Heavens

We will be getting a light weight back pack, passport wallets for inside our clothing, adapters. What are some of the other accessories or packing tips you might have. We are four 20 somethings (2 guys, 2 gals) traveling on a budget. Thanks in advance.

Iowa_Redhead

Ziplock bags and duct tape can fix a lot of problems. Take a small chunk of cardboard or a pen and wrap duct tape around that, don't take the whole big roll. Ziplocks make organizing much easier and make it so you can fit more into the same space (doesn't help with weight so don't get over-ambitious).

See some of the various packing topics on the forum. Take clothes that coordinate so they can be mixed and matched, and try to take only things that can do double or triple duty.

jkbritt

How long are you going and how much do you want to rough it? It can get cold at night, especially if in the mountains. Speaking of that, where are you going? At lease 1 buy a cell phone when you arrive, share costs if you want to, so you can call home, call ahead and book rooms. To save minutes, call one parent and have them call others when you check in. Computer not needed per say. You can use internet cafe's for emailing, checking bookings, etc. Get really good hiking boots (you will be in and using them every day), good flip/flops for use in shower, and decent pair of sandals when it is really hot and your feet need a break from the boots. How long are you going and how much do you want to rough it. Are you hiking in summer, fall or winter. Makes a big difference on clothing needed. You will need rain coat, umbrella maybe, 3 changes of outer clothing, plenty of socks, and underwear. Plan on washing clothes every 4 or 5 days. Take a couple of wash clothes. Not usually provided in Europe. Take small bar of soap. You can buy more in Europe. If staying in hostels, you might want to take a small pillow, sheet and small blanket. Cut your hair short before leaving. Less hassle to take of. You will need some type of head covering, and sun screen protection. Taking own cooking stuff (?). You might want to look at Rough Guides for some ideas and suggestions. Be sure backpack can be locked. Combination locks are better than keys. Keys get lost. Is anyone on medication. If so, take in original bottles and take extra prescription from your Dr., just in case you loose them. Be sure to tell your bank and your credit card that you are going, and put all cash you can in checking so you can withdraw it at ATM's in Europe. You cannot withdraw cash from saving from there. Depending on where you go, Hotelformule1.com has cheap rooms for 35Euro per room per night, sleeps 3. Bath/shower are down the hall. Be careful booking in Europe. A lot of places book per person so 30E looks good until you find out it is 30E per person, which becomes 60E.

jkbritt

Forgot to add, need clothes pins and zip cord. Make you own clothes line and zip cord fixes a lot of minor problems. Small roll of toilet paper bought from Walmart camping area. No core. Zip lock bags a good idea from above. Basic first aid kit-band-aids, roll of white athletic tape (or use tape suggested above), gauze pads, neosporin, imodium, tums, peptobismol tablets, tylenol, ibuphropin, ace bandage, (zip lock bags above double for ice pack), hand sanitizer, bug spray, needle and thread set(small), benadrill for bug bites. This will have to be small containers, less than 3.5 oz. if in cabin carry. If checked, can be larger amounts.

LSky

I don't see the point of passport wallets. If you plan on sleeping in hostels get a money belt and keep your passport in there. This is a pretty secure way to go, even though you may be Heaven's kid and will in no way spend any amount of time drinking too many beers late at night while your passing through anywhere in Europe. One of the others might

Many passports have survived many years without passport wallets. imo, they're just things they sell to people who are going abroad for the first time.

There is a lot of information on this board about the useful things you can bring. Don't settle for the cheap little bottles that are sold in travel departments. In fact, stay away from the travel section in stores. Instead go to REI and get Nalgene Polyethylene bottles. Figure out what products you need in a week and by a the bottles according to your needs. Saves money, the earth and they are secure, light weight and won't spill. There is nothing that they sell in the travel sizes that you can't put into a bottle. Tiny ziplocks can come in handy and are reusable.


Do a search there are many posts on this subject on the Europe board and also on Travel and Tips. Even though most young people in Europe speak at least some English, don't rely on that. Each one of you could learn 25-30 words of Tourist speak of a different language, just in case you need it.

spaarne

This covers just about everything --> http://tinyurl.com/29elmem

Instead of a *light weight back pack* have you considered a 22" roller bag. It makes life a lot easier.

bigtyke

www.minimus.biz and www.alltravelsizes.com are two websites with lots of travel size items that you might find useful.

