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Sunday, May 18, 2014

How to pack for 2 weeks in Europe in a carry-on



I showed you my awesome Tom Bihn Aeronaut bag and I showed you the 15 clothing items I mixed and matched into 15 outfits so all that's left is to show you how I packed everything I needed for a two week Europe trip into a carry-on (plus a tote) including sharing my actual packing list with you! I promise it's not as hard as it sounds especially when you think about how many times you come home from a trip with a big suitcase and you didn't even need half of what you brought. Am I right? This trip was in the early summer but the weather was chillier and more like spring weather so if your trip is in the summer you would have a little less to pack.

If you are travelling somewhere civilized then do not try to pack every little thing you could possibly ever need. They have stores and pharmacies too so if you end up needing itch cream or more granola bars or you break your sunglasses, I promise you will not be out of luck.

It was really awesome being able to travel with just my carry-on on my back and my tote on my shoulder... hands free travel! I searched on other blogs and such for a 2 week packing list for a carry-on and didn't come up with much so hopefully this will help someone else looking to be light packer.


First let's start with the tote. I took a fabric tote made by my godmother that was lightweight but would fit the things I would want while on the plane or trains so I wouldn't ever need to access my carry-on bag. You could also use a large purse.


Tote bag or large purse packing list:
  • refillable water bottle
  • snacks: nuts, raisins, granola bars
  • quart size liquids bag with: shampoo/conditioner, soap, lotion, face wash, mascara, sunscreen, foundation, hand sanitizer, toothpaste (you actually no longer have to put mascara in your liquids bag)
  • all pills (prescription and vitamins, etc.)
  • DSLR camera and extra lens
  • sunglasses
  • mints
  • chapstick and lipstick
  • travel pack of tissues
  • pen
  • Prague book - I hadn't finished reading it since it was the last city we would visit
  • phone
  • passport and "wallet" (see 2nd photo below)
As you can see the bag isn't full which was great if I wanted to take off a jacket or sweater if the plane/train was warm and stick it in my bag.


This was the little zip up pouch I used as my wallet. It was the perfect size for some cards and cash and didn't contain any of those extra cards I wouldn't need like gift cards and discount cards I keep in my bigger regular wallet.


You might remember my awesome Aubergine Aeronaut bag as my carry-on "suitcase".

Carry-on packing list:

   Right side compartment
  •  one pair of shoes (keds) and stuffed them with a four pairs of socks
  • phone charger
  • several packs of travel tissues (we found many uses for these in Europe in the past such as toilet paper when there isn't any) 
   Left side compartment
  • three pairs of socks
  • undergarments (6 pairs of underwear and 2 bras)
  • crossbody bag
   Main compartment
  •  12 outfit pieces - I wore 3 on the plane (jeans, white top and gray jacket) which makes 15 total: see the 15 pieces 15 different ways
    • 2 jeans
    • 4 tops
    • 3 outerwear items
    • 3 dresses
  • 1 scarf (I also wore one on the plane and threw it in my tote bag when I didn't need it)
  • 1 belt
  • 1 black hat
  • 1 pair of black leggings
  • various earrings and necklaces in a jewelry roll
  • zip up bag with
    • makeup: blush, bronzer, lipstick, 2 eyeliners, 2 eyeshadows
    • travel sized hairbrush and comb
    • nail clippers and tweezers
    • retainer (just keepin it real haha) 
    • toothbrush
    • floss
    • couple of bandaids, ibuprofen, benadryl, and throat lozenges
    • hair ties 
  • camera charger and extra battery
  • extra memory cards in a little black zip case
  • camera shoulder strap
  • camera wireless remote shutter
  • couple of ziploc bags - these end up coming in really handy for all kinds of things
  • lightweight rain jacket (I actually kept this in the compartment on the back side of the bag where the straps can zip into if you are not carrying the bag on your back... but since I was this compartment was the perfect place for it)
right side
left side
I put almost all the clothing items into plastic bags from target because it kept them nice and separated and I've heard plastic causes friction and keeps clothes from not wrinkling quite as much. But as a word of advice... don't pack clothes that wrinkle a lot.




main compartent

As you can see everything fit very nicely. If you are wondering about why I didn't pack more undergarments or pjs, I did wash these things out during the trip. The apartments we rented had washers and dryers but undergarments especially are very easy to wash in a sink and dry overnight. If you didn't want to do that, there would have been room for more of this in my carry-on but I just did not want to pack or carry anything extra.


You may be thinking.. what about souvenirs? Well our main "souvenirs" are the photos we take and the memories of the trip however, I did bring home a doll for our niece and a couple small crystal glass souvenirs (plate and wine stopper) in my tote bag and carry-on with no problem.  We did purchase some bigger crystal glass items that would not have fit in my or my husband's carry-on (he also only took a carry-on suitcase and messenger bag on the trip but we have since bought him his own Aeronaut) but we wouldn't have wanted to haul those around anyway so we shipped them home.

I hope this helps you pack everything you need for a 2 week trip in a carry-on! If you would like to read about our 2 week Europe trip to Munich, Salzburg, Vienna and Prague go here.



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Happy to answer any questions so ask away in the comments!

4 comments :

  1. Great! Will travel for one week just with a carry-on but already my notebook and DSLR are almost above the 7kg limit for the plane ://

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are helping me prepare for my first trip overseas where I can't just run to Target for whatever I forgot! Thank you so much!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Replies
    1. I guess I did leave out of the list that I packed one top and bottom for pjs and just washed them as needed. I shower at night so i never feel the pjs get dirty that quickly when I put them on just after showering.

      Delete

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