Erasmus Packing List: How to Pack Your Suitcase for 3 to 12 Months Abroad

Planning to travel after your semester? Go with a backpack.
Staying mostly in one city for four months? Take a suitcase.

That's honestly the only question that matters. For most Erasmus students, a suitcase like the Samsonite S'Cure Spinner L Hartschalenkoffer, 75 cm, 102 L, Schwarz makes more sense. More volume, easier to roll through airports, and your back will thank you after lugging it up apartment stairs. If you're on the fence about the backpack route, take a look at what backpack travel through Europe actually looks like before you decide. A tomtoc 40L Reiserucksack, TSA Freundlich Groß Handgepäck Rucksack Travel Backpack is a solid carry-on alternative for that case, with its own laptop compartment.

For 3 to 6 months, a 65 to 75 liter suitcase does the job. You've got a washing machine. You don't need your entire wardrobe.

Erasmus baggage costs catch a lot of students off guard. Ryanair only allows 55x40x20cm cabin bags (way less depth than easyJet at 25cm), while Eurowings allows 55x40x23cm. Booking the cheapest flight without checking baggage fees is a mistake that costs you at the gate. For the full breakdown of rules, fees, and how to avoid that 70-euro charge, check our complete Ryanair baggage guide.

Here's the tip I never found on any packing list: the Ryanair-ESN partnership gives ESNcard holders a free 20kg checked bag per flight, plus 10% off fares. That's up to 80 euros saved on a return trip. Book it directly through ryanair.com with your ESNcard. Valid through June 2026.

Right, baggage rules sorted. Now let's talk about what actually goes inside.

For your semester abroad packing list: documents, medication, and electronics always come with you. Clothes? Two weeks' worth, tops. You'll shop there. Almost everything is available.

Here's the catch: Spain has no equivalent to German drugstores like dm or Rossmann. As studieren-weltweit.de notes from direct experience, toiletries and pharmacy prices are significantly higher there. Stock up on your favorites before you leave. In France and Scandinavia, options are comparable. If you don't have a packing template yet, our universal city trip packing list is a solid starting point.

Books? Leave them. Go digital or ship them via DHL for about 22 euros.

Compression bags for winter clothes. Pack a thick jumper in, squeeze the air out and it's suddenly flat as a t-shirt. Amazon Basics Vakuum-Kompressionsbeutel mit Handpumpe, Reißverschluss, Größe X-Jumbo, 4-er Pack, für Kleidung, Transparent cut the volume of anything fluffy by about half. Looks ridiculous. Works. For packing the rest of the suitcase efficiently, our professional packing tips cover 15 tricks for getting the most out of every centimeter.

Leave 2 to 3 kilos of buffer space. You will come back with more than you left with. I'd bet on it. A foldable travel bag like the Flintronic 35L Faltbare Reisetasche Gepäcktasche Große Weekender Übernachtungstasche Wasserdicht Sporttasche für Herren Damen packs flat into any corner of your suitcase and rescues your return flight. Add BAGAIL Packwürfel 8er Set for the rest of the organization.

Pack less than you think you need. You don't need five pairs of jeans for a semester in Lisbon. Clothes for two weeks, laundry on site.

Packing less isn't a sacrifice. It's freedom. The right suitcase for your semester abroad is the one that leaves room to grow -- not the one that slows you down at boarding.

Any questions? The most common ones are below.