How We Pack for Trips!

What’s in Our Bag: A Realistic (and Light) Packing List for International Travel

If you’ve ever tried wheeling a heavy suitcase down a cobblestone street or carrying it up five flights of stairs in a historic hotel, you know: less is definitely more when packing for an international trip.

We’ve taken many international trips, through Europe, on a cruise, into the mountains or in cities, and we always try to keep it light – one rolly bag + one backpack per person. This is our actual packing list: what we bring, what we skip, and how we make it all fit! Check out the gear we use on our recommendations page!

🧳 How to Pack Light Without Sacrificing Comfort

Here are some general rules we try to live by:

• Don’t overpack shoes: We bring three pairs max—one comfy sneaker, one sandal, and one either water shoe or hiking sandal depending on the trip.
• Wear your bulkiest items on the plane: Yes, that means your long-sleeve shirt or jacket and gym shoes.
• Do laundry: We bring a laundry bag and plan to wash clothes every 5–6 days—finding an Airbnb that has laundry or even sink-washing some things with travel detergent. If you’re only gone for a week, you may not need to do laundry, but having a laundry bag helps keep dirty clothes separate from clean clothes and keeps your bag organized if moving hotels.
• Pack multipurpose items: A foldable tote becomes a shopping bag, beach bag, or picnic bag. A cooler backpack works as a personal item and a lunchbox for hiking.

✅ Stay Organized

• Suitcases: Since we each get one suitcase, we keep each person’s clothes and shoes separate. If anyone has extra room they may take some of the miscellaneous items
• Backpacks: I really organize our backpacks carefully. Mine is usually the one that holds all of the liquids, medicine, comfort items for the plane, chargers and travel documents
• Kids Gear: The kids each have a backpack but they aren’t necessarily just for their stuff. One kid usually has things like our hiking backpacks, rain coats, etc
• Organization: Each thing has a place. Chargers go in a charger bag, medicine in a medicine bag. This is why I also love backpacks with lots of organized pockets!

👕 Clothes & Shoes

… we aren’t exactly minimalists, but we try to pack carefully!

• Packing Cubes: I swear by these. They help keep you organized and prevent overpacking
• Picking Clothes: Instead of just throwing all the clothes I think I may wear, I actually plan out outfits. This is mostly to prevent overpacking so I’m purposely putting through into how many outfits I need.
• Kids Clothes: sometimes, when it comes to kids, I let them just pick a set number of shirts and shorts that they can mix and match
• How much to pack: It depends… I find that for a week trip, I can easily pack 7-8 outfits without going over my allotted luggage space. For 2 weeks, I’d plan to do laundry and pack 1 weeks worth of clothes.

Extras we always bring:

• Laundry bag – to keep dirty clothes contained
• Small towel – great for hikes, beach stops, or Airbnb stays
• Eye mask – for flights, naps, and light-filled hotel rooms
• Nightlight – makes unfamiliar hotel rooms safer for middle-of-the-night bathroom runs

🛠️ Gear & Accessories That Make Life Easier

• Tiny hiking backpacks – those packable ones that fold up into nothing but come in clutch for day trips
• Reusable water bottles – no need to buy plastic at every stop
• Foldable tote bag – for shopping in local markets (or when you come home with more souvenirs than planned)
• Ziploc bags – for snacks, wet clothes, chargers, anything
• Collapsible food containers – especially helpful if you like to picnic or bring your own snacks on the go
• Cooler backpack – doubles as your personal item on the plane and your hiking lunch cooler (yes, this is genius and yes, we use it)

Here is all of our gear that we bring!

🧼 Toiletries & Health (Keep It Small)

Everything we need fits in a compact toiletry kit. We have 1 clear bag for liquids and one makeup bag for me.

• Toothbrush (we pack a disposable ones just for the flight/morning after)
• Toothpaste, floss
• Deodorant
• Shampoo/conditioner in travel-size bottles
• Razor, brush, sunscreen, lip balm
• All medicine in one bag – think Tylenol, Advil, Dramamine (for flights!), allergy meds, bandaids, etc.
• Hand sanitizer and wipes

💻 Tech & Travel Essentials

• Phones + chargers – obviously
• Universal adapter (must-have for Europe)
• Headphones or earbuds. We don’t always bring noise cancelling over-ear headphones because they are bulky and we just don’t find that we use them enough, but we do bring AirPods
• Portable charger – great for long days when you’re out exploring and away from places to charge a phone
• Optional: camera, tablet, e-reader

🛂 Travel Docs & Flight Tips

• Passports + printed copies
• Travel insurance info
• Printed confirmations for hotels, trains, etc.
• Credit cards with no foreign transaction fees (see our recommendation page for our favorites!)
• Small amount of local currency. The rest you can get out from an ATM when you arrive
• Long-sleeve shirt or hoodie for the flight (plane temps are freezing)
• Compression socks if you’re doing a long-haul
• Snacks/snack bars – essential for everyone’s mood
• Reusable utensils or straw (not necessary, but we’ve many times needed these!)

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Optional Family Items (If Traveling with Kids or Teens)

• Cards or travel games
• Headphones for everyone to plug into plane for movies
• Refillable snack containers
• Gum or chewy candy

Final Thoughts: Just Bring What You’ll Actually Use

We love visiting new countries and having new experiences. We find that most of the things you “might need” are easy to buy if you really forget something. The key is to have your essentials, and be able to travel lightly and more efficiently. Do I really need to have 5 pairs of shoes or jewelry for each day, or 3 bathing suits? Probably not. Just ask yourself what you really have to have.

We pack light not to be minimalists, but because it actually makes the trip more fun. Less stuff = less stress.

Let me know if you’d like a printable version of this packing list, or if you want to customize one for a specific Europe trip (like city-hopping vs hiking in the Alps). Happy to tailor it!