22 days in july- what to take??

[ghady]

hey all..

ok, so i leave on the 8th of july...im gonna make my way around europe thru planes, trains, and hostels for 22 days..

so what should i take with me? how many shirts? jeans? boxers? where should i keep my money/passport/tickets?

should i take toothbrushes and the like?

what about my digital camera? there's no way all picture'll fit, and bringing my laptop is out of the question. should i bring the wires and a few empty cds, and go to random internet cafes and upload the pictures and burn them? im assuming they're all windows xp, so i wont be needing my carmea cd.

and what kind of a bag should i get? should i just use a normal backpack (like the ones we used to carry back in school)? or something bigger?

ok. thanks for the help
ghady

[herrbert]

Unless you want to buy a toothbrush in Europe, or not bruch your teeth, then I would bring a toothbrush (note: the toothpaste, needs to be in the checked-in lugage, not your handlugage).

How many you need to bring, depends on the number of times you want to do you laundry. In your case I would bring enough for 11/12 days, and do laundry in the middle of the trip.

Take a look if you want to invest a little in an extra SD-card (or similar memory card) for your camera.

Take a look at some other posts, to get the picture about, what bag to choose. I don't know how maybe books you were hauling to school, but I doubt, that you bag is enough to store, your clothes, and all other things, you need. For a daypack you could maybe use this bag.

[Eagle]

A few comments to add to herrbert's suggestions......

What type of clothing to take - that's somewhat a matter of personal preference. I normally travel with both long & short sleeved Shirts, a couple of pairs of trousers, etc. How many "Boxers" to take will depend on how often you want to do laundry? Don't forget a light coat (probably not needed, but rain is always a possibility judging by recent news reports about flooding in Spain).

Where to keep Money / Passport / Tickets - it's highly advisable to keep the most important documents, some cash and credit cards in a Money Belt (I assume you'll be taking one along?). It's not a good idea to access the Money Belt where others can see, so keep some "working cash" in a more accessible location.

Toothbrush, etc. - YES, by all means, take your Toothbrush! You can pack large tubes of Toothpaste in your checked luggage, but you might want to pack a small "travel size" tube in your carry-on, along with a Toothbrush.

Digital Camera - I agree with herrbert, take enough Memory Cards to last for at least a few days. Don't bother taking your Camera cables and Camera CD, as most Net Cafes probably won't allow any "foreign devices" to be connected to their PC's. One possibility might be to take a small Card Reader; most of these don't require driver software unless connected to Win '98 computers. The easiest solution would probably be to use Net Cafes or Photo shops to get CD's burned when your memory cards are full. Don't bother taking CD's as I'm sure they will be able to supply that sort of thing. Many people get two copies burned, sending one home and keeping one with them.

Don't assume that all PC's will be equipped with Windows XP! I've seen a variety of operating systems used in Net Cafes - Windows XP, 98, and also MAC computers (both OS 9 & 10).

What kind of a "bag" to use for travel? Again, this is somewhat a matter of personal preference. I use a panel-loading Backpack, which has a detachable Daypack (works great for carry-on when the larger Pack is checked). If you haven't bought a Backpack yet, it's VERY important to be properly fitted according to your torso length (most of the weight should rest on the hips, NOT the shoulders!). You'll have to decide which features are important to you -- detachable Daypack, stowable harness straps, panel-load or top-load, etc.

I'm assuming you're all sorted with respect to ATM cards, credit cards, etc. as you didn't mention those. Don't forget small Padlocks for your Backpack (if you have a model with zippers - be sure to use TSA "Travel Sentry" approved models if you plan to lock your Pack during air travel) and a small Padlock for Hostel Lockers.

Happy travels!!!