Ladies what to pack 1st two weeks in Oct. in the Balkans

I love to talk light packing but have not been to the Balkans.

However...looking at what you've listed for 2.5 weeks I'd:

• I'd go with 3 or 4 Short sleeve Tees, depending on where you are going and how hot it will be. Do you do sink wash? I usually take 4 SS tees for 4 or 5 weeks but I sink wash them every 3-4 days depending on my activities.
• I'd go with the cashmere cardie over the jeans jacket as it should pack down smaller. UNLESS you are going to wear the jeans jacket on the plane and every time you move after that?
• 1 long sleeve tee sounds good. Is the thin sweater you are thinking of something like a pull-over crew or v-neck? Would it layer over the short sleeve tees?
• # of bottoms sounds good to me, basically 2 long, 2 short.
• Definitely a rain jacket.
  

What a fun trip!

I am no lady, but the Balkans have two distinct climatic zones: Mediterranean and continental. It can be warm and dry on the coast and wet and cold inland, and the drive between can be 30 minutes.

I have spent a lot of time here, her now (a bit cool on the Croatian coast tonight).

Past trips I have gotten rained out inland, so driven 45 minutes over the mountains to the beach for the sun. Then there is the range of temps from Slovenia to southern Albania.

I love summer dresses for travel, but the weather can vary widely. It sounds like you will have 1 pr jeans, 1 pr pants, 2 skorts, and 1 dress. Some of the answer depends on where in the Balkans and some depends on what you plan to do. If it were me, I would probably trade in 1 skort for another lightweight pair of pants. Unless you are planning to just be on the coast. If you plan some time higher in the mountains of Montenegro, you might want the heavier Jean jacket. If you don’t plan much outdoor activity or (again) you will just be along the coast, the cashmere sweater may do better. It really sounds like you are packing mostly for summer.

In my experience there can be considerable rain in Montenegro and Croatia in October. That applies especially inland and in the pretty Montenegro town of Herceg Novi, which seems to have a quite wet microclimate. I'd think about whether a full-length, unlined raincoat would be manageable--how often will you be changing hotels? I took a full-length coat on a Feb/Mar trip to Rome and Naples and was glad to have it on a few occasions. But I had only 4 hotel stays on that trip. For my really long summer trips, even to potentially wet destinations, I make do with a rain jacket, because changing hotels while carrying a coat is just too awkward.

I'd dig a bit into the temperatures you can reasonably expect at your planned destinations, keeping in mind that the daily high temperature is something you will experience for only part of the day; the temperature graph for Herceg Novi, for example, is really spiky. It is likely to be considerably cooler early in the morning and after the sun goes down. And it can be breezy along the coast, too. My knee-jerk reaction is that you are planning to take too many hot-weather garments, but I am cold-natured. For me, although there would be times (not necessarily full days) in October warm enough for shorts, there would probably not be times when full-length pants were too hot. Given that a chilly day is also likely to be a wet day, I wouldn't want jeans, either. My go-to travel pants are the 96%/97% nylon pants available from PrAna, Eddie Bauer and Columbia, among others. They are not waterproof, but they shed rain pretty well.

This is a link to timeanddate.com, which has actual, historical, day-by-day weather statistics going back about ten years. I like to look at the most recent five years. Use the pull-down box to change the month and year displayed. Use the Search box near the upper right to shift locations.

Dubrovnik weather--October 2024

Most of Wikipedia's entries for cities include a climate chart. That's where I go for precipitation data.

I haven’t been to the Balkan’s so can’t offer much help. I just want to suggest you forget the jean jacket. It will be bulky to pack and doesn’t layer well under a rain jacket. A cashmere sweater or fleece is much more functional and provides more warmth.