What did you forget to Pack ?

rain pants

I forgot a hair brush one time. Do you know those are sold in department stores in Europe?

Pack one carry on and one personal item. Three bottoms, 4-6 tops, one cardigan, one rain jacket and one lightweight down jacket. 3-4 pairs of socks, 4-6 panties and 2-3 bras. Pjs and a bathing suit. One pair flip flops or sandals for the hotel room and the pool or beach. That’s all you need. Take your eyeglasses and the Rx in case they are lost or broken and take all Rx meds and the Rx. No need to take “extra” toiletries. Buy whatever you need while you’re there. I take two pairs of shoes because my size is hard to find. If it weren’t for that I would only take one pair of shoes. Whether it’s four days, four weeks or four months that’s all you need to take to Europe.

Regarding the above. If you’re going in the winter switch the raincoat and down jacket to a long winter coat with a hat, scarf and gloves. Add one “base layer” merino wool leggings that fit under all bottoms.

@Beth, I forgot a hairbrush when we went to Poland. I actually had a tough time in Krakow finding a store that sold them! They were probably easier to find outside of the tourist area.

Jules-I was in Copenhagen. It took me hours to find a hairbrush. It isn’t like going to your local CVS or Walgreens in the US.

I bought a second one and leave it in my travel stuff. Much easier than remembering to take it from the bathroom before I go some where!

That is why I ignore people when they advise you to buy things in Europe. I have nothing against the buying. It is the finding!

A down jacket on the Best of England. Who would have thought I’d need one in September, I froze. I now shove in at least a nano puff on our tours.

Belt. Had to buy one in Spain.

Mouth guard. Had to make one from a cheap drug store kit.

It’s hardest to remember something like this worn to bed the night before leaving. Unlike a hair brush it’s hundreds of dollars to get one so not so easy to have a spare.

The only thing I've ever had trouble finding in Europe were shoelaces in Reykjavik. After three hours of looking, I finally found a pair for around $12. They were made for boots, not shoes.

The other thing I find almost impossible to find in Europe is solid, unscented deodorant for men.

I use a packing list so it's rare for me to forget anything.

I make a list, I check it twice, I don't care if someone's been naughty or.....nevermind.

Extra pair of prescription eyeglasses

Underwear.
I have even worn my husband’s while traveling.
Does this count as Too Much Information - TMI?

Several of us have made packing lists that we use each year with just a few slight modifications for time-of-year or types of events/activities for the trip. I pack to my list, and it both helps me not forget anything but also helps to not add “just-in-case” types of items I don’t need.

The UK will have items if you happen to forget something.

All my trip notes from Forum posts that I had saved on my hard drive. I did this two summers in a row. All the hidden gems, restaurant names, bus information…poof left at home.

I keep the toothbrushes, plastic bags, ear plugs, combs, etc., that I acquire during a trip and put them in ALL my travel luggage--back packs, purse, suitcases, so hopefully whatever bag(s) I choose for a trip has a spare, when I forget something important. Also nice when something is left behind.

In early days of travel, a coin purse.

Issue resolved when I was gifted a small leather coin purse. Has a snap and 2 slots. Have learned that coins go in back slot and a folded £5 pound note
( UK travels) in the front. Other currencies used when in other countries.

The purse is always with me when I travel. London, Paris, Yosemite, Havana, Vegas, San Francisco, etc.
Sits in my dedicated “ Travel “ drawer until I leave for the airport. There’s a $10 bill inside to get bottled water and snacks at LAX.

Practical and well worn.

Claudia, I still carry a coin purse, separate from my wallet. In fact, I got a silly plastic one (Target dollar bin) and the staff at a Verona Coffee Shop thought it was the cutest thing. Anyway, depending on the place, coins can be necessary for parking, coffee, bathrooms, small tips. . .

Sunglasses. Prescription. Twice. Getting to the airport for that early departure, unloading the car, all the related anxiety. Left them in the car. I now have an old pair that lives in my suitcase. The clip on’s I bought (not easy to find in Europe) both times? I cannot find them….

Bras! Got to Cape Town and realised I only had the one I was wearing. And I’m, shall we say, not easy to fit, so it was quite a mission to find some. Also TMI? Sorry!

A pair of gloves, a hat, a scarf.

I bought additional* ones at my destination.

*Additional to the ones I had sitting at home !

I also use a packing list, so I haven't accidentally forgotten anything critical, but we enjoy shopping in grocery stores and drug stores as part of the travel experience, so I will pick up little things there if I need them - or even if I don't need them! I bought a red, fruit-scented (I know, why? lol) pair of tweezers at a pharmacy in France and they remind me of the trip when I use them.

Throat lozenges (like Ricola?) in Paris, for occasional dry/sore throat...drugstores there have no idea what you are looking for, they sell a tarry, nasty licorice tasting thing that is worse than a sore throat, and useless for soothing anyway...

Edit: should have said this was in 2016, so there may be more available today...

JoJoRabbit...

Is this what you are talking about:

https://pulmoll.com/en/

I love them.

oJoRabbit...
Is this what you are talking about:
https://pulmoll.com/en/
I love them.

No, those look like different fruit flavors, honey, etc. Packaging is different, too. I don't recall the name of the product, but it was a black, almost tar-like thing, and it tasted like a concentrated licorice. It tasted awful, and did nothing for my sore throat...

It happened to me in 2016, so maybe there are more options now, but back then, I went into multiple pharmacies and they were perplexed by the request, but they all offered the nasty thing I finally bought - spit out - and went back to my room to make a cup of herbal tea instead.

I take my own from home now, never have had a reason to look for it again in Paris or elsewhere in Europe.

