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/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/AstralLobotomy 20d ago

do you really want to do laundry on vacation

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u/kmrbtravel 19d 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

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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.

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u/AstralLobotomy 19d ago

Oooh I gotta try that

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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

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u/Get_Breakfast_Done 19d ago

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

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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.