After two months in Europe, we’re finally home in the U.S. — with new Spain digital nomad visas in hand! 🤩 It was certainly a very busy two months. We spent all of August in Sevilla, sweating away the 112F/44C degree days, as we worked on our visas and tried to enjoy the city as best we could. And September was a whirlwind as we traveled to five different countries and I achieved my goal of visiting my 30th country while I’m 30 years old! On top of that, we took engagement photos in Porto, Portugal, at the end of our trip.
And we did it all while only traveling with our backpacks.
Keep reading to learn my secrets for packing for long trips in just a backpack + get my packing list for this trip.
Why Would You Want to Pack Only a Backpack for Long Trips?
I remember when packing for two weeks in a backpack was a novel concept to me. Now, after 6-7 years of doing it regularly, I’ve got it down to a science. But for this two-month trip, there were a lot of reasons why checking a bag wouldn’t make sense. Which meant this was going to be a new challenge. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I could do it.
The only other time I had gone on a two-month trip was when we spent January-March in Quito last year, and I had brought a large checked bag with me. Since we were mainly staying in Quito, with the exception of a week-long trip to the Galapagos Islands and a long weekend in Medellín, Colombia, it was easy to leave the large bag in Quito while we went elsewhere.
This trip was much different, logistically. We weren’t staying in the same place for the whole two months. But we also needed to pack for six different countries, prepare for the diverse climates and changing weather, and have the right clothing for everything — from going to the gym a few times a week, to getting our engagement photos taken. A checked bag would have been nice in that regard.
But considering that we flew between the U.S. and Spain with LEVEL Airlines — an airline where you don’t even get food on a 9-hour flight unless you pay for it separately — imagine the cost of checking a bag each way. (lol.) Now imagine the cost of checking a bag with RyanAir, the king of high fees and poor service, on every flight we took within Europe: Barcelona to Sevilla, Madrid to Zagreb, Venice to Berlin, Berlin to Porto, and Porto to Barcelona. And imagine waiting in line at the ticket counters, hours before early morning flights, to check your bag? Noooo thank you.
Also, if you’ve ever traveled around Europe, you know that rolling suitcases are hella annoying on the old cobblestone streets, especially super early or super late at night. And they can downright impossible to navigate with at times, which is why we always choose backpacks when we can.
So, here’s how we did it.
1. Read “How To Pack for 2 Weeks in a Backpack”
All the concepts in my “How to Pack for 2 Weeks in a Backpack” post still apply, and those are the basics you still need to follow when packing for longer trips.
2. Get Ready to Wear the Same Things Over & Over Again
If you’re taking a trip that is so long that you’re reading this post, I hope you are traveling by yourself, with a partner, or with a really close friend. Meaning that you don’t feel the need to impress them with all your outfits. You need to be ready to wear the same things over… and over… and over again.
This is even more true if you’re somewhere extremely hot, like Spain in August, or Thailand in November. At that point, you’re probably going to be more concerned with staying cool than what you look like. Comfort > everything.
But also, if you’re on a longer trip, you may not feel as pressured to take the perfect photos and wear a different outfit every day. You can live life a little bit instead of being in vacation mode the entire time, which gives you a chance to relax. By the time we left Sevilla, there were several items of clothing I hadn’t even touched yet. I wore makeup exactly one (1) time during the whole month.
We also found a gym nearby in Sevilla, and we went about three times a week. I brought two workout tops and two pairs of leggings, and I wore one or the other every time we went. Even though we saw the same people there most days, I didn’t care if they realized I was an outfit repeater. 😂
3. Stay in Places Where You Can Do Laundry
Being able to wash your clothes is an essential part of being able to re-wear the same things over and over again, right? Make it easier on yourself by staying in places where you can do laundry.
Most of the time, Airbnbs or VRBOs will be more likely to have an in-unit washer than hotels, and it’s probably more likely that you’re staying in an Airbnb or VRBO if you’re spending the bulk of your time in one place. Our place in Sevilla did have a washer — but not a dryer, as dryers aren’t very typical in Spain.
For the month we spent on the move, we stayed in a combo of Airbnbs/VRBOs and hotels. While not every place we stayed had a washing machine, we only ever had to go a week at most without doing laundry. We expected we would have to depend on laundromats at some point, but in the end it wasn’t necessary. On the plus side, even if we’d had to go to a laundromat, it’s not a big deal when you don’t have too many different items of clothing.
