EF Tours Packing List for Students and Parents
Pack one suitcase you can carry up a flight of stairs by yourself, plus one backpack that holds your documents, medication, phone, and a change of clothes. That is the whole EF tours packing list in a sentence, and it works because on a student tour nobody carries your bag but you. Not the tour director, not your teacher, and not the parent who packed it.
The rest is detail: comfortable shoes you have already broken in, layers instead of bulk, and the small handful of items that are genuinely hard to replace mid-trip. If a student can lift their own bag into an overhead bin and walk 15 minutes with it, they packed correctly.
Build a personalized version in about a minute with our free packing list generator, then read the sections below for the parts specific to a group tour.
Updated September 2026. EF publishes packing guidance and luggage rules for each tour, and the airline on your itinerary sets its own size and weight limits. Check both, plus the U.S. Department of State country pages at travel.state.gov for entry requirements, before you pack.
The One Rule That Shapes Everything
Group tours move differently from family vacations. A typical day looks like this: bags out in the hotel lobby by a set time, a coach to the next city, a walking tour with the bag left on the coach, then a hotel where your room may be up two flights of stairs with no elevator.
That rhythm creates three constraints:
- You carry your own luggage, every time. Cobblestones, train platforms, and stairwells are all part of the trip.
- You repack every one or two nights. A bag that only closes when packed perfectly becomes a daily fight.
- You walk a lot. Five to eight miles a day on a European itinerary is normal. Shoes matter more than any other item.
The practical test at home: load the bag, carry it up and down a staircase twice, then walk around the block. If a student cannot do that comfortably, take things out until they can.
What EF Allows: Confirm Yours Before You Pack
EF's general guidance is one suitcase plus one small carry-on or backpack per traveler, and some tours are stricter, especially those with internal flights, trains, or overnight ferries. Your tour's own page and your group leader's instructions win over any general advice, including ours.
The airline sets a second layer of limits on top of that:
| Limit | Typical range | Where to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Checked bag weight | Commonly 50 lb, or 23 kg, on transatlantic economy tickets | The operating airline's baggage page |
| Checked bag size | Commonly 62 linear inches, meaning length plus width plus height | The operating airline's baggage page |
| Carry-on size | Often around 22 x 14 x 9 inches on US carriers, smaller on many European ones | Our carry-on size checker |
| Personal item | Must fit under the seat in front of you | The airline's page |
| Intra-Europe flights | Frequently tighter than the transatlantic leg | The specific carrier on that segment |
The trap to avoid: a bag that clears the transatlantic flight and then fails on a budget European carrier mid-tour. If your itinerary has an internal flight, size to the smallest airline on the whole trip, not the first one.
A note on bag style. A four-wheel spinner is easiest on airport floors and worst on cobblestones. Two-wheel rollers handle rough ground better. A rolling duffel with a strong frame splits the difference. Our how to choose luggage guide covers the tradeoffs, and any of them beats a bag so large that the student cannot lift it.
The Complete EF Tours Packing List
Documents: the carry-on category
These never go in a checked bag, ever.
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Passport | Many destinations, and EF's own guidance, ask for validity well beyond your return date. Confirm the requirement for every country on the itinerary |
| Copy of the passport photo page | One in the suitcase, one photo on the phone, one left with a parent at home |
| Visa or travel authorization if required | Depends on nationality and destination. Check early, not the week before |
| EF tour documents and the group leader's contact info | Printed, not only in the app |
| Health insurance card and EF's protection plan details | Including the 24-hour assistance number |
| Emergency contacts on paper | In a wallet, not only in a locked phone |
| A parent-signed medical consent form if the group requires one | Ask the group leader well in advance |
Our travel document checklist covers the full set, and the international travel checklist walks through the pre-trip tasks that are easy to leave too late, like renewing a passport.
Clothes: a 10-day tour in a carry-on-sized bag
The system is simple. Pick one color palette so every top works with every bottom, plan on rewearing, and count on one sink wash.