But also remember that you are not going to Outer Slobovia and that you can get most of what you need in Europe. And shopping over there is part of the fun.

spcfa

If you have a nice watch, get a cheap one for the trip. The cheaper the better. You want to keep a low profile, and an inexpensive timepiece helps. I saw digital watches at REI that look just like a cord tied around your wrist for under $10.

Don't forget to make color copies of your passport's photo page and send them to yourself at your internet email (yahoo mail, gmail, etc.). I also send myself lists of friends addresses and my important phone numbers as a backup in case my PDA is broken/lost/stolen.

Snowflake25

Add a compass to your list!!

Jean

Are you actually backpacking? Or just intending to carry your stuff in a backpack?

Heavens

I am answering a few of your questions for my OD. They are leaving early July and returning mid Aug. Trip involves Italy, Germany, Amsterdam, Prague and then back down. They are traveling mostly by Eurale and staying in hostels and some hotels. They will be walking around a lot.

StCirq

Mini flashlight. Mine's on my keychain, and I can't tell you how many times I've used it.

pookymimi

One thing that is not mentioned that we used LOTS when we travel is a soft lunch bags with ice packs. These work great for keeping lunches, fruit, sandwiches cold for a trip or a hike or in the event of an injury. We travel with ours all the time.

What I have in our list as we are also backpacking through Europe...
Batteries, small flashlights, small hairdryer, security wire/locks (to lock backpacks to seats in trains and stations), ziplock bags, rope tie, pins, first aide kit, meds, Thermos for water, water bottles, coffee mug, umbrellas, rain ponchos, garbage bags (perfect to cover you and bag if it rains), ice packs, sewing kit, hotel toiletries (soap, shampoo, conditioner, hand sanitizer, we have tons, you use them and get rid of the weight), cleaning supplies (small sponge, small dishsoap bottle), kitchen towel, can opener, swissknife, bottle opener, good knife, new OFF mosquito clip (great for hiking), sunscreen.

I'm also bringing at least 4 bags of my Post cereal and some instant oatmeal, some friends used to do this when traveled to Europe (would send cases of cereal for their children).

LSky

Have you packed that stuff and carried it around a few blocks pookymimi??

jent103

Hmm. I don't think you need as much as some seem to think you do! Six weeks backpacking but not camping - you'll be doing laundry anyway, so pack lightish on the clothes. Enough to where you have enough for a week or so. You will get sick of wearing the same clothes over and over. It won't matter. Heavy backpacks are a pain in the butt when you're running to catch trains or climbing steps in hostels without elevators. Plus you'll want room to buy things.

As far as accessories: Iowa_Redhead is dead on with ziploc bags. They're good for storing meds, leak-proofing toiletries, squishing dirty laundry together to conserve space... you name it. Combination locks are also a good idea. You'll need these for the lockers in some hostels, but get one of the small ones (not the big Master ones). I've stayed in hostels where a Master wouldn't fit through the locker. Take a small Nalgene water bottle (or whatever brand you prefer) - much easier/cheaper than trying to stay hydrated with bottled water, and it'll clip onto your bag without taking up space inside it.

If you must have a hair dryer, just wait till you get there and buy a cheap one, and just get one to share. If your backpack is waterproof, just take a good rain jacket and don't worry about an umbrella. Make sure your electronics only require adapters and not converters - if you're taking iPods and digital cameras, you're most likely fine, but double check.

Otherwise, just remember you're going to western Europe and not the heart of Africa. They have pharmacies where you can easily buy medical supplies, toiletries, sunscreen, whatever. And grocery stores and markets with delicious food.

Peter_S_Aus

A few small axes and a bag of trade beads may be a good idea .......................

jent103

Actually, now that I think about it, I've also stayed in hostels where one of the little combination locks would be way too small to lock the locker - it all depends on the configuration. So it wouldn't hurt to grab one of both. The little one takes up practically no space.

AlessandraZoe

We live by carry-on, even if we are gone for three weeks, and we have a standard "gear" list for no matter what type of travel. We'd do a wash at a self-serve mid trip but would often do sink washing in between.

While I have never done backpack travelling, we had to make sure our children could LIFT their own carry-ons when we were hustling off trains and such, so weight has always been a concern. My standard items, then, have become ones that we use to enable packing light without adding more weight than it's worth.

Therefore: I certainly agree with the thinking: "You are NOT in outer Mongolia. You can buy batteries, shampoo, etc ANYWHERE." Yes, such supplies may cost a bit more in Europe, but you can't replace your back or shoulders as easily or as inexpensively as you can replace your supplies.

