Hey guys! So this next week I will be sharing what I packed on my two and a half week trip to Europe! The next two posts on my blog are going to be all about my trip. On Friday I will be sharing what I packed in my makeup and toiletries bag, and then next Tuesday I will be about my actual trip!
I decided to write this post because I personally researched online what to bring with me, but I struggled to find a spring specific post. I was gone during May and was in both the North and South of Europe, so I had to pack for different climates. I was also pretty unlucky that it was unseasonably cold in a few places, so if I could have changed anything I would have brought more long sleeves and less t-shirts!
So just to let you know, I am going to explain everything I bought, and give some suggestions/things I would change. At the end of my post I will have a list of everything I bought, so you can always just scroll down and check that if you want!
First, I wanted to mention that I found my suitcase at Winners for only $100! If you are looking for suitcases, I highly would recommend going there. I really liked the one I got because it was a front open instead of opening in half, so it took up less space in my room. I also liked this one because the print made it stand out compared to all the black suitcases. This suitcase also matched the size restrictions I had. Beside this suitcase, I also brought a backpack and a backpack purse. Also when I was coming home I brought a tote bag on the plane.
There was a bunch of stuff I bought for my trip, because I have never travelled abroad to Europe before. I bought a power adapter in order to charge my electronics. I got a sleeping mask that also came with ear plugs. I didn’t use it but it was pretty inexpensive and I had a friend borrow it anyways. Next I bought some bed bug stuff because I had read a few negative reviews online about the places we were staying, and I thought it was better to be safe than sorry. I did use the bed bug trap in one hotel, but I never used the pillow.
Next up I bought travel locks and I would highly recommend getting some. I used them on both my suitcase and my backpack purse. If a hotel didn’t have a safe in the room I would always lock my suitcase before leaving. It was also much safer in busy crowds to have the lock on my backpack purse.
I brought with me a microfiber hair towel along with full body microfiber/Sham-Wow-esque towel. I got the microfiber hair towel at Walmart in the spa section and I used it a ton. A lot of the hotel didn’t have a good sized hair towel, so it was useful to just have my own. I only used my full size towel once, most of the hotels had nice towels. I also brought it to go swimming, but it wasn’t warm enough so I didn’t use it for that. I got my towel awhile ago from a swimming store. I would recommend bringing microfiber towels because they are smaller than normal ones but are very useful. I also brought a face towel (not shown) because sometimes I feel guilty getting makeup all over the hotel’s white towels, but I’m fine with getting my own personal towel dirty.
I definitely recommend getting luggage tags. I got these cute Canada ones from Winners. If you have plain suitcase they can help make your suitcase stand out. I got a two pack of Cottenelle wipes just in case, but I didn’t use them at all. I wish that I had brought wet wipes instead of these, especially since they were so bulky and took up a lot of room in my suitcase. I also brought two travel blankets with me. I probably should have just brought one, but I am really happy that I brought it. I used it at night if the duvet cover looked gross, but also on the bus to take naps.
I brought a ton of candy and snacks with me, and ended up buying a ton more there. I brought some Fuzzy Peaches and M&Ms because those are my favourite. I brought a ton of gum because I am susceptible to motion sickness and I find gum helps with it. I also got these maple syrup flavoured candies. It was fun to share a piece of home with my new friends. Finally a bought a few granola and protein bars, which were useful for when I didn’t have time for breakfast.
I definitely recommend getting some packing cubes and vacuum seal bags! I organized my clothes into categories and had a packing cube for each category; so one for shirts, one for pants, etc. The vacuum seal bags were ones that you didn’t need a machine/blow dryer for. They were pretty good at squishing down bulky items such as sweaters. I also rolled all my clothes within the packing cubes in order to fit more into each cube.
I brought with me six pairs of shoes, which was a lot. I had my Vans, a pair of Nike running shoes, a pair of rain boots, a pair of Adidas slides, my Birkenstocks and a nice pair of mules. Most days I wore either my Vans or my running shoes. I wore my slides all the time in my hotel rooms, and once in a gross shower. I didn’t wear my Birkenstocks once, but that’s because we got unlucky with bad weather. I think if you are going during early spring then pack rainboots, but by late May you should be fine and pack sandals instead of rainboots.
Besides my backpack purse I brought along this Aldo fanny pack. This fanny pack was amazing. It is both a fanny pack and a cross body bag. I would wear it as a fanny pack during the day and then as a cross body at night. It also comes with a cute little card holder!
For coats I brought three, all of which got a ton of use. I brought a raincoat, a jean jacket and a light puffer jacket. The puffer jacket was good because we had some colder days, as well being something warmer to wear at night when it cooled down. I also brought an umbrella with me as well.
Besides that, I had a few things in my backpack. I had my iPad and all of my charging cables. I brought a notebook, a travel journal and my pencil case. I had a little mini pharmacy bag which included: Tylenol, Gravol, muscle pain meds, diarrhea meds, Benadryl, medicine for yeast infections, band aids and a thermometer. I brought a bunch of stuff because I heard it can be hard to get over the counter medicine in Europe. I also brought a Brita water bottle, which was an amazing purchase. I saved so much money by not having to buy water all the time. Finally, I brought my Polaroid camera with me, which was fun but I honestly didn’t use too much and took up a ton of room in my bag.
So my ultimate Europe during Spring Packing List is:
- packing cubes
- seven pairs of bottoms
- three pairs of jeans
- three pairs of leggings
- one pair of sweatpants
- one skirt
- three dresses
- two casual, one fancy
- two sweatshirts, one sweater, one cardigan
- two long sleeves
- five t-shirts, three tank tops
- underwear, socks and bras
- five pairs of pjs
- six pairs of shoes
- Vans and running shoes
- Rain boots
- slides and Birkenstocks
- fancy shoes (high heels or flats)
- three coats
- rain jacket, jean jacket and puffer jacket
- two purses
- backpack and fanny pack/cross body
- bed bugs supplies
- bag locks
- towels
- hair, face and body
- travel blankets
- toiletries + makeup + pharmacy/medication
- food/candy
- adapters and charging cables
- notebooks + pencil cases
- travel documents
Yes, I realize that I definitely over-packed (fun fact my suitcase was overweight oops). But honestly I have just come to terms with the fact that I am an over-packer. You can take my list and adjust it to your own personal needs. Anyways, stayed tuned for Friday for my toiletries and makeup bag!
xoxo
Lea
