A collage of the contents of a rucksack for a trip to Europe

Niche content alert: my summer travel packing list.

Packing goals: keep it as minimal and light as possible. Everything had to fit into one bag that I could easily carry during the day between locations and residencies. This is my list, obviously your mileage may vary! Packing light comes with trade-offs.

The duration: 11 nights

The travel: train

The environment: Western European cities 

The accommodation: 4 hotel-ish places

The climate: a slightly unfortunate mix of warm and wet

The activities: on-foot exploring of the cityscapes, galleries, museums, cafes, bars and green spaces

The bag: an Alpkit Gourdon 25L in black (with the two side storage mesh pockets and the elastic strapping). I’ve liked Alpkit since I bought my first head torch from them when their range was just a handful of items. I’ve had 4 of their rucksacks over the years and this is the smallest dry-bag style bag I’ve ever had. Overall it’s a great rucksack - I love that it’s a yawning space that I can just throw things into… but this being the smallest I was a bit concerned that it wouldn’t have enough space. It did. Just. Overall the limitation of size was useful to stop me overpacking but it was at capacity whenever I was in shorts and tshirt and the jeans, jumper and coat were in it along with everything else. It works well when everything inside is grouped in separate bags (I’ve adapted to this way of packing from my time as a volunteer DofE leader).

Wearing for departure travel:

  • Jeans and belt - black John Lewis Anyday

  • Tshirt

  • Trainers - possibly my riskiest packing choice but they worked fine. Just a bog standard pair of Vans Knu Skool. If I was going again I’d probably prefer something more hiking-trainer/trail-running trainer adjacent. 

  • Cap - Vans X Toy Story classic “Off The Wall” patch trucker cap with Buzz Lightyear. It’s lasted me well. I could probably do with a lightweight running cap for all the time it gets abused by being stuffed in bags and pockets but it’s still going strong.

Jeans/shorts pocket:

  • Phone

  • Small documents bag: 

  • Passport and health card

  • Backup bank card

  • Loose change Euros

On the outside pockets of the rucksack:

  • Suncream (factor 50)

  • Sun glasses - in a Milwaukee hard case and clipped on to the bag with a mini Alpkit carabiner

  • Water - I’ve had too many leaks over the years to have the water inside the bag! This time it was in a Stanley Aerolight Transit insulated “leak proof” 350ml mug in black. So far so leak-proof! It wasn’t quite big enough capacity to cover the hot days but it was a trade off - since we were in hostel rooms sometimes filling from sinks doesn’t work with my normal bottle and also I knew we were in cities with plenty of cafes and shops. I think it was a good call.

Inside the rucksack:

  • Helly Hansen Loke anorak - generally at the bottom of the back folded into its own pocket and thankfully only occasionally on me!

  • Panta Parnosas sandals - these things are awesome. They weigh next to nothing so it doesn’t feel any burden taking these as a second pair of shoes for when it’s too hot for trainers. I walked 10 miles on city streets wearing them in one day and they were grand. Can really recommend it.

  • Wallet (always separate from passport and other bank cards) containing backup card, driving licence and €40 Euros - much needed as a couple of places were cash only. The wallet is a Dali Paperwallet made of Tyvek. I’ve had it a decade or more and despite the outer design wearing away it’s held its own like a legend. 

  • Jumper - thin Alpkit hoodie

  • Mesh bag of tech and entertainment:

    • Kindle - first time travelling with one. It’s a second hand 10th Edition Paperwhite. Would I prefer it to be USB-C? Of course. Would I really prefer it to be a totally open source device and have nothing to do with Amazon? Most certainly. Does it do the job? Yes - and no charge needed whilst I was away.

    • Euro USB plug

    • USB-A to USB-C cable for my phone and headphones

    • Belkin power brick - weighty but does a full phone charge (so 2 days power) when needed

    • USB-A to mini-USB cable to charge Kindle or power pack 

    • Spare USB-A to Lightning cable 

    • Notebook and pen - a Moleskin… a rare treat to not be using a budget conference freebie! I still write like I wore a patch on my good eye for handwriting lessons for my entire primary schooling though. Writing with a Bic Round Stic Medium. Classy.

    • Spork - Light My Fire Titanium - I’ve broken too many of the plastic guys over the years. This thing is fab. (Technically Ruth’s is better as it has a long handle and a bottle opener but I’ll use my guy until one of us wears out (it’s me or the spork!))

    • Headphones - Nothing CMF Buds Pro 2 - love these little guys. First time I’ve big travelled without over-ear Sonys and the Buds have proven themselves. 

    • Ear plugs - always on my keyring (even though I left the keys at home) and good for surprise loud moments as my left ear especially has suffered from past loud music exposure. 

    • Pen knife - Leatherman Style CS - always on my keyring and useful for the scissors and the file. 

    • A wee Alplit 13L Atom stuffable bag for carrying our food shopping

  • Wash bag

    • Toothbrush

    • Toothpaste (shared)

    • Deodorant

    • Nail clippers and tweezers

    • Laundry detergent sheets in a ziplock 

    • Lifeventure elastic travel washing line - an absolute lifesaver for hostel bathroom washing - an unexpected hero.

    • Shampoo & conditioner (shared)

    • Hayfever tablets (thankfully not needed)

  • Clothing (split into two bags, clean and dirty):

    • 5 tshirts - grey or white, mostly poly-cotton blend

    • 1 shorts - Decathlon

    • 5 boxers - mix of bamboo and cotton

    • 3 trainer socks, 2 ankle socks

    • Swim shorts - Alpkit again!

