Backpacking Europe - Skateboards as a Carry-on item?

[Turtle Life]

So I am heading to Europe this summer to see the continent and of course want to bring my deck. Do European airlines (such as RyanAir, EasyJet, Vueling) typically allow you to bring a skateboard/small backpack on as a carry-on item?

I've never had a problem domestically here in the U.S., but I don't know if it is different in Europe. I figured anybody on here would have more experience with this than me since I've never been to Europe.

Any advice is much appreciated! I couldn't imagine traveling the whole summer without the board.

[pica]

nope, they don't. trust me i've argued about it on at least 5 flights and never was allowed to bring it. once when i flew to berlin for 2 days and wasn't even sure if i'd skate there the guy was like "you can just leave it here at the airport" i asked him where i can pick it up in two days when i come back from berlin and he told me "nowhere, we have to destroy left back items".

if you want to check it in seperatley as an extra item they will charge you 60 euros because you have two pieces of luggage no exceptions, had argued about this a few times as well.

sometimes they let you put your deck in the boardcatcher and foil that whole thing, but buying a big backpack that fits a deck and put on/take off the truck every flight, is the best way.

a small backback or a trolley is ok as carry on.

last time i flew to barcelona my luggage got lost, had no clothes for 3 weeks, but somehow my deck made it there it was the ast time they allowed me to check it in seperatley without charging me. since then i  always have have my toothbrush spare shirt socks and boxers in my hand luggage.
otherwise buy a eurorail ticket travel by train its much more fun anyway.

[Steyv Seynystyr hyhy]

just get a bag that your complete board fits in.
A solid investment if you like skateboarding and traveling.

[AnotherHardDayAtTheOffice]

just get a bag that your complete board fits in.
A solid investment if you like skateboarding and traveling.

Problem is that all these discount airlines have size limits for carry-on luggage. Your skateboard will definitely not match these requirements, bag or not. They have special boxes of the maximum size and if your bag doesn't fit in, you're left with exactly three choices: a) pay extra (60 Euros?), b) leave your baggage behind and c) get the fuck out of there. Employees won't argue with you. In fact, that's exactly how low-cost airlines make their money.

Also @ turtlelife: you are aware of the fact that as for Ryanair, most of the airports are way the fuck out of the city? Sometimes, it's not even funny anymore. For example, "Frankfurt"-Hahn is more than 2 hours outside of Frankfurt. The same goes for "Stockholm", "Barcelona"-Girona/Reus etc.

Long story short, I'd advise you to get a eurorail ticket as well. Less of a hassle, faster from city centre to city centre and financially it should amount to the same (in summer, even tickets for low-cost carriers skyrocket).

[Martin]

Also @ turtlelife: you are aware of the fact that as for Ryanair, most of the airports are way the fuck out of the city? Sometimes, it's not even funny anymore. For example, "Frankfurt"-Hahn is more than 2 hours outside of Frankfurt. The same goes for "Stockholm", "Barcelona"-Girona/Reus etc.

Long story short, I'd advise you to get a eurorail ticket as well. Less of a hassle, faster from city centre to city centre and financially it should amount to the same (in summer, even tickets for low-cost carriers skyrocket).
[/quote]

This. Wasted endless hours at the "discount"-airlne airport of Stockholm, which was like a two hour drive away from Stockholm, since the connection, unless you are in the centre of Stockholm,  from elsewhere in Sweden was terrible.

[jeremyrandall]

Train is definitely the way to go in Europe

[noileum]

Train is definitely the way to go in Europe

without a doubt this

also rail travel in many euro countries (netherlands especially) I've found is a joy compared to the shithole that is the rail system in the UK. 

Once missed a train in Utrecht which had been sitting in front of me on the platform for 10 mins as I thought there's no way that train could be mine, it's pulled into the station 10 minutes early!!

Plus you can talk to more random people on train journeys, no need to stay seated in the same shitty seat next to boring business man.  What's that, a table full of chicks, why I think i'll plonk myself down on the seats next to them and strike up a conversation.

(that never happened to me once, despite sitting next to tons of fit birds on my travels - where was the picking up chicks thread when I needed it)

[JABRONI]

I just took my trucks off and put them in my backpack and bungee'd my deck to it, never a problem

[Turtle Life]

I keep hearing mixed stories from everyone. Some successes, some failures. I'm worried that I'd get raped on a charge if I brought it and they told me I had to check it at the airport. I plan on bringing only a small Jansport backpack. Fuck, a bulk package of magnum condoms wouldn't even fit in their "hand bag" slot.


The rail sounds awesome, but I just think its bull shit that even if you buy the expensive eurail pass ($800 minimum bucks cuz I just turned 26) you still have to pay money to reserve a spot on a train. And if there is no spot open for pass holders, you have to purchase a full fair. What the shit is that?!?!

Thanks for all the advice. Keep em comin' if you have any more words of wisdom!

