Why weighing your Luggage is So Important
If you are about to take your first trip abroad, then one of the things that you have probably found yourself worried about is baggage fees. If you go over a certain limit, then you will encounter extra fees to take your luggage with you, which can sometimes be very costly indeed.
With this in mind, it is always a good idea to try and weigh your luggage for free before you actually arrive at the airport. By doing this, you can make sure that you don’t go over the limit and therefore don’t incur any fees before you travel to your destination.
Tips for Keeping the Weight of your Luggage Low
Before you even think about weighing your luggage, it is a good idea to try and do what you can, in order to keep the weight to a minimum. Here are a couple of tips that may help you do so.
- Only Pack Essentials – This sounds like an obvious point to make, but it is important to keep in mind. It can be very easy to get carried away when packing for a holiday and pack extra clothes and other items that you don’t really need. So, before you start packing, think about what you actually need and see if you have packed anything that is unnecessary to take with you.
- Plan Ahead – One of the reasons we get caught in the trap of packing things that we don’t need is because we end up packing without planning. Before you start the packing process, it is a good idea to have a rough plan of what you plan to do each day of your holiday. By doing this, you can pack the clothes that you need for each day. If you want to make sure that you are prepared, and then pack one outfit for unplanned excursions.
Tips for weighing your Luggage Before you get to the Airport
If you want to make sure that you don’t receive any nasty surprises at the airport when you go to check in, then it is always best to try and weigh your luggage before you arrive. There are actually a few ways in which you can do this. Here are a couple of things that you can try.
- Your Gym – Millions of people all over the country now have a gym membership. If you have one yourself, then it might actually be possible to weigh your luggage here. Of course, if you are going to do this, then it is always a good idea to ask the gym owners first. Most will not mind you doing this if you have a membership, but some may not wish for you to use their scales for weighing luggage.
- Use a Wii Fit – This is something that you may not have thought of. However, it is important to remember that this may not be 100% accurate, so don’t use this method if you are trying to push the weight limits as close as you can. However, if you just want to get a general idea of how much your luggage weighs, it is a good idea to place your suitcase on a Wii Fit board. This will give you a rough idea of its weight and allow you to see if you need to remove anything to make it lighter.
- Local Travel Agents – In some cases, you may be able to take your suitcase to the travel agents that you booked your holiday with. Although it isn’t all that common, there are some travel agents around who have digital scales for their customers to weigh their luggage before they arrive to the airport. If you want to get a fairly accurate idea of weight then you could try this.
There are plenty of solutions for weighing your luggage; you just need to ask around. If you are really stuck for ideas, then it is a good idea to talk to the travel agents directly and see what they are able to suggest. They may have a better idea of places that you can go to weigh it properly.
Alternatively, take a look on some of the many thousands of traveling forums online. There are plenty of them about, and there are no better people to talk to than those who have plenty of experience with traveling.
Some forums actually have dedicated sections to weighing your luggage and have plenty of tips for keeping the weight low. If you are new to traveling especially then it is always a good idea to take a look at forums like these to get a better idea of what to expect once you arrive at the airport. By being prepared, you can make sure that you don’t receive any nasty surprises.
