How I Travel With A Guitar + Music Equipment (7 tips)
I’m a music-making digital nomad who lives in Tokyo part-time. It’s my dream lifestyle, but it also means I need to pack a lot of extra things other travelers don’t.
I’m always lugging around my music equipment and guitar (on top of all my other “normal” things).
So after many airport setbacks and travel headaches, this is my guide on how to travel with a guitar and music equipment (like a laid-back pro).
Let’s get to it.
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Traveling With Guitars + Music Equipment (pros + cons)
I love making music while traveling. There’s a unique type of inspiration that comes from a new culture or destination.
(this is actually the whole theme for my brand — travel x music)
Plus, as you know, going days without playing just sucks. So let’s look at the biggest pros and cons of traveling with your guitar or music equipment.
Recommended: Travel Boosts Creativity (here’s how)
Pros of Traveling With Your Music Gear
New locations inspire new and different music
It’s obvious, but you can play guitar while traveling (so no creative withdrawal!)
You don’t need to hit pause on practice or take a break
It’s fun
You could do busking or travel collaborations in a new location
You can avoid creative withdrawal from not playing music
Cons of Traveling With Your Music Gear
You have more stuff (extra weight, more space and additional costs)
Your gear could get damaged
Guitars can be pricey, which raises security concerns (theft concerns)
There may be restrictions or extra fees, depending on the airline
You may not be able to use it if it’s too noisy for your destination
General inconvenience
How to Travel With A Guitar (7 tips)
There are a few travel essentials I can’t go without. And my guitar is one of them — it's a non negotiable.
So these are my top tips for traveling with a guitar on a plane, train or anything in between.
1. Check Your Airline + Ticket
Depending on the size of your guitar case, you may need to check it with your other luggage.
There are specific size requirements and different airline rules for carry-ons, so it’s best to check your flight details beforehand.
For example, some discount flights don’t offer free carry-ons (at least, not for larger bags). So you may need to pay additional fees for these.
Also, if you’re taking a short trip, the airplanes tend to be quite small. So if you’re traveling with a larger instrument, you may need to pay extra or have it checked.
To avoid any surprises, it’s best to do some research beforehand or reach out to your airline for specific questions.
Part of successfully traveling with a guitar is simply knowing what to expect and planning ahead.
2. Get Priority Boarding for Carry-On Guitars
Priority boarding means you’ll be the first group or two to board the plane when at the gate.
This means you’ll have first access to the overhead bins, which often tend to fill up by the time the final groups are boarding.
So if you’re keeping your guitar with you during travel (as a carry-on), then ensuring you’ll have enough space for it is crucial.
The best way to do this is to make sure you’re one of the first groups to board the plane.
But even if you’re not able to get priority boarding, you can also try talking with one of the gate employees.
I’ve been able to get bumped up to priority boarding before to ensure I had enough room for my guitar (luckily, the guy was also a guitar player though, so he was more willing to help me out).
3. Use A Hard Case If You Check Your Bag
Using a hard case for your guitar is a smart move for any situation.
But this is especially true if you’ll be traveling far and checking your guitar with an airline (for obvious reasons).
So if you haven’t invested in a decent hardside case for your guitar, now may be the time to do it. Protecting your instrument is important stuff, after all.
While airlines will do their best to protect your gear (and they can even add a special care tag to your luggage), they’re also not liable should anything break.
If things do get messed up, you probably won’t have many options beyond just accepting the situation and paying for repairs yourself.
So it’s best to just avoid that situation altogether by having a decent hard case for your guitar.
There are tons of affordable options on Amazon or you can find some solid used gear at a local music shop.
4. Pack Less
Traveling with a guitar is already extra weight. So let’s save our backs by packing less of the other stuff.
Because priorities, right?
Also, if you’re traveling with other equipment (like mics or MIDI controllers), you’ll need the extra room anyways.
But even without all the music stuff, extra space means you can pick up some souvenirs and things like that.
Either way, when traveling with music equipment and a guitar, having less bags overall will make your life easier as you traverse between hotels, taxies and trains (you’ll thank yourself later).
Recommended: My Minimalist Travel Strategy
5. Use A Designated Travel Guitar (not your main one)
If you have more than one guitar, it’s helpful to designate one as your travel guitar.
For me, I usually travel with guitars that are less expensive or not as “important” to me.
Because if you’ve got a fancy Martin (for example), you probably don’t want it getting tossed around in transit while adventuring around.
Things happen and guitars are fragile. So to lessen the impact of travel damage, designate one of your older guitars as your travel one and save the newer ones for home.
And if you don’t have more than one guitar, this could be your sign to pick up a cheap used one somewhere.
6. Buy A Travel-Sized Guitar
The smartest thing I did was invest in a travel-sized guitar. It’s way lighter and way more compact.
So if you can swing it, buying a smaller guitar for travel is an awesome way to travel more comfortably as a musician.
I use the Taylor Baby (BT2) and I love it. Since it’s so small, I can easily use it as a carry-on, so I never need to worry about checking it at the airport.
At least, I haven’t run into any issues yet (and can’t see why I would, given its baby size).
I love the Taylor Baby because while the body is much smaller, the neck and playability feel just the same as my regular sized ones (more or less).
So if you’ve been on the fence about buying a new mini guitar, let this be your sign.
7. Consider the Alternatives
There’s more than one way to make music or get a guitar while traveling. So consider your alternatives.
For example, besides guitar, I also love to produce music. And for this, all I technically need is my laptop. So if I’m just taking a short weekend trip somewhere, I usually just bring my MacBook with me.
Also, writing music without instruments can be a fun songwriting challenge to try anyways (you know, to expand your creativity and try new things).
But if you definitely can’t go with your guitar, you could also research if there are any second hand music shops at your destination. You could snag a cheap guitar while traveling, and then just sell it back when you leave.
You’ll probably lose some money on this transaction, but it could be simpler than having to lug your gear through airports and trains.
Finally, some music shops may even offer rentals. You’ll need to do some digging to see if this is an option though.
Recommended: My Music Production Starter Kit
Later ✌️
Traveling is epic fun. And traveling with a guitar is even better.
It gives us a unique type of inspiration.
So being able to bring our instrument(s) along for the ride is an awesome opportunity as a musician. Luckily, a little bit of planning can ensure your trip goes smoothly.
But my best advice is to have a designated travel guitar or purchase a smaller sized instrument to make things easier.
Either way, traveling with a guitar is usually not a problem and pretty simple to do (in my experience).
So with that, happy exploring!
(now go make some epic music wherever you’re heading off to)
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