Packing for Europe: 4 Day Weekends

We have traveled to 24 countries and counting over the almost 3 years that we have lived in Italy, almost exclusively over 3-4 day weekends. I can pretty confidently say that we have gotten our packing routine down to a science. Everyone has a packing and travel routine that works for them, but this is what works for us! Hopefully some of these tips will help you on your next trip.

Luggage

A hill I’ve learned people will die on is that of carry on versus checked luggage. I think there is a time and place for both, but for most of our trips, it has worked best for us to check luggage. When we moved here, our son was only a year and a half. We have been traveling with strollers, car seats, travel cots, etc. It has not been super feasible for us to be a “carry on” only family — no matter what, we were going to be stopping by baggage claim. Fun fact: even if you gate check a stroller, in many airports, your stroller isn’t going to be waiting for you at the gate, but actually at baggage claim. We have found it much easier to pack all three of us into one large duffle backpack and check that versus carrying on multiple bags. Like I said, people will die on this hill of what they think is the “right” way to do this, but this is what works for us.

We love the Patagonia black hole duffle bags because they have backpack straps and are easy to carry — we actually have them in multiple sizes. Here are a few of the things you will always find inside my checked bag:

• Packing cubes: we each try to pack into one or two cubes, depending on the temperature of where we are traveling and how thick of clothes we have to pack. When we pack up to come back up, we pack our dirty laundry back into the cubes so it can all easily be thrown into the washing machine.

• Hanging Toiletry Bag: One of the best tips I got from a friend was to have a bag of duplicate toiletries packed and ready to go. We have a large hanging toiletry bag that is packed with toiletries for all three of us. We just add things as needed before a trip, like daily meds or glasses, but otherwise it is ready to grab and go.

• First Aid Kit: I have lost count of the number of countries we have had to find a pharmacy in, usually late at night. We now carry a basic first aid kit with us, stocked with basic meds like Children’s Tylenol, a large Aquaphor stick (my personal favorite), bandaids, and DayQuil pills.

• Reusable Grocery Bag: great for, you know, grocery shopping, but also for souvenirs that won’t fit in your luggage. A friend gave me the tip to buy something small at duty-free in the airport (like a candy bar) and then stick your reusable grocery bag and whatever goodies you bought on your trip into the duty-free bag because anything from duty-free is not counted against your carry-on bag allowance.

• Aloha Collection Beach Bag & Pouches: These are my favorite brand beach bags (keep an eye out for sales because they can be a little pricey). They are great for travel and the bags and pouches are fantastic wet bags. When we go somewhere and need to take swim gear, we always take these because we can put our still wet suits/towels in the bag and then in our luggage and it won’t get anything else wet.

Carry-On

Since we don’t pay for extra carry on bags and choose to pay for one checked bag, we are each just allowed one personal item on the plane. We typically take two backpacks and a purse.

For my 4 year old, we like the Fjallraven Kanken backpack because he can carry it himself and because of the rectangular shape, it has a large opening and is easy to get into. For my partner and myself, we typically carry the lululemon Cruiser Backpack 23L.

Here are the things we typically bring in the toddler backpack:

• Toys and activities, that he picks out ahead of time, organized in mesh storage bags

  • Favorite activities: sticker books, mini MagnaTiles, water paint, DuploBlocks, HotWheels

• Snacks, snacks, and more snacks (and yes, he will still ask to order something when the food trolley passes)

• KindleFire tablet

• Books

• A stretchy swaddle blanket to make a hammock between his seat and the seat in front of him

Toddler Specific Travel

Here are a few toddler specific travel items that have made our lives much easier:

• Lightweight travel carseat

• Carseat bag with backpack straps: Pro tip — because this is a “child item" it will be checked for free even on budget airlines like WizzAir, EasyJet, and RyanAir. We have never had someone look inside the back to make sure we “only” have the carseat in there, so we always fill it with extra stuff. It essentially becomes a second, free checked bag.

• Bugaboo Stroller: This has been an absolutely fantastic travel stroller and they have really good customer service/warranty (which we learned when my partner snapped the frame on Day 1 of 4 of a trip to Scotland). It fits in the overhead locker of airlines like RyanAir but does not fit under the seat like some other stroller options.

• HappyBaby Toddler Carrier: This all cloth carrier is incredibly comfortable and can hold up to 60lbs. We have used it on hikes (one of my proudest moments was carrying my 45lbs toddler all the way up to the Acropolis in Athens) and through cities. They are often sold out but you can usually find them on Facebook marketplace.

Airport Tips

A few final airport tips:

• We have one person (me) who is always in charge of the passports. I have a small pouch that I keep them in and then I am in charge of them for the duration of the trip. I also have color coded rubber bands around the spine of each passport so we can easily open to the photo page and can immediately know which passport is which.

• If you have the American Express Platinum card (which is very common amongst military service members), make sure you sign up for PriorityPass. This will give you access to airport lounges across the world. It will also often give you access to FastPass security lanes (like at the Naples, Italy airport). Also always keep an eye out for family lanes at security!