What would you take???

[Amy_jellybean]

Hi girls,

As a few of you know hubby and I are off backpacking around Europe in a few weeks. We will be gone for 10 months minimum and im starting to get everything ready to pack.

We have a backpack each - trust me they dont hold much! As a travel agent I know most of the normal things to pack but I always end up away with something forgotten.

Any ideas on what else I need to pack, I have the usual clothes and then:

1 small bag for my make up
Thermals
Shower thongs for the terrible hostels
First aid pack - We are hiking at Anzac cove over Anzac day
Padlocks
Zip lock bags
Bathers
Micro fibre towel
Ipod speakers (they are super tiny)
Hat

We are spending the first 3 months in fairly cold weather, the middle 3 months in hot greek weather and then the last 3 months in freezinf weather hahahaha.

[LimeSlice]

A universal adapter for phone chargers
Memory card spare for your camera
Not sure if it is relevant to you, but my sister leaves for 6 months OS in April, but is an epileptic, so is taking a medicalert bracelet thingy. Essential if you have any severe allergies to anything, or any illnesses.
Torch
Poncho?

Good luck! So excited for you

[Amy_jellybean]

A universal adapter for phone chargers
Memory card spare for your camera
Not sure if it is relevant to you, but my sister leaves for 6 months OS in April, but is an epileptic, so is taking a medicalert bracelet thingy. Essential if you have any severe allergies to anything, or any illnesses.
Torch
Poncho?

Good luck! So excited for you

Thanks heaps Lex! Im so excited as well, putting our travel blog together as we speak, going to add it to my signature so people can follow us around Europe

Ive got a Universal Adaptor, just forgot to put it on the list but thanks for reminding me :-) Ive got really bad Asthma so more medication is another good one, tyring to save on space so hubby is taking a small (in size not memory) portable hard drive so we can put all our photos on that and then bacl them up on the laptop as well :-)

[Jennie13]

a nail file & nail clippers?

If i were hiking id hate an annoying toe nail digging in and nothing is worse then a half ripped of nail that you cant leave alone till its not snagging anymore!

[Amy_jellybean]

Haha I love someone that is practical!!! Thanks Jen ill add it to my list

God I sound like a barbie but im not going overseas to grow hairy armpits and legs, im going to have fun, party and get my drink on with hubby! Hahahaa

[Party-of-five]

a sewing kit
a deck of cards

sounds like your going to have the best time!! how exciting!

[LimeSlice]

ooh yes a sewing kit! So glad I had one with me when I split my pants in Tokyo!

[Taurean]

Ah, this brings back memories. We backpacked for 7 months 6 years ago. I know what you mean about the packs and not being able to take much!!

We did an around the world trip so encountered all sorts of weather. It does make it tough when packing. Some things I would highly recommend would be:

- a decent wind fleece jacket. I got mine half price at a Kathmandu sale but I'd spend at least a couple of hundred bucks on one. It was awesome and so light. DH was VERY jealous
- a Swiss Army knife. We used ours daily. I kid you not. Best thing ever
- I'd just use your normal thongs to wear in the shower. I had a pair for the shower especially but binned them as they were just an extra pair of shoes I really didn't need
- a Lonely Planet guide or, at the least, photocopies of some of the main pages of the countries you plan on visiting. It helped us SO many times. Priceless for info such as where to find supermarkets (so much harder than you think!), cheap eats, discount tourist offers and good, cheap accommodation. We did use the net to book most of our accommodation (hostels and cheap pensions) but the LP saved our arses on several occasions.
- mini-Mag light
- cheap cutlery and a bowl each. If you end up staying in Pensions, you'd be surprised how many don't have kitchen facilities. If you're happy to eat out a lot then no stress but we were on a limited budget but unlimited time so we often dined in.
- dressy flat shoes for pubs, clubs, etc. I took a pair of dressy thongs. Light weight and comfy.
- sunscreen
- sounds gross but we shared one decent razor - DH's
- tinea cream. It was so difficult to explain that to a pharmacist in Florence!! And although we wore thongs in the showers, we still got manky feet at least once.
- tweezers - no time for waxing so plucking it is!
- a sarong - ours doubled as a towel/sarong and a picnic rug. We ate in parks a lot - as you do in Europe
- immunisation records. We went to Egypt so had shots required for there and various boosters. Was handy to know what we'd had in case we ended up in hossi
- pen or two
- blow up pillows - little cheap ones from The $2 Shop or something similar. Used ours a lot on ferries, trains, busses, etc. They were great.
- a cheap bag (netted bag or a environmental green bag) that can double as a beach bag or shopping bag.