I refuse to pack a hair dryer anymore. I am not going to see these people again for quite some time and I usually have hat or helmet hair anyway.

I echo the ziplock bags. We carry huge ones that I can compress dirty laundry in, medium and large to bundle up clothes as packs, and every little kind from quart down to snack.

We all carry daypacks that fold down into the size of a paperback book. As soon as our large luggage is put into a rail locker, etc, those daypacks become our life. The ziplocks go into action to add extra waterproofing to cameras, phones, etc. And our daypack zippers are "locked" with safety pins looped through the opposing zipper level holes. Not much a protection from a thief but just enough time added to give us a fighting chance (we haven't had a problem so it's probably working).

Washcloths are not a standard item in European hotels (although I'm finding more than I used to)and I hate the feel of disposible wipes/moist towelettes on my face. I buy a stack of baby washcloths and then roll/bind with tiny rubber bands like cigars. They then can fit in just about any crevice of unused packing space. If we are doing one-day hotel hops, I put my well-rinsed washcloth in a snack-size ziplock for the next stay and then toss after that one. If we are doing our usual two- or three-day stays, I use the same one each night of the stay and then toss. I have also used the terry cloth side of leftover white socks (CLEAN!) as washcloths. You know, the partnerless socks that have languished in the laundry rooms in my fruitless hope that they eventually will have mates. No mental problem tossing those!

For duct tape, I wrap it around my mini flashlight. And I insert the batteries the wrong way into the flashlight when not in use so that I don't accidentally turn on the flashlight and run the batteries down. Ironically, though, I don't recall EVER using the duct tape in the past 20 years, and this year, I think I'm going to leave the mini-flashlight at home because I carry an LED booklight for my Kindle that works great as a "find your way to the bathroom in the dark" light.

Even though we own Gore-Tex clothing, we still each carry 99-cent plastic ponchos. They add no weight and can be dropped in a day pack for a wide variety of emergencies ranging from its use as a poncho or a more likely use as a ground sheet for our butts on dirty park benches.

Laundry:
I have the "twistie/stretchy" laundry line, which is great--no need for clothespins. I have blow-up hangers, something that works well since almost everything we take is Cool-Max. Another person on this board carried balloons that she'd blow up and insert inside sleeves, etc. to foster quicker drying.

Instead of liquid detergent, I carry powdered Tide so that I never have liquid leaks in the luggage (and no airline restrictions). The Tide cleans really well (the whites actually get white) if you let the clothes soak for just a bit, so a little goes a long way. If we're staying in a place that provides a non-conditioner combo shampoo, I'll use that, too.

Note: I will only do sink wash if we are staying more than one night in a place. Socks just do not dry.

We distribute bungie cords of various types among us, and again, the uses can vary. I used one as a bike helmet strap extender once, I've frequently tied down items on a bike with them, and once I held together a dying suitcase. In little ziplock bags, I carry paper clips (the kind that clasp), safety pins, and rubber bands. I even have a little bag of post-its, mini tape, and mini-staple that gets used, but no one else in the family wants to be bothered with that stuff. The daughters have started carrying caribiners.

Standard rule, though: small notebook (little spiral kind) and seven really skinny "click-type" pens that I like at Sam's Club. Pens disappear throughout the trip, so knowing there's a backup whenever needed is great. We use the spiral notebook for everything from writing down the foreign phrase we'll need at the pharmacy to writing down an address to hand to the taxi driver to writing down our shopping list.

My husband hates money belts/passport holders, so he's gravitated over the years to pants with deep pockets in the front, and he covers passports, money bundles and credit cards with very fresh rubber bands to add "drag". I still carry my waist belt.

Surprising clothing that we add for most trips: dollar store "stretchy" stocking caps and one-size-fits-all gloves. In the middle of summer, we have used them in Ireland, Scotland, France, The Netherlands, Austria, and of course, Switzerland. I've certainly added silk long underwear, too, for summer trips to Ireland and Scotland, and thank goodness we packed them for the Netherlands (really wierd weather there that summer). In 50-degree "summer" weather, we were comfy cozy in our lightweight summer pants because we had a nice layer underneath. Silk underwear wash up well and dry fast--no weight.

Good luck and have fun.

Jean

Heavens, from your description, this just sounds like a regular ol' trip to Europe. "... travelling mostly by Eurail and staying in hostels and hotels."

All the ideas so far are great, but the mantra is travel light, travel light, travel light. Using a backpack instead of a rolling bag makes following that rule even more important.

LSky

Whatever you pack, walk a mile with it before you go.