Things I Bought For My Europe Trip to Switzerland

When my friend said she was done waiting for someone to go on her bucket list trip to Switzerland with her and that she was finally just going to book it, a few other friends and I looked at her and said, “girl… we’ll go with you.” And that’s how my first European trip came to be!

We started talking about it in December 2025, picked September dates in January 2026, booked flights in February 2026, and I felt like I had soooo much time to collect all the things I felt like I’d need to get to successfully go on this trip. The plan is to go for 12 days with just a carry on and a personal item, so there is a lot of optimization that needs to be done!

I started all my lists and gradually started buying something here and something there. I got my Calpak Terra backpack fairly quickly (after lots of research - I am who I am!) so I could use it on a few trips I had this spring, and compression packing cubes came pretty quickly after (more on those later!), but I kinda dropped the ball at some point. Now the trip is sneaking up on me and I’m doing a lot of ordering, so I thought I’d share all the things I’m buying for this trip.

Things I bought for my Europe Trip - Luggage

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I’ve had my trusty purple Calpak rolling carry-on for at least a decade, and I have been starting to get a little worried about the retractable handle. It’s feeling very wobbly, and I just don’t want the cobblestones of Europe to be the reason my suitcase breaks. Because it’ll surely happen on the first day of the trip! So this trip is the perfect excuse to get some new luggage.

I am a gal who cannot hit “buy” without extensive research and comparing and reading all the reviews, and I finally went with the Quince luggage to replace my rolling carry on. I’ve also been without a large size checked bag for literally ever (my largest was a medium sized one) so I thought - what the heck, might as well get a matching set! I’m going to do a whole post on these suckers, but first impressions are they seem like great quality, are pretty, and roll very smoothly!

I started seeing TikToks of the Calpak Terra backpack awhile ago, even before this trip was on the books. So when I knew I needed the ~most optimized~ personal item, I thought of the Terra immediately. I still did way too much research before finally going for it, and I’m hopeful that there are no issues with the fact that it is teeechnically a teeny tiny too big to be considered a personal item for some European airlines. (A lot of people on Reddit said they’ve flown with it no problem, so let us all cross our fingers!)

I’ve used the Terra a few times already and I gotta say, I love it. I’ll be doing a whole post on this sucker too - it deserves it!

Things I bought for my Europe Trip - Amazon

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There were quite a few things I thought of off the top of my head to put on my “things to buy” list right away, but a few more things made their way onto the list after getting more and more “things I packed for my Europe trip” TikToks (you know how it is - once you watch one, 100 more will show up on your fyp!). So let’s do this rapid fire style:

Hand Sanitizer - Obviously a necessity for travel. This one is not only cute and smells great, but it’s slim and easy to pack, AND it’s refillable!

Liquids Pouches - I already had the standard TSA approved bottles to put your shampoo and conditioner and such in, but I wanted ones that would take up as little room as possible. These pouches get smaller as you use the product, so they were a no brainer!

Compression packing cubes - The theme here is “take up as little space as possible” so obviously we need packing cubes that can do the absolute most. I’ve used these a few times already and they really do make a big difference!

Wrinkle Release Spray - Due to all of your clothes being squished as small as possible in compression packing cubes, wrinkles are inevitable. This little spray bottle is way easier to pack than a steamer!

Hard Shell Pouch - I am a pouch LOVER when it comes to, well, literally any bag. It doesn’t even have to be traveling. But when I travel with snacks, they always get squished in my soft pouches. So these hard shell ones are great for making sure your protein bars don’t get squished and your crackers aren’t crushed.

Plug Adapter - Gotta be able to charge all the things and use my hair tools while in Switzerland!

Travel Pillow - We’re taking a red eye, and while I’ve been able to successfully sleep on planes before, it’s never very comfortable. As a head bobber, I’ve been wanting to try something like this out, and now’s the chance! I’ll definitely be updating you on how it goes - I hope it’s a total game changer!

Portable Charger - I have one that I keep in my purse day to day, but this one has double the capacity and being galavanting around Europe feels like the time to have as much extra battery life as possible!

Clorox Wipes - I’m not a huge germaphobe but I do like having the option to wipe things down on long plane rides, etc.

Things I bought for my Europe Trip - Misc

There were a few things that made it on to my “buy for Switzerland” list that honestly, I’ve just been kinda wanting for awhile and needed a reason to finally do it (kinda like the luggage thing).

Baggu reusable bag - I’ve been keeping this guy in my purse ever since I got it back in April and boy is it handy! I think it’ll be a great little just-in-case thing to have on a trip.

Compression socks - We’ve got a long, overnight flight, and want to be able to hit the ground running once we get there, so we don’t want our feet swollen or, God forbid, any blood clots!

I have a few clothing items that would fit well in this list, but I’m going to do a whole post on the clothes I’m bringing and how I’m setting up my little capsule wardrobe, so check that out for more on that!

While I’m not a huge fan of spending a ton of money, this haul has felt very productive and I’m excited to use everything and also finally have some of these things that have been on my running list for a while. I still have a few more things I need to buy, but if there’s anything you think I’m missing among these things I bought for my Europe trip, please tell me! I’ll add it to the list.