Hand luggage, is it weighed? And any tips on packing?

misscomickat

I'm going to Poland for 4 months, and flying with Ryanair. I have 20kg to check in (the standard 15kg, plus an extra 5), and the website says hand luggage is 10kg.

I'm planning to take my laptop and some clothes in my hand luggae, my laptop plus bag alone will come to 5kg.

Do they weigh hand luggage and how strict are they?

If I buy shampoo/shower gel etc in the airport (through security), will I be able to take them on board? I thought that was one way I could keep the weight down but unsure about liquids.

I'm stressing about packing for 4 months, anyone have any advice about how/what to pack?!

Andy_L

Sometimes & very strict

Yes you can by gel etc airside & take it on board

lisyloo

It really is quite random.
Sometimes you see people get through with far too much.
Other times they are very picky.

I personally wouldn't chance it.
It's rarely worth paying the extra they'd charge you.

A few tips:

1) They don't actually weigh you, so I don't think there is any harm in putting a few items in your pockets if you are really stretched.
We got stopped at the gate once for a bag being too heavy and moved loads of stuff to our pcokets - pretty pointless in my view but it worked. I generally wear my heaviest pair of shoes e.g. walking boots and wear things like fleeces and coats. It's a small hassle to have to wear/carry them for the airport bit but saves a lot of space in luggage.

2) Take small amounts of toiletries. A lot of shops now sell mini sizes or you can simply buy small pots and fill up. Sample sachets are good too.
An alternative is just to decide to buy some things in the resort. Things like shampoo shouldn't be hard to find and can be quite heavy. Personally I'd rather take my own small bottle/sachets as then you have your own products and don't have to spend time shopping. People sell samples and travel sizes on ebay,

3) Take some things you might be able to throw away e.g. your worst pants.
I heard of a family of 4 who used to take their worst underwear and throw it all away on holiday. With 4 x 14 sets of underwear it creates some space for presents on the way back.

Nordictat2

Well, as far as packaing goes...since you are going for so long...surely you will be able to wash your clothes so take a few pairs of trousers,skirts,dress or 2 and as far as shoes, try to take pairs that can be used for both dressy and or casual
Since you are going for 4 months..the temps will change so make sure you choose outfits that can go with cold and warm weather too

hammy_the_hammer

lisyloo wrote: »

3) Take some things you might be able to throw away e.g. your worst pants.
I heard of a family of 4 who used to take their worst underwear and throw it all away on holiday. With 4 x 14 sets of underwear it creates some space for presents on the way back.

don't follow this advice if you are hoping to have romantic encounters with other tourists !!!!!!!!

Nordictat2

LOL Hammy :rotfl: I think she would wear her best then

lisyloo

don't follow this advice if you are hoping to have romantic encounters with other tourists !!!!!!!!

That's easy - don't wear any.

That's usually how I beat guys at poker :-)

misscomickat

Thanks for the tips.

For your information, I don't own any skanky old pants! ha ha.

I'm going to wear my largest coat which has big pockets, and hopefully I can squish a CD case full of CDs and DVDs in there.

I am going to look like a snowman all the layers I'll be wearing!

Pollycat

misscomickat
we flew with RyanAir to Barcelona from East Midlands last Monday.

We'd checked in on-line so went straight through Security to the gate.
We'd only taken hand luggage (under the 10kg limit and visibly well within the sizing guidelines). Our bags weren't weighed at all outbound.

Coming back, they weighed all hand baggage and the lady in front of us who had a largish case as her hand luggage was asked to put it in the sizing guideline to check that it wasn't too big.

That's just our experience, hope it helps.
Polly

baileysbattlebus

Not sure about Ryan Air but in my experience it's pretty random - we once were checking with Thomson and all our hand luggage was weighed. Mine was just over the limit, "I'm sorry madam......" I was quite annoyed as the 5 of us, parents and 3 children and the youngest 2 with no hand baggage, were obviously travelling together - I just took a couple of items from my bag and passed them to my daughters, when we had checked in I put them back in my bag.

jonnyjackov

I fly with Ryanair every week, (Liverpool - Alicante) and never had my handluggage weighed once last year, or this year, in either direction. No problems at security either, but they may be quite strict on the 'one piece of handluggage per person'. Yesterday, security asked me if I could fit my carrier bag into my handluggage size case, but when I explained it was medication they were fine. Hope that helps a bit.

John