How to Pack Light for 2 Weeks – Extreme Minimalist Travel – Guys Guide

Who loves extreme minimalist travel? Who wants to know what to pack for a 2 week trip to Europe (or anywhere, really)? We do! We want to learn how to pack light for 2 weeks around the world! Whether you are going to Africa or Asia, the West Coast or East Coast, we have your packing list for Europe, Australia, and everywhere in between.

Packing for your trip abroad can be a harrowing experience for some people. You may be pulling your hair out as you imagine all of the different scenarios that may come about, just knowing (KNOWING!) that there is something you’re not thinking of.

You may be thinking ‘something is going to ruin my trip because I didn’t bring everything I need‘. Well my friend, fear not! We put together the OFFICIAL packing list that tells you how to pack light for 2 weeks in Europe.

Now, this blog is about Europe, but can easily be applied to any 2 week trip. And what’s even better is that we are using minimalist packing techniques. We will be fitting everything you need for 2 weeks into a backpack!

Yes, you heard us right. Everything that you will need for exploring an entirely new place for 2 weeks will be fitting into a backpack. A backpack that will fit in the carry on overhead compartments on most planes.

We know this works. Whether we are talking about 3 week trips in Asia, 2 week trips in Europe, or even living in a van for a year while traveling throughout the United States… We know how to pack minimally and bring along what we need, and only what we need, because we’ve done it.

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Official Packing List – Clothes

What comes to mind when you think ‘travel essentials for men’? Well, right away: clothes. Men need to wear clothes in public. Matter of fact, except for a few beaches around the world, everybody does.

Let’s talk about what clothes will fall into your packing list for Europe, Asia, or wherever you end up going. Here is how we will structure this list:

• Item – How Many – Comments

Sound good? Let’s get packing!

• T Shirts – 5 – Grab a variety, but make sure you balance comfort with fashion
• Long Sleeve T Shirt – 2 – Look good, feel good!
• Tank Top – 2 – Beach days can get HOT, be prepared
• Fleece – 1 – Mountain hikes can get COLD, be prepared
• Jacket – 1 – Rain proof ideally, and will be a good shell over your fleece on a cold day
• Vest – 1 – Choose a light one that rolls up and packs easily
• Jeans/Pants – 2 – Remember, comfort is key!
• Shorts – 2 – For walking around the city
• Swim Suit – 3 – You can’t wear the same swim suit to the same beach twice in a row!
• Underwear – 7 – Change your undies every day, please, PLEASE
• Socks – 7 – And your socks too
• Tennis Shoes – 1 – Wear these on the flight, make sure you’re comfortable walking around for a full day in them
• Sandals – 1 – Pack these in your bag, absolutely necessary for days on the beach

Now, you’ll notice we only backed 7 sets of underwear and socks. We always find it very helpful to plan a place to stay that has a washer/dryer in it. Most Airbnbs and some hotels have a washer and dryer for you to do some laundry. Of course, this doesn’t have to be everywhere you stay, just one night each week or so.

That’s it for clothes! Seriously, that wasn’t so hard, was it? But you’re going to need more than clothes on this trip.

Official Packing List – Electronics & More

If you’re like us, you are going to want to capture all of the great moments on your trip and preserve those for a lifetime. Also, trans-ocean flights can be LONG, better make sure you have some entertainment along.

• Toiletries Bag – 1 – I brought a toothbrush/toothpaste, mouthwash, medication, deodorant, sunscreen – all travel size
• GoPro – 1 – GoPro is a necessity due to its waterproof case, we use it for any adventures where our things might get wet – paddle boarding, snorkeling, swimming, you get the picture
• GoPro Accessories – 1 – You can’t just bring the GoPro, you need to mount it! We have a floating handle, a chest mount, and a head mount to capture the moments
• Drone – 1 – We LOVE our DJI Drone. We have the smallest one DJI sells, so it fits extremely easily into any backpack. That makes it good for packing for your trip, and for packing for day-to-day excursions. Also, this baby gets us footage we would NEVER be able to get without it
• Kindle – 1 – I choose reading for entertainment. If you wanted to bring an iPad with some movies instead, or just download some podcasts on your phone, be my guest! If reading is your thing, I recommend a kindle, I read 3 books on the trip and those books would take up precious packing space!
• Packable Day Backpack – 1 – This might seem counterintuitive, packing a backpack inside another backpack? We NEED to bring things on day-to-day excursion, and don’t want to be lugging around our big bags, so we pack a very small bag that is perfect for fitting excursion items (drone, GoPro, etc)
• Travel Pillow – 1 – ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. I do not vibe with the free airplane pillows, and in many situations (layover, delay, etc) you will not even have that pillow as an option. If I were you, I’d splurge and get the most comfortable one you can find.There are many to choose from, find what’s right for you.
• Passport – 1 – If you are going out of the country at any point during your trip, you had BETTER NOT forget your passport! You do not want to be stuck at customs for any time longer than absolutely necessary.

Make Your Bag Yours

Now, some of this may seem excessive and unnecessary for your trip, and that is beautiful! Why? Because you can make this list your own if you would like to!

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If you don’t want to bring a GoPro and accessories, but want to bring your laptop instead, then do it! We were able to pack ALL OF THESE THINGS in 1 bag that we carried on to all of the flights on a 2 week trip around Europe. Even if you make some slight changes, you should still be able to pack everything along as well.

Now, you do need a pretty awesome bag to be able to fit all of this potpourri of items and still squeeze into the overhead bin. You are going to want a quality bag that you can re-use on future trips. But you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on it. Here is the one we chose for our extreme minimalist travel adventure.

The Bag

Our favorite large travel backpack is this Osprey 65 Duffel. We fit SO MUCH in there, the thing just keeps on going and just won’t quit! The main area is HUGE, so you can be super flexible about what you’re packing.

This will work for everything from a Caribbean beach vacation to a Colorado ski trip, and everything in between. It absolutely will work for everything on your 2 week packing list for Europe.

Packing the Bag

Okay, now you know everything you are bringing on your 2 week adventure. You even have your bag that you will pack everything in! We have one more thing to cover: how to pack the bag.

Let’s go over some of our tips on the best way to pack your bag to maximize the amount of items you’ll be able to fit:

• Roll Your Clothes – Rolling our clothes helps compress the air out of them, and you’ll be able to fit more than you would if you just folded them.
• Pack Hard Items First – If you save a camera or your Birkenstocks for last, you’ll have a tough time jamming them into the bag. Start with the hard items and pack the soft stuff around them.
• Pack Your Least Necessary Items Last – If you run out of space while packing, it will be good if the items left unpacked are the ones you are okay leaving behind. Then you won’t have to unpack and repack your entire bag.

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For a whole post on our secret packing hacks, which will help you with your packing list for Europe, or really any extreme minimalist travel you’ll be doing, check out this post!

Thank you SO much for reading our post! We hope you learned what to pack for a 2 week trip to Europe, and maybe a thing or two about travel essentials for men in general. Have any questions that you want to ask us? Please reach out in the comments or on the About Us page!

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