First time European traveler

Two points:
Rick Steves tours are very casual, and the only actual luggage rule is that you need to be able to handle your luggage yourself. Carryon size is better, but not required.

And welcome to the forum!

I only take casual clothes on a RS tour. However, that does include a skirt if the weather will be warm. September in Italy can still be very warm, so be sure to check the temperatures before you do your final pack.

I have done the Village Italy tour (2022) and a dozen others. Rick Steves tours are very casual. I never bring dressier outfits or shoes.

njmitchell500, what many of us do, is pack for a 7 day trip, and plan on doing laundry at least once. Nobody cares if you wear the same clothes more than once. And nobody cares if you wear the same clothes to dinner that you wore that day. In fact I think that was the norm.

You can always dress up a Tee with a scarf or a Buff (neck gaiter) like this:

https://www.buff.com/us/coolnet-uvr-half-neckwear-buff-lilly-seamless-aqua-120196711.html?’’

They are good for keeping the sun off your neck as well. Look for them on RIE.com or Amazon. For summer I like the “half Buff” size—-it is cooler.

njmitchell500, I'm taking the same tour starting Sept 2. Plus I will be in Venice, Florence and Rome for 14 days. Packing light is doable, but a challenge. This is my fourth tour + independent trip and I only do carry on.

My hints are: Skip the jeans, they are heavy. Only two pairs of shoes. A dressier blouse or a plain shirt with a scarf is all you need; no extra shoes or a dress. The tours are casual and so is my independent travel. I take leggings because they pack light and small; your hiking pants might do the same. My rule of thumb, which includes what I am wearing, is three pair of pants and a total of 6 or 7 tunics/shirts, 5 sets of undies/socks; that's two small packing cubes and one large one. Where I struggle is all the old(er) lady sundry items, but I keep telling myself I can buy them there.

Be sure you can easily lift and carry your suitcase and tote. Measure and weigh your bags until you reach your goal. It will take several attempts.

Have a great trip! Buon Viaggio!

If you insist on jeans might I suggest looking at Gloria Vanderbilt skinny black jeans. They are on Amazon. I travel in the Fall to London ( by choice ). Love these jeans.

I’m a one bag traveler. Love my Amazon Essentials Waterproof Travel Vest. Fits perfectly under my knee length raincoat.

BTW wear the skinny black jeans hiking, dining and going to theatre.

All of my clothing and footwear options I travel with are the lightest available I can find. I do bring denim that has some synthetic fabric making it much lighter than other versions. I pack for the best case scenario not the worst. I use the capsule method and make sure all pieces can be interchanged and expect to sink launder unmentionables. I adhere to a written packing list, make a trial run all packed up and confirm my ability to lug carryon and personal bag easily, and use packing cubes to organize everything. On my return stateside I will check my bag due to bottles of wine or olive oil coming home with me. I’ve done multiple RSTs but not yet the Village Italy which will eventually happen. Have a great trip!!

WEAR HEAVY items on the plane (jacket, jeans).

PACK LIGHT items.

The heavy items can be worn multiple times if they don't get stained. You can buy clothes in Europe if you need; makes for nice souvenirs. Don't over-think this and don't worry.

Have a great time!

We are going on this tour in late Sept, too, the 23rd. Pack light because you’re lugging around your bag. And ‘almost’ everyone is casual. Like others, I love my jeans but don’t take them because they’re heavy and take forever to dry. I take two pair of shoes…sneakers and if it’s going to be warm, my Keen sandals, lightweight pants, several shirts and tees. A merino wool lightweight sweater and I always pack my raincoat, just in case. A scarf with a tee can dress things up a bit for dinner. Make sure you check the weather, we were in Switzerland a few weeks ago and it was hot and muggy everywhere and I only had two pairs of shorts and way too many long hiking pants. I hate to haul around clothes that I never end up wearing. I had to laugh when I thought about the posts that say people don’t wear shorts in Europe. When it’s hot and muggy even the older people, both women and men had shorts on including the French in Evian.

