Packing for cold weather trip

I wouldn’t pack bulky items. Pack layers, including a waterproof jacket that is also warm. The jacket would be your bulkiest item. Pack items you can hand wash and will dry overnight. Test them at home. If you tend to get cold, bring thermal pants and long sleeve shirt. I like the ones from 32 Degrees. You can often find them at Costco. I would bring gloves and a hat.

I’ve used vacuum bags in the past. Just be careful about the luggage weight limit.

When I went to Amsterdam and Italy in Nov 2021, I used a travel pillowcase and stuffed it with a couple of sweaters, gloves, and a hat, to stretch my packing space.

This August I used a large Eagle Creek compression packing cube in my day pack for being out and about in Orkney and Shetland. It held a 32 Degree brand puffy vest, my waterproof rain jacket with hood, my rain pants which you won’t need, plus lightweight glove liners, a warm beanie hat and a ball cap for the rain. It fit upright in my small day pack and on the way over I stuck in in the bottom of my 21” carry on bag.

For shoes for Germany I’d go with waterproof athletic shoes and pack 2 pr of wool socks for Germany and a couple pr of no show light athletic socks for your warmer touring. I’m not a sandal wearer but that might work for a back up pair for you.

As mentioned above, 32 degree brand has inexpensive and fairly warm gear either on the Costco site or at their own webpage. I also use their base layers and I’d get a top and bottom to stash in the compression cube.

Have you researched the temperatures you'll be encountering along your itinerary? There are average temps listed in the profiles for each RS tour on this web site. You will experience freezing temps in Germany, with possibly sleet or snow. And there is always the chance of unseasonably warm or cold weather, especially now due to climate change.

Wear your bulkiest items onto the plane.

When I did Xmas markets in 2019, I did all carry- on, and shopped.
I wore thin base layers under wool or cashmere sweaters, and washed out the base layers frequently. I think cashmere delivers the most warmth for less bulk. I found an ankle length down coat ( on sale in July) so only needed jeans and heavier leggings as pants. I had 4-5 outfits total, and two pairs of ankle boots. I used a waterproof spray on my most comfortable ankle boots.
It's important to have a wool or cashmere hat, scarf, gloves, and socks- not synthetics.
It does rain , and wet pants aren't fun, so a long rain poncho can be a lifesaver, as it also goes over a backpack.
Bring a trash bag to cover your suitcase if it's raining heavily when you're on the move.
I brought a bag of hand warmers, the type you bend and they heat up, and used them inside the palms of my gloves. You can bring them thru security in carry-on.
Have a great trip, add some "good stuff" to your hot chocolate, and enjoy your adventure!

I really like the 32 degree long-sleeve scoop neck thin-layer tops for layering. I’ve even used them just as an evening top with a brightly colored large scarf and pants for dinners anytime of the year.

When we were in Switzerland with cold weather, I brought some inexpensive grocery store tights to layer with knee-high trouser socks. All of the items I’ve mentioned take such a tiny amount of room, and they sink wash & dry quickly.

As others have mentioned, layers are key. We are fans of merino wool for base layers as they keep you comfortable and do not get stinky. We also have lightweight down jackets that pack super small (such as the "Ghost Whisperer" by Mountain Hardware) and rain jackets that fold into their own pocket.
Footwear is the tricky part. We wear our boots to board the plane. For our upcoming trip to Europe, I got a pair of Terrex free hiker boots from Adidas which are waterproof yet lightweight. I've only worn them locally in my own city, so haven't tested them out on cobblestones yet, but I have hopes they will do the trick for comfort and stylish enough to wear when dining out.
There are lots of YouTube videos with handy tips on reducing the size of toiletries and other tips and tricks- search for "Minimal Travel" and "Travel Carryon Only" - for great advice.

I like Lands End lightweight turtlenecks. The are easy to layer and the roll and pack. And the keep my neck warm. Inexpensive tights are lighter than thermal underwear. Wear them under your socks.

On one trip during the winter we went from a warm climate to above the Arctic Circle. The best items we bought and still use were Merino Wool tops made by Icebreaker. Not bulky at all but very warm in frigid temperatures. They were easy to pack, a lifesaver!

Thank you all for the great advice. I will be sure to check out the various resources some of you mentioned. I had no idea so many existed because I usually don't do cold weather travel. Your quick responses are much appreciated.

I am from New England. I can’t tell where you are from. It will make a difference. I have done much winter travel in UK, France and some in Italy and always a carryon sized bag and purse.

I never wore special shoes, just something like Clark’s or Eccos…but once a leather ankle boot when England claimed unmanageable snow…got there and it might have been an inch. I layer a regular long sleeve t shirt, sweater or fleece vest or same in boiled wool and for many years an unlined leather jacket or unlined trench coat. The most important items, which take little space are gloves or mittens, a scarf and hat. The latter 3 items are in or removed to adjust throughout the day. So really, it is not hard to pack carryon at all for winter.

Do check out the resources and start making lists, lol. THEN watch for Black Friday sales or pre-Black Friday sales! IF you sign up for email from Lands End you'll get daily coupon codes for 30-40% off. Ditto 32 Degrees...they've just had a sale but they are ALWAYS having a sale, lol. LLBean is also a good place to look. WHATever kind of warm layers you get you'll want them to be able to be squished down so look at puffy vests/jackets and thin but warm base layers.

Your SS shirts you'll wear for Turkey and your cruise can be worn as layers once you get to Germany to keep your core warm. Just make sure your warm weather clothes can do double duty as layering items so I'd go with cotton/modal tees not things that button up except for one sunshirt.

@Jean...Yes! My Mom always swore by wearing pantyhose for a warm layer in the 70's before they had the nice thin tech fabrics that are available now!

