The Ultimate Guide To Packing for Weekend Trips

The mission goes as follows: Fit all of your favorite outfits, shoes, accessories (to get that photo op in a new city of course), toiletries, and other important documents/items into one small personal item. 

Okay, let me back up a bit… When you’re traveling around Europe while studying abroad, you’re most likely taking the cheapest flight you can find and therefore only get one personal item on the plane. It is a skill to pack everything you need and want into a personal item, especially if fashion is important to you. In this post, I hope to give some tips on how to pack efficiently so hopefully you can experience a little less stress every Thursday when you’re trying to cram a bunch of stuff into a tiny bag. 

Getting the perfect bag

The first step is to get a bag that counts as a personal item but has a lot of space. I bought this bag from Amazon for about $30 and it served me (and continues to serve me) very well. 

If this one isn’t quite your style though and you’re on the hunt for a different one, be sure to check the dimensions of the bags accepted for the airlines you’ll be flying (Veuling, Ryan Air, etc.) and compare them to the dimensions of the bag you’re looking into purchasing. 

Aside from this, you need a little clutch. Even though this technically isn’t allowed, it’s super important because 1. You’ll need a little bag for when you get to your destination and 2. It’s really helpful to have your passport and other documents in an accessible spot that’s close to you.

I know a few people who would bring pillows and stuff the pillowcases with more of their belongings, and I never did this, but if you need more space it’s something you could give a try!  

Toiletries

Before I studied abroad I took a trip to England and then from there to Greece. It was a newer rule that you could only have a clear one 1-quart-sized bag of liquids so I was not prepared when flying from England to Greece and I ended up having to throw away a whole plastic bag of liquids. This scarred me. So, when I was traveling while studying abroad, I was really strict about having the allowed amount of liquids and in an organized way. I recommend getting a pack with refillable travel bottles/containers and a clear 1-quart-sized bag. This makes it super easy to have all of the toiletries you need in an organized way! I bought this set from Amazon for $10 and it also served me very well. 

I also recommend a bar of soap because that doesn’t count towards your liquids, but also if you don’t have very many toiletries then you probably don’t have to worry about this too much. 

Clothes

PLAN YOUR OUTFITS AHEAD! You need:

1. The outfit you wear to the airport can be the outfit of your first day (and could be your outfit on the ride home)
2. Two more day outfits
3. One or two going-out outfits
4. Pajamas 

Of course, things vary depending on how long your trip is and the season, but seriously plan your outfits completely and try to maximize your use of each item. For example, jeans can be worn more than once and if it’s cold you can layer with the same items. Planning your outfits makes it easier to save space but also if you know what you’re wearing, then it makes it much easier to get ready while you’re on your trip!

You may want to bring workout clothes so you can get in a run or try to find a gym but to be completely honest…. Don’t. You are not going to work out when you have less than three full days to explore a new city. There were probably a few times when I brought my sneakers on a trip and didn’t get any use out of them. But, hey, if you do that’s great for you! 

Shoes

I usually only needed one pair of tennis shoes while I was traveling from city to city but there are the occasional times when you may want boots or a different pair of shoes for going out. But only bring the shoes if you’ve planned them with your outfits and know, for sure, you will be wearing them.

The bag that I shared above has a compartment for shoes at the bottom which was great when I did bring more than one pair of shoes with me.

Hair

I don’t think it’s worth bringing any hair tools in your limited space bag so my recommendation here is to do your hair the night or morning before you leave and try to make it last as long as possible. This definitely isn’t a concern for everyone but I have curly hair and sometimes it’s just easier to manage when it’s straight if I don’t have access to all of my curl products and whatnot. Overall though, I recommend planning what you want to do with your hair ahead of time so you can bring as few products as possible.

I hope these tips were helpful for packing for short trips! Happy traveling!

Sending virtual hugs and high-fives,

Chlo

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