I'm going for a ten or eleven day trip overseas. Anyone follow the Rick Steve's advice to just pack a couple long pants, five shirts, one pair of shorts, and five socks/underwear and wash when there? Other packing ideas/theories?

Watching...I'm about to go to Europe for 2 weeks and I'm bound to pack too much. We use those Osprey travel backpacks which does limit it somewhat.

10 day trip to Germany coming up this winter.

Everything I pack goes in 30L bag. It's a Tom Bihn Aeronaut 30.

Wear one pair of pants. Pack one pair. No extra shoes. But I'll pack a pair of house shoes for around the hotel.

when going solo, i never check a bag,, always do a backpack carry on, book an airbnb with a washer/dryer if a long trip (have used https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/carry-on-backpack for almost 10 years now)

but my wife insists upon checking a bag, so since we started traveling together when we were dating i'll check a bag sometimes, for full size toiletries and to bring back booze

I went 11 months in a backpack. It depends on where you are staying, laundry facilities, type of clothing, etc. if you plan right, you can easily do it

Just spent 2 weeks in Australia, wife spent a week in Tokyo before Australia. We both took carry ons. I typically take a couple pairs of pants, a pair of shorts (or vice versa depending on the season), but I do pack a shirt for every day, folded correctly they take no space. I wear my walking around shoes on the plane, pack flip flops and a pair of nicer shoes. I'm also triathlon training so had cycling clothes and shoes, running clothes and shoes, and a swim suit and goggles. So I loaded up the backpack a little more than normal.

Well... I frequently travel overseas for two weeks for work. I ALWAYS check my super awesome Burton bag.

But, since I'm going for work, I need nice work shirts and pants. I also like to pack 10 days worth of underwear and socks. That way I have some flexibility about when I do laundry. I usually pack 4-6 pairs of shoes depending on where I'm going and what I'm doing.

Back in Denver, I worked with a guy who would travel overseas on vacation wearing jeans, running shoes and that backpacking underwear that you can wear for a week without washing. He would buy a new Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt on his trip and that was it. He carried everything he needed for his two week trip in a small backpack.

This guy also only ate at Taco Bell when he travelled for work. To each his own.

Travel light and carry-on.

Vernada said:

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HollywoodBQ said:

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I usually pack 4-6 pairs of shoes depending on where I'm going and what I'm doing.

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For all these years I had just assumed you were a guy. My bad.

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Nice one!

Personal item + carry-on works for me indefinitely. I never check bags in. The personal item is always a backpack that just barely fits under a seat when it's crammed full (it's usually not), the carry-on depends on the trip.

If it's a wilderness area, my personal item has the clean clothes and such for the day or two when I'm in civilization and the carry-on is my pack/duffel/whatever. And they never call me out on the flyrod even though it's technically a third item. Shoes are usually easy, a pair of hiking boots or wading shoes depending on the trip plus a pair of cheap slip-on shoes to wear around camp. Wear the bigger pair of shoes on the plane, smash the slip-ons into the duffel.

If I am going to a civilized place, I like to wear clean clothes all the time. I'll wear pants twice but that's it, and if I walk a lot during the day I'll usually shower and change before a nice dinner. Then my personal item is my day bag (books, maps, light jacket, light rain coat, hand sanitizer, laptop, chargers, cash). If you pack smart, a suitcase that fits in the overhead can have 4-5 pairs of pants, 8-9 shirts, undergarments and socks, toiletries, a coat, and a couple more layers. That drops if you have business professional. Shoes are tricky when you have big feet, so I usually wear a pair of loafers and take running shoes (or buy shoes when I land and leave them in the hotel room the morning I fly back).

I can go a week without doing laundry in either scenario. For a two week trip, I would rather do laundry once than deal with baggage claim twice and have to drag two suitcases around the whole time.


For a one or two night trip, I'll take my backpack without a carry-on unless I have to take suits. Traveling with one item is incredibly freeing.

Ulrich said:

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Personal item + carry-on works for me indefinitely. I never check bags in. The personal item is always a backpack that just barely fits under a seat when it's crammed full (it's usually not), the carry-on depends on the trip.

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Yeah, I'm 6'3" so I ain't putting nuthin' under the seat in front of me.

Ulrich said:

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Shoes are tricky when you have big feet, so I usually wear a pair of loafers and take running shoes (or buy shoes when I land and leave them in the hotel room the morning I fly back).

