This is the third summer in a row we’ve gone to Europe with our four kids, and we are getting the hang of this! Each year we have learned little things here and there that have made the packing process smoother, making us feel more prepared when we land across the pond. Check out my Instagram post HERE to find out why we started this tradition in the first place!
I thought it would be fun to share our packing process and a list of what we typically bring along in case you plan a trip in the future (which you totally should)!
I should start by saying I am NOT a light packer by nature. Like at ALL. In fact the other day my high school friends and I were laughing when they brought up a memory of a time when we were teenagers and I literally packed my ENTIRE closet for a weekend trip. Not exaggerating.
What can I say, I prefer to have options, options, and more options. For this reason, packing for a 15 day trip to Europe has proved to be quite the feat. Especially when you’re packing for a whole family! However, I’ve come a long way. While I wouldn’t consider us minimalists by ANY means, I’ve found a happy medium. Packing a little lighter when you go to Europe is definitely where it’s at.
There are a few reasons for this:
- Oftentimes you’re traveling to multiple locations and it’s such a pain to repack each time if you have too much stuff.
- It’s a lot of work to traipse it all over and with kids, it needs to be manageable.
- If you plan to rent a car at all or even grab an Uber, they are SO much smaller than here in the United States. It might say it fits 6 people, but I guarantee you there is NOT room for luggage for 6! We rented a car last year in Italy and it was a “full size SUV” – we literally laughed when we saw in and thank goodness we didn’t overpack or we wouldn’t have been able to fit in! We were packed in like sardines the way it was!
THE PACKING PROCESS:
Next, let’s chat about how to make the packing process feel so much smoother! It starts with one simple step that doesn’t happen easily, but it’s so worth it.
About 5 – 7 days before leaving, force yourself to wash every single piece of clothing your family owns AND put it away. Then commit to staying on top of it until you leave. I know, I know…who has time for this before you leave for a trip?! But seriously, it will make all the difference. When the clothes are away in the closets, the kids can help you so much more and it will save you so much time and frustration from digging in laundry piles (I’ve learned from experience haha)!
Okay, so then about 3 – 4 days before you leave, give your kids a list of the things they need to pack. The first two years we went I felt like I had to micromanage this process and packed everything for them, but now that our kids are 9, 11, 11, and 12, they are totally capable of helping. I do still “edit” their items if needed, but it saves me so much time when they help! Plus it’s good for them to take some responsibility!
Another thing to do within 3 – 4 days before leaving would be to get a bunch of snacks. Some for the plane, but also I’ve found it’s so helpful to have a LOT of snacks on hand throughout the trip. Each year I bring a lot, and each year it ALL gets eaten before the trip is over. There are just random times when kids get hungry and they do NOT want to wait. This has saved us from many hangry moments and meltdowns lol.
Within a couple days of leaving we also grab some cash to have on hand for needs that might come up. When we were in Greece, there were several restaurants that didn’t have the option to tip your server with a credit card, and we were so glad to have cash. Other things come up like souvenirs, farmer’s markets, tipping tour guides, hotel staff, and whatnot when it’s nice to have it in case, although I would say overall credit cards are easy to use. But there are places here and there that don’t accept American Express, so make sure to have Visa or Mastercard as a backup.
Other things I do within a day or two of leaving would be cleaning out the fridge and throwing away anything that might rot. Totally forgot to do this the first year and let’s just say we came home to some interesting smells and it was DISGUSTING!
Also dropping off our dog – we are blessed to have a friend that watches her but it’s always still so hard to leave her!
Okay, let’s get to THE LIST! Keep in mind this is based on planning for about a two week trip. This is what works for us, but there is no “right or wrong” so do what feels best for you!
We sometimes stay at airbnbs and have lucked out that they have washers and dryers, but this year we are staying at hotels for part of the time so washing clothes isn’t as easy! For this reason, this year I brought lots of extra socks and underwear.
What To Pack For a European Family Vacation:
Hanging bathroom bag because European bathrooms can be small (I bought this one on Amazon before our trip this year and I love it because it’s nice and big and fits a ton)
- Packing Cubes – I cannot recommend these enough! I bought each family member a different color set of packing cubes and it truly makes us feel so much more organized and less stressed when we travel, especially internationally. Throughout the whole trip, I make us all put clothes back in the packing cubes and it helps a ton. I found THESE packing cubes on Amazon and they are great!
- Make-up
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Toothpaste
- Toothbrushes
- Supplements & Vitamins
- Ibuprofen
- First Aid Kit
- Q Tips
- Skin care
- Hairspray
- Deodorant
- Hydration Packets (LMNT is great!) – flying and lots of walking often makes it easy to get deydrated – grab some LMNT packets to throw in your water bottles!
- Umbrella
- Workout Accessories
- Snacks
- Passports
- 2 Pairs of Pants or Jeans (per person)
- 3 Pairs of Shorts (per person)
- 7 Shirts (per person)
- 1 – 2 Sweatshirts (per person)
- 15 pairs of underwear (per person)
- 7+ pairs of socks (per person)
- Swimsuits
- Pajamas
- Phone Charger
- Apple Watch Charger (or other chargers you might need)
- Power Bank to keep phone charged all day – you will find that when you are out and about sight seeing that your phone dies quickly and you definitely don’t want to find yourself stranded without a phone! Here’s one on Amazon!
- European Travel Electrical Plug Adapter – the outlets are different in Europe but you will likely have things like your phone charger, curling iron, etc that you want to use in Europe! Grab a few of these adapters on Amazon!
- Neck Pillow – sleeping on a plane is never the best sleep of your life, but having neck pillows along is a must to make it a little better! Last year we bought a couple of these inflatable pillows and the kids love them. They can also lean forward and watch their device through the little hole on top. They are easy to inflate and deflate and throw in a backpack!
- Cash
- Backpacks
- Sunglasses
- Hats
- Comfortable Shoes – I recommend a pair of tennis shoes for everyone, and a pair of comfortable sandals. You walk a TON (we average 20,000 steps a day) and you will walk to be comfortable!
- Card Games – we love playing games together on vacation and card games are easy to stash in the suitcase or carry ons.
- Laptops & Chargers
- Books
- Belt Bag or Crossbody Bag to take with sightseeing that you can throw a few extra things / snacks in. It’s nice to have a bag that you can take with you when oftentimes you’ll be out and about all day.
- Laundry Detergent pods
- Headphones
- Audio Adapters (for iPhones) – our kids like to download shows onto their phones but the headphone jack doesn’t fit into an iPhone so we bought these for traveling.
- Blankets for plane – airlines do provide you with a small pillow and blanket for international flights, but we always bring our own too because the worst thing is when kids are cold on a plane lol! I absolutely LOVE this fleece one from Vera Bradly – it folds into a pillow and has a handle on it to pop over your suitcase handle so its not a pain to travel with.
- Wipes – no matter how old kids get, we have found there are always need for a packet of travel wipes to clean up spills, sticky situations, etc!
That’s all I can think of for now! If I think of anything else, I’ll keep updating this post!
Safe Travels!
xo,
Amber
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