Hello My D will be in Europe for 2 months this summer. She has a Birthday coming up soon and I thought I might get her something useful.
I was wondering if you all had any thoughts? Also wondering how they manage to bring over everything they need for two months.
She will be in England and Holland
They have washing machines in England and Holland.
D2 just came back from London study abroad. She went with two suitcases. She had to bring her bedding, which took up most of space. She also had to bring heavy sweaters and coats. It is going to be easier for your D as summer clothes are lighter. D2 bought as much as she could in London so we wouldn’t have to carry over.
One thing to keep in mind, it is cheaper for her to have one extra luggage than to have one suitcase that’s over weight. Plan accordingly.
My kids just packed enough for a couple of weeks knowing they would be washing their clothes. The must have items were external chargers for the phone and plugs and adapters. My kids learned to travel light and only took one suitcase. I have a hard time doing that for two weeks but it’s doable.
Not only do they have washing machines but they have shops.
Money is always useful.
My son just left for 4 months in Denmark. He went with one large and one small suitcase. Luckily, towels and bedding are provided for him. One thing I did buy him which seemed helpful are these packing folders:
Also easier to carry.
Two months—no more than one suitcase and carry on. It truly is a pain to be schlepping lots of luggage thru airports, train stations, etc. Make sure the carry on fits European guidelines if she plans on taking weekend excursions. If she uses hair appliances (blow dryer/curling iron/straightener), buy it there. If she’s using her camera on her phone for pictures, a mini powerstation/battery extender like Mopie can be a great gift, as photos and videos suck up a charged battery quickly.
WRT clothes, google traveling/packing light, etc. and you’ll find lots of ideas like this one to help in wardrobe selection without taking the whole closet…
https://lilyandjane.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2014/08/10/whats-in-my-suitcase-two-months-in-europe/
I am a little surprised at the sarcasm. I thought it was a legitimate question. I know they have washing machines and shops. If you saw how much she takes to her dorm after breaks you might understand my question a little better.
Thanks all
I will ask about the towels and bedding. I was assuming she would need it -but maybe not?
I’d seriously think about getting inexpensive bedding there. My son (I know boys are easier!) squeezed everything itno a giant backpack that had a smaller back pack that attached to it that could be a plane carry-on and was I think big enough for a small laptop. He had close to two weeks of clothes. One warning is that I’ve never ever gone to England even in the summer and thought I had enough warm stuff. I always ended up buying sweaters there! (Well there are worse fates you can get very nice ones!) Waterproof slicker is also really, really useful.
veruca, my D took waaaay too much stuff (she travels light now) and part of the problem is lack of storage space. Closets are minimal in London. Her study abroad program may have a suggested packing list.
My d traveled in the Indian subcontinent and England for 5 months, with a backpack and a carryon.
Encouraging your D not to rethink her packing style won’t be a help.
Buying clothes there will add to her experience and make memories.
She could also bring things to exchange, local treats or tees from American sports teams for instance.
A hD digital card for her camera.
A sleeping liner is handy when staying in hostels.
She should be able to carry all her luggage herself.
Veruca…I think our Ds are alike as we have had similiar issues for her summer in Paris, and last summer in NYC. (NYC was really hard as we had to bring all bedding and that takes SO much room in a suitcase(the two special pillows she can’t live without, the down topper, etc! Geez it was bad!–and they would not let us ship boxes ahead of time! go figure?)
I laugh when I read of students taking a “large backpack” and they are good to go! I wish that was the case here, but my daughters shoes wouldn’t fit in that!
All that being said (and struggled over for the last two summers) she has gotten better at this! We find picking a color scheme and making sure every item brought can be mixed and matched with everything else really helps. It also helps limit the number of shoes/footwear and accessories you need to bring as they will all match everything…
Mine is off to Nicaragua this summer and we both agree it is going to be so easy to pack for…Just like camp when she was young–all old pants and t-shirts that she can even leave there if she wants (all presoaked in permethrin to avoid mosquitos if I have my way!)
One other suggestion–the vacuum packing bags really help condense clothing down to small sizes…just be very careful as you can easily go over the weight limits packing this way!
My D spent a semester in Edinborough. She took one large suitcase and a backpack. She was responsible for carting her luggage from the airport to the school, so she heeded the warnings to keep the number of bags manageable (and she was so glad she did!). We packed the clothes in vacuum bags, so more would fit in the suitcase. She packed a few things at the top that she could leave home if the bag was overweight … which it was. We removed items until it was within the allowed weight limit. She survived without everything she owns, even if she wasn’t sure she could before she left.
And she definitely pared down the shoe list. They take up way too much room! She wore her running shoes and packed flats & a pair of boots.
Thanks -very helpful. Nicaragua sounds exciting! Several things I hadn’t thought of.
I’ve had really good luck with rolling clothes instead of folding. More fits and there is less wrinkling. It doesn’t look like it will make a difference but it really does.
D learned to pack when she went to Africa for three weeks in high school and the carryon space were taken up with equipment and supplies to be donated.
However it did allow for lots of space for souvenirs on the return visit.
I agree rolling helps (& is easier).
If you don’t have room for bringing home souvenirs, mail them.
Much cheaper than paying for overweight luggage.
Backcountry.com sells Northface at discounted prices. They have some nice rain jackets that might be good and yur daughter can layer underneath for any damp, rainy days.