Eurotravel Planner

Section: Packing List

Next Section: Single & summering in Europe? A guide.

Packing for Oct. in Europe
When planning for this trip, I had a few considerations. First, how much actual business was I likely to need to do on the trip, what style of travel was I looking forward to, and how much stuff could I carry? Also, I was going alone for part of the trip, so couldn't share common items with a companion (i.e. toiletries, health-items, Game Boy, etc.).

Luggage & Bags
Luggage is a prime consideration. Don't simply scrounge around a couple days before the trip and hope to find a good solution.

This is one of the few areas I feel that splurging is both fun and necessary (along with buying a travel guidebook or two and a money belt).

Consider whether you'll be staying in one home base and doing day trips, or whether you expect to be in a different city and new hotel every night or two. If you'll be on the move quite frequently, you will most definitely need to consider packing lighter and smarter. This means a couple of things:

1. Use one main bag. Make sure it's the right bag, and please consider foregoing the 2 or 3 suitcases you might normally drag along. Cobblestones aren't friendly environments to wander around on.

2. Bring a day pack. During the day you'll probably be doing extensive walking about, so have a small day-pack to bring with you. They are great for gathering picnics at farmer's markets and shops as you go. Some backpacks come with them attached, or just stuff an empty one in your luggage. Bringing it empty means you can fill it up with souvenirs for the trip home.

3. Consider a backpack rather than traditional luggage bags. I know, you're not going camping, but a backpack is a great way to get everything on your back, free up your hands and limit travel to only the necessary items you'll need. Plus, your arms don't fall off after the first dash to an airplane boarding gate.

Many travelers often ignore this advice, and I admit I have accidentally laughed at them hobbling down the street. I'm sorry, but nobody could possibly need their entire wardrobe in Europe. But, if that's your thing, go for it. Me? I prefer to enjoy Europe, not unpacking in my hotel room all day.

Now that I have kids, there's another benefit of using a backpack. I need my arms free to hold onto Maxwell when he spots something interesting, usually breakable, and often across a busy street.

4. Don't overfill your suitcase/backpack. You'll want a few souvenirs and things always seem to spread out a bit. Besides, and again, why spend an hour packing and then unpacking each day? I've also found that it's harder to get everything to pack just the way you did when you spent a lot of time at home stuffing it in the suitcase.

Bringing Work on Vacation
Bringing work with you... An electronic dilemma.

As a tried-and-true computer geek (I've started several Internet companies) and after several trips with computer programmers, executives and other people who feel the need to be in constant, enduring communication with back home, I can now fully guarantee that you won't need all the electronics with you!

First, nobody gets any significant work done on a short, 2 week trip. The laptops, palm pilots, organizers, reems of folders, cell phones that don't work in Europe, etc. are a complete waste of space/time/energy.

Further, consider the huge weight advantage in not lugging all that extra luggage around! I would also be leary of bringing expensive electronics to Europe that can be stolen or broken, and the extra bulk is not what it's cracked up to be. You simply aren't likely to use any of it.

Finally, Europe has business centers you can use in many hotels and great Internet Cafés for checking email and sending urgent messages. I have never needed more than these and a couple of $5 phone cards bought locally to take care of everything, including reservations and calls back to the US for work.

Trust me, it can all wait, and probably will as you'll be too busy absorbing all of Europe while simultaneously trying to navigate between busy cities and new hotels, different languages, jet lag, eating great late, and other small obstacles to sitting in boring hotel rooms working.

Finally, I will add that these days you can rent a small cell phone to bring to Europe, spend maybe $100, and have all the peace of mind and communication capability that you'll need.

Fall Packing List
From my October Europe trip through Belgium,
the Netherlands and northern Germany for 3 weeks.

