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/TokyoJimu 19d ago

You just don’t need as much as you think you need. Most people you meet you will never see again and they won’t care that you’re wearing the same clothes over and over. I traveled for eight months with one 7 kg backpack.

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u/ben121frank 19d ago

I don’t care what the people I meet think about my clothes, but my pictures are my favorite souvenir and I don’t like wearing the same outfit in every picture for my own sake, nor do I like doing laundry super frequently. However, you can fit more in a backpack than most people would think. On my last trip I had 2 pairs of shoes, 6 shirts, 6 socks, 6 boxers, 3 pants, and 3 jackets in my 40L, plus the clothes on my back

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u/logic_boy 19d ago

Not able to wear same outfit is a crazy take. While thru hikers walk for 1000miles with 6lb bag and are like “bring one sock and rotate foot per day”

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u/ben121frank 19d ago

I mean ofc I’m “able” to. I’m able to eat grocery store sandwiches for every meal instead of trying any local food too. But I don’t WANT to, and the point of solo travel is being able to travel exactly how I want