Laundry during GAS tour

My advice is to get a head start and do laundry the evening or morning before you meet the group. Google laundry (laverie in French) Paris and find the one closest to where you are staying.

The website francetravelplanner.com has a listing of options under Laundromats/Laundrettes in Paris that would be a good place to start.

On our first trip to Paris, we found a very nice self serve (libre service) one close to our hotel in the Rue Cler area. Rest assured that there are many more all over the city.

Put all your dirty clothes in one piece of luggage and come home with it all clean. Not all the people you see on the street with backpacks or wheeled bags are tourists. Many are just out doing their laundry.

We have taken 12 RS tours in the last 13 years while spending a month in Europe every summer. We have never used a laundry mat as we pack quick dry clothes that we can hand wash in the sink when needed, hang them up in our bathroom, and they are dry in the morning. We have seen other tour members wear a different outfit every day and then have to go sit in a laundry mat while we are out exploring. To each their own choices.

Diane,
I am sorry I do not know where there is any laundry facility on that tour.

It is ok to wear some of your clothes more than once. Do you really get all your clothes that dirty everyday at home or away? As other RS guides have talked about, you may only have to do spot washing vs. washing the entire garment. I am still doing the packing thing for my GAS coming at the end of the month and trying to get the weight to 8kg for the carry- on weight restriction. As for me washing clothes, I prefer to do my washing when I am at a hotel for more than one night. I don't own all those fancy light weight clothes so I prefer a little more of the soft feeling from cotton. So my clothes take a little longer to dry than others. I like to wear clothes that I wear everyday and feel comfortable in.

I am planning on doing some spot cleaning. I guess what my fear is that if the weather is cooler than I think, I will be layering the same clothes over and over. If the weather is warmer than I'm thinking, I may be wearing a lot of clothes over and over. I'm taking clothes that will mix-match and can be layered. I've been washing my socks, etc to see how fast they dry (I know I'm getting obsessed with this) but I'm not taking enough socks and underwear for 21 days. I'm not really wanting to wash while gone, as I would much rather be out seeing the area. I guess it would just ease my mind knowing I have the option to wash if need be.

Wife and I did the tour in 2012. The hotel we stayed at in Murren (where you spend 3 days) did laundry. I do not remember the price for a bag of clothes, but it was very reasonable as best I remember. You can ask the tour guide if they do not bring it up at the first meeting. We have been on 5 RS tours and have always had at least 1 if not 2 hotels that would do a bag of laundry in 1 day while you are out touring. It has always been worth it.
By the way, if you do not already know this, when you do the small stuff like socks in the sink...wring them out, then lay out a dry bath towel on the floor, put the socks on it in a single layer, roll up the towel, and walk back and forth a few times on the towel. When you unroll the towel, the socks will be close to dry, and after hanging up overnight have always been dry in the morning, ready to pack and ready to head out the door!

As Charlie said, to each their own choices. I hate doing hand washing and will not do it unless there is absolutely no other option. If the hotel or the laundry down the street will do yours for you while you see stuff, that is definitely the best thing. My husband and I have done both of those as well as done it ourselves.

We actually enjoy doing it ourselves in a laundromat because of the enforced downtime and the opportunity to observe and interact a little with people in the neighborhood who are there doing their own laundry.

The first time we did our own was in Koblenz. Who knew that the young cleancut Fraulein student would totally ignore our puzzlement and that the heavily tattooed and pierced and somewhat scary looking young man would be the one to help out the old Americans?

I can speak for Vienna. Laundromats are rare here and hard to find. Definitely not in the tourist zones. Please don't spend your precious vacation in a laundromat. Drop a bag off at your hotel. It will be affordable, promise.

Diane, laughing at your pre-tour test washes...only because I've done that as well. After my brother and then others here were selling the glories of Smartwool socks I finally bought some and was shocked at how fast they dry. I took them on the RS Ireland tour and was surprised that they were dry overnight.

BTW, I am a sink laundry gal all the way and have found that when you arrive somewhere for a 2-night stay, try to get it started as soon as you get there. I would try to put out a wash before we went out to dinner which gave things a few more hours to dry.

Hi,

Aside from Paris and Trier, which other cities will you be visiting? Vienna ? Berlin? In
Paris the only coin lsundry facility I know of is in the 10th arrond., a few mins from Gare du
Nord..."Lav Club" Rue Du Faubourg 141 Saint Denis. Signs on the wall have instructions
in French and English.

We will arrive in paris on a Monday and take a train to Trier on Friday. We meet our tour in Saturday afternoon. I'm thinking I may try to do some laundry in Trier, as I read there will be a place close to our hotel. As far as the rest of our trip, I think I will play it by ear. If I have to wash a few small things out in the evenings I will try to plan around where we are, what is planned for the day and how long we will be staying in a place. If there is laundry available and we have time, I may try to do it myself or have it done. I have done laundry on other trips we have taken in the states but I'm not planning on having that availability everywhere we go. I will probably have to wing it so to speak. Thanks for the info.

We always wash in the sink. I don't love doing laundry in the sink but I prefer it to sitting in a laundromat. I find if I do a few things each night while I am washing up for bed, it keeps it manageable and I don't end up spending a lot of time doing laundry. It allows me to use whatever space is available in the bathroom/hotel room to hang the laundry to dry without taking over the whole room. It also means that if the clothes don't dry by the morning I'm not stuck with all my clothes being wet and still have something to wear the next day.

I just fill one of the small plastic travel sized bottles you can get in pharmacies with laundry soap from home. Many European hotels have radiators or towel warming racks that you can hang laundry on so it dries much more quickly. This may not be a solution of you are traveling in August, though.

