My wife and I are taking an organized tour of Germany in a few weeks, and this is our first time to Europe. We have found the message postings very helpful so far, but have not seen answers to some questions that have come up after reading the information in our tour documents. The tour information tells us to bring soap, washclothes, a portable fan, drinking water, toilet paper, snacks, instant coffee, etc. We were completely surprised by this information. We can only take one suitcase each, other than the travel bag. If we really have to take this stuff, we're limited in the clothes we can take, not to mention limits to the souvenirs my wife is expecting to buy. If anyone has taken the organized Germany tours, please let me know if you saw the need to pack these types of items. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated since this is our first trip and we're not sure what to expect. Thanks! Don

What tour company are you traveling with? I can't imagine needing to bring soap but most hotels don't provide washcloths. You can buy Dove or Oil of Olay disposable wash cloths in a package that won't take up much space or I take baby washcloths because they are small and dry fast. The drinking water is fine and you don't need to bring your own. You might want to bring a water bottle to refill and take with you during the day but you can buy bottled water there. I always take coffee bags (like tea bags) in case I don't like the coffee. I would take some tissues not toilet paper because many public restrooms run out of paper.

Take a lightweight nylon duffle bag in your luggage. On your way back home you can either put your dirty clothes in it or your purchases. Germany is not a third world country - they even have Walmart!

Portable fan, drinking water, TOILET PAPER for pete's sakes! What tour company is ths?? This is totally weird -- unless you are on a camping tour.

You are going to Germany - not a third world country. They do have coffee, they do have snacks.

Wash cloths are a given - you should always take your own.

But the rest of that list is crazy. Give us more info - are you camping, staying in hostels or something? If not, I'd be a little concerned about this tour company . . . . . . . .

Thanks for your replies! We're going with Brendan Tours, and the information they recommended us taking was in their travel info. It did seem a little strange to us, and we started wondering why they're telling us this. Maybe it's just generic info they include for all tours in all countries.

We just got back from Germany and the only things we took on your list were washcloths and soap. I hate using the little pieces of soap the hotels give you so I always take my own when I'm going for a longer trip. Have fun.

This must be a low end budget tour.

Soap & washcloth? Yes, there's nothing better than a great big bar of your favorite soap. Unless you are staying in 4* hotels or better, bring a couple of washcloths with zip-locks to store them in.

Water? There's absolutely nothing wrong with the beer in Germany. If you need water, there are plenty of stores to buy a bottle or two.

Toilet Paper? They've become much more civilized and no longer use sand paper. I would bring some of those purse-sized tissue packs for your wife.

Snacks? Buy your snacks there. The Germans have some great snacks and great wursts!

Instant coffee? A lot of 3* hotels have hot water & instant coffee. If not, there's always a coffee shop near by to grab something sweet for brekfast.

What cities are you visiting?

Bottom line, have fun.

Thanks for the replies. It's not a low budget tour, the hotels are suppose to be 4 stars or better. That's why I thought these things were pretty strange to take. But since this is our first trip to Germany, we wanted to get some "real experienced" advice. We'll take the soap and washclothes. And plan on having a great trip! Thanks for your comments! Don

If you're staying in 4 star accomodations you won't need to bring anything other than money.