After months and months of wait and research you have circled down on the destination. Now you have planed for everything- your daily itinerary, places to visit, eat, booked tickets, packed your favorite outfits, accommodation and you are all set to have a memorable trip! You reach the airport and the authorities inform you that you have excess baggage and you will have to pay additional charges for it!

This could be great bummer right at the beginning of your trip. But we all have some way or the other faced this situation, where we have packed our stuff and a bit excess as well and ended up paying hefty sums for it!

To start, lets understand, what is Excess Baggage?

Excess baggage could be virtually anything, from your guitar to your little sling bag or you’re the bag that have your essentials. All airlines have a limit to ‘free baggage allowance’ or the number of bags that a passenger can bring with themselves without incurring any charges, anything extra is called an ‘excess baggage’.

Here are some quick tips to avoid the situation of excess baggage:

Read the allowance instructions carefully while booking tickets- The key is to never ever make any assumptions for the baggage allowance! Be very careful to read the baggage policy on the airline website when you are booking your tickets, and if you are still confused, do not hesitate to call them up. Ask for as much as information as you need. What size of bags you may carry, how many of them, are small handbags allowed as full luggage bags, how much are they going to charge a bag/ kilo! Its always better to have all the answers to avoid any expensive ‘’surprice’’ at the last minute.

Pack light! Its always good to pack light in the first place. Though we understand that its easier said than done, but this always works. There are numerous hacks available on Youtube that can guide you on travel essentials according to the type of travel that you are making, packing tips etc. One of the easiest ways is to make a restrictive checklist and then pack so that you don’t go overboard.

Wear them! This may sound a bit awkward but that’s what really works at the last moment. Upon reaching the airport, if the authorities tell you that your excess luggage is a couple of pounds overweight- go straight to the nearest restroom and try to wear as many clothes as possible. Put on the heavy jacket that you have packed, maybe you can wear the jumper- that’ll help you to red of a few pounds easily.

Get your luggage shipped- If you are still stuck with your luggage and none of the tricks have worked for you, don’t worry you can give a call to Universal Delivery Solutions for a hassle free door to door service of your excess baggage. Whether it’s a small bag or huge boxes, they deliver at a very economical rate. Their website clearly tells you the charges (according to size/weight) of your baggage. You can even trach the luggage and talk to the Customer Service if you have any questions.

Most importantly, always remember that there is always a way to make sure that you are packing smartly. So, don’t lose your sleep over excess baggage. Try the hacks and just relax and enjoy your holidays.