re: Packing tips for 2 weeks in Europe this summer

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Family of 5 with the 3 kids being young so good tip on using their suitcases for extra space.

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Wife is on board with nothing but carryons and packing that little for 2 weeks?

I would not be. I wouldn't be ok being underdressed for dinner. I wouldn't be ok without my makeup. I wouldn't be ok with doing laundry on vacation, other than maybe something very minor.

I would much prefer to drop off my heavier bag and just have a reasonably sized back pack to deal with on the plane, especially if I'm dealing with 3 young kids!

My wife and I took our 3 kids (ages 16, 13, and 10) on a 2 1/2 week trip to Germany and Italy in summer 2015 and the same kids (then 18, 15, and 13 years old) on a 3 1/2 week trip to Italy, Croatia, and Montenegro in summer 2017. We all took carry on bags only and did fine. Having shorts in summer makes packing easier. Wife swears by the packing cubes. I do fine without them.

I cannot help with finding much comfort on the plane rides. I flew business class on 1 trip to Europe and still could not sleep.

Good luck!

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Wife is on board with nothing but carryons and packing that little for 2 weeks?

I would not be. I wouldn't be ok being underdressed for dinner. I wouldn't be ok without my makeup. I wouldn't be ok with doing laundry on vacation, other than maybe something very minor.

I would much prefer to drop off my heavier bag and just have a reasonably sized back pack to deal with on the plane, especially if I'm dealing with 3 young kids!

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Yes. We have done 2 trips now to Europe for around 2 weeks both with carry ons only.

Every time we stayed in Apartments. So we had washer dryer.

Again I'm not arguing its better. I understand some people need ALL their stuff.

We generally bring a duffel for souvenirs and extra clothes bought over, and will check some bags going back if need be to not stress about the no liquids and stuff.

But again, I bring a pair of tennis shoes/ walking shoes and a nicer pair of shoes I can wear with slacks out. My wife packs a nice pair of flats, tennis shoes, and usually one or two more pairs of shoes. One of which she never wears and the other she rarely wears. A nice dress and a sweater?

So basically a pair of flats and a nice dress? Those take up no room at all?

Make up? You can get carry on sizes or heaven forbid buy some over there and wear less?

My wife generally does spill over into our kids stuff, that's where I was saying its nice having little kids. My 3 year old and 6 year old could have shared a carry on. I mean their feet and clothes are tiny, take up no space. A carry on with 4 rollers and they can easily push it around themselves.

If you are just going from the airport by taxi to a hotel with 2 people, sure check on luggage is fine. If you travel around more? European cars are smaller, how are you fitting 5 full size suitcases plus 5 humans in a European car? Yes they have vans, but their vans aren't really meant for 5 people plus 5 bags plus extras. I'm simply saying by packing less sometimes you can make your life easier.

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I can't imagine my fear of losing luggage or waiting 20 minutes at baggage claim will ever be greater than my lack of desire to want to do multiple loads of laundry

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Clearly, you have not dealt with lost luggage on a trip. I avoid checking at ALL costs. Airline lost my luggage on the way to a ten day trip with little's in tow... to a remote Island with no big box stores. We survived with the clothes on our backs and what little we bought at a gift shop. First world problems but it majorly affected the whole trip.

My packing tips mimic others - bring neutrals, layers, wear all your bulky items on the plane, use cubes. You're going to Europe, you can buy anything you need there and even check on the way home if you want. Airlines have now completely lost or majorly delayed my luggage WAY too many times for me to not try and pack it all on a carry on or back pack.

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Clearly, you have not dealt with lost luggage on a trip.

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I have, one lost and one destroyed but it still has not warranted never checking bags for international trips of that length.

The keys for us are yo pack essentials and valuables in carry-ons. Then, when it comes to packing the checked baggage do not pack one single person in one bag but rather split the peoples clothing in every bag and check things that can be easily found at your destination. Socks, t-shirts, underwear, shorts, etc.

In the instances where the bag and all contents were destroyed it was all things we had in other bags as well so we didnt go without we just didnt have as much of what was destroyed and the airline replaced the bag and all contents well over it's worth.

Not for the kids, but there's no better way for me to get comfortable on a flight.

I honestly just brought enough underwear for a week and just washed clothes as we went. Kept it light because i didnt stay in one place for longer than 2 days.

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Again I'm not arguing its better. I understand some people need ALL their stuff.

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No one ever does though. That person brings stuff they never use, guarantee it.

And idk, i find Europe you are walking far. you get off the train and youve got to go several blocks carrying your big arse bags around? Yeah no thanks.

I use a duffel that has wheels.

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Pack clothes that you don’t intend to bring back. I’m sure you have a few shirts, socks, underwear, etc. that are on their last leg.

Use those for sleep wear or exercise clothes and leave them. It gives room for stuff to buy.

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I had a coworker that always did this. I always wondered what she and her hubs looked like on vacation.