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For my 2 week trips, this is the reason I mentioned the 4-6 pairs of shoes. For my business stuff, I usually wear nicer dress shoes during the day and then more casual dress shoes during evening dinners. These are the shoes I wear on the plane so I don't look like a total dork or hillbilly when I'm in the airline lounge. A pair of flip-flops for cruising around the hotel and a pair of running shoes. If I'm going to a snowy area, gotta add snow boots. I buy good shoes so, I ain't leaving any of them behind. We're in agreement about going 1+ week without doing laundry but we get there different ways.

Ulrich said:

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I can go a week without doing laundry in either scenario. For a two week trip, I would rather do laundry once than deal with baggage claim twice and have to drag two suitcases around the whole time.

For a one or two night trip, I'll take my backpack without a carry-on unless I have to take suits. Traveling with one item is incredibly freeing.

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I do one suitcase, check it and forget about it until I get to my destination. One additional caveat - I am a master at airline schedules, flight connections, etc. So, I usually can book my trips so there are one or zero connections. And as a general rule, I will not book flights with tight connections where there is a chance that either me or my luggage will miss the connection.

In checking luggage for the past 8-9 years of frequent travel, I think my luggage missed the connection 2-3 times. I remember once when we had a 45 connection in San Diego (between IAH-LAX) and once connecting at LAX between Sydney and SFO. The SFO one I happen to remember was the night the Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden.

Now, there was one time that I checked my snowboard and that caused me to miss my connection at LAX going between Sydney and SFO. But, that was back when Qantas had just started flying the A380 on the SYD-LAX route and they had a problem with the baggage door.

So for me, it might take an extra 15 minutes to wait for luggage on each trip but, I don't have to compete for bin space which is just nuts on US Domestic flights and I don't have to carry all my crap around with me - which is incredibly liberating

Everyone has a travel montra. I check bags like 90 percent and have set travel gear. Shoes are tough. Wear hiking and pack my black ola Kai slip ins that are polished. Easier to pack for colder climates with smart wool, and Kuhl lightweight puffer all the time.

Went to Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, and Amsterdam for a total of 17 days all with this carry-on. I fit an extraordinary amount of items in it. Highly recommend.

https://www.awaytravel.com/suitcases/bigger-carry-on/navy

We had a washing machine in our Barcelona and Paris apartments...which is the only way I'd be able to travel with a carry-on. I also brought a smallish backpack to put under the seat on the plane then serve as a day pack while out exploring the cities.

In my carrry-on I had 3 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of pants, 2 shorts, probably about 8/9 shirts, 10 undies, 10 socks, some toiletries and probably some other things I'm forgetting. And that was plenty of room. I also used packing cubes that I bought from Amazon. Never will travel again without them. Game changer. I also have shoes bags which I also recommend unless you enjoy the piss of a million men and dogs rubbing up against your clothing in your suitcase.

edit: Also, if you don't have priority boarding when carrying-on then I recommend you pay a little extra to get earlier boarding. This could be "duh" information but just something to think about. You can spend a lot of time and money perfecting the carry-on strategy then have it screwed up by not having room to throw your bag in an overhead bin.

Vernada said:

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HollywoodBQ said:

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I usually pack 4-6 pairs of shoes depending on where I'm going and what I'm doing.

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For all these years I had just assumed you were a guy. My bad.

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says the guy who says he packs "house shoes"



I literally had to google it. Slippers.

I am more comfortable having my hands on all my stuff. A control issue, I've never had a lost bag. For big cities I'll pay extra to fly direct, but there are no direct flights to a lot of the places I vacation. Like you, I'm pretty careful not to cut it too close on the connections, but that's more about planning for delays. Unlike you, I am completely unselfconscious about wearing one pair of shoes with everything from jeans to suit and tie.

I fly about a dozen times a year, so I'm not a professional traveler but I'm not Cousin Eddie dragging 400 pounds of gear on a $69 weekend flight to Vegas either.

11 days? No avail washing machine?