I use a note app called "Google Keep". I created one to list what I pack in my little backpack and in my big backpack. And I record the weight of each backpack at start and end. I include a money inventory, what usd and euros in my moneybelt, passport folder, and wallet. I list all the clothes, electronic junk, medical stuff. And I record our expenses. It lives on my phone, but I sync it with the online account every few days.

Each trip, I copy it, rename it, like "Swiss25", and update it as needed.

Works for me...

I've got several electronic devices that are old enough that they have different ports - lightning, USB and USBC. I've gone off without the appropriate charging cubes for all my devices. I did have a power bank which I could use on the device that I didn't have the appropriate cube for. Now I have a "note to self" in my Tom Bihn Small Travel Tray that I use for chargers and cords to make sure I've got appropriate plugs for each end. I also have a multi end connector that I take.

@Elizabeth....if you use google docs for your collated information you can access it from your laptop, phone and iPad.

Pam, I now bring a few C to A and
C to Micro adapters to work with my various devices, so I only need a USB C power adapter and a Lightning to C cable and a C to C cable.

I mostly need USB c for my phones, so I bring my favorite charger, it has a US ungrounded plug, and gives me 2x USB outlets, and 2x USB c fast charging outlets. It cost about $6 on Ebay. That, with a plug adapter for Switzerland or Germany, or UK, gives me what I need. We often stay in little youth hostels or small old hotels, so sometimes there's just one outlet with a bed lamp plugged in. So I also carry a 3 way adapter for either Switzerland or Germany, or UK. That lets me plug the lamp back in, and have 2 extra outlets for cellphone chargers. Those 3 way adapters, I buy at a local hardware store for about $7, or at a local thrift store for $1 or so. For the cable, I carry 3 ea. 6 foot USB-C to USB-C cables for fast charging. Sometimes a shorter 3 foot cable isn't long enough in an old room with 1 outlet.

For my next trip I got the power outlet Mardee reported on for her trip to London and Paris with her grand kids. Everyone knows I buy everything she tells me too, hahahaha! It's got 2 USB ports and 2 USBc ports along with plugs and a 3' long cord.

Shortened Amazon link:
https://tinyurl.com/5fsvp8rh

I forgot to pack plug in earphones for the plane. My new phone doesn't have a hardwire connection for earphones so it's easy to forgot and wasn't going to buy them on the plane. I watched with closed captioning on instead.

Make sure you pack all of your souvenirs. On my recent trip, I bought a small hand made pottery dish at a local market. I forgot to pack it when I was leaving my first destination. I probably put it aside when packing up and then meant to tuck in between my wool sweater as protective padding. I contacted the BnB, but having it mailed back to me was many times more expensive than the cost of the dish.

Lesson learned- have a print out/ e copy of the trip's packing list and go through it line by line when packing up and add souvenirs to it as the trip progresses. I've put an old set of plug in earphones in with my other travel necessities.

As others have mentioned I would rather not spend time shopping for needed items while on a trip. Serendipitous shopping/browsing is a lot more fun than searching for a needed item and a store that carries it at a reasonable price.

Not what I forgot to pack, but what I'm glad I remembered to pack.

I'm currently in Rovaniemi, Finland, right on the Arctic Circle. This time of year the sun is basically out all day and night. My hotel window shades do not do a great job of blocking out the light.

I'm glad I remembered to pack a sleep mask. In reality, I always have it just in case my hotel at any time does not have black out curtains.

@Frank II
I think it’s really cool that you get to visit Northern Finland. The city you are in is famous for making excellent knives for hiking/outdoors. Maybe you can visit the factory.

On one trip to Iceland, we were stopping at a lagoon the morning of arrival. I had purposely packed my swimsuit in my day pack so that we could leave the suitcases in the car. Once there, I could not find the swimsuit and since my husband was in the mens changing room, I could not go get him to get the keys to the car. I had to rent a swimsuit. When we were done and I was changing back into normal clothes, I found my swimsuit in the pack.

On one backpacking trip with the kids when they were young, I forgot to pack our daughter's hiking pants. Oops. She refused to wear her younger brother's pants, lol, so she wore sweatpants.

Even as locals in OR, we headed over to the coast one time and my husband forgot to grab a jacket before leaving home. The OR coast is not very warm even in the summer on most days, so he had to buy a sweatshirt. At least we found a decent one, and he still has it to this day.

My hairbrush.

Sun baked, I forgot underwear once, too! Two mistakes led to this wonderful event. “It’s just a beach trip here in the US so no need for my packing list” was the first one. And “I am going to try out using a backpack eBag for this trip” was the second. The second mistake wouldn’t have caused the forgotten items unless I hadn’t decided to try out traveling with a backpack until after I had already started packing (undies always first) in my rolling case and totally forgot they were in there.

In case anyone is wondering, and God forbid your lovely undies one day don’t make it into your bag, Dollar Generals do carry underwear and actually have a decent amount of sizes available. Lol The best part was me calling to ask bc I didn’t want to drive a half hour in case they didn’t. The guy who answered the phone was so nice and so excited. No embarrassment on his part at all. “Oh yes ma’am, yes we do! You’re not the first tourist to forget! Believe me, we sell a lot of these here!” That vacation definitely got better after I scored my new undies!

My pajamas this trip. They are probably still in the dryer where they went for a few minutes last thing. Glad I had a t shirt and pair of shorts packed.

One 6 week trip, I forgot my glasses. So once I took my contacts out, I just couldn’t see.

TexasTravelmom, in a pinch, reading glasses work, for distance vision. My ophthalmologist even told me what magnification would work for my vision. I can't say I've ever seen reading glasses in drug stores in Europe, but they must be sold somewhere?

Re. PJs. I pack really light. I now skip PJs, in favor of lightweight joggers and a T-shirt. I like something that looks like lounge wear in case I need to leave the room or something, plus, I have the versatility for other possible scenarios.