What size luggage do you need for a week?

For most people, a week fits in a carry-on. Ten days to two weeks fits a 25-inch medium checked bag. The 28-inch large case that dominates the shelves is right for a month, a family sharing one bag, or gear-heavy travel - and wrong for almost everything else, because you will fill whatever you buy and then pay to carry it.

Size by trip length

This maps volume to days for one adult packing ordinary clothes. Adjust for the three variables below.

The three things that change the answer

Climate. Winter clothing is a volume problem, not a weight problem - a puffer, boots and three knits eat more space than a fortnight of summer clothes. Wear the coat and the boots on the plane and you have effectively upgraded your case size for free. It runs the other way too: a week at one of the swim-up suite resorts people plan a whole trip around is swimwear, light layers and two dinner outfits, which is the smallest packing list on this page.

Laundry access. One mid-trip wash converts a two-week trip into a one-week packing problem. If your accommodation has a machine, or you are willing to use a laundrette for an hour, you can do fourteen days out of a carry-on. This is the single largest lever on this page.

What the trip demands. A wedding, a conference or a cruise formal night adds items that do not compress and cannot be improvised - a suit, a long dress, dress shoes. Those are usually worth a garment bag alongside the case rather than a bigger case, because a jacket packed flat under a week of clothes arrives creased regardless of how much room it had.

Why bigger is the expensive mistake

Luggage obeys a simple rule: you fill the space you buy. A 28-inch case is only a couple of pounds heavier than a 25-inch one when both are empty, but nobody packs a large case two-thirds full - so the real difference is ten or fifteen pounds of things you did not need, dragged through two airports and frequently pushed past the 50 lb checked limit into an overweight surcharge.

Two medium cases are also easier to manage than one large one: each is liftable, each stays under the weight limit, and if you are traveling with someone else you can split them. If lifting is a factor at all, this is the answer - see our easy-handling picks. And whatever you buy, weigh it at home with a luggage scale rather than discovering the problem at a counter, where your only options are repacking on the floor or paying.

How to make a week fit a carry-on

1. Count outfits, not days. Choose one color palette so every top works with every bottom. Five tops and two bottoms is a week of distinct outfits, not seven of each.
2. Shoes are the constraint. Two pairs, maximum - wear the bulkier pair on the plane and pack the other. Shoes are the single biggest volume item most people over-pack.
3. Roll or cube. Rolling squeezes air out of soft items; packing cubes compress and keep the case ordered so you are not repacking every morning.
4. Wear the bulk. Coat, boots and the heaviest knit go on your body. That is free capacity and it also keeps you warm on a cold aircraft.
5. Decant the toiletries. Travel sizes only, in a clear quart bag - see carry-on liquids rules. Full-size bottles are heavy, leak, and are the main reason people check a bag they did not need to.

The full method, step by step, is in how to pack a carry-on.