A few reminders: Europe is hot in summer (90+ degrees), you don't need formal wear, and you'll have a LOT of pictures of these clothes so I hope you look good in all khaki if that's what you bring! Even October is relatively warm and you usually don't need fur-lined jackets.
	• Backpack: (now available w/ wheels) or 1 medium-sized suitcase. I use the Eagle Creek 5000 cubic inch monster backpack. You won't want an external frame backpack unless doing extensive rough-ground hiking
	• Day Pack: (empty when you leave for Europe, full on return trip). Mine is actually attached as part of my backpack, cool feature
	• Shorts: 2 pair, 1 long w/ useful velcro pockets, 1 for pajamas/sports. Women should consider skirts as a great light-weight option (I'm jealous)
	• Jeans: 1 Brown pair
	• Shirts: 5-6 Shirts (mostly long-sleeve) -- 2 button-up, 3 T-shirts/undershirts, 1 heavy-weight for cold weather
	• Underwear: 5 pair
	• Socks: 5 pairs, 2 pair small sports (white), 1 dark casual calf height, 2 wool walking/hiking pair (late season travel = less sandal wearing)
	• Outerwear: Green water-proof rain jacket (lightweight, useless as it turned out, since I never had it with me when it would rain)
	• Shoes: 1 pair sandals, 1 pair comfortable brown tennis/walking shoes
	• Hat: 1, critical for us baldies, my favorite Beer.com cap was a great conversation starter in every country
	• Sunglasses: 1 medium-expensive pair (easily broken/lost on travels)
	• Moneybelt: 1 incredibly important, useful, necessary item!!!
Most of this can be bought in Europe, but consider buying small sizes of items such as toothpaste for space savings. I know Target stores often have a toiletries "sample size" aisle which is perfect-o. Health happens in Europe. Be ready and it won't slow you down. This is no time to avoid drugs and supplies when they can help. You'll be trooping in high gear and don't need colds, allergies, scrapes, blisters, sunburns and headaches (or 30 spines from a sea urchin in my case) to slow you down. See my article Health on the Road for more info.
	• Heel pads for blisters (moleskin), verrrry nice to have!
	• Vitamins - you're stressing your body every day, try a multivitamin
	• Good antiperspirant/deodorant (One of the few items I've never found a working version of in Europe). Try Drysol (prescription) if U sweat as I do
	• Sunscreen: Critical, expect to be outside walking a lot or on a beach, not so critical for October, obviously
	• Antibiotic cream: bring an ointment w/ pain reliever
	• Advil/Aspirin: pick your favorite, bring it
	• Bandaids: Bring 'em large and small
	• Hangover Kombat: Great for keeping you going through the liquor, wine and beer of Europe
	• Pepto-Bismol or Immodium Advanced capsules — trust me on this
	• Cold medicine for: sneezing, coughing, drippy nose, raw throat
	• Antiseptic wipes: sometimes useful, I forgot on this trip, no problems
	• Tweezers or a needle: I just use a mini-sewing kit needle as needed
	• Bring matches or buy a lighter in Europe
	• Small pocket-knife: Swiss-army or like kind, don't pack in carry-on or you'll lose it!
	• Toothpaste: try a small sample size, and a toothbrush and floss
	• Drugs: bring any prescriptions you will or might need
	• Soap & lotion: bring a squeeze-bottle if you'll be using Hostels
	• Shaving razor: smaller than electric, and a miniature sewing repair kit, sometimes nicer hotels in the US hand them out, grab one!
	• Post Office Reminder: Have them hold your mail, ditto newspapers & milk delivery! Ask your neighbors to watch the house for packages, water streaming out the front door, etc...
You often won't have instant information, phonebook and Internet access in Europe, so feel free to print out lots of interesting stuff, such as walking directions from the train station to your hotel! Make copies of all critical documents (listed in bold below) and keep one copy in a separate location in your luggage and another copy at home with someone you can call in an emergency.
	• Passport: Well, duh. Also, they expire, ensure it's still valid!
	• Reservations: Hotel, airplane, train, car, and special events
	• Maps: of hotels, local areas you'll be hitting, driving directions, etc.
	• Credit cards: all of them, including debit cards, try having both MC and Visa with you. Debit cards give better rates at ATMs
	• Frequent flier #s: hopefully already added to your flight reservation
	• Travel Guides: One full primary book plus tear-out interesting sections of other books you've bought
	• Writing: bring a small-sized journal and/or paper, and good pens
	• Address book: to write those jealousy-causing post cards home!
	• Personal Business Cards: handy when you meet folks on the road. I add my email address and website to keep in touch with global friends. This was great when I was traveling single
	• Prescriptions: bring brand names and generic names of drugs (brands often differ by country, so good luck!).
	• Personal Photos: or, oddly-enough, postcards of home to share
	• Traveler's cheques: if you bring them, have copies of all numbers
	• Money: I use my ATM Visa card, no traveler cheques, and about $150-250 in U.S. $20's
	• Photos of you: for headshots and in case your passport is lost/stolen
The little things that makes a trip more enjoyable! You can live without most of these extras
	• Small camera, 4-5 rolls of film: see the Photography section for more info
	• Hefty OneZip 1 Gallon freezer bags - with an actual zipper, very useful
	• Personal business cards: cheap to make up, they are great when you don't have a pen handy and are good conversation starters and a great way to make new friends around the world. Add your name, email and web address and something funny, perhaps
	• A reliable pen. I can't seem to buy good ones in Europe. Why? Dunno.
	• Rubber bands: handy for everything
	• Miniature combination locks: 2-3 for luggage are great, no key to lose
	• Map printouts of driving directions, train station to hotel maps, etc.
	• Tobasco & ketchup. Euro-ketchup sucks, and some regional food is bland
	• GameBoy Advance & game cartridges, especially for kids
	• Miniature alarm clock for when the front-desk wakeup goes unheeded
	• Travel Hairdryer with voltage converter and European plug adapter (if you have hair and care)
	• MP3 player: the Apple iPod is the standard-setter for sure. Like a CD player that holds 1000 CDs. Comes with a Europe plug adapter as well!
	• Printouts of address books (why bring the whole thing?)
	• Woolite: in a small bottle, bring for use in hotel sink, add a sink stopper!
	• Mini-flashlight: useful for all sorts of things, especially in hostels
	• Hostel sheet: most hostels require them for the bed
It's just as important to consider what you definitely won't want to bring with you. Obviously, if you have specific needs (i.e. you're a professional photographer) ignore my advice on certain aspects (e.g. small cameras).
	• Computers (expensive, can be stolen or broken, won't be used)
	• Big Cameras (unless a prof. photographer go small, see Photo info)
	• Wallets & Purses (easy to steal or lose, use money belts)
	• Dinner Jackets & Ties (if no plans to hit Michelin 3* restaurants)
	• Traveler's Cheques (see Money section for further details)
	• Language translator books (see Language, and small mini-devices are nice)
	• Lots of film (it's easy to get in Europe, same price as here)
	• High heels, dress shoes, and lots of shoes. Bring 2 pairs max. On my last November trip, I brought one pair of hiking/tennis shoes only.
	• Multiple guidebooks (pick one primary, and add tear-outs of others)
	• Hardback books (I prefer "throwaway" paperbacks and magazines, any heavy reading won't be read, trust me)
	• Multiple suitcases (use 1 backpack or suitcase, and 1 daybag)
	• Excess toiletries & misc. you can buy easily in Europe