The trip? 21 days, 8 countries, 22 cities across Europe. With such an ambitious schedule, I needed to pack lightly. Very lightly. I’ve made the mistake before of packing far too much and my pack becomes a huge burden throughout the trip (literally).

The requirements? I was going to be riding trains nearly every day, walking around cities without being able to drop my bag at a hostel first, and hopping a short flight between countries, so I needed a pack that I could comfortably carry all day and was small enough to fit as hand luggage (much smaller allowances on European airlines than for carry-on in the US!)

The weather? I was traveling through France, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Romania in September, so while most of the countries were still very hot in the day, they did get quite cool in the evenings.

The solution? I’ve found that if there’s space in my bag, I will fill it up, so the best way for me to pack light is to decrease the size of the bag. I used an Osprey Quantum Daypack. At 34L, it was small enough to be comfortably carried and large enough to fit everything I needed for 3 weeks.

This is everything that was in my backpack:

  1. Medium packing cube filled with all my clothes
  2. Small packing cube filled with undergarments, socks, and bathing suit
  3. Shoe bag with sandals and shower shoes
  4. Laundry bag
  5. Foldable backpack
  6. Hangable toiletry bag
  7. Outlet adapters
  8. Folder with all of my train tickets and hostel directions
  9. Small foldable picnic blanket (perfect as a beach towel!)
  10. Lock
  11. Small case of make-up
  12. Large microfiber towel
  13. Journal and pen
  14. Comb, hair-ties, assorted toiletries
  15. Mini first aid kit – band-aids, ibuprofen, and Excedrin Migraine (a must for me)

These are all the clothes I brought to Europe:

  1. One pair of capri shorts
  2. One long skirt
  3. One pair of gym shorts (used as PJ bottoms)
  4. 2 t-shirts
  5. One long-sleeved shirt (doubled as a sweater)
  6. One dress
  7. One pashmina scarf and one decorative scarf
  8. One bathing suit (not pictured)
  9. Undergarments and socks (not pictured)
  10. One pair of sneakers, one pair of sandals, one pair of shower shoes

Post Trip Update:

The size and weight of the bag worked out perfectly. I was able to carry it for hours touring cities and was able to go into all of the major sites without an issue. The amount of clothes I brought was perfect, I wouldn’t have wanted any more, but there are a few items I would switch out:

  1. Switch the long-sleeve shirt for a lightweight rain jacket. I almost never wore the shirt, yet I got rained on several times (silly me wasn’t expecting much rain in the Mediterranean)
  2. Switch the pashmina scarf for an umbrella. I read so many reviews of how a pashmina scarf is so great to have on a trip, but honestly I never really used it and it took up too much space. I would, however, have used an umbrella on multiple occasions.
  3. Switch the lock I brought for a smaller one. The standard locker-size lock I brought was virtually useless – it was too thick to fit through most of the hostel lockers.
  4. Switch out the cotton clothes for synthetic. Cotton is more comfortable, but I regretted my choice when it came to laundry. I didn’t have time to stop and do laundry, so I needed to rinse things out in the sink. The cotton clothes took far too long to dry. Synthetic would have been better.

 

All in all, I was happy with my packing –  I’ll never bring a bag larger than 34L again. Dare I say my days of overpacking are over?? Well, probably not, but at least I’m getting better at choosing what I truly need!