. Our holiday started now! No waiting on luggage for us, we headed to the pool, jumped in and were sipping Piña Coladas and toasting our good fortune, while the two other sans luggage couples were sitting po-faced in the shaded bar area, sweltering in their travel outfits.

If only they’d read this first, or possibly Cosmo when they were a teen. 

I’ve heard another top packing tip is to split the luggage across the cases, so if there’s two of you travelling together you pack half and half in each suitcase, therefore if one goes missing, you’re both only half down, rather than one of you being bereft while the other is fully kitted out.

I did float this suggestion to Mr.D, but he politely declined. On balance, I agree, the stress it would put his OCD under wouldn’t outweigh the benefits. 

Happy packing chaps!

You’re welcome.

K8x

1. I’m sure it will eventually change to a tankini, then swimsuit and perhaps one day a waterproof zimmerframe, but you get the idea.

2. We didn’t have ‘Life Hacks’ in those days, we had to suffice with printed ‘Top Tips’ and no internet. It’s a wonder we even survived.

3. Over the course of my 15 year marriage, I have since learned that it’s not only ok, but sometimes very helpful to be ‘wrong’. I know right? Who knew!?