A very useful item is a pashmina type shawl. It packs small and light and can be used in so many ways, as a blanket on the flight, a cover up when visiting churches, a shawl for the evening etc. I will not travel without one now! You can usually pick them up for a few Euro at markets and stalls in Italy but its certainly nice to have one on hand for the flight over. It can go in your personal bag on the flight so it is hand when needed.

Congratulations on your first trip to Europe!
It took me weeks to get my first carryon trip down to a fine art, so it’s good to get busy now and practice, if that is how you want to pack.
My rule for carryon only packing is that every top has to go with every bottom.
So that means you have to colour coordinate everything.
I take 3 or 4 bottoms including the pants I wear on the plane, and maybe 6 tops.
A couple of cardigans.
Plus undies for 5 days….you can wash them.
Only 3 pairs of shoes: one pair walking shoes or runners, one pair walking sandals, one lightweight slip on soft shoe for resting feet after walking all day and they double as slippers.
I also look carefully at everything and if I won’t use something 3 times or more, it stays home.

Look at your toiletries and makeup.
Get your tiny travel containers and fill them up with what you plan to take, then use only those now ,for the number of days you plan to be away.
That way you will know exactly how long those small containers last for your actual trip….you’ll be amazed.
You can do it, just practice before you go.
Have a wonderful trip!

You've gotten great advice, as usual, from the forum members. I'll only add to do a trial pack in the next week or so (a month out from your trip). Yes, everything down to your toiletries and electronics. I usually find that I have more "other" stuff than clothing!

I go overboard and weigh every item that goes in, including my packing cubes. I pack in a 21" 2 wheel rollaboard and want it to weigh as much under 20# as I can get it when I walk out the door. The lightest I've gotten is 16.1# for Rick's Best of Italy, so was gone about 3 weeks. I did not take a spare pair of walking shoes and will not do that again. For a 2nd pair I took a pr of flats I could not really walk in for long distances so that was a waste of room.

For 14 days I'd take a max of 3 bottoms (wear one, pack 2), 4 Short Sleeve shirts (wear 1 pack 3), 1 sunshirt, 1 long sleeve quarter zip to wear on the plane over a tee shirt. Unders, bras, nightwear, socks. 2 pr of shoes (wear the heavier one). I take 2 scarves but in Italy I usually wind up buying one more, lol. 1 waterproof rain jacket. I always leave an umbrella out but I wind up buying one every time I'm in Italy so if you've got a light one, bring it.

I do all sink wash on my tours (including Village Italy) using a 2 gal ziplock bag that I've reinforced with mailing tape.

This is a wonderful tour! You will have so much fun!

Hi,

Here’s some info that hopefully will give you some ideas to just bring a carry-on that isn’t difficult to carry or pull. I do like to wear dresses, so just substitute those on my list for an extra top & pants. Check your weather forecast when it’s close to the date. I find it easy to wash a few items in the hotel sink, roll them in a towel, and they’re dry by morning.

The link has my complete list of everything I bring - not just clothes. Have a great time!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing/considering-an-ultralight-pack-this-year-experienced-feedback-please

This is what I packed for a 3-week trip to southern Spain in February:
My clothes, including worn on plane:
1 long-sleeve t-shirt, three nice 3/4 sleeve tops, two 32 Degree micro-thin long-sleeves scoop layering tops.
1 thicker pair pants, 1 pair leggings.
4 pair socks, 3 bras, 5 underwear.
Columbia turquoise hip length raincoat.
One necklace, 3 pair of earrings.

Yes…I forgot to say to weigh everything.
You can get a handheld travel scale.
You will be amazed at the difference in weight between two similar items.
Your carryon suitcase needs to conform exactly to your airline’s requirements….their measurements include the wheels on the case, so be sure to measure correctly.
As someone said, you don’t actually need carry on for a tour, you just have to be able to lift and roll and carry your case up any stairs by yourself, so you could go slightly bigger, say a 23 inch bag, then check a bag.
You need some room for souvenirs from your first trip…. ;))

I agree that the difference in weight between similar pieces of clothing is quite surprising. One t-shirt is 12 ounces and another is 5 ounces. We will be walking/hiking through villages in Umbria and staying overnight then changing into casual clothing that isn't sweaty for going out to dinner and then the passeggiata in the evening. I am sink washing everything before the trip and air drying it to see how fast they dry. I have found that a black cardigan dresses up almost any outfit. I also take a skort for hot weather since I don't like shorts. The disadvantage is that it is above the knee so can't be worn into churches. Capris are lighter weight than regular hiking pants and also quick dry. I'm checking my luggage for the first time though since poles are necessary for me. Looking forward to other comments from the packing experts on this forum.

https://www.myitaliandiaries.com/italian-passeggiata-what-exactly-is-that/

"One t-shirt is 12 ounces and another is 5 ounces."
"I am sink washing everything before the trip and air drying it to see how fast they dry."

