Ackislander

I thought members of this forum might be amused by the advice given by a travel writer in yesterday's newspaper.

A woman asked about how to pack light for a ten day, train-based tour.

The advice, roughly:

5 pairs of trousers
10 tops
3 jackets, one of them heavy
a cardigan or two and a pashmina
a raincoat
3 pairs of shoes, one of them hiking boots
underwear
sleepwear

She does not , however, need a cocktail dress!

I can see some members of this and other Fodor's forums going into cardiac arrest reading this column! I am not a one-bag guy, but even I felt this was pretty excessive. Maybe she could carry this in a steamer trunk! So when we get questions about what to pack, remember that some of the advice people are getting is a long way from what we would give!

FrankS

We are 22 in rollaway travellers, and do 2 weeks w/1 bag. Even our best packing attempt couldnt hope to get those in.

hetismij

Sounds like my husbands packing list, well except for the pashmina of course.
He puts his clothes ready. I remove something over half of them and pack the rest quick before he sees.

We are not one bag/carry on travellers but we manage with a lot less than on that list.

Dukey

It all depends on the SIZE of those shoes!!!

MademoiselleFifi

I found the list from this website refreshing http://www.waltzballs.org/vienna.html (scroll about halfway down): "...One skirt, one pair pants, one dress, 5 tops, 2 or 3 ballgowns, ...."

Iowa_Redhead

Dang it, who let my mother give packing advice?!?

kerouac

Looks like the opposite of light packing to me, for only 10 days. We don't use very many steam engines in Europe anymore, so it is not necessary to change clothes as often as 75 years ago, since they don't get as sooty as in the old days. Authentic light packers have several items that can be washed and dried overnight with the help of a hotel sink or shower and a friendly radiator.

StCirq

What newspaper? We should all write in and put that travel writer to shame.

eliza61

Aaagh. That's me, that's me!! See my question today about packing for 7+ days.
I totally admit, I'm a chronic over packer. I'm heading to Paris this May and I'm trying to figure out how I am going to make it with only 3 pairs of shoes (this is down from 7 pairs originally planned).
I can't imagine touring all day through Paris and then wearing the same clothes to dinner. Sorry after a shower I need fresh clothes. The only thing I could get rid off on that list is probably the raincoat.

eliza61

So far for me, I've got 8 days in Paris at 2 outfits a day, So the bare minimum I think I need is 7 pairs of pants, 2 skirts or dresses and 7 tops. 2 sweaters, 1 pashima and 1 bare of sneakers, 3 pairs of shoes (1 basic black flat, 1 basic black heels and 1 pair jazzy heels) plus undies.

bettyk

eliza61, OMG!

kerouac

Jeez, some people are really hopeless. The problem is in your mind, not in the eyes of all the people who won't even give you a passing glance.

Iowa_Redhead

Eliza, why do you need two outfits per day? Do you have really bad BO?

nytraveler

Well - that sounds like a winter trip - when you do need to take more. But IMHO - I always take more than that - but not the heavy jacket or the hiking boots. It wil fit easily in a 25 or 26" rolling bag - which can easily be ahdnld by any cab driver or hotel bellman. We do not usualy travel by train - but when we do we go first class and have never had trouble finding room for luggage.

I'm not sure of the benefit of having to wear the same clothes again and again - or paying a lot or wasting valuable time yourelf doing laundry - just to avoid checking a bag.

nytraveler

Oh - and I do take 2 or perhaps 3 nice going out to dinner outfits (we often do) and matching shoes. No reason to dress way down in europe when you don;t at home.

DonnaD44

For our last few trips to Europe, each of which was 10 days or 2 weeks, my huband and I each took only a carry-on bag, which holds 4 days worth of clothes. We wear everything twice (except underwear/socks) and do laundry once a week. Coming home, the dirty clothes are used to wrap bottles of wine, etc. It's very liberating to travel so lightly and as kerouac said no one gives us a passing glance, so what we are wearing is of little importance.

eliza61

I completely admit, I need treatment yes Kerouac I am hopeless. LOL. Iowa, I think it's just a habit from traveling in the summer in the states. Generally on vacations in the summer I would go out during the day say sightseeing and then return to my hotel mid afternoon/early evening and shower and change.
If I spend the day in Washington DC walking and touring, no way would I go to dinner in the same outfit.
I am searching for light weight skirts that I can maybe get 2 wears out of.
I'm planning on checking 1 22 inch bag and having a carryon.

Iowa_Redhead

You can definitely make it work eliza. Remember that if you're just planning on going out to dinner that you're not likely to get stinky and can easily wear a skirt or pants multiple times. One trick I've used when traveling is to wash/rinse the waistband of pants in the sink at night and then let them hang dry over night. It's easier and faster than washing the whole pair and it gets the part that has potential to pick up the most sweat clean'ish. I leave them hanging overnight and the next day and they've always been dry well before I wanted them.

You're not hopeless, and if you want to go with just a 22" roller and a carryon bag you can definitely make that work.

kfoster2047

eliza61, changing for dinner certainly does not preclude traveling carry-on only. Like you, I like to change for dinner but I find that 1 or 2 skirts and a couple of lightweight dressy tops that can be mixed and matched are sufficient. Because you are usually only wearing them for a couple of hours while you go out to dinner, they stay quite clean but you can always rinse out the tops if necessary.

LSky

eliza61, are you my in-law? Last summer we had some family visiting and one person brought 2 suitcases. One 26inch and the other a 22. They were only staying for a long weekend.

Like Iowa_Redhead, I wash only the top part of my pants and wear "lightdays" to keep things fresh.