Pants are the hardest to hand wash but also seem to go the longest between needing to be cleaned. So I will use hotel laundry to wash those whenever it is available.

Enjoy your trip!

My Smartwool socks don't seem to dry as fast as Pam's and I use the lighter (not thick) version. I travel with three pairs of Smartwool and two pairs of light coolmax socks. Dry socks are pretty important during the winter. The coolmax socks take up minimal volume and are good for after ski or walking activities.

No problem drying the Coolmax socks. With the Smartwool, I wash as early as practical and do the towel dry method. Roll the socks in a towel or the floor towel before you shower. Wring the towel to pull out as much of the water from the sock without stretching the sock. Air dry reversing the sock from time to time. Heated towel racks are a big help.

Avoid cotton as it drys a lot slower than synthetics.

Edgar, I have the thinnest Smartwool no-show crews available. I do the roll and stomp too. I find they dry faster than the Underarmor wicking ones, but obviously YMMV!

Thanks all! This will be interesting. I'm sure we will figure it out as we go along. A few years back we traveled to Italy for 12 days and managed ok, and that was in the summer. I'm known as a pack rat, so the packing alone is a challenge for me. The challenge this trip is to pack for September when I'm not sure what the weather will be in four different countries. I'm getting excited and hopefully have all the right clothes. I'm planning on layering, if need be. Estimating the temps, which is similar to my spring temps, I started setting aside clothes for the trip back in April. It's hard coming off of 90 degree weather trying to guess what to wear in the 50's, 60's and maybe 70's. I've been following the temps in Europe and hopefully will pack what's needed. Looking forward to a great trip!

To get that task done in Trier, see the self-service launderette listed on pages 496 &498 of Rick's Germany book or ask your hotel for a recommendation. Your guide will inform you of the most convenient places to do laundry during the tour, whether the hotel has an affordable arrangement or a laundromat is nearby. While self-service usually costs about $10/load, full service may not cost much more. In Lauterbrunnen, for instance, the Switzerland book lists a full-service (wash/dry/fold) laundry at the AirTime Cafe for 25 francs/load.

Thanks Laura. Also, I should be receiving my list of hotels soon. Then I will Google and see if any of them offer laundry service or see if there is anything nearby. It's just nice to know that maybe 10-15 days into the trip I know if I have an option.

We were on a GAS tour in June and stayed at the residence in Trier. I would assume that is where your tour will be staying.

There are washers and dryers in the hotel and for a few euro you can do all your laundry right
there. IIRC, the cost was two euro per load.

Thanks immimi! Yes, we are staying at the Residenz. I thought I had read that laundry service is available there. We should have time to do a little before we meet our tour. I know we may be staying at different hotels along the way, but did u find laundry available at or near your other accommodations?

Hi Diane, I'll speak for all of your co-travelers - please don't wear unwashed clothes - ha!

We bring the Woolite little packs that you can purchase at Amazon or similar and just wash every other day for a few minutes in the sink while my hubby is checking e-mail. Because of that, you need less clothes than you would think.

I bring 4 outfits including the one I'm wearing, along w/ 1 pair of long pants, a cardigan & a lightweight jacket. Since I like to wear dresses, two of my outfits are dresses that wash easily in the sink.

You're heading to a gorgeous area in Switzerland! We're returning there this year - such a special area.

Thanks Jean! I guess my main concern is amount of clothes....We leave on Sept 7 and get back Sept 26. I'm going to go thru my clothes again, but I have short sleeves, long sleeves, fleece jacket, sweater and raincoat. I wish I knew what to expect weather wise.
I have been watching the temps daily, and don't know if they will change more drastic than our temps. I do realize it will be colder in the Alps. Also, regarding washing out clothes, I'm not worried about the undergarments, but haven't washed out any of my shirts to see how fast they will dry...(i'm obsessed). The long sleeve shirts are not heavy; very lightweight that I wear here, in the south, in spring or fall. I have a few more weeks to think about all this! At this point though, I am just so ready to travel. I'm sure it will all work out.

hi again - DH aka Mr Clean was in charge of laundry (this only happens on trips) and he had three
goes at it. The first in the Residenz then he sent the clothes out in both Munich and Salzburg.

In Salzburg he dropped the laundry off in the a.m. and picked it up at 4. Quite close to the
hotel...but he still managed to get lost en route, lol.

For handwashing in a sink, I recommend a product called Eucalan. It is non-sudsing, no rinse from Canada. I bought the product when recommended by a bra-fit specialist and it is fantastic! www.eucalan.com.

Thanks immimi! That is funny. I'm note sure I would trust my hubby to do the laundry, but he's pretty good with directions:)). It is good to know laundry is available in those places. We get our hotel list next week so I will check out where we will be staying. This will give me an idea too.

Thanks cbrochu. I checked the product out online. Looks like it's a liquid. I already have my qt size TSA toiletries set aside for the trip, along with my husbands (mostly my stuff ). I do t think I could fit another item in the bags. I already have a few things I'm not packing because they won't fit. Who knows, I will keep my eyes open when we are in Paris. Maybe I will this this or something similar to take on the tour.

I take Purex Complete 3-in-1 Laundry Sheets available from Amazon. For smaller loads, like the dreaded hand laundry, I cut them in half or quarters. In fact, I guess at how much laundry we will do on the trip and cut them before we go. They lay flat in a ziploc bag.

If we have access to a dryer, like at a laundromat, they go in the dryer with the wet clothes. If not, like in most of the apartments we stay in that don't have dryers, they just get tossed after the wash.

No liquids or powders to worry about. Nothing to buy there. Virtually weightless.

Lo...I will have to check that out.. Thanks!