Americans Make One Huge Packing Mistake When Traveling To Europe And It Drives Locals Up The Wall

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Picture this: You have just landed at the European destination that best suits your interests. You deboard the plane, collect your luggage, and start rolling your way through the airport. You approach an intimidating flight of stairs. With no sign of an escalator, you muster the strength to drag your suitcase up to the top. Somehow, you manage to pull it off without injuring yourself. Breathless, you continue on, stepping outside with your roller bag in tow. The wheels grind loudly on the cobblestone streets. Locals begin to stare. You wonder if they're silently judging you — but why?

Chances are, it's not just because you're a tourist. But rather, you've made one huge mistake that tourists traveling to Europe often make without realizing it: You didn't pack light. Oversized roller bags may be a common sight in American airports, but in Europe, they stick out like sore thumbs. According to a recent Travel + Leisure article, packing an oversized bag is the biggest mistake that American tourists make when traveling to Europe.

Just in case you're wondering how common this American packing error is, TikTok is littered with the receipts. One user posts a video with the caption, "The most embarrassing thing is walking through Europe as an American with a giant suitcase through the cobblestone roads while everyone stares at you." Another user posted a similar video of herself dragging her roller bag noisily across a cobblestone path, describing it as the "American traveling to Europe walk of shame." 

It's not just the cobblestone that's a drag. Other self-deprecating TikTok videos, like this one, show American tourists struggling to drag their large suitcases up flights of stairs in Europe. While some commenters on the video are in support of overpacking and ignoring the judgment of European locals, others are in favor of packing light by only bringing a carry-on or backpack on a Euro trip. "Carry on ONLY for Europe, babes," writes one user, while another comment reads, "I don't care if I look like a tourist, because I am one."

From a European's perspective, TikTok user @GreeceTravelSecrets stresses that "large suitcases are a big mistake," citing Greece as a particularly difficult challenge due to its ferries, gangplanks, and exceptionally steep stairs throughout the villages. Her advice: Leave the big suitcases at home.

So, if you leave the big suitcases at home and you're planning a week-long vacation to Europe, you may be wondering how to pack everything into one carry-on bag. Being an expert on the matter, Rick Steves has plenty of tips for traveling light, including bringing one practical pair of shoes. He urges travelers to prioritize comfort over fashion, especially since European trips often include a good amount of walking on cobblestone streets. Another tip Steves offers for packing a suitcase as efficiently as possible is to bring a modest amount of clothing and plan to do laundry every few days while traveling. That way, you can still have a fresh set of clothes each day without packing half your closet.

If you're worried about wearing the same thing multiple times on your trip, travel blogger Ketti Wilhelm of Tilted Map assures that it's okay to wear the same thing twice. If you're still worried about it, Wilhelm suggests packing wardrobe items that you can mix and match in order to avoid repeat outfits.

Packing cubes are another great solution for light, organized packing. Amazon sells a variety of lightweight mesh packing cubes for space-saving. Meanwhile, compression packing cubes (like this one from Tortuga) offer a compressible and expandable version, so that you can pack more clothes with less hassle. While you may not be able to completely avoid looking like a tourist in Europe, at least you can avoid packing like one.