11 socks
13 underwear's (2 extra in cash crap myself)
11 shirts
5 pants
2 shorts
3 shoes

htxag09 said:

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Just spent 2 weeks in Australia, wife spent a week in Tokyo before Australia. We both took carry ons. I typically take a couple pairs of pants, a pair of shorts (or vice versa depending on the season), but I do pack a shirt for every day, folded correctly they take no space. I wear my walking around shoes on the plane, pack flip flops and a pair of nicer shoes. I'm also triathlon training so had cycling clothes and shoes, running clothes and shoes, and a swim suit and goggles. So I loaded up the backpack a little more than normal.

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We are going to Australia next month, and I'm sure we will overpack. We are going to several nice dinners and will need to take some nicer clothes. I don't really like to rely on the same outfit for that type of thing in case I spill something on myself. We are going to try to leave plenty of space for wine and souvenirs though.

We still had room to bring back a couple bottles of wine each. Had most of it shipped, which, honestly, is what I'd recommend. The Australian wine taxes are crazy and if shipping to the us they don't charge them. So for most wineries it came to about the same price whether you were buying and taking or shipping.

The caveat to that is buying a case. But we have a cellar so storage is no biggie. Have 4 cases that I'm expecting in November......

My wife also has a small bag that is a purse but easily doubles as an overnight type bag that folds up really nicely. She took it to Australia just in her purse but we used it to bring clothes we purchased home. Things in Australia were cheaper than the US. For example, my wife was killing time one day after working and went to a Lululemon store. Her words, but she said the same shorts were about 30% cheaper than the US. It was game over from there, lol. We also found a couple brands we liked but haven't seen before so bought some things as well as knocked out some Christmas shopping.

htxag09 said:

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We still had room to bring back a couple bottles of wine each. Had most of it shipped, which, honestly, is what I'd recommend. The Australian wine taxes are crazy and if shipping to the us they don't charge them. So for most wineries it came to about the same price whether you were buying and taking or shipping.

The caveat to that is buying a case. But we have a cellar so storage is no biggie. Have 4 cases that I'm expecting in November......

My wife also has a small bag that is a purse but easily doubles as an overnight type bag that folds up really nicely. She took it to Australia just in her purse but we used it to bring clothes we purchased home. Things in Australia were cheaper than the US. For example, my wife was killing time one day after working and went to a Lululemon store. Her words, but she said the same shorts were about 30% cheaper than the US. It was game over from there, lol. We also found a couple brands we liked but haven't seen before so bought some things as well as knocked out some Christmas shopping.

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Thanks for the tip. I'm sure we will get at least a couple of cases. Good to know about the shopping too as we are planning on doing a little bit of that too.

htxag09 said:

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We still had room to bring back a couple bottles of wine each. Had most of it shipped, which, honestly, is what I'd recommend. The Australian wine taxes are crazy and if shipping to the us they don't charge them. So for most wineries it came to about the same price whether you were buying and taking or shipping.

The caveat to that is buying a case. But we have a cellar so storage is no biggie. Have 4 cases that I'm expecting in November......

My wife also has a small bag that is a purse but easily doubles as an overnight type bag that folds up really nicely. She took it to Australia just in her purse but we used it to bring clothes we purchased home. Things in Australia were cheaper than the US. For example, my wife was killing time one day after working and went to a Lululemon store. Her words, but she said the same shorts were about 30% cheaper than the US. It was game over from there, lol. We also found a couple brands we liked but haven't seen before so bought some things as well as knocked out some Christmas shopping.

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I've been living in Australia for 12 years and you've come to Australia at a time when the exchange rate is very favourable if you're spending US Dollars. 1 AUD is worth about 67 US cents right now. When I came over 12 years ago, 1 AUD was worth about 86 US cents. During my time in Australia, I've seen it as low as 61 cents and as high as 110 cents. (around 2010, the AUD was worth more than the USD).

If you have Australian wine aspirations, I'll save you some time. The only Australian Cabernets that are drinkable are north of $50 AUD and come from the Coonawara Region of South Australia. Australia's main wine game is Shiraz. And if you like white wine, check out New Zealand.

One thing that always cracks me up is the difference between brand names in countries. There are a number of popular brands in Australia that mean nothing to me since I didn't grow up with them. One Aussie Brand worth checking out is RM Williams western wear. But... it is pricey.

HollywoodBQ said:

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If you have Australian wine aspirations, I'll save you some time. The only Australian Cabernets that are drinkable are north of $50 AUD and come from the Coonawara Region of South Australia. Australia's main wine game is Shiraz. And if you like white wine, check out New Zealand.

