Out This Door: Travel Tips & Destination Reviews

Hoorah! You are taking a trip to Europe and you are determined to not check baggage. I have travel packing tips for you! I hear you are serious about consolidating to a carry-on suitcase and a school-size backpack as your personal item.

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

You can do it! Even for a winter trip.

European cities abound with stairs, cobblestones, broken sidewalks, and tile floors. A carry-on sized suitcase is easy to pick up over curbs and lift into overhead bins or lug up a set of stairs.

As an aside… A traveling backpack is an alternative to a wheeled carry-on suitcase and is about the same dimensions, the difference is you can strap it on your back. Either way these are considered carry-on and hold about the same amount.

You have probably read a zillion packing blogs looking for extra tips and tricks. So many of the packing blogs try to sell you stuff you should buy for travel rather than actually reducing the amount that you pack. Most of this list is about what you shouldn’t buy. If you learn something from me, subscribe and comment!

Here are my 20 carry-on only travel packing tips for you…

20. Pack with the return trip in mind because you are going to pick up some souvenirs. You either want to have extra space at the start of your trip or create extra space during the trip faster than you acquire souvenirs.

5. What #5 already? Yeah, this one jumped the line because it’s so good. What takes up a lot of room in your suitcase? Shoes! I take three pairs. Walking boots on my feet on the plane. Athletic shoes in the suitcase along with a pair of slippers for the hotel room. One of those pairs is on its last legs—typically the cheap athletic shoes—they hit the can when I’m packing for home.

19. Winter travel? You’re in luck, puffy “down” coats are all the rage, even in Europe! For travelers, puffy coats not only pack light and tight, they also double as pillows on the airplane. Though most of this list is about reducing what you bring, I do encourage you to add this one item to your luggage—a cloth tote bag. Put your puffy coat in it and this doubles as a pillow. You can also use your cloth tote for carrying things such as groceries (in Europe you pay for every bag) or use it for dirty clothes.

Get Nikki’s gray coat: This awesome North Face coat is my go-to for temperatures from 20-60f degrees. Warm but not bulky. Doubles as a travel pillow.

18. Spring or fall travel packing tips? Have coat layers if it’s too warm for a puffy coat. Bring a windbreaker and a light cloth coat combo for the varying weather.

Get Nikki’s Rain Coat: Ultra light and packable and really holds up to the wind too.

17. Layers for your legs… Ladies, we may be tempted to bring long johns but pantyhose or tights pack even tighter and work for both dresses and as an underlayer for pants. Get the cheap ones from Amazon and toss the pair when your done with them. Black out tights are even a bit thicker.

16. Repack 2 days before you go based on updated 10-day weather forecast. Doom and gloom is always predicted far out and then reduced closer to the date. I went to Germany in late September thinking it would be cool (late Sept is almost October, you know). Thankfully we saw the forecast was calling for warmer temps so I swapped out one pair of pants and one of the long sleeve shirts for a sundress. I wound up wearing that sundress 7 of the 10 days of the trip.

15. More on layers. Layer strategically. Layers = less bulk and more opportunities. Tank tops or thin undershirts are excellent as a base layer for cold weather and as your hot weather moment (and your hot flash moments).

14. Unless you are really into jeans, sweaters, and hoodies, swap those out for clothes that are less heavy and bulky.

13. Wear your clothes a little longer before deciding they are dirty so you have less clothes you need to take.

12. Wear lightweight layers such as undershirts to catch the body smells. You can take more of those since they take up less space.

11. Lightweight underlayers are easy to wash in a hotel sink and dry on the towel rack. Bring a travel bottle of Tide for washing socks, undies, and quick dry clothes. Build a travel wardrobe of easy wear and wash clothes that don’t wrinkle. Travel clothing companies abound but the prices really cut into your travel budget. Look also at other athletic gear, golf clothing, and performance wear. And there are laundry mats in Europe for DIY and laundry services if you don’t want to spend precious travel time watching the laundry spin.

8. What #8??? Speaking of building up a travel wardrobe—who said the clothes had be new??? Thift stores have some good options. And remember tip #20 that you want to make room before your return journey? I buy and dump clothes from thift stores all the time. I lose about half my suitcase (all of maybe $20) in clothes I didn’t like enough to bring home.

Check out this short vid that will have you wanting to be a “Goodwill-ianare” too!

10. Compression sacks for travel packing are very much worth the money (and they are pretty cheap). Not just packing cubes, compression sacks are packing cubes that have an additional zipper to cinch everything flatter. Don’t bother with the vacuum sacks—they require too much equipment.

9. Last one on clothes, I swear… Maybe clothes are your idea of souveniors. You would certainly blend in with the locals. And shopping is an experience. There are even thrift stores in Europe you can shop at.  

7. Not all my travel packing tips are about reducing what you take. Washing your body also makes your clothing not get as stinky. Shower daily, or more in summertime. Also bring wipes—not alcohol-laden handi-wipes, I mean like butt wipes. Wipe your pits between showers.

6. Use plastic Ziplock-style bags to store toiletries, vitamins, tech cords, and other small items rather than bulky make-up cases or shaving cases. Bring plastic shopping bags for dirty clothes and shoes and wet swimsuits.

4. Reduce your electronic gear that you can survive without. You can’t survive without a phone charging cord. But do you need to bring your laptop on vaca? Can your phone be your camera rather than taking a heavy DSLR and lenses? Can you find pocket binoculars instead of the clunkers dad bought in the 80s for spotting Bigfoot? How about ear buds instead of headphones? More importantly, do you want to worry about a high-priced item that might get stolen, broken, or lost while you’re on vacation? You should worry about your person, your passport, and your phone. In that order.

3. Share with your travel partner when possible—toothpaste, reading material, one pair of binoculars. Read our epic travel adventures (misadventures?) here.

2. Not picky about travel toiletries? Use free ones at the hotel if they provide them—that should be on your confirmation. Why is this one #3? Because, though my hubby and his short hair has embraced this, I have not, yet. I’m inspiring myself here by putting it high on the list.

1. Remove redundant items—one outlet converter per adult is plenty. One charging cord per adult is plenty. If you lose one, you share. If you lose more, you buy.

“Pack for the best-case scenario. Buy your way out of the worst-case scenario.” (Somebody famous said that, maybe Mark Twain or Rick Steves)

After a trip, evaluate.

What did you need but didn’t have? What did you bring that you didn’t need? Did washing some clothes work out or was it too much hassle? I’d love to know your experience.

PS. Last vital packing travel tip…

When you sit on your carry-on to smoosh it in an attempt to zip it, say a little prayer. Call it superstition but this comes directly from Russians. Any little bit helps, right?!

Get Nikki’s Winter Parka: North Face and oh so ready for the winter weather. One of those that’s soooo thick you can’t pack it but OMG warm and wind resistant.