40-Day Trip: How & What I Packed

Countries Switzerland * Italy * Greece

Time of Visit June & July of 2023

Weather

Switzerland 50-85 Degrees Fahrenheit

Italy 60-90 Degrees Fahrenheit

Greece 70-90 Degrees Fahrenheit

Accommodation Hostels & Airbnb

Total Bags 2 (sometimes 3, sometimes 4)

This requires some clarification. On the flights I book, I make sure to get at least one carry on bag and one personal item included in my ticket price. This means that at the start of my trip, everything I am taking with me needs to fit in my carry on suitcase and personal item backpack.

Once I have landed and no longer need to worry about how many bags I have, items get rearranged. For the rest of the trip, I have my carry on suitcase, personal item backpack, fanny pack, and small hiking bag. You can read about what goes in each bag in the “How I Packed” section below.

What I Packed

Documents: passport * credit/debit cards (alert the companies ahead of time about your travels) * travel insurance * pre-booked reservations * pre-booked tickets 

Clothes: 2 pairs of shorts * 3 pairs of pants * 5 short sleeve shirts * 4 long sleeve shirts * 3 swimsuits * 1 pajama outfit * rain jacket * 1 pair of leggings * 1 tennis dress * 1 Under Armour quarter zip * 1 lululemon jacket * 2 pairs of hiking socks * 5 pairs of normal socks * 1 foldable brim baseball cap * 2 belts * 2 weeks of undergarments * gloves * warm hat * neck scarf (didn’t need it) * hiking rain pants

Toiletries: wipes * travel-sized toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, facewash, body wash, sunscreen, toothpaste, mouthwash, lotion, deodorant, perfume, hand sanitizer) * ChapStick * toothbrush & its plastic case * floss * cotton swabs * makeup remover (can double as facewash in a pinch) * first-aid kit (normal size Band-Aids, small circle Band-Aids, sterile wipes, Neosporin) * 2 quality razors * loofah 

Technology: laptop (needed to finish my masters and work on these blog posts) * headphones * Fitbit * iPhone * Samsung phone (my phone from high school as an emergency backup) * portable charger * chargers for everything * universal travel adaptor * feminine products (you never know what products will be available when you need them, so bring a few go-to products) * laptop mouse

Miscellaneous: Birdie alarm (must-have safety item) * Tide pen * umbrella * glasses * prescription sunglasses * backup glasses (have to be sure I can see all the things!) * lens wipes * eye drops * pens/pencils * Travel Journal (my most valued item) * tape (to put things in the travel journal) * 2 locks (hostel storage) * ear plugs * eye mask * mouth tape (this prevents me from sleep talking in hostels because that’s awkward) * wet hair comb * quick drying travel towel * hair microfiber towel * hair ties * 2 claw clips * 1 makeup brush * 1 brown eye shadow (works as a brow filler & eye liner) * mascara * nail file * nail clippers * tweezers * teeny tiny scissors (these are used surprisingly often) * 1 fanny pack * 1 compressible hiking backpack * 1 small lululemon shopping bag (I use this as a bathroom/shower caddy) * phone stand (to take photos without asking someone else) * wet bag (when it isn’t carrying a wet swimsuit, it serves as my dirty laundry bag) * jewelry box (starts the trip mostly empty and ends up carrying my small souvenirs home safely) * pillow covering with a zipper (in case your hostel pillow looks a little worse for wear) * Brita water bottle * neck pillow * travel mirror with light (can double as a flash light)

Medicine: Advil * Excedrin * melatonin (bring the basics because many over the counter medicines in the United States require prescriptions outside of the United States)

How I Packed

I always start with a packing checklist (just ask my college golf teammates!). I have downloaded and saved the one from the Day Designer website (I also use a Day Designer planner to help organize every day of my life, but that is neither budget friendly or travel related. I just love their planners!).

I check each location to see what the weather will be like. I determine whether the entire trip will be relatively hot, mild, cold, or a mix. For Switzerland, Italy, and Greece, I was packing for a mix.

