T-Shirts from Cancun will probably not be a big issue fitting it into your suitcase. Items that are more complicated like wine/liquor or sharp metal objects (swords, knives, antique tools, etc.), can be more challenging and require more thought.
In particular, bringing back wine/liquor can get a little tricky, especially by airplane. The last thing you want to have happen is for your awesome bottle of red that you paid $75 for break in your suitcase (which unfortunately happened to a fellow traveler). Not only could it ruin your travel clothes, but if it leaks out, you’ll most likely be talking to TSA, or…US Customs. That may not be your best day.
With thoughts of toasting your favorite wine from <insert your travel destination here> once you get back home, it is important to do a little research before you leave to ascertain whether there are restrictions about bringing wine back and what those restrictions are. For example, there are TSA regulations for bringing wine home versus liquor, based on the percentage of alcohol.
To date, we’ve noted several successful methods:
1) Naked (not us, the bottles!) – although maybe not the most preferred method, wine can be brought back by being meticulously wrapped with your clothing in the correct manner. We first took our shoes, and placed them on the inside of the suitcase with the soles facing out, touching the outside of the suitcase. Then we used the pants to make a good bottom buffer. Socks made great covers and to wrap the neck with. We staggered the bottles so that half the bottoms were against one side and the other half were arranged in the exact opposite direction. Then we carefully packed around the bottles and created a good buffer layer on the top. We’ve done this several times and have always been successful. See pictures below to exhibit how to place the bottles on one side of the suitcase.
2) Sealable wine bottle sleeves – these are very effective. They can contain either air or packing bubbles to provide cushion to the bottle, and, some have double seals! They do a great job of protecting the bottle, simultaneously keeping the wine from leaking out should your suitcase experience greater trauma than the sleeve is designed for.
3) Suitcase in a suitcase – this works with more than wine, it can also work with transporting clothes for a family member who will be on an extended stay and you’re all going out to help them get settled in. You take two suitcases on the way out, one back.
We once put a smaller suitcase inside a larger suitcase for the trip to the destination. As we started to amass a few bottles of wine, we split the suitcases, allowing us more room, and we checked two suitcases on the return. For this journey we used the wine sleeve bottles.
Tip – make sure you test out putting the smaller suitcase inside the larger suitcase before you leave. We know some folks that were confident the smaller suitcase would fit, but didn’t think about the wheels.
4) Styrofoam case – on one of our trips we purchased three Styrofoam cases that each held a case of wine (don’t judge, some of that was for our son’s engagement party). While our son took one box, we took the other two, checked them at the airport and they arrived without incident.
5) We haven’t yet purchased one, but there are really cool suitcases available that specifically fit wine bottles and accessories.
We’ve personally used methods 1-4 above without an incident and have friends who have used the suitcase mentioned in method 5 successfully.
Packing the bottles without exceeding the weight limit per suitcase is an art, that requires balancing the number of bottles you want to pack with the type of clothing used for cushioning the bottles. Having a scaletakes a good portion of that guesswork out of ensuring the correct weight.
We hope you celebrate the success we have had!