I think they are the main things. I'll let you know if I think of anything else.

[Amy_jellybean]

Thanks heaps Taurean!!!

A sarong was something I def had on my list (with a month in Greece it was a must!) and they dont take up much room yay Kathmandu is my favourite place, we have spent about $4000 there so far...oops!!!! I bought DH a really awesome Jacket/wind breaker for xmas, it was $450 marked down to $200. Its water resistant and really warm inside. I bought myself the same jacket last year but mine isnt waterproof. We were thinking of just buying a cheap plastic poncho in London before we go to Anzac Cove.

I was in 2 minds about the lonely planets, I def thought about photocopies of certain pages but wasnt sure on taking the whole thing. I might just take my big Europe one rather than the seperate country ones that I have.

I like your thinking on the shower thongs, I think ill just stick with one pair. For shoes im thinking of: a pair of rubber thongs for beach/showers, a pair of black flats for work (we will be working in a pub), a pair of runners and a pair of black strappy sandles to wear out. I figured I can always buy a pair of cheap boots from Primark or similar.

Tweezers are in the toilet bag ready to go...Im a strict waxing girl and was whinging to DH the other night about how there is no way in hell I am going back to shaving!!!

Ekkkk I cant believe its only 53 days until we leave!!!

[Taurean]

I just thought of some more stuff! DH is helping now too

- I left my hair straighteners in Aus but I did take a tiny travel hair dryer. Besides a few hotels we stayed in (mainly throughout Asia) there were no hair dryers on offer! My hair can frizz so I also took a really good tiny bottle of straightening serum - that replaced the GHDs
- I also left my normal hairbrush at home and took a flip out travel one (with the mirror) instead. Tiny and light weight
- a small face washer. Most places give you / hire out towels but not washes. I'm a girl that loves to clean her face at the end of the day.
- travel washing line and a laundry bar/powder. We used our line a lot. We usually washed at laundromats (or hostels if they had facilities) but dried in our room. We often did some hand washing in the shower (or basin of we had one in our room) like jocks, singlet tops, etc.

I'd highly recommend emailing scanned copies of all your travel and legal docs to yourself in case you run into trouble.

Will let you know if I remember anything else! Our packs were 15kg each so we did well. We did fill up our day packs a bit though for flights - toiletries and always a change of clothes each.

Your shoes sound good! As do the wind fleeces. Nice work!

Is your LP Europe on a Shoestring? If so, I'd be inclined to leave it at home. It doesn't have anywhere enough detail and it's big. Western Europe is awesome though and the individual guides even better. We actually bought some while traveling and sent homes the ones we'd finished with.

[Amy_jellybean]

Haha awww thanks Taurean and DH!!!

Ive been looking for a travel washing line that has the hooks at the end instead of the suction caps, ill be sure to get one before we go. I got some liquid washing soap (powder didnt sounds right considering its liquid!) from Kathmandu, its in a really small bottle and there is enough for 100 washes or something.

I like the idea about the flip out brush. My dad is a platinum Frequesnt flyer with Emirates and he is always giving them to from the business class toilet bags, ill finally put one to use hahaha.

Ive got a few lonely planets but I agree the Europe on a shoestring doesnt have much in it!!!

We are flying with Emirates so we get 30kgs in economy going over and back but on the internals we only get 20kgs. Im just over 5 foot so I think anything over 20kgs would break me in half anyway. DH keeps asking which camel is going to carry it all, I just look at him and he says I dont have a hump, I just laughed and said trust me after you carry my bag you;ll have a hump on your back for sure!!!