4. Get Creative With Multi-Purpose Clothing
I wanted to bring my cute Michael Kors black jacket that is perfect for a central European autumn. But it for sure was going to be dead weight in my bag through a southern Spanish August. Instead, I brought my Eddie Bauer rain coat and reasoned that it served two purposes: keeping me dry if it rained, and keeping me warm(er) if I needed a jacket.
The same went for one of my workout tops I brought. It’s just a simple black athletic tank, so not only could I wear it to the gym, but it could also be paired with shorts or jeans for an everyday look.
And the simple black ballet dress I brought was casual enough for a hot summer day in Sevilla, classy enough to wear to a museum in Berlin, and cute enough that I was considering it for a second outfit for engagement photos in Porto.
5. Space Bags Can Help
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Some people swear by packing cubes, but I don’t think they’re as effective in a backpack as they are in a suitcase. For most trips, the extent of my organization is compartmentalizing all my various items into little bags that help me easily find what I’m looking for: shower stuff, hair accessories, medicines, etc.
But for this particular trip, I sensed that I was going to need some additional help to squeeze everything into my backpack. So I called upon the power of space bags, which I had never used before. When I ordered them from Amazon, I made sure that I got the kind with a hand pump, so I could deflate them manually anytime, anywhere. (Peep the blue tube in the side pocket in the photo at the top of this article.)
The space bags definitely helped me pack as much as I did, though there are two things to keep in mind. First, you can’t space-bag everything, because once you remove all the air, your stuff becomes very stiff and inflexible. In order to make the most of your space, you’ll need to pack some things normally to fill all the space available. Second, being able to pack more makes your bag a lot denser and a lot heavier — so make sure you have a backpack that gives you good support!
6. Remember You Can Buy Things
Wherever you’re going, keep in mind that it’s just another city/country, not another planet. They will have stores there. You can buy things. There’s no need to pack things you can buy when you’re at your destination.
There are probably going to be so many things you need at certain stages of your trip where it’s easier to just buy and use them as needed, rather than trying to plan for every scenario. For example, we needed an extra blanket during our month in Sevilla because I wasn’t sleeping well under just a sheet. So we bought one for €15 at Aldi, used it the whole month, and then left it behind for the next guests.
The same with the ice cube trays for the freezer, the towels we bought for going to the gym (using gym towels was the etiquette there), the tupperware for our leftovers, and a few other things. It would have been so inconvenient to bring all of those things with us from the U.S. and then haul them around with us for the rest of our trip.
“Remember you can buy things” also means something else… when you’re packing, don’t forget to leave a bit of space in your bag for anything you want to buy and bring home with you. 🙂 Luckily, the extra space bags I brought came in handy when Matt decided to go on a sweater shopping spree at Springfield during our last week in Europe.
My Packing List (Summer)
(Note: This list includes what I bring in my small everyday backpack, that I wear in front of my body while traveling and counts as a personal item on a plane, as well as my larger backpack.)
Clothing
- 2 cute tops
- 2 workout tops (one can be everyday top)
- 1 casual t-shirt
- 1 printed t-shirt
- 1 pair of jean shorts
- 1 pair of jeans
- 1 jumpsuit
- 1 everyday dress
- 1 nice dress (engagement photos)
- 1 pair of capri leggings
- 1 pair of long leggings
- 1 light cardigan
- 1 fleece zip-up hoodie
- 1 raincoat
- 2 sports bras
- 1 regular bra
- 12 pairs of underwear
- 1 pair of pajamas
- 4 pairs of socks
- 1 pair of sandals
- 1 pair of nice sneakers
- 1 pair of athletic sneakers
Electronics
- Laptop
- Nintendo Switch
- Kindle
- Portable charger
- Many outlet converters
- Bose headphones
- Off-brand AirPods
- Dual-voltage hairdryer and foldable diffuser
Personal care
- Contact lenses and travel contact solution
- Glasses and case
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- 3 TMJ appliances (🙃)
- Shampoo and conditioner bars
- 4 travel-sized bottles of hair styling products
- 3 travel-sized skin care products
- 3 washcloths
- Turbie twist microfiber hair towel
- Small makeup bag
- Small jewelry case
- Makeup remover wipes
- Silk pillow case
- Allergy pills, ibuprofen, and prescriptions
Miscellaneous
- Foldable travel umbrella
- Daily planner and pencil pouch
- Water bottle
I hope this helps you pack in just a backpack for your next long trip! Let me know what questions or comments you have below.
-Cathy
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