Packing Guide & Travel Packing List for Europe in Fall/Winter
If you’re wondering how to pack for Europe, here are some helpful tips for choosing what to bring (even for a month or longer) plus a packing list for Europe in Fall and Winter.
Since becoming digital nomads, we’ve been fortunate to make several visits to Europe that were a month-long or more. For example, we were living in Tuscany for a month (October) and then on the Dalmatian coast of Croatia in winter (November/early December).
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Since the “shoulder season” of Fall and early Winter is one of the best times to visit Western and Southern Europe, we thought we’d share our tips, strategies, and photos from packing for Italy in October.
We hope this guide helps you plan and prepare!
This post will cover:
– Strategies for how to pack for long-term travel in cold weather
– What to pack for a month in Europe (or more)
– Our Fall/Winter travel packing list for Italy and Croatia as an example
– Travel clothes recommendations for men and women
Updated: 2023. Originally published: November 2019.
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How to pack for a month in Europe
In a way, how you pack for a month in Europe should actually be very similar to packing for a week trip. (Same for what to pack for a 2 month trip or more.)
You should have access to laundry one way or another, and you can always purchase supplies in country.
When packing for our two month trip, we typically start setting aside the things we want to bring a week in advance. In this case, we took over a guest bedroom for this purpose.
Why do this? We’ve found that giving ourselves several days with a designated place to set items aside helps ensure we don’t forget something important. We can add to the pile whenever something occurs to us.
We evaluated our travel bag options as described in our post on choosing the right luggage for a trip. We opted to bring one Osprey backpack and one sturdy, rolling duffle along with a laptop backpack each.
If you’ll be moving around more frequently and taking lots of trains or public transit, I highly recommend sticking with travel backpacks for easier mobility. Dragging rolling bags across cobblestones in Europe is not easy!
Further reading:
How to choose the best travel bag for your next trip
Travel checklist for an international trip
Review of the Osprey Farpoint 55 Backpack
A day before our departure, we do the actual packing.
Our Eagle Creek packing cubes are invaluable for keeping our clothes organized in our bags. There often isn’t adequate storage in places we stay long-term, so packing cubes act as make-shift shelves upon arrival.
Packing a carry on can be tricky. You need to avoid large amounts of liquids and sharp objects, as well as keep electronics easily accessible for flight security checks.
I have learned to always pack a change of clothes in the carry on. I pick the most compact of my clothing to minimize space. This is an important practice in case something happens to your luggage en route.
My carry on, pictured above, is the Clark & Mayfield cork laptop backpack I took on a test run for this trip.
What to pack for a month in Europe
Speaking of something happening to your checked baggage, our bags were delayed when we arrived in Italy. My backpack didn’t get delivered to us for 9 whole days.
(Since then we started using AirTags to track our luggage so at least we know where they are.)
There were definitely specific items I was missing more than others–things I couldn’t easily replace from the nearest H&M. So I can say I’m even more acutely aware of the essentials and necessities for a month-long trip like this!
Now that we’ve covered some strategies for how to pack, it’s time to dig into exactly what to pack for a month in Europe.
Up next is our combined Italy packing list and Croatia packing list.
Travel Clothes for Europe in Fall
Tuscany in the Fall typically means temperatures from the high 40’s to 70’s Fahrenheit, with some chances of rain. Lightweight layers are ideal when packing for a month in Europe with this climate.
However, we were also staying in Croatia through the first week of December. On the Dalmatian Coast, the weather stays fairly mild. However, we planned some day trips inland where there was a chance of snow.
Packing for Europe in winter doesn’t necessarily mean you need big bulky jackets and snow pants, unless you’re going skiing or visiting places further North.
Our winter travel clothes for Europe were, again, all about the layers and quality, water-resistant materials.
