Globus Tours

That's an excellent question. I looked closely at taking a Globus tour for our trip last June but these sorts of questions are usually only answered by personal experience or from others who have used them. Small carry-on cases (7kg when full) like we use are definitely too large for inside the coach - the space above the seats is best described as a shelf, so you can never put anything bulky up there.

Our last Trafalgar tour was like previous ones: We tend to wait for the unloading of the coach to retrieve our small carry-on cases because that's all we possess (that makes it a bit more important for us to grab those cases because we don't have any small bags with us for minor things). And it can sometimes be a long wait until cases get delivered to the rooms. Because our cases are so small, I'd prefer to take them down to the bus on departure mornings instead of letting hotel porters do it. But tour operators frown at the idea of it so we've never intervened. It's never comfortable setting off to the next destination without having personally viewed your luggage inside the bus cargo area and I recently asked what the system was. I was assured that they have a checklist that is ticked for each passenger so they would know that a case is missing before the coach drives off and would conduct a search. That's more reassuring.

But a better system worked for us last June in Turkey. The tour operator (Neon Tours) asked passengers to look inside the back of the van to confirm that they could see their cases stowed in there. It was a nice double check, but probably only practical when it's a small group aboard a mini-bus. It wouldn't work too well with those large coaches where your case might be hidden behind many others in those large cargo bays.

If you booked thru a Travel Agency they should be able to clarify this for you? We have been on one Globus but as we spent 6 nights in one place this concern did not arise. 

The 7kg limit is quite achievable in certain circumstances, MelbTraveller, and while it's definitely not for most people, it's worked well for us time and time again. The last time was last June when we were away for 4 weeks (Turkey, Greece and Greek Isles). Here's how we do it:

1. Cases: Have light, durable cases. Ours are Sub-zero-G brand with extendable handle & wheels, sized to fit side by side in the plane's overhead locker. They're billed as the lightest luggage in the world (probably true). They have to be durable, but not necessarily sturdy because they never get into the possession of baggage handlers, carousels etc. They never leave us so we look after them. The case weighs 1.5kg so that now leaves you only another 5.5kg of things to pack inside it. If your carry-on case weighs more than this you will struggle with keeping the contents light enough.

2. What to Pack: This is your most important issue. Heading to a summer destination will make it much easier because you can pack lighter clothes. But you cannot get away with a complete wardrobe for each day you're away - you'll need to wash as you go. That way, you can get by with just two or three day's worth of underwear and socks. I would take one pair of pants in addition to what I'm wearing, plus maybe a pair of shorts. And maybe five t-shirts or polo shirts - you will be amazed how you can mix around the tops and bottoms so that nobody in your tour group notices you're wearing the same clothes often. Keep your toiletries to a minimum: use the hotel's shampoos and hair dryer.

3. Packing Style: Do not use packing cubes - even the slightest additional weight is going to matter here. The issue is not weight; it's space. You must avoid having the case bulging at the seams and going beyond the allowed dimensions. We mainly fold items flat as they're easier to remove and replace, but rolling can work on some garments in combination. The goal is to not leave air spaces if you can avoid it. For example, socks will be crammed inside shoes.

4. Laundry: This is an inevitable requirement of travelling light. We do a quick wash every day of touring, using the hotel bathroom: wash with soap; squeeze, roll in hotel towel, squeeze again, then hang to dry in the room. Finish off with the hairdryer if needed. The process takes only ten minutes and everything's dry next morning. And it's a nice feeling knowing that when you leave each hotel, you're not carrying a single item of dirty clothes.

5. Cheating with a Secondary bag: Airlines allow another small bag of personal items, assuming it can fit under the seat in front of you. This means a handbag or laptop bag. Ours are usually containing a few small items that would have otherwise taken us over the 7kg limit. For example, my laptop bag contains a super-small laptop computer and charger, but I'll also sneak in my SLR camera body. Inside the plane we usually do place these small bags under the seat but by this stage no cabin crew will have a problem if you can find a space in the overhead locker - they're only concerned about safety so they care little about weight that's supposedly already been checked, and are more worried about avoiding loose items flying around the cabin. 

6. Sneaky tricks: You can cheat a bit. We wear our heaviest shoes and jackets at airport check-in (weigh-in) so the lighter items are in the case. Even if the airport is warm, we'll wear the jacket/jumper or at least have it casually folded over the arm. I might also cram a few items into my pockets. My camera lens fits there. And I carry my travel wallet containing passports, travel doc's etc, and also my phone. I wear my cap instead of adding it to the case. Once we're at the departure lounge we open our cases and swap shoes and transfer a few items (e.g. jacket) back into the cases. They rarely weigh the cases there as they already have a "7kg Ok" sticker affixed. 

7. Be pleasant at check-in. If you're slightly over in carry-on baggage weight, I've found that airline staff will ignore a case that goes a little over the 7kg. But you need to be friendly and it sure helps if you don't have any check-in luggage for the plane's cargo hold. Airlines like passengers to travel light and would be delighted if everybody only took cabin luggage - it saves fuel and baggage handling. So sometimes they cut you some slack. I once asked a check-in employee how high they'd let me go with weight and she said 8kg as long as I didn't have check-in baggage. But that's unofficial and I would never rely upon it with changing rules and different staff.