[Monty Burns]

Some airports sell like a plastic bag that you can put your backpack in with your board . but you cant take it on as carry on .

sometimes ive just tied my board up on my backpack and put it in baggage like that . if they allow it

[Colin]

As people said, there is no way you can carry it on with discount airlines like ryanair and easyjet. Your either gonna pay a bit more for flights to bring it, or pay the fees. That or take trains.

[pica]

I keep hearing mixed stories from everyone. Some successes, some failures. I'm worried that I'd get raped on a charge if I brought it and they told me I had to check it at the airport. I plan on bringing only a small Jansport backpack. Fuck, a bulk package of magnum condoms wouldn't even fit in their "hand bag" slot.


The rail sounds awesome, but I just think its bull shit that even if you buy the expensive eurail pass ($800 minimum bucks cuz I just turned 26) you still have to pay money to reserve a spot on a train. And if there is no spot open for pass holders, you have to purchase a full fair. What the shit is that?!?!

Thanks for all the advice. Keep em comin' if you have any more words of wisdom!

i only had to pay extra/make reseravtions in spain. all other countries i just hopped on any train never had a problem. well that was over 10 years ago so I'm not so sure. but i think it's still the same. plus you're more flexible: you like a city, the spots the vibe and the weather is great- stay there. you meet nice dudes and they offer you a spot on a couch, stay some days more. a city sucks it rains all the time- hop on the train and check out another town. if you go by plane you have to have your schedule and be all planned out months before you've even arrived in europe. go with the flow, take the train.

[jeremyrandall]

Expand Quote

I keep hearing mixed stories from everyone. Some successes, some failures. I'm worried that I'd get raped on a charge if I brought it and they told me I had to check it at the airport. I plan on bringing only a small Jansport backpack. Fuck, a bulk package of magnum condoms wouldn't even fit in their "hand bag" slot.


The rail sounds awesome, but I just think its bull shit that even if you buy the expensive eurail pass ($800 minimum bucks cuz I just turned 26) you still have to pay money to reserve a spot on a train. And if there is no spot open for pass holders, you have to purchase a full fair. What the shit is that?!?!

Thanks for all the advice. Keep em comin' if you have any more words of wisdom!

[close]

i only had to pay extra/make reseravtions in spain. all other countries i just hopped on any train never had a problem. well that was over 10 years ago so I'm not so sure. but i think it's still the same. plus you're more flexible: you like a city, the spots the vibe and the weather is great- stay there. you meet nice dudes and they offer you a spot on a couch, stay some days more. a city sucks it rains all the time- hop on the train and check out another town. if you go by plane you have to have your schedule and be all planned out months before you've even arrived in europe. go with the flow, take the train.

Exactly.  Train pass seems like a lot up front (I was under 26 when I went so I did get it cheaper) but it let's you do whatever you like.  Hop on any train any time.  No need to make definite plans.  Can't find a place to sleep, you just hop on a night train and wake up the next morning in another place.  And the train stations are always right in the city centres so once you're off the train, you're right where you wanna be.  No bullshit getting back and forth from airports.

[Skate Right]

hadda problem taking it through schipol... no problem getting on as hand luggage in cape town but then not allowed to transfer through the netherlands with it... security fool said the metal in my trucks could be used to make bombs... had to run to outsize, almost missed my connecting flight then airline lost my board for 5 days en route to bordeaux...

[Paul Cicero]

I just took my trucks off and put them in my backpack and bungee'd my deck to it, never a problem

I got shut down leaving Italy doing exactly that.. Fucking loved that deck too.

[neko]

Train is definitely the way to go in Europe

This x 100000

I was in Europe for a couple of months in summer of 2011, board + backpack the whole time. I threw both in a duffel for the flight over, strapped the board to the pack when walking around and on trains, then back in a duffel for the flight back. Worked perfectly.

Also, take waaaaay less stuff than you think you need to, like seriously. Take only one (or maybe two) of anything, just handwash stuff in sinks every day. Totally worth the hassle to not have a bunch of shit to lug around. Get a small lock for hostel lockers, an old iPod full of music + skate vids, and a shitty film camera, and leave the fancy electronics at home--they'll just get jacked.

And go to Budapest. It's the shit.

[noileum]

A google nexus is almost cheap enough to be considered throwaway if you're thinking of taking anything gadgety

root that shit, grab a usb dongle so you can plug in a usb stick and take a few of them full of any skate vids/films etc.  You can do all the computing you need while on the road and if it gets jacked you're only $150 out of pocket.  take your photo's off your cameras SD card onto the nexus and then just sit in a coffee shop for an hour or two if needs be uploading it all to dropbox etc every couple of days


grab a cheap ass feature phone and a local sim for like $15 for each country if you need it, or just skype from the nexus in a coffee shop

There's no way I would consider taking a laptop travelling these days (or an iPad/iPhone)