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We had some great Shiraz from Barossa and some decent cab blends. Our favorited vineyard there was two hands. Had some great Riesling from Clare valley and good Shiraz and semilon wines from hunter valley. Australia has good wines, just different wines. Didn't make the trip to McLaren vale or Tasmania but had good wines at restaurants from both as well.

Spent 11 nights in Europe with only an eBags travel backpack.

I think it's the only way to travel after doing that.

A great tip I got was to use a travel space bag for your dirty laundry. Not only does it keep your clean clothes fresh as you move from city to city, but it actually ends up creating more space in your bag for things you pick up along the way.

Also, packing cubes are an absolute must.

If you are going to be traveling from town to town, 1 carry-on bag is all you want to deal with.

My first euro trip ever was to Italy and I took a big ass rolling bag. The wheels were done after a few blocks of cobble stone. We ended up in a villa with a wonderful view in Florence but it was about 8 stories of stairs to go up.

Ever since, 1 carry on size bag I got at Academy is all I use and it's been great. Did a month in Europe for my wedding with it, did 2 weeks in europe this year with it.

The key is Air BnB homes with washing machines. Or if you are in a pickle, do like Rick Steves says and wash some things in the hotel sink and dry them out.

3 pair of pants for me is more than enough. 1 nice slacks and 2 jeans. All can be worn twice before washing.

Entirely.too.much.

BUT next time I go to Europe/UK I will pare it down big time.

But yeah I'm going to Cabo in 5 days, for 4 days, and I will be checking a bag. Granted I'm not just going to lay on a beach, I'll probably change clothes at least twice a day. But I always tend to overpack, however I usually do not move from place to place. It was a pain when I went to Europe and had a backpack and large suitcase and I was solo for a good portion of it.

I washed some underwear in our hotel sink midtrip. There was actually a clothesline outside the window in Rome. It was perfect.

I've never had an issue with overhead space on an international flight. Most people check, so generally there is loads of room, even in economy. That being said, domestically in Europe it can be an issue, so make sure your carry on fits over there. For the most part they are sticklers to the size restraints too.

Putting 10 socks and undies shouldn't be an issue either, lay them flat and stuff them in areas where they fit.

Pack for 3 days and utilize Landromats

jammer262 said:

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I've never had an issue with overhead space on an international flight. Most people check, so generally there is loads of room, even in economy. That being said, domestically in Europe it can be an issue, so make sure your carry on fits over there. For the most part they are sticklers to the size restraints too.

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Another thing for folks who don't travel Internationally much, foreign airlines (especially the lower cost ones), are very strict about the weight of your carry on luggage. So, find out what their limits are and expect to have your bag weighed.

But, they'll never weigh the clothing you're wearing. So, if you're close to the limit on bag weight, take out the heaviest items in your carry on and put them in the jacket that you're wearing at the gate.

It's been a long time since I've had to do this but, I have done it before. Once you're past the weigh station, you can take your jacket off and put whatever it was back in your carry-on luggage. It's a ridiculous charade but, it does happen a lot with non-US carriers.

I have the Away Carry-on Bag and I'm able to fit everything I need in it for most trips. I have a cheap duffle bag from Wal-Mart that zips up into almost nothing when it's empty. I pack that and bring it with me so I can keep dirty clothes separated until I have a chance to wash them. It's also handy in case I end up buying things on the trip and need more baggage for the flight home. Sometimes I end up checking that for the trip back.

My response: Pack only what you must have.

Wife's response: Pack everything you might need.

Really think about what you're going to need.

When we did our honeymoon in Europe (3 weeks), we brought 2 big backpacks (had to check) but we went from Paris to Germany to Austria to Croatia for 10 days so we needed jeans, light jacket, rain jacket, swim suits, boat shoes, linen clothes, and did laundry half way through.

We're going to Greece for 10 days and chartering a yacht in June - 50L backpack each is all we'll need since we'll be in swim trunks and linen for dinner every night.

Get Packing cubes and the self-vacuuming bags with the one way valves.

You could get by with even a smaller one.

A game changer for dirty laundry is the travel space bag with a one way valve mentioned above.

Fully seals out any dirty clothes from your clean clothes. Plus it compresses everything and actually makes a lot more space in your bag, leaving room for stuff you got along the way.