how to pack for heat AND rain

I always bring a 2nd pair of shoes - a pair of sandals that can handle getting soaked. Also ditto on the pants - something that can be worn while getting (possibly) soaked, won't look nasty if wet/dirty, and will dry in your lifetime LOL! Don't forget to plan ahead for any daybags you might be carrying - can you protect them with an umbrella, or will they fit under any jacket you bring? Depending on your planned activities, you might get by with just an umbrella. If the weather takes a really bad turn for the worse, maybe that's a museum day...or a cafe/catch up on your journal/people watch day...

We always have a light weight, water proof wind breaker in addition to the umbrella. But if a lot of rain, having waterproof shoes is equally important. Also you have no guarantee of heat. We have been both in France and Italy in June when it was very chilly and a jacket was needed.

If you do bring rain gear, I would make it the lightweight BREATHABLE waterproof variety. Waterproof jackets that are not breathable can turn into portable saunas in warm weather. (Breathable ones can get pretty hot, too, but are not so bad.) Either can double as a wind-blocking "shell" layer for cooler days.

Folks, thanks. Sounds like I need to do some quick shopping. Any suggestions of brands? What I've seen at outdoors stores is too warm for summer (and too expensive). I'll be in southwest France (Lourdes), Milan, Rome, Florence, and the mountains of Tuscany... and I need to keep my luggage really light (too many train transfers). Thanks!

I got and used a lightweight Eddie Bauer rain jacket,, it packs up small, but helped keep me dry, and then when cold I layered a lightweight fleece under neath it .I always go to Europe in summer and I always bring it, it can be cold and rainy any time in Paris, I have been roasting hot in june and cold in August,, so yes, you have to pack for both eventuallities.

My daughter and I experienced many temperature swings last summer - from 114 degrees in Greece to down pour rain in Budapest. I took a lightweight zip-up hoody and a cheap fleece zip-up. My daughter was fine without the fleece but also two zip-up hoodies. On cool days we just layered these two jackets. I didn't want to deal with a rain coat. We each had little umbrellas. The mistake I made was I didn't have good pants for rainy days. The ones I packed were too light colored - they would have gotten stained with dirt splatters in the storms. So, besides the jacket issue, try to find shoes and pants you can walk in the rain with.
We had to pack for 7 weeks. It is hard to plan for the weather extremes, I agree.

Thanks all for the great advice. I never travel in summer, so I was assuming it would be warm/hot. Time to go shopping...

I think the trick might be to think of the jacket as something to cut the wind, that you can layer with something else if it is cool.
You are right, most of the really rainproof jackets we might find at REI, etc. are for serious hiking and too cumbersome/hot to pack. If it is pouring, you will be either huddled under your umbrella or finding an inside activity. During our 'down pour rain' in Budapest, NOTHING would have kept us dry. Everyone just did their best huddled under trees and awnings until it passed....

North Face does some nice waterproof but relatively breathable raincoats - had my NF 'trench' coat in Washington, DC last year during some torrential rain - it was a lifesaver! Some of the coats may have pit-zippers (in the armpits) to help keep cool.

There are waterproof jackets and water resistant jackets. There is a great difference. The resistant jackets will work in a very light rain but then they soak thru and you get soaked. I much prefer the waterproof type.The quality waterproof jackets are not heavy and fold into a small bundle.

This is a timely topic. I'm currently in Croatia, on a 2.5 week trip. We have encountered very mixed weather on this trip. We've had several very, very rainy days (and we're from Seattle, so some rain usually doesnt phase us) - we've run into some real torrential downpours. Exactly how much of an inconvenience this has been depends on the day and circumstances. We had half a day of good weather at Lake Bled, then the sky opened and it just poured for hours. We had dinner and settled in to our hotel, no biggie. A few days later, as we were getting ready to leave Rovinj for Motovun, the same thing happened. This time, it was more of a pain, even though our plans for the day were to spend the first few hours in a car. Just getting from our hotel in the old town to the car was awful - those narrow, cobblestone streets quickly turn into rivers with running water, deep pooling water and very slippery stones. After just a few steps, our shoes were soaked. We made it to our car and drove off to Istria, soggy but undaunted. It rained cats and dogs much of the day, but we hunkered in a nice warm, dry, comfy hotel to pass the rainy time. When it finally stopped raining, we went out, but the weather really limited what we could do. Today we started our day in Split, and once again, the day started with very heavy rain. We had a ferry to catch, so we had to slog thru the streets (cobblestones, gushing rivers), made the ferry but were drenched. Spent half a day in Hvar (it rained a little there) but with squishy shoes it wasn't as enjoyable as it could have been. Now we're settled on Kor?ula, my first order of business after checking in: going thru my pack and discovering nearly every item of clothing was wet. I've discovered that you can dry sox with a (hair) blow dryer. Laundry strung all throughout our Sobe, drying. That blow dryer may get a workout tomorrow if the sun doesn't come out...

