Let’s be real—traveling with your partner or best friend is the dream… until you realize the airline wants $60 to check each of your bags- one way. Suddenly, your romantic getaway or spontaneous adventure starts racking up sneaky costs before you even leave the airport.
But here’s the good news: you don’t need two suitcases.
With the right method and the right gear, two people can easily pack into one bag without sacrificing organization... or sanity.
HOW TO SHARE A SUITCASE AND NOT GO INSANE
Honeymoon? Couples get away? Packing up everything and heading to travel the world for a year? No matter what is on your travel agenda, using the right method along iwth compression cubes will make saving money a breeze.
Step 1: Understand the 3‑Day Packing Method
The key to sharing a suitcase isn’t giving up your favorite shoes—it’s packing with intention.
The 3-Day Packing Method isn’t about how many days you’ll be gone, it’s about planning your outfits around three key day types, which you’ll rotate, rewear, and refresh throughout your trip:
👗 Day 1: The Essential Day
Think of this as your “main event” day. This is what you’d wear for a dressy dinner, special outing, long hike along with any important accessories.
Don't forget! You're not just packing for this one event, but the entire day. What all do you need from sunrise to nights' end?
🩳 Day 2: The Everyday Day
Your go-to comfy, casual looks. Coffee in the morning, going for walking around the city, then lounging at the Airbnb with your favorite person. You might even add in a pair of slippers!
✈️ Day 3: The Travel Day
The outfit you’ll wear on the plane, train, or car ride—and again during your trip when you need something cozy and practical.
Each person packs per day of the method into their compression cube set of choice.
The beauty? It scales. You can live out of this setup for 3 days or 3 weeks with minor tweaks.
Step 2: Use Compression Cubes to Save Space
Our Business Class Carry-On Cubes are your best friend's best friend when it comes to sharing luggage. These cubes create clearly defined zones for each traveler—so you’re not digging through each other’s stuff trying to find clean socks.
Each person gets their own color set of cubes to keep things simple. Think: one of you in grey, the other in teal. Or mix it up to fit your personalities with our fun colors and prints available in our Essential Carry-On Compression Cubes.
These cubes fit neatly side by side in a carry-on or medium checked suitcase—with room to spare.
If your travel partner tends to overpack, you can share the fee of one checked bag and opt for our larger Checked Bag Compression Cubes instead.
Step 3: Divide and Conquer Your Compression Cubes
Alright, now it’s time to pack. Because you're both packing in one suitcase, you'll need to divvy up your compression cubes to make them all fit.
To utilize the space in your shared luggage, each person should pack in:
1 Large Compression Cube (or XL if packing in a Checked Bag)
2 Small Compression Cubes
1 Tube Cube
1 Laundry Bag
Inside of your shared suitcase, you'll each pack your Large (or XL) Compression Cube along with 1 Small Compression Cube and your Laundry Bag. This should save you enough room to each be able to bring an extra pair of shoes!
Step 4. Utilize Your Personal Items
To save space in your shared luggage, you'll want to utilize your individual personal items to pack into.
You each should each pack one of your small compression cubes along with your Tube Cubes into your personal item.
The small cube is great for packing in a spare pair of clothes or your bathing suit into if headed to somewhere tropical just in case your luggage gets lost.
The tube cube is a great catch-all for whatever might come your way while traveling. Tuck in an extra pair socks, or even fit a rolled up swim towel!
The Laundry Bag
Our favorite Laundry Bag hack? On your way to your destination, pack your shoes in each of your laundry bags. This will keep your shoes separate from your clothes. As the trip goes on, choose one of the laundry bags to put your dirty clothes from the trip in. This will make the laundry happen in a snap because all of your dirty clothes will already be in one spot. No more smell checks!
By the end of the trip, you’ll have one bag full of laundry and one still keeping your shoes separate from your clothing. While the laundry bags don’t compress, they do keep everything together and can be rolled up nice and tightly. The clothes are already dirty so you won’t be trying to keep them nicely folded anyway.
Step 5: Final Tips for Packing (and Traveling) as a Duo
Here’s what we’ve learned from years of experience traveling as a couple in one suitcase:
✅ Share the load
Don’t both bring toothpaste. Divide and conquer on toiletries, tech, and other shareables.
✅ Be honest about what you’ll wear
That cute dress you might wear? Leave it. Focus on outfits that are comfortable, rewearable, and make you feel good.
✅ Check the forecast
Pack for the weather that is expected. If there's no rain in the forecast, don't pack a "what if" rain jacket or umbrella just in case. Those are easy things to get at your destination if needed.
✅ Keep the peace with color-coded cubes
When you each have your own color set, you’ll never unpack or rifle through each other’s stuff by mistake. Less confusion = smoother mornings.
SHOULD YOU SHARE A SUITCASE?
Traveling with a significant other is not always the easiest. We’ve done it in planes, trains, and automobiles (quite literally) so we know what it’s like.
So whether it’s a cruise through the Caribbean, a road trip through the Rockies, or sharing a campervan in New Zealand, follow these steps for a stress-free and organized trip for two!
