This is everything I packed as a minimalist during a 10 day Alps road trip in May.

For the longest time, I never expected that I would go to Europe. I was always someone who studied Asia and the Middle East, so when I was thinking about all of the places I would go in the world, it never really included Europe. But then, in 2025, things changed.

Back at the beginning of 2024, I won a Fulbright to India. I was so overjoyed at the prospect of writing poems for a year while abroad, but after a nightmare situation involving my visa being denied, I lost one of the most “prestigious” scholarships in the world. It was a time where I was pretty depressed, as I put off getting a job in favor of doomed optimism.

To make myself feel better, I started looking at tours and decided to go abroad. The price was no object for me because the money I was putting away for Bhutan and Nepal trips during my India year would now go into this trip, and I ended up booking a bus/road trip with EF Ultimate Break through the Alps. Our destinations were Italy (Venice), Austria (Innsbruck and Salzburg), Germany (Munich and Neuschwanstein), and Switzerland (Lucerne and Engelberg).

I’ve always been quite the minimalist when it comes to travel. Last time I went to South Korea for a two month study abroad in the summer I only ended up bringing one suitcase with me because I knew I didn’t really want to go shopping, and I saw how all of my cohort members were bringing home two or three suitcases in the end while I had one.

So for this trip, I knew I wanted to pack quite minimal as well. One of the keys is knowing that you can rewear some of your clothes if they’re not dirty or covered in sweat, as well as collecting basics that can all mix and match together.

This has been a key part of my wardrobe to begin with, so this simplifies my packing process by a lot. I wasn’t the lightest packer on this trip though, as I had my 40L Patagonia Black Hole bag and a small backpack for the flight. Some other people were completely one bagging it the entire time.

Let’s get into what I packed! I think I would follow this list again for something similar.

Layers and longer pants are your best friend for the Alps area in May.

The warmest area we were in was the one we started in: Venice. Venice was typical weather for what I expected as someone from the Mid-Atlantic United States. I didn’t pack shorts at all, but if I had done so, I think I could have worn them in Venice and probably only Venice and Salzburg.

For clothes, I packed four trousers that were black, white, and grey. These were trousers I wear in my everyday life, and almost all of my tops go with them. If I had to repack for this trip, I might have thrown a thermal legging to put on underneath the pants for when we went into the mountains in Switzerland.

As for my shirts, I ended up bringing thrree short sleeve shirts that rolled up nicely, one thin long sleeve shirt that I was using at night and as an extra layer when out of the hostel, a UNIQLO dress with pockets, and a thermal turtleneck that I only ended up using while I was in the Swiss mountains. We went up Mt. Titlis when in Switzerland, and while I wished I had some mittens or gloves, I felt like that it was necessary to pack and you could grab some in the town if you really needed them.

My all-star for this trip was my Baggu crescent bag. I have the medium one, so I hooked my wallet up into the inner pouches so no pickpockets could get to it, and then packed in my camera, a reusable water bottle, the hostel keys, and a portable power bank.

Shoes-wise, I brought a pair of running sneakers and my hiking Teva sandals. I pretty much only wore the Tevas until we got to Switzerland, which was too cold to wear sandals out and about.

For jackets, I brought a small compact rain jacket (which I never used) and a bulkier varsity jacket with insulation I picked up from my study abroad university in Korea. I only used the varsity jacket, and I pretty much used it everywhere when I was in the main Alps area, as that was where it was colder.

The name of the game for this trip was layers though. While the days were pleasant and nice everywhere we went (minus that Swiss mountain), the nights got quite chilly. I noticed it in Salzburg, Munich, and Switzerland specifically, but the only time I was really cold with my regular attire was Switzerland.

Something to note about my clothes as well: a lot of them roll up nicely and don’t wrinkle, making it really easy to make them compact and fit within what I brought. I brought a single pajama set that was long sleeves and a pant, and they were easily rolled up, too.

Most basic toiletries you can find easily around Western Europe.

For toiletries, I brought all of the basics with me: body wash that was also shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, a small travel size perfume, contact solution, a glasses case, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and a fabric deodorizer in case some of my attire starts getting a little funky.

I’m sure there’s something small I’m forgetting about when writing this, like floss or something, but that was the core group of toiletries outside of a hairbrush. Most of the hostels we were in did not have body wash or shampoo, so I’m glad I did not rely on them make sure I was clean and fresh throughout this trip.

The hostels we stayed at all provided towels, or we paid for them to be included. I personally did not want to carry around a towel, but I did bring a Korean towel with me in my Patagonia bag. For those who don’t know: Koreans don’t use full size towels like Westerners; instead, I had an old small square towel from there that’s quite compact.

Some other small things I brought that saved my life were small industrial earplugs, a silk eye mask I got for free at an Off-Broadway show, a handheld fan I received in Korea, and hand sanitizer. A lot of my group ended up getting sick throughout our travels, so I recommend bringing wipes and hand sanitizer if you want to be clean.

I also started keeping napkins on me because some bathrooms in tourist areas would not have toilet paper because of the large volume of people coming and going. This ended up saving me a few times if we’re going to be honest.

Don’t forget your electronics and something to entertain yourself for when there’s no wifi or service.

As always, if you’re not from this region of Europe, you’re probably going to need a power adapter for all of your electronics. I happened to forget my universal adapter at home before I headed abroad, and discovered my home airport had nothing to offer me.

Thankfully, I found a universal adaptor for Europe in the London airport during my layover, but it actually did not work in older buildings because of how bulky it was. It still was an important fifteen pounds I spent at least.

I didn’t bring an iPad or computer on this trip because I knew I would start doing work, but I did bring my small 10-year-old Kindle, its charger, and a book I never finished because I was so tired and busy. I also brought my personal over ear headphones because the ones they give you on flights hurt my ears. They’re never the right size for me.

Some other miscellaneous items that I brought with me included some protein bars for when I didn’t want to spend money, bagged nuts, teas for cold water, and my camera equipment. I don’t bring much equipment beyond a charger, the power bank, and four batteries for my camera, and that works perfectly well for my setup.

And that was everything I brought besides medications (pills, Advil, and melatonin)! I was really happy with how I packed, and I felt like everything except maybe the food was used to its maximum potential.

I wouldn’t have brought the food items if I knew our situation with the hostels, as I was able to fill up our bottles and get tea, or snacks to put in a Ziploc, from our free breakfasts.

I also had enough room to buy some souvenirs here and there. I only buy pins and postcards for myself, but I did load up on chocolate in Switzerland to take back for my family and friends.

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