I decide what activities I will be doing: hiking, walking through a city, swimming, going to a ballet, etc. Some activities require specific outfits or footwear, so this is an important consideration.

After I’ve taken the packing checklist, weather, and activities into account, I start organizing outfit options. The outfits have to match the two pairs casual shoes bring, work with the weather of the place(s), and function with at least two different activities. The outfit pieces must be able to be interchanged with the rest of the clothes I am bringing as well.

Before I put the clothes in my suitcase, I take pictures of all the outfit options to create a note on my phone with all of these options. This is very helpful when I’m in a hostel trying to pick out an outfit. In a hostel, you don’t have the space to lay out your items and it can be hard to remember what you packed. So, I often pull up the note page I created so I can quickly see my options and get out the outfit I need.

When packing the clothes, if you aren’t rolling them as tightly as you can, you’re wasting space. After I have rolled every clothing item, I put my clothes into 3 different packing cubes. I put my socks within my shoes. I lay my belts around the walls of my suitcase. This helps to not bend them in weird ways and takes up essentially no room.

The three packing cubes go in my suitcase along with my hiking boots and one of my two pairs of shoes. I wear the other pair of shoes. I wrap the shoes in shower caps so they don’t get my suitcase and clothes dirty. My jewelry case, towels, dirty clothes bag, hats, and extra bags go in my suitcase as well.

All of my toiletries go in my clear toiletries bag. When I get on my flight, this only contains travel-sized liquid items and non-liquid toiletry items. After my flight, I purchase normal size toiletries and add them to the bag. The travel-sized liquid items serve as my emergency stash in case I get into a bind somewhere along my journey.

The clear toiletries bag goes in my personal item backpack along with my laptop and technologies. My shower flipflops and Brita water bottle go in the sides of the backpack. My neck pillow clips on to the top handle of my backpack. Any documents, toiletries, technology, miscellaneous, and/or medicine that has yet to be packed fits into the remaining zipper of my grey backpack.

Once I am on my trip, I use my hiking bag to carry around the snacks I have purchased. I also put anything in here that isn’t fitting as well as when I first packed everything up.

My fanny pack is very convenient to have everything I need at the ready. I have all my documents in here. I also make sure I have hand sanitizer in here as well. I try and leave room for my phone so my hands can be free. I also have a container to put my cash and coins in because after a few weeks, the coins add up and get easily lost if you do not have a specific place to put them.

Once I have checked in to a hostel, I have two bags that I keep by my bed and I lock the rest in the provided locker. The first bag is a sturdy shopping bag, this trip it just so happens to be a lululemon shopping bag. The second bag is my black adidas bag.

The lululemon bag acts as a bathroom/shower caddy that I can carry to and from the hostel room with ease. The black adidas bag contains everything I need by my bed: chargers, journal, eye mask, earplugs, and medicine.

What I’ve Purchased

Switzerland: normal size toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, dry shampoo, body wash, sunscreen, lotion), 2 tank tops (H&M clearance is wonderful)

Italy: 1 sunglass chain, 1 blown glass ring, 2 bracelets, 1 anklet, 1 earing, 1 straw sun hat, 1 normal size face wash (still not sure if it is actually facewash or if I've been washing my face for a month with body wash)

Greece: bikini, sterile gauze & sterile wound cleaning spray (rock wall 1 - Hannah 0), travel-size hand sanitizer, swimsuit cover-up, sandals, sun dress

Final Remarks

Wherever you are going will have a version of what you need. It may not be the same brand, quality, or purchasing experience as what you are used to, but you can get pretty much anything you need anywhere you are.

You can do laundry! Remember this when you’re tempted to overpack. If you find you need a certain item that you forgot to pack, congratulations, you have a new souvenir!

Whatever you bring, you have to carry around or risk leaving it if you cannot carry it around. Never underestimate a 10-minute walk with all of your personal items. It is a humbling experience.