Women’s Europe Packing List for Fall & Winter
* Mountain Hardwear rain jacket – A thin, lightweight waterproof jacket with hood that protects from rain and wind as an outer shell over everything else – Shop Mountain Hardwear rain jackets here
* Banana Republic jacket – A medium weight, more stylish jacket in a neutral color
* Mountain Hardwear down jacket – Colorful warm jacket with a hood, yet packs up really small – Shop hooded down jackets here
* Columbia down vest – Compact layer perfect for keeping the core body warm – Shop down vests here
* Black hoodie – Medium-weight, high tech fabric hoodie; wear for exercise or use as a mid-layer; folds up small in a carry on
* PrAna overshirt and sweater – Stylish and functional long-sleeve tops that layer under or over other items – Shop long sleeve prAna tops here
* 6 shirts/sweaters – Tops that can mix and match
* Sweater dress – Light-weight, to wear over leggings or skinny jeans
* Black leggings – Can double as a second layer under pants when it’s cold
* Duer stretch jeans and a pair of skinny jeans – Quality, functional stretch jeans for every-day wear – Shop Duer jeans here
* Work out pants – For work outs, lounging around, or pajamas
* 4 work out shorts – For our daily exercise or pajamas
* 5 sports bras – For our daily work outs or hikes
* 4 work out shirts – For our daily work outs or hikes
* 2 headbands – For holding hair back during working outs or windy days
* 9 Exofficio underwear – Super lightweight, quick-drying underwear (very useful when my bag was delayed and I had to rotate between the two pairs I had with me) – Shop Exofficio underwear here
* 8 socks
* 2 bras
* Columbia waterproof running shoes – For daily walks around town, exercising, and hikes; waterproof yet breathable – Shop Columbia waterproof running shoes here
* Merino wool runners – Warm, light-weight, water resistant shoes for “dressing up” an outfit
* Columbia slippers – A space splurge but worth the extra comfort since we’d be spending a lot of time working from “home” – Shop Columbia slippers for women here
* Large scarf – A large, medium-weight scarf can have multiple uses; use as a warm and stylish accessory or fold it up for extra back support on the plane
Men’s Europe Packing List for Fall & Winter
* Columbia OutDry rain jacket – A lightweight, waterproof jacket with hood that can be an outer shell over everything else. Bonus: it’s reversible with a black windbreaker inside – Shop Columbia Outdry rain jackets here
* Columbia Hoodie – A medium weight, hoodie with wind blocking panels around the chest area – Shop hooded travel jackets for men here
* REI down jacket – Compresses into a small travel sack. Great for warmth, not so great against rain without an outer shell. – Shop packable down jackets here
* 6 shirts/sweaters – Tops that can mix and match; mostly high tech fabrics to help wick sweat away
* Duer and Kuhl travel pants – Amazing quality, fit, and stretch. Stylish enough for business casual, but athletic enough to run in. — Shop men’s Duer pants here – Shop Kuhl pants here
* 1 REI running shirt – For colder runs – Shop long sleeve quick-dry shirts here
* 2 work out shorts – For running and one I can use for swimming if needed
* 4 work out shirts – Moisture wicking fabrics for our daily work outs or hikes
* 9 Exofficio boxers – Super lightweight, quick-drying underwear – Shop men’s Exofficio underwear here
* 8 pairs of socks – I prefer Smartwool for my everyday/warm pairs, and Injinji toe socks for anything athletic.
* Montrail waterproof running shoes – For daily walks around town, exercising, and hikes; waterproof yet breathable – Shop men’s waterproof shoes here
Miscellaneous Essentials and Extras for 2+ Months in Europe
* Digital camera and gimbol – The Sony RX1000 camera and our newest addition, a Zhiyun gimbal, for stabilizing video
* Medicine – A few pills for colds, upset stomach, and allergies just in case, plus a travel bottle of Advil
* Toiletries bag – Nail kit (scissors, file, tweezers), my favorite all-natural deodorant, razor, blush, powder make up with SPF, mascara, lipstick, hair brush, tooth brush, tooth paste. See more details in my toiletries packing list post.
* Shampoo and soap – A small refillable bottle of our favorite to hold us over until we can purchase from a local store
* Work supplies – Laptops and our portable ergonomic office set up, power strip, converters, power bank for batteries, external hard drive. See more in our tech essentials post.
* Back up wifi – TEP Wireless pocket internet just in case wifi is bad (now we’re more likely to use eSIMs for travel)
* 3 Notebooks, planner, journal, pen set – For work as well as hobbies
* Softball – For trigger-point massage (here’s an example)
* Hair trimmer – Wireless buzzer by Surker for cutting Jedd’s hair – Shop the Surker hair clipper here
* Flipbelt – Our alternative for a hidden travel wallet – Shop Flipbelt here
Packing list for Europe in Winter
I want to highlight the items that would be specific to a winter packing list for Europe.
First, quality waterproof or water resistant items are key. We both brought thin rain jackets that can layer over sweaters and our puffy coats.
Further reading: Best Light-weight Jackets for Travel
We both wore waterproof Columbia running shoes for all wet weather activities as well as long walking days and work outs. For less demanding occasions, we both chose light-weight, water resistant wool runners.
Further reading: Best Walking Shoes for Europe
Below are examples of key pieces I can layer.
When it’s really cold, my first layer would be leggings and a long-sleeve high-tech shirt. On top of that, I’d wear jeans and a sweater. Then the black Columbia vest could go on top, followed by the puffy hooded jacket. And for a final layer of rain and wind protection, the hooded Mountain Hardwear rain jacket above.
A final note for winter packing: I did pick up a cute pair of gloves while in Europe. I don’t normally wear gloves but they were great when we did a couple bike rides.
As you can see from our trip pictures below, the weather was diverse this Fall in Italy and Croatia.
We hope our Europe packing list and tips have been helpful to you. Let us know if you have any questions or suggestions for packing for a month in Europe, or packing for cold weather travel.
You might also like these travel gear posts:
– Long Term Travel Essentials: Clothing Recommendations
– Packing Hacks of Frequent Travelers
– 12 Items We Take With Us on Every Trip
– Our Favorite Alternatives to Travel Wallets
– Digital Nomad Tech Gear Essentials
– Travel Wifi Device Review
– Osprey Farpoint 55 Travel Backpack Review
– Minimalist Travel Toiletries List for Women
– Surprisingly Useful Travel Gift Ideas
– Best Light-Weight Travel Jackets for Men and Women
– My Portable Ergonomic Workstation Set Up for Digital Nomads
– Best All-Weather Travel Shoes for Walking
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