Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on July 8, 2025.
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I never really fancied myself much of a shopper. I like to think that I do not value things- I like experiences, and generally feel very minimalist at home. But when it comes to traveling, some of that logic goes out the window.
This started on my very first overseas trip when I accidentally started buying a shot glass and a display piece from every country I visited. That trend has continued, and now I have roughly 82 shot glasses and some form of art from almost every country I’ve visited (even if, as of right now, I still don’t actually have my shot glasses out on display).
But over time, we have become quite the shoppers when we travel, and we have expanded our shopping purchases to include food items (ones that can travel, at least), wine and spirits, rugs and blankets, and more. If we can have our house decorated with travel memories and our pantry stocked with international food? Well, that’s almost an experience on its own.
So, we shop- a lot. We didn’t realize just how much we shop when traveling until a friend commented that our shopping was effectively “goals”, and since then, we’ve had many inquiries about how we can pack just so much in our suitcases without having to mail boxes.
In this one, we wanted to share our secrets.
Pack Lightly at the Start
The first thing that we do to ensure we have enough room in our suitcase to shop is just that- have room.
We have gotten much better at taking minimal clothing on our trips, planning apartment rentals that have laundry, etc., to ensure that we only really have a 1/2 to 2/3 full suitcase by both weight and volume when we depart.
This ends up coming in at a weight of around 25-30 pounds per suitcase, which then means that we have room (both in volume and weight) to bring home some great souvenirs from the road!
I know this one sounds like it should go without saying, but given how many times we heard from friends who always hit the 45-50 pound limit without fail, it is worth pointing out. We simply never have been on a vacation, however long, where we needed to take just that much clothing, and that includes our 14-month gap year.
So, step one, pack lightly to allow for room for shopping.
Nesting Carry-on Suitcases
Of course, even at 25-30 pounds in our suitcase, we do have some bulky and/or heavier items like shoes, sweaters, an extra coat or jacket, etc., which take up valuable space and weight. We are very mindful of these items because, if removed, they net us even more space for shopping purposes.
In the past, we almost always included a collapsible duffel bag in our carry-on to take a few pairs of clothes with us, just in case our checked bags ever got lost. But after shopping a bunch in a few destinations, we would end up having to buy another duffel bag (or rolling suitcase) to bring home extra goods with us. Yes, we really did buy a second duffel bag in Japan because we just bought that much food and sake that we needed to move checked items to our carry-on.
Now, we have a bit of a trick to really maximize our space on items- we nest a duffel bag into a rolling carry-on suitcase when departing!
This one settles the issue of the fact that we really don’t need to have two carry-on suitcases when we depart (our checked luggage is already fairly light, as noted above). So here, we load up a few sets of clothes in our normal duffel bag, stuff that in a carry-on suitcase, and take one combined package when traveling to the destination.
On the return, we take the duffel out, and load both it and the rolly suitcase with heavier clothes and any airplane-safe purchases that can pass through security in the carry-on. Suffice it to say, this one gives us a lot of room to shop, and it isn’t even close.
So treat your luggage like a matryoshka doll and pack a bag in a bag to expand your room later!
- We could take both as our normal carry-ons when departing (since we both technically are allowed one), but, honestly, we do not pack too much, and it feels a bit silly to us to utilize airplane space for a virtually empty suitcase outbound. So, as a courtesy to others, we combine everything into one.
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Wine Skins for Alcohol (or other Liquids)
Finally, let’s talk liquids, because we love to buy wine, spirits, beer, and other fun food items (think jams, etc.) when traveling, that, if broken, could make quite the mess in our suitcase.
For these, we pack everything inside Wine Skins for added safety. These are wine bottle-shaped bags that are lined with bubble wrap and have adhesive seals to contain liquid in the event of a breakage (to date, we’ve never had a broken bottle to test that, though).
These give us peace of mind when adding liquid purchases to our bags, and we ensure that our bags are tightly packed with clothes, particularly around the sides of the suitcase, to minimize bottles rattling around. Couple that with the weight availability we have as noted above, and we can often get five, six, seven, or even eight bottles (or bottle equivalent) in our suitcase!
The secret here is simply to pack everything tightly as glass bottles bouncing around often account for most breaks. Thankfully, using this method in a tightly packed suitcase, we’ve yet to have a single bottle break!
Overall, these are just a few of the ways we are able to ge tour shopping in order when traveling, and we’ve had some great luck bringing home a lot of great food, art, drinks, and more when traveling!
Do you have any packing tips to help allow for more shopping when traveling? Comment below to share!
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About Jeremy
About the Author: Jeremy is a full-time travel writer based in Pittsburgh and primary author of this site. He has been to 70+ countries on five continents and seeks out new food, adventure activities, and off-the-beaten-path experiences wherever he travels.