Packing for Hot & Cold Weather in One Carry On

For the second year in a row, we're going to the tropics & the arctic tundra in one trip. Last year was Mexico & Montana, and this year it's Florida & South Dakota. Brrrrrrr.

Last year, I was able to fit everything for a beach anniversary trip & a snowboarding trip in ONE carry on. This was for almost 2 weeks away. Luckily, this year we aren't packing for snowboarding - just visiting family, which makes it MUCH easier! Here's a sample of what I packed last year.

WARM WEATHER OUTFITS

dinner! 

dinner #2

dinner #3

shopping in town

lounging around the resort

by the pool 

by the pool more!

COLD WEATHER OUTFITS

dinner in Big Sky - lots of layers!

my go-to travel day outfit!

suited up for boarding!

Chunky sweater, slouchy sweater, cardigan & chambray shirt.

Layers for snowboarding - wool socks, neoprene socks, neck gater, gloves, 

Scarf, wicking shirt & jacket.

 It was a long two weeks, we were on over 9 planes and endured a temperature change of over 100 degrees (plus wind chill... EWWWWW).

Here are the keys to packing for two climates in one bag.

1. Bring ONE of anything that can only be used in one climate - i.e., bathing suit cover up or winter jacket. 
2. Think of items that can work for both climates, such as a chambray shirt or a cardigan. It can be useful for cold restaurants in Florida, and can be used for actual warmth in South Dakota. Same with tank tops - they'll be regular tops in Florida, but will add layers in SD.
3. Keep your shoes down to 3 - I'll probably bring boots, sandals, and running shoes. If the temperature drops at night in Florida, the boots will be fine with thin socks.
4. Switch up your look with accessories, rather than a totally new outfit. Add a cardigan to a dress or switch scarves.
5. Bring dresses that can work for the beach or can be worn with tights.

Here's my packing list for my upcoming trip. 4 nights in Florida and 5 in South Dakota.

2 dresses

1 cardigan

1 leggings

1 jeans

2 tank tops

3 long sleeve tops/sweaters (bonus if they can be layered!)

3 shoes (boots, sandals, running shoes)

1 set workout clothes (tank, jacket, capris, sports bra, socks)

4 underwear

2 bras

Cold Accessories:

2 wool socks

1 beanie

2 scarves

1 black tights

1 heavy jacket

1 pair gloves

Warm Accessories:

1 bathing suit

1 sunglasses

The thing to remember about traveling to two different places with one suitcase, is that you can bring half the outfits and always have something "new" to wear in your 2nd location. Aka, PACKING MATH! At least this is what I have to remind myself, the girl who obsessed in high school over never wearing the same thing more than two weeks in a row. 

I'm getting over it slowly but surely ;)

We're excited to go see our families! Although, I wish all of them lived in warmer climates :)

Do you have any multi-climate trips coming up?
xo

PS - 
How to Pack Light & Always Carry on
Packing Math

Big Sky, Montana

When I married Matt, I married into his traditions - which is fine with me, because one of them is going snowboarding in Montana with family and friends after Thanksgiving.

Well... if i have to... :)

Admittedly, I barely took any pictures this year because it was freezing and I only went snowboarding once.

this is not a joke.

But Montana is certainly one of the most beautiful places i've ever been.

at the top.

This was the second place on our tour de world this November... so we went from 93 degrees to -20 degrees in about a 24 hour period. Did i also mention that we packed a carry on each? That meant my sundress was tucked in a thermal shirt. So crazy to subject your body to such a temperature change! 

Matt's family always takes this trip because they own time share at the lodge, and also because the first and last week of season are insanely cheap. You buy one $79 pass, and you can snowboard for 14 days (the first 7/last 7).

We pay the cleaning fees on the condo, and we eat in every night. It is the cheapest trip ever, and it's awesome.

Have you ever been to Montana? Do you love it like I do? Have you ever jumped 100 degrees in temperature in a short amount of time?
xo

Perfecting the Multi-Way Flight

I'm always looking for the best travel deal. In the last year, my new favorite way to maximize time, locations and save money is to check into multi-way flights. It's especially helpful if you're flying into one airport and flying out of another.

This is easily done on Expedia or your travel search of choice, then you purchase through the airline listed.

Here's an example. I picked random dates and random cities, but just wanted to show the possibilities.

Let's pretend you need to go to New York and Chicago on back to back weekends.

$336, not that bad. And I didn't change any dates to see if there was a more affordable option, perhaps staying an extra day in one or the other. This has you staying in Chicago until you need to go to New York.

Now, if you booked this same trip on two different flights, you're looking at over $100 price increase per person.

Now like I said, this might be a strange example. But let's say you're flying into one airport and out of another. i.e., Flying into Seattle and taking the train to Portland. Or seeing all of your family over one holiday weekend! Let's try another. 

My husband's family lives in North Dakota and vacations in Montana, a 9 hour drive away. My family lives in Florida, and usually stays in Florida ;) But for fun, let's say we were doing Disney with my family. We'd want to fly into the vacation destinations, but then drive back with our parents for a day or two at home. 

If we fly to North Dakota, we would have to drive nearly 20 hours round trip to fit Montana in. Alternatively, we fly into one and out of the other. Same with Disney, 3 hours from my parent's house. Let's see them separate. 

Ouch. Over $900 per person, plus 1 million hours in the car. Let's see the multi-way:

The multi way in this case saves you time and money. $100 per person, and cuts your driving time in half. 

This is similar to a trip we recently took. We went to Mexico to celebrate our anniversary, but wanted to meet up with Matt's family to go snowboarding, and then drive back to his hometown for a few days with extended family. 

Since Ixtapa is remote, flights are usually around $600/person. Bismarck and Bozeman, remote in their own ways (i.e., only like two airlines fly there), are also very expensive. Typically in the $400-500 range. Needless to say, we budget for flights around here! Unfortunately, $1,000/person for Thanksgiving was not in the cards. We were able to find a multi-way ticket for just a bit more than the price of going to one of the places. So we booked it! And packed everything in a carry on. More on that later!

Give it a try. If you search your destinations and aren't seeing much savings, switch your days +/- 1 and see what happens. When we did our Mexico/Arctic Tundra tour, the magic combo of days was amazingly affordable - but move it one day in either direction, we would have paid over $2,000 per person. So check out your options!

The multi-way ticket can make your next trip go smoothly. You cut down on fly time, save money, and travel more than you paid for! 

Have you ever used a multi-way ticket? Good results?

xo