[Taurean]

You're welcome hon! I love travelling (ex travel agent also) - its like an obsession for me

We loved our trip, I'm sure you'll love yours too. Yours sound pretty organised. We flew One World (and had Qantas Club membership) so we weren't restricted with luggage either but anything more than 15kg on a small frame would have been hell! I'm a shorty too so that was plenty. The weight was good though but definitely no more. It's amazing how much walking you end up doing with them on. We were so fit when we returned.....ah, to be that fit and tiny again

Tell your DH the donkeys will carry your pack around the Greek Isles but yeah, there is a shortage of camels in Europe

[nickle730]

I'd recommend replacing the runners with a really good pair of hiking shoes - y'know, the ones that sorta look like a cross between runners/shoes? Much more comfortable and better for your feet, plus you can wear them with jeans and they look a (little bit!) more dressed up. Buy them now and wear them in before you go. I bought mine about 5 years ago and I wear them every time we travel.

GL, you are gonna have the time of your life!

[Nai]

I can highly recommend the packing cells from Kathmandu - they are zippered with mesh tops and are amazing for being able to pack and sort your clothes and keep your backpack in order. We use ours all the time and they come in different sizes so you can have a small one for your underwear etc, then a medium one for all tops. I never travel without them.

Take contact details for all your banking intitutions etc in case you lose your cards or have anything stolen. Have copies of all your credit card details somewhere seperate to report if this happens.

[Little Chicken]

I can highly recommend the packing cells from Kathmandu - they are zippered with mesh tops and are amazing for being able to pack and sort your clothes and keep your backpack in order. We use ours all the time and they come in different sizes so you can have a small one for your underwear etc, then a medium one for all tops. I never travel without them.

Take contact details for all your banking intitutions etc in case you lose your cards or have anything stolen. Have copies of all your credit card details somewhere seperate to report if this happens.

Also photocopy the front ID part of your passport, was watching border security once and a guy lost his passport but had that and it made it so much easier for customs to verify his ID cause it had the passport number, photo and name.

[Taurean]

Back on the shoes, the main shoes I wore were Teva sandals. We bought the really expesnive leather ones. They were amazing and well worth the $ - they walked a hell of a long way in 7 months I had my runners too but only wore them in the colder weather. Maybe some trendy hiking/runners would be better than runners though.

[Winter]

I'd highly recommend emailing scanned copies of all your travel and legal docs to yourself in case you run into trouble.

This saved our bacon at least once when DH lost his passport in Slovenia.

We travelled around Europe & South America for a year in 2007 but we were camping along the way so we had lots of gear in our backpacks. I was lugging 20kg plus and I tell you, when crossing weather zones, the local post office becomes your new best friend when you send your bulky cold weather gear home!

Also, don't pack your kitchen sink, seriously, travel as light as you can, because if you pack it, you have to carry it. And don't forget, if there is something that you really need, there are shops where you are going and you can pick up seasonal clothes as you go along too.

I also don't leave home without a LP for the country that I am visiting. It has saved our arses on more than one occasion especially having the embassy info in it and important numbers for you like police etc.

HAve a great trip, can't wait for the photos!!

[UsPlus2]

I'm another that had my bacon saved by having a scan copy of my passport on my email. Also a good idea to scan a copy of all your travel docs in one email and send it to family, that way they have all the information as well and in case you cant get to a computer they can help out. Also send them contact numbers for everything like consultes, your bank, your airlines, your travel insurer etc.

I was also going to suggest space bags, the ones that you can roll the air out of it. When I went through Vietnam we had boily hot days down south and freezing weather up north, so was great to be able to roll up the big winter stuff and not have them take up so much room when we didnt need them.

Dont forget about the stuff at home either, like mail holds (or redirections since you are going for so long - they can take a while to kick in so have them ready to go about a month before you leave), energy company etc

I also didnt take any more than the small bottles of bathroom stuff, just brought replacements when I ran out, saves carrying to much. Oh and spray on bandaid! BEST PRODUCT EVER for hiking.

GL - sounds like you are going to have a fantastic time.