Bill has written a few short articles on packing for international travel. I'm going to weigh in from a woman's perspective. We both have different packing needs and wants and these are mine.
I'll start off with the full main pack, shown here. We carry everything on our back and due to this, packing has to be well thought out and planned. We have a lot of things in our pack and there is a reason for each thing. Packing light is the key to easy travel, but we must have everything we need to do the things we want to do. Let's take a look inside my pack and the things I carry. |
The Essentials – If we are going somewhere that is one climate it makes packing much easier. We generally travel in the winter but some places we go can be pretty temperate (like Nice and Barcelona). But in general I bring 5 shirts – a mix of lighter weight and heavy, 2-3 pairs pants with one jeans, one black jeans, and one skinny jeans. I bring a warm sweater/fleece, 5 changes of underwear and socks, bra and 4 – 5 camisoles. I recommend bringing clothes you can layer since it can be cold in the mornings and nights and warmer during the days. So with the clothes I’m wearing I have a total of 6 changes of clothes. I recommend keeping clothes simple with basic colors that can mix and match with anything you bring. I’m not a fancy dresser. I go more for function.
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Ski clothes – If we are not skiing the only thing in this group I bring is a rain coat and I would add rain pants. We debate about the rain pants every trip. If we go back to Scotland or Iceland or anywhere we plan to be outside a lot I would bring them. If we are mostly in cities then I don’t because we can get inside when it gets really bad. I bring a balaclava for skiing, it makes a huge difference in keeping warm. I bring another hat for off the slopes. Warm ski gloves, googles (strongly recommended) and ski pants. I also bring a scarf that’s light and easy to stow.
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Misc items – A stowable back pack to put anything in you might need for the day, and to carry anything you might purchase. Also a stowable shopping bag for the grocery store. They don’t have disposable bags in any of the grocery stores. You can usually purchase bags for a few Euros or less. I bring an extra pair of shoes. These are Sketchers – nice soft soles and very light weight. Maybe not beautiful but they’re very functional.
I just got a new pair of hiking boots that are water proof have soft insoles and very light weight (Foresake Patch). I can pack them if I want to wear the other shoes. One pair of footwear should be water proof. It will rain – you can count on it. Wall plug adapters for each country, homemade multiple plug and extra USB cable- I keep this in the outside pocket of my big pack for easy access. Bag of teas – I drink a lot of tea. For the mornings, ones with caffeine, the evenings herbals and decaffeinated. I love coffee but it doesn’t love me any more, so I drink tea instead. Actually, though, in most places in Europe it is possible to get really good decaffeinated coffee. |
Night time stuff – Toiletries are very personal so I won’t go into that. I don’t wear make up so I can skip that. While you can get most things like shampoo, etc there, I prefer not to have to buy them if I can avoid it. My body likes what it is used to and I don’t want to risk having a skin reaction to something I buy over there.
Most hotels in Europe don’t have wash clothes so I bring 2 in zip lock bags. When we get somewhere I just take them out and let them dry. Tissues can also be scarce so bring those. My toiletry bag is an old LL Beans one that hangs up. Bathrooms can be really tiny in the hotels there so hanging this up I can access everything without needing to spread it out. Night clothes are light weight since I find that most hotels are over heated in the winter. I stow them in the front zipper pocket for easy access. |
Fully loaded pack – Everything fits with a little space at the top left over! Shoes and teas, stowable back pack and shopping bag are in the bottom compartment. I put the heaviest things and/or ski items in the bottom and the heavier cube toward the back. Avoid top loading the pack so it doesn’t pull more on your shoulders than necessary.
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Day pack – ANYTHING you don’t want to risk losing put in your carry on pack. Mine includes: prescription sunglasses, tablet, kindle, medicines (make sure you have enough prescription meds) and supplements, jewelry (if I bring any), headphones (I bring both blue tooth and plug in since the plane’s system requires plug in), camera, journal, pens, passport, wallet.
I also bring Ibuprofen, GasEx (being on a long flight can cause very uncomfortable bloating), Benadryl (for any allergic reactions) and an herbal sleep aid such as Melatonin. My water bottle has a filter. The turtle is a neck support for sleeping on planes and it actually works. Slipper socks I use on the long flights over and back. Short flights they get put in my big pack.
My day pack has a compartment the sits right up on my back I can put my wallet and passport in. It is secure against my body and not readily visible. If yours doesn’t have something like that I would not put my passport and wallet in a day pack and carry it on my back. I had my wallet stolen out of one once. I generally carry that pack on front of my body anyway – it’s the way it attaches to my big pack.
I don’t bring an extra purse unless we are going somewhere I can’t wear a coat with pockets inside or external ones that zip. If I do its very small and fits only the essentials I need for the day. I will bring a body belt for my passport and valuables if I’m not going to have pockets. I don’t like carrying any more than necessary when we are walking about. I do have a special purse that is supposed to be pick proof but haven’t brought it to Europe yet.
I hope these tips are helpful!
I also bring Ibuprofen, GasEx (being on a long flight can cause very uncomfortable bloating), Benadryl (for any allergic reactions) and an herbal sleep aid such as Melatonin. My water bottle has a filter. The turtle is a neck support for sleeping on planes and it actually works. Slipper socks I use on the long flights over and back. Short flights they get put in my big pack.
My day pack has a compartment the sits right up on my back I can put my wallet and passport in. It is secure against my body and not readily visible. If yours doesn’t have something like that I would not put my passport and wallet in a day pack and carry it on my back. I had my wallet stolen out of one once. I generally carry that pack on front of my body anyway – it’s the way it attaches to my big pack.
I don’t bring an extra purse unless we are going somewhere I can’t wear a coat with pockets inside or external ones that zip. If I do its very small and fits only the essentials I need for the day. I will bring a body belt for my passport and valuables if I’m not going to have pockets. I don’t like carrying any more than necessary when we are walking about. I do have a special purse that is supposed to be pick proof but haven’t brought it to Europe yet.
I hope these tips are helpful!