If the sun shines tomorrow, we'll be fine. But if it's rainy again, I'm going to need to dry a lot of stuff with that blow dryer - it's a good thing our Sobe supplies it. As for rain gear, we have good - but minimal - Goretex rain jackets. These pack down into a lump the size of a softball. They're light, and they saved our bacon several times. Worth their weight in gold. Had them for years, not expensive from REI. Our pants got soaked today, but they dry out pretty easily. The little rain jackets do not cover our pants. My shoes (basic "sneakers"/tennis shoes) suffered badly in the cobblestone rivers/puddles. Not sure how to address this - I guess I need better shoes that don't get wet so easily. Galoshes? Hip waders? The major (unexpected) issue today was the fact that our packs got really wet as we slogged through the rain (and thus, so did most of our clothes). Water resistant fabric, water eventually soaked through parts, and water also got in along the zippers. Hmmm. Some days a rainstorm can be just a minor inconvenience, but on other days, it can really wreck your day and leave you uncomfortable for days after. Lesson learned. After we get home next week, I'm going to re-evaluated several components of my gear. Shoes, pack (blow-dryer?!). Hmmm. The forecast for tomorrow says 50% chance of rain. That blow dryer is gonna get a workout...

My original answer to you (wrongly) assumed you would be in Paris or the north. Lourdes is much warmer, being in a different climate zone. I'll delete my original answer.

I would think wearing a poncho would help keep back-packs dry as it would cover them, but be airy enough to keep you from sweating to death. My favorite shoes, Skecher Shape-ups, have a wonderfully thick sole and I wear them year round, but have never had wet feet nor cold feet in the winter. They are great on slippery cobblestones, puddles, and rainy days.

I just bought this jacket for Germany this summer and it looks like it's going to be PERFECT!! http://www.sierratradingpost.com/white-sierra-trabagon-jacket-waterproof-for-women~p~3097w/?filterString=s~trabagon-rain-jacket%2F&colorFamily=02

(Just got back from Lindau/Lake Constance and experienced some crazy weather there (intermittent with just beautiful weather). The best thing to have? Is a plastic poncho. Costs almost nothing, won't be hot during those humid warm summer thunderstorms, keeps at least the top of your pants dry. No good solution for shoes other than to bring more than one pair. Which you should do regardless, walking all over Europe in just one pair of shoes is a recipe for disaster.

You can get the type of poncho Sarah is talking about at Target for about six dollars.

Thanks all!!

I would pack a breathable rain jacket, which helps when having to deal with any heat and humidity. With that, I'd recommend an eVent fabric jacket, such as the REI Kimtah Rain Jacket. It is on the pricier end, but it keeps you dry, it breathes VERY well, it will last you a while, and it's on sale through the weekend..

We did the RS Italy trip 2 yrs. ago and ended up buying umbrellas 3 times - we kept thinking we wouldn't need them again and were t tying to keep the load light. I took a regular rain coat that I wore on travel days so I didn't have to worry about packing it. it was mid-may and in my pictures from Rome I'm wearing it at night, so clearly I used it. I stuffed the wet shoes with newspaper at night (what we used to do with soccer cleats) and that helped. We could usually find a newspaper somewhere.

You may want to pack some garbage bags so that you can cover your suitcases as you run to the hotel. I dont care so much if I get wet but when all of my luggage gets hit from the downpour - that is a whole other story. Also consider buy ng some plastic rain ponchos. My local Dollar Tree store has them in packs of 2 for $1. They are use and toss. Have a good trip!