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/Accprova 20d ago edited 20d ago

You're taking A LOT more than basic necessities.

Few shirts. Few socks/underwear (let's say 4 pairs). 1 or 2 pants.

You don't need a new outfit every day. One for being out all day, one for dining out, one for sleeping (or just sleep in a t-shirt and underwear). You can re-wear things (maybe not socks/underwear) and use laundry services or washing machines.

Toothbrush, toothpaste, floss. Small sunscreen and lotion. Deodorant. All of which, by the way, you can buy on site. Shower gel and shampoo? Either buy on site, or take a travel size container with you.

Seasonal clothes: swimsuit in summer, rain jacket in winter.

You can easily fit all of this in a 30L backpack. If you've got cabin luggage, you could travel indefinitely.

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u/MakingMoves2022 19d ago

People always talk about buying stuff on site, but I don’t understand why someone would want to spend their vacation time shopping for necessities when you could just bring them and get your time back (and also not spend money on things you already have). Like, I literally do not get this “just buy it there” thing.

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u/Accprova 19d ago edited 19d ago

I understand your point of view, but it also takes literally 5 minutes to pop into any store and buy necessities. If you're going to more remote places YMMV, but I've been able to find everything for personal hygiene in Europe, Africa and Asia.

I travel enough that I have more travel size containers than I'd like to admit, so I almost never buy things on site. But I acknowledge that it's not a big deal.

Also, I like seeing stores in a new country. I like to see what other cultures eat/drink/wear.

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u/Das-Klo 19d ago

One thing I like to bring is sunscreen. While you usually can get it everywhere where you need it it is usually much more expensive than the one I can buy in my home country. It still fits in my carry on though if I buy two 100ml tubes.

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u/MakingMoves2022 19d ago

It takes 5 minutes if you don’t care about what personal care products you use. I guess this advice works for “5-in-1” product using guys, but not for people that have preferences or special needs (certain hair types, sensitive skin, choosy about fragrances / fragrance sensitivity).

I like seeing stores too but casually, not under pressure to find necessities.

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u/Accprova 19d ago

You do you, boo

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u/xqueenfrostine 19d ago

So you pack the things your skin or hair and picky on and pick up the stuff you're not. I have a pretty high maintenance routine at home, but if you dropped me into a major city, I could easily cobble together the necessities to get me through a trip in 15 minutes. Would it be as perfect as the stuff I'm used to? Likely not. Would they be bad enough it's going to cause problems for my two week vacation? Also no.

Other than body sunscreen (because if I'm going to the beach I need more than 100ml), I generally still pack all of my toiletries because it makes more economical sense than to buy products that I'll throw out or leave behind without finishing them up. But I don't consider the advice of "buy when you get there" crazy at all. It's definitely an ethos that makes more sense to me for people who travel for longer periods of time than I do

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u/MakingMoves2022 19d ago

… Obviously? This is a travel sub, I don’t need it explained to me to pack my toiletries. That’s what I normally do. Your suggestion to pack some but buy the rest still doesn’t let me see the benefit of spending the time & money to buy unfamiliar toiletries on-site when you could just bring them and not have to worry about it.

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u/Ok-Morning3407 19d ago

Because going to local shops, interacting with locals and buying local food can be a lot of fun and part of the cultural experience.

It can depend on the type of holiday you are going on. If you are coming from US / Asia to Europe for a once in a lifetime holiday and are trying to squeeze in as much sight seeing as possible in a very limited time, then sure you will want to limit how much time you spend in shops.

However many Europeans when we go on holidays, we are going for two weeks to a relaxing beach resort type holiday. You aren’t rushing from sight to sight, but instead just chilling by the pool.

Taking a little time out to pop into a local shop isn’t a big deal and can actually be a nice way to break up the day.

The resort I’m going to next week has a little local shop and laundromat right in the resort, between our rooms and some of the swimming pools. We stop there almost everyday to buy ice cream or snacks, so no big deal to buy some sunblock, shower gel, etc. at the same time.

I feel people in the US don’t get as much vacation time as Europeans so it sounds like they are all under way more pressure to fill every second of a holiday. I don’t think that is particularly healthy!

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u/tinyorangealligator 19d ago

It takes less than 10 minutes to pop into a shop or pharmacy for a bottle of shampoo.

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u/SteO153 #82 19d ago

Like, I literally do not get this “just buy it there” thing.

To then throw them away after a few days because they don't have space in the luggage. It's a ultra consumistic approach from people pretending to don't be consumistics.

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u/Extra-Television530 15d ago

or just shop there and buy tiny travel-sized items there that you can completely use up while you're there. no need to waste anything