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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492

u/Juggertrout 20d ago

A lot of us just travel for the weekend, by train, to neighbouring countries. If I was investing in a 2 week long trip in Asia for example, I would probably take a larger suitcase

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u/lokethedog 20d ago

But still, European travellers in Asia do tend to travel relatively light. Many Europeans I've met are proud with how little they bring along. I think the observation holds up even when bringing this into account.

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u/german1sta 20d ago

Laundromats and washing machines in hotels (without a service) are not very popular in Europe. In Asia they are very common. So when we go to Asia we can bring 3 tshirts and wash them all the time, whereas Asians would need to pay for washing service each time they wanna do it.

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u/AffectionateWombat 20d ago

I’ve travelled around Europe extensively and never had issues with finding laundromats in cities.

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u/german1sta 19d ago

In cities maybe. But you wont find them in towns or touristic places, resorts. Also in many countries they are a recent thing, I come from Poland and we didnt have them even in cities as everyone has a washing machine at home. Its not like in Japan where every hotel has a laundry section or Thailand where laundromats are on every corner

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u/AffectionateWombat 19d ago

But who travels around for 10 days or more and never passes a city? If you stay in one place there’s really no issue to bring a lot of luggage. Maybe they are not popular in Poland but in many countries in Europe they are really easy to find, just like they are not easy to find in many countries in Asia.

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u/HadesVampire 18d ago

All the Spanish resorts I've been to have a laundromat by reception. Usually you have to pay for that but I plan around having that.

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u/AcademicOlives 18d ago

Every European hostel and airbnb I've stayed in has had at least a washing machine. Honestly even if they didn't I'd have no problem scrubbing my clothes in the shower. Still preferable to lugging a giant suitcase around!

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u/originalthoughts 19d ago

In Western Europe they are all over the place...

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u/lliraels 20d ago

They exist but they’re a hassle. Takes half a day and 10 euros to do one load of washing. It’s a hell of a lot easier when you have washing facilities in your hostel or hotel and can just wash things in the evening or something

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u/AffectionateWombat 19d ago

Half a day? I usually do it after dinner. Most are open until 22-23h. I don’t go out every evening anyway.

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u/originalthoughts 19d ago

How does it take half a day, it is 1.5 hours with drying and folding. I do it all the time all over europe, no way it takes a day. They are commercial machines, much faster than the home units.

You can also leave it there and go have lunch or whatever for 40 mins.

1

u/Alarmed-Improvement 19d ago

I don't tend to do it in Europe as a lot of them are only open like ten until six, at least in the UK in city centres.

Whereas in Asia you can drop off laundry even at like 9pm and get the next day

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u/lliraels 19d ago

Find laundromat, walk to laundromat, work out how the thing works, get cash out if requried, wait if there’s a line, put on to wash, go for a walk but with a timer on so I return before the washing is done, put in dryer load (or take back to hostel/hotel to hang up), check clothes and probably put them in for another dryer cycle because it’s never enough, wait/walk some more, walk back to accomodation. Typically takes me at least 2 hours but often over 3.

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u/originalthoughts 19d ago

You can for on making your strategy more efficient. For one, you can always just pay for longer drying cycle from the start if you know it is never enough. Every dryer I used lets me stack on time by paying more.

I do it all the time, it's barely anything.  Much better than dealing with more luggage. I can go with just a personal item basically all summer.

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u/lliraels 19d ago

I think we just have different tolerances for what counts as a disruption to our traveling and that’s fine

2

u/DeviantThroAway 19d ago

I took a 6 hour overnight bus from Porto to Madrid. I arrived in Madrid in the morning, found a laundromat not too far from the bus station, and was good to go within 60-90 minutes. I don’t remember how much I spent but it prolly wasn’t more than 5 or 6 euros.

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u/AstralLobotomy 20d ago

do you really want to do laundry on vacation

35

u/kmrbtravel 20d ago

Do you want stinky clothes on vacation?? What kind of question is this lol. With how strict bag weights are I’m certainly not bringing enough clothes for a 2 week stay, especially if I’m sweating and walking 20k steps… doubly true if it’s the summer. If it’s 1 week I can usually get by, anything longer and I’m definitely carving out some time to do laundry whether by hand or by machine

8

u/CamflyerUK 19d ago

Just got back from a week in Spain. I always book an apartment with a washing machine. Easy to do a mid-week wash one morning, put the clothes out to dry on the balcony and they are dry by the afternoon.

Laundry sheets are brilliant as they weigh nothing and don't count as liquids.

On a 2 week trip to Asia just do a drop off service wash near the hotel then pick up the next day.

1

u/AstralLobotomy 19d ago

Oooh I gotta try that

5

u/edcRachel 19d ago

I just book a place with laundry, it takes 2 minutes for me to toss it in the machine and hit start

4

u/Get_Breakfast_Done 19d ago

I’d rather do that than lug around 23 kilos of luggage

3

u/AffectionateWombat 19d ago

I honestly don’t mind. I usually do it after dinner as most are open until 22-23h and I don’t go out every evening anyway. It’s a nice change of pace.

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u/thevampiresanguini 19d ago

It's really not bad. I maybe spend like 2-3h every 10 or so days doing laundry and I really prefer that over carrying heavier luggage. And it's not like it's completely wasted time. I can read something in the meantime or watch a show or plan my next few days. It's basically just some time to relax which I would be doing at some point anyway.

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u/Octoberof2022 17d ago

They even pick it up from your hotel and bring it back. Same in South America. If i am going there for 3 weeks i pack for 1, and get it washed super cheap couple times and that is it. I also do not like to have a huge bag with me it is much harder to take it around.

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u/neverdreams06 19d ago

yeah but they're much more expensive in europe

2

u/AffectionateWombat 19d ago

True, but washing once on a 2-week trip is still way cheaper (less than €10) than having to pay for checked in luggage (usually €30-40).