@Wray "but once a leather ankle boot when England claimed unmanageable snow…got there and it might have been an inch." Oh gosh, that made me laugh! Kind of like when the SE gets snow and everything grinds to a halt. Meanwhile in New England, the Upper Midwest and the Mountain West....the teen boys are still in shorts.

Just adding support for layering, and for 32 Degrees brand items - love their long-sleeved base layers, at Costco right now but also on their website. I have one of their thin down jackets that I pack for pretty much every trip - we usually travel in spring and fall - and I have never regretted it. It's surprisingly warm for how thin it is, plus it can pack pretty flat into a gallon ziploc bag. Fits under a rain jacket if needed. They have a knee-length down coat on their website right now for $40 that is pretty tempting! I also have a pair of the Adidas Terrex Free Hikers (mentioned above), that I got a month ago or so and am breaking them in now. Super comfy. I did not get the waterproof Goretex version, but they are still very water resistant.

I love to travel in winter, all anybody sees is your coat. I use two pairs of long johns, tops and bottoms. The first layer is silk that wash and dry in the sink over night, the next layer is cotton that I don't need to wash. Pants, turtle neck top, and long coat, gloves and some type of hat or beanie, two pair of socks cheap ones that are cotton next to the skin that can be thrown out and a good pair of wool hiking socks over that. My shoes are bigger to accommodate the extra socks. Cheap cotton gloves from Walmart that can be thrown out when they are dirty. I scotch guard the shoes, bottoms of my pants and the shoulders/back of my coat. You can travel so light it's amazing, really the best time to travel. J

Glassy Gal, have you already chosen your carry-on and backpack? I’d love to know sizes/ brands. If you feel like sharing…

We have a 39-day trip, two tours back to back, next April and May.

My main bag is a 35 L Tortuga travel backpack. My day bag may be Rick Steves Veloce bag, it works well for domestic travel. It is big enough for rain gear and small lunch, but I may bring a self-stuffing, 20L G4free backpack for days I don’t want the Veloce bag. But the G4free is not as comfortable to wear as the Veloce. Tradeoffs! I also have a self-stuffing nylon purse for museum days.

Footwear-I prefer my Oboz b-dry(waterproof) low day hikers. I don’t pack other shoes since I prefer to pack light.

Seems like a fun trip, hope you post a trip report!

Hi, Pastelholic,
Right now I'm working with a Samsonite 20 inch rolling PC carryon and both hubs and I have RS Ravenna day packs. The Ravenna is as big as my other heavier backpack so I don't know why it's called a day back. We each also have the Civita day pack, which really is, imho, a day pack. I was actually thinking about putting that in my carryon for use when we get to our various cities and tour around. Several years ago we did the 17-day Italy tour (outstanding) with just a carryon and backpack, so we know we can do it. My concern this time was that once the cruise is over, we'll be flying from Athens to Frankfurt and then three more in country flights before going back to Frankfurt to visit relatives. Thinking about getting everything into the carryon was daunting because we'll be in and out, warm and cold. However, the multiple suggestions of layering, of which I am aware, are well taken, especially when one person suggested using the 32 degree Heat shirt as a casual top with a scarf to go to dinner. Multi-purposing as it were. I'm new to the Forum and I am gobstopped at the wonderful responses of the travelers. I feel like I have a new family!

I hope you enjoy your back-to-back tours. Where are you going? I'm sure it will be quite an adventure.

Pam, I went to Costco today and they had the 32 Degree tops and bottoms on sale - $4 off. Bought four and my husband bought two. Thanks for the suggestion. I'd never have thought of it. Ironically, two years ago, my granddaughter was a freshman at the State University of New York at Cortland where it is very cold. I bought her several packages of 32 Degree tops and some thermal socks, and it never dawned on me that that's what I got her when you mentioned the brand! I bought a pair of compression pantyhose to wear on the long (11 hour) flight over and I know that they will be good insulators if I need them. Also will bring a pair of tights for warmth under the jeans or corduroys that I'll bring. So thanks for your wonderful suggestions. I appreciate them greatly. And now on to the buffs!

"I'm new to the Forum and I am gobstopped at the wonderful responses of the travelers. I feel like I have a new family!"

Hahah...welcome to the cult...ummm obsession....ummmm, I mean FORUM, hahaha! As you can see many of us are passionate about packing and clothing. Most of us have come to our opinions by lots of trial and error. AND did I tell you I had a complete FAIL in August when I took an new cute shirt I saw on the Land's End catalog cover about a week before I traveled and had not trialed it at home? What a wrinkled mess THAT turned out to be! What was I thinking? I knew better than that. Back to the Dri-fit quarter zip for a long sleeve layer.

"Pam, I went to Costco today and they had the 32 Degree tops and bottoms on sale - $4 off. Bought four and my husband bought two."

What! Off to check out the Costco website because my Costco doesn't usually carry the largest size. BTW, I also recommend the Kirkland Brand extra fine Merino Wool crew socks. They are $16.99 for 4 pr so pretty inexpensive and don't last more than 2 years for me but neither do the expensive ones as I wear thru the heels on all of them, lol. I am allergic to wool so I can't wear these more than 1 day at a time and have to switch back to other socks or my legs itch. If I am careful I can do 2 days by making sure the socks are on the outside of the 32 degree base layer, lol!! They will be good for the Germany portion of your trip if you don' t already have some winter socks.

Thanks for the Costco sale tip!

Pam, thanks for the tips about the Merino wool socks. I didn't see them at our Costco, so I'll look on line. Hubs says that he wears silk sox under the wool ones and his feet are as warm as toast with no itching.