Notes

I washed: underwear handwash twice and one hostel washing machine to wash everything I’d worn. 

I took too many: I could have gone one fewer tshirts. Otherwise the clothing was perfect. 

I had to buy: I took a broken European adapter but that was easily replaced in Fnac. 

I forgot: hand sanitiser

I left behind: Nothing - everything that went returned. 

I regretted: Nothing - overall I think the list was dialed in perfectly for the trip. If we’d had worse rain my coat would have been a disaster.

I loved that my gear mostly just worked. To me the important part of being on holiday is being able to relax. Having the right things is part of that. But being someone who generally tries to pack for all eventualities and possible activities, that can be tough! Enjoying the holiday to me is about the people I’m with and the places we go. Nice people, good things. To me, special places need some combination of:

  • Buzz

  • Nature and running water and no traffic fumes

  • Quirkiness - interesting people doing interesting things

  • Good local food and beer 

  • Loos

  • Art of all forms - street art, graffiti, stickering, installations, galleries, maker shops

  • History and architecture

  • Somewhere to sit and watch

  • Activism, diversity, communal spaces and community activity

  • Places that work in different weathers

  • Music

  • Walkability/cycleability and good transport links

  • Cleanliness

My brief highlights are here: 

2026-08-10: A brief 2026 trip gear update

The duration: 21 nights

The travel: train, ferry and, not in the original plan, plane

The environment: European and Scandinavian cities and towns 

The accommodation: 10 hostel-ish places plus overnight ferries and trains

The climate: pretty Scottish!

I washed: 4 laundry washes, no handwashing

I took too many: Nothing - all good

I had to buy: I snapped a USB cable whilst charging from a powerbank in my bag so needed to replace that, also bought swim shorts (see below)

I forgot: Nothing

I left behind: Nothing - everything that went returned. 

I regretted: bag size (see below)

Plans evolved, the gear held up. Here’s an update on what was different from last year’s trip kit:

  • Rucksack: Firstly I took a bag that was marginally bigger than last year but it wasn’t big enough to carry the additional stuff I was carrying AND have space to accommodate my day bag. Given the train-y-ness of it all I suspect there wasn’t really a way around this as the bag still needed to fit in overhead racks but on several occasions I wished I had a single bag big enough to also fit the day sack (which had day essentials like passports, notebook, plugs/cables, power pack, headphones, coat, hat and sun cream) and the food tote bag. The daysack was my tiny AlpKit Atom 10litre sack and boy did it have to work hard some days when my main bag was in left luggage or at a hostel. The goal for next trip is to take less and have about 40% free bag space when I set off.

  • My Panta sandals are still going strong and have once again proved themselves on city streets. (I’m strongly considering a pair of Pantoflas!)

  • Foreign currency - virtually unused. I’d probably still carry some for emergencies but the nature of the world is cashless now.

  • Uniqlo light wool jumper - I think it’s shrunk slightly as the sleeves are a smidge shorter than I like - but it was cosy enough when needed.

  • Casio watch - an extravagance needed for that one ferry crossing early morning start where our alarm needed to go off before I could be sure which timezone my phone would be in.

  • The small Cotopaxi bag for tech - did fine and I was glad tech things were in a slightly more robust bag than just a thin drybag.

  • My notebook, pen and notebook sleeve - not 100% sure on the pen but notebook was a nice way to journal as ever.

  • Paramo Fuera Windproof Smock coat - a step up from last year - its waterproofness was tested and it was fine. 

  • BEG Buff - took, didn’t use, always good to have on hand.

  • Cap  - KAVU Drift Creek Cap in black - favourite cap ever.

  • I took one more shirt/tshirt than last year with a long-sleeved £4-off-Vinted shirt - wore it loads, did the job.

  • Error on the shorts - took my 2021 Finisterre Walker Hybrid Shorts that I thought would be fine for wearing in saunas, pools, and out and about BUT they dried much more slowly than anticipated so I needed to buy a €4 pair of swim shorts too to wear in saunas. 

  • Trainers - Adidas Runfalcon 5 Tr running shoes - way better than last year’s Vans but honestly so disappointed that the newer iterations of the Runfalcon are so much of a lower quality product than the originals.

  • Trousers - Passenger Kimmer Ripstop cotton trousers in “Dusty Olive” - the first pair of trousers I’ve ever needed to add a turn-up to (so that’s a turn-up for the books!) but that was easy sewing. Pockets could have been about 20% deeper, other than that great trousers.

  • My Pixel 8A is an overheater whenever Bluetooth is on. Google have kindly confirmed that there’s an issue by telling me to turn on extreme battery saver whenever it start overheating rather than, you know, fixing the issue.

  • Nothing CMF Buds Pro 2 headphones - I had such a farce of a customer support experience but they did eventually admit that my old pair had broken within warranty and sent me a replacement. I do love these headphones!

  • Plug converters and power packs - how long until every plug is just USB-C and I don’t need to travel with the USB charging block of a converter? How long until my phone can have 3 days of charge and I don’t need to travel with the Belkin BRICK powerpack?

  • We didn’t take towels - we rented towels at a couple of saunas, everywhere else provided apart from 1 hostel where we had to pay. If there’s space I think taking a towel would be wise still for those cheeky dips. 

  • Titanium sporks - much used, travel essential.