Oh Leslie! That is SO me! I never buy any clothing now without thinking...will this sink wash and dry overnight? And it is shocking how much difference there can be in the weight of Tee shirts! 12 oz will give me my 3 packed Tees!

Packing for season change! A conundrum but you may not need to be too concerned about as the weather will most likely be consistent for the places you will be going. I have spent time in Italy on two trips that overlapped seasons thinking I would need change of season clothing only to never wear the warmer bits I took. Part of our last trip this spring was hiking in the Dolomites in April and my clothes were too warm! Last fall went into early November and my warmer clothes were not used. As suggested, check the weather for the two week period before your final pack. I use timeanddate.com

Tees are great-make one long sleeve just in case. As suggested by others, a nice cardigan in a neutral color can go very far for cooler evenings as can the black slacks/jeans. It’s amazing that a pair of black jeans can be dressy, but they can!
Mix and match as much as possible-Jean is the packing maven, so anything she says is a go to. I don’t wear scarves but see a lot of them on locals and visitors alike so a nice idea. Plus it can act as a warm layer around your neck. Leave showy jewelry at home!

Black pants-I have a pair of Athleta Brooklyn Ankle Pants that are one of my workhorse pieces. Can be dressy or casual. Also have a black skirt from them that I have almost worn out, but I’m not sure they still make it. They don’t, but I’ve been tempted to get the cargo skirt. Easy wash and dry fairly fast. I don’t remember if Jean mentioned her love of the traveler spotless dresses from Royal Robbins-she got me hooked. Not advocating you spend money and redo your travel clothes now, but worth a look for later.

I agree with weighing everything! I cut out 2-3 lbs this last trip substituting lighter weight items for heavier that would accomplish the same thing.

You’ve received the best tips from the best packers on the forum. They know of what they say! As an aside-you will likely have one or two items you just don’t wear and will find you don’t need. Normal!!

Enjoy!

The OP has not returned….but even with years of travel behind and hopefully in front of me,I still learn something from every thread about packing!

Thanks for all the great tips. I realize I am spending more time figuring out what I will wear vs what I will experience. I am definitely overthinking this!

"I am definitely overthinking this!"

Well, if you stick around here long enough you will find that some of us think about this constantly, lol!! Weights of clothing, gear, suitcases (we did not even ASK you that, lol!!) all matter to some of us! For myself, whether I'm on a tour or taking trains on my own, I need to be able to manage my suitcase as a solo traveler. Once I am confident about that, I can thoroughly enjoy my trip and all the things I experience!

I realize I am spending more time figuring out what I will wear vs what I will experience.

It's about 50/50. I leave early tomorrow for almost a month in Italy, including Village Italy tour. I've planned, updated plans, redid my itinerary more times than I have fingers to count on; finally bought sightseeing tickets for most of the solo part of the trip.

Same with packing. Pack, redo list, pack again, repeat a few more times. I was doing the final clothes pack this morning and changed my mind. 8 shirts were too many, one went back into the closet. All that anguish to save 1/2 pound! But I can lift my carry-on over my head into an overhead!

Yep, packing is an obsession. I'm already planning next June/July's England/Ireland wardrobe, plus the itinerary is mostly planned.

Enjoy your trip. Let us know how it all turned out -- trip and packing.

Horsewoofie, have a great trip. Village Italy was my 1st and still in my top 3 of Rick tours I've taken.

And to make matters even more stressful, I keep reading that the temps in and around Padua are in the mid 90’s right now. This trip may be 3 weeks of wearing a lot of the same when you have to pack for what might be…..:-)