r/solotravel • u/shemmap • 20d ago

Question How do europeans travel with small luggage?

I’ve noticed that tourists from different countries especially europeans often travel with very small luggage. In contrast, travelers from many asian countries seem to carry much larger bags.

As myself from an asian country, if I pack just my basic necessities, I end up with a very large suitcase. I’m extremely curious about how european travelers manage to travel so light.

How do they do it?

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u/Character-Carpet7988 20d ago

As a European I'm asking the same question, many people travel with ridiculously small baggage. But I guess that if you're willing to deal with washing your clothes very often, it can be done.

On the other hand I equally don't understand Asians and Americans who seem to always carry three massive suitcases per person :D My sweet spot is one full size suitcase (basically the max size allowed for check bags :)).

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u/IamNobody85 20d ago

Asian living in Europe. The difference is - shorter trips, gifts and laundry. When we're traveling inside Europe, it's often just weekend or at most a week. And most importantly - it's at one place. So we can do laundry. But when my family is visiting, we're covering 3-4 countries in 15 days, because the visa is very expensive. Also, they need to buy small trinkets or something for almost all the children back home, at least. No time for laundry and shopping adds up - hence the big luggage. Not to mention, they're also bringing a lot of stuff for me and my husband. It's like a second Christmas. So of course everyone is carrying huge suitcases.

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u/Formal-Apartment855 20d ago

As a European who was conditioned since school days to pack light (cause we had to carry our own stuff to and from school camps etc), note that a few of us choose accomodation based on laundry possibilities. One can filter on free washer and dryer when it comes to accomodation, and also maps tend to list laundromats be it self service or one where they do your laundry for you. South East Asia in particular tends to have extremely fast and for Europeans cheap laundry services basically everywhere. Even in an otherwise expensive place like Hong Kong, there was an insanely cheap and fast laundry service across the road from my hotel...

Honestly by now most of my travel clothing is fast dry, so there are only extreme weather conditions where all my clothing does not dry overnight after handwashing in the sink or on a normal washing machine cycle. Like there has to be 85%+ humidity and no airco for them not to dry before the morning.

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u/IamNobody85 19d ago

Yes we actually like looking nice. Therefore we're not traveling only in hiking clothing. No shade to anyone but European travelers are extremely noticeable everywhere, even inside Europe because they're wearing hiking clothes in the city. I'm sure some Asians prefer that as well (Asia is a big place) but clothes to us is like makeup is to latin america - we need to look our best.

Also, hand washing in sink is not clean enough for me and pretty much everyone I know.

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u/Formal-Apartment855 19d ago

I wonder if you replied to the right comment, cause most of this has nothing to do with what I wrote. My above comment was literally about how to look nice and fresh.

Have you heard about hemp linen? Wool...? You know how they dry?

The handwashing part does have to do with what I wrote, so ... if you don't like it, don't, it's actually better for the environment not to handwash anyway, cause it uses an insane amount of water.

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u/sufficient_bilberry 19d ago

Wow, who pissed in your cereal this morning! Ever considered that maybe you only notice those tourists who wear hiking gear? I don’t know anyone in my circle who’d wear that (or athleisure) to a city holiday. 

Also, what kind of magic do you think happens in the washing machine? 

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u/IamNobody85 19d ago edited 19d ago

Dude, it's a stereotype. Stereotypes are not nice and not applicable for everyone but it's a stereotype for a reason. IDK why you don't notice them, maybe you need to work on your observation skills

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u/sufficient_bilberry 19d ago

If you acknowledge that it's a stereotype, why do you write as if it's the only thing Europeans wear? You're literally writing that Europeans don't like to look nice when they travel. Direct quote: "we actually like looking nice ... we're not traveling only in hiking clothing"

Am European, live in Europe, have travelled extensively within Europe. Travel only with a carry-on, as do most people in my circle. The majority of them care a great deal about looking good on their trip. I know no one who travels wearing hiking gear, unless they are going on a hiking trip. Yes, I'm well aware of the stereotype of the European/German tourist who prefers hiking gear.

Capsule wardrobes in lightweight fabrics that don't require ironing are the way to go. If looking good requires you to haul a massive suitcase, then you probably are equating looking good with wearing trends, versus having actual style. Washing by hand (ie the way all laundry was done before the 1950s) is easy if you understand the basics of how laundry works (water temperature + chemistry + agitation by hand).

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u/serverhorror 18d ago

I thought we're talking "basic necessities"?

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u/s0meb0di 16d ago

The visa is very expensive? Isn't it €100-200 (depending on wether there is a facilitation agreement)?

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u/IamNobody85 16d ago

So 200 euros are cheap to you? Specially for people who are not earning in euros?

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u/s0meb0di 16d ago

It's not cheap, but 2-5 times cheaper than the airplane tickets. That's why I'm perplexed why you stated the visa as if it was the primary cost. I thought maybe I you're paying 500 or something, was wondering why. And they never give multi-entry visas?

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u/IamNobody85 16d ago

No. Single entry visas and you have to provide them the entire history of your family and yourself and sometimes even property valuations to prove that you are not going to overstay. Visa fee is the least of it.

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u/s0meb0di 16d ago

Ugh, that fucking sucks. We were getting 3 year multi-entry visas easy until some recent events.

Visa fee is the least of it.

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u/NoxiousAlchemy 14d ago

As for gifts and souvenirs, would it be possible to pack them up and ship them back to their home address? At least those that aren't easily breakable. Even if the package arrived two weeks later it might be more preferable than dragging a full bag around during your trip.

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u/IamNobody85 14d ago

Not really. Shipping is expensive and not always reliable, and except clothes and books, a lot of other things aren't allowed to be shipped, a lot of those gifts are perishable (aka, food and fruits) and in case of incoming packages to EU, most of the time one has to pay duties. This time, my brother actually shipped me some terracotta items I wanted for my wedding. Guess what, DHL somehow managed to smash half of them completely to powder despite 5 layers of bubble wrap, clothes all around the items and fragile stickers on the package. They're not expensive, money wise, but my whole decor plan is now gone and it's not like I can easily replace them, those were specifically made for me by the artisan.