- 5 to 6 tops, mixed short and long sleeve
- 2 pairs of pants or jeans
- 1 pair of shorts or a skirt, season depending
- 1 fleece or hoodie
- 1 packable rain jacket with a hood
- 1 nicer outfit for a group dinner or a night at the theater
- Underwear and socks for 7 to 8 days
- Pajamas that are fine to walk down a hotel hallway in
- Swimsuit, if the itinerary has a pool, a beach, or a spa town
One dress code note. Many churches and religious sites in Europe require covered shoulders and knees to enter, including some of the most famous stops on student itineraries. A lightweight scarf and a pair of pants solve it, and being turned away at the door of a cathedral your whole group just walked to is a bad way to learn this.
Shoes: the item that makes or breaks the trip
- 1 pair of broken-in walking shoes or sneakers. Broken in means worn for at least two long walks at home. New shoes on day one is the single most common student tour mistake.
- 1 second pair, either sandals in summer or a lighter sneaker, so you can switch when the first pair gets wet.
- 1 pair of flip flops for hotel showers and pool decks.
That is three pairs, and two of them are light. More than that is weight you carry across Europe for nothing.
Toiletries and medication
Keep this small. Hotels supply basic soap, and stores exist in every city on the itinerary.
- Travel-size shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothpaste
- Toothbrush, deodorant, hairbrush, any hair products in small bottles
- Sunscreen and lip balm with SPF
- Contact lens supplies and a backup pair of glasses
- Feminine hygiene products, enough for the trip
- Prescription medication in the original labeled container, in the carry-on, with a copy of the prescription
- A small pain reliever, antihistamine, motion sickness tablets, and blister plasters
On medication, two rules. Prescriptions stay in the carry-on in their pharmacy-labeled bottles, because a checked bag can arrive a day late. And some common medications that are ordinary in the US are restricted or banned in other countries, so check the destination's rules if a student takes anything unusual. Our flying with medication guide has the details, and the travel first aid kit guide covers what is worth bringing versus buying there.
Liquids in the carry-on follow the standard rule: containers of 3.4 ounces or 100 milliliters or less, all fitting in one quart-sized clear bag, one bag per traveler. The full rules are at tsa.gov, and you can check any specific item with our can I bring it tool before it goes in the bag.
Tech and the day bag
The day bag is the backpack the student carries every single day, and it should stay light.
| In the day bag | Why |
|---|---|
| Phone and charging cable | Also the camera, the map, and the group chat |
| Power bank | Hotel outlets are scarce when three roommates share one room |
| Plug adapter, Type C or F for most of Europe, Type G for the UK and Ireland | Modern chargers handle 230 volts, so an adapter is usually all you need |
| Refillable water bottle | Refill at the hotel each morning. Empty it before airport security |
| Small day snacks | Lunches on a tour day are sometimes late |
| Rain jacket or a packable poncho | Coach storage is not available during walking tours |
| A little local currency | For a restroom, a locker, or a market stall |
| Portable door alarm or a small padlock | Optional, and reassuring for some families |
What to leave home: laptops and tablets unless a teacher requires them, expensive jewelry, a second pair of headphones, hair dryers and straighteners on US voltage, and anything the student would be genuinely upset to lose. Hotel rooms on a tour are shared, and bags sit on coaches.
A Worked Example: 10 Days, Four Cities, One Bag
Here is what a real packing outcome looks like for a student on a London, Paris, Lucerne, and Rome itinerary in late spring. For more on the Paris leg, our Paris packing list covers what to wear in the city.
| Category | Packed | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Bag | 22-inch two-wheel roller plus a 20-liter backpack | Roller handled cobblestones better than a spinner would have |
| Tops | 6, all in navy, white, and olive | Every top worked with both bottoms. Rewore 3 of them |
| Bottoms | 1 jeans, 1 lightweight travel pant, 1 pair of shorts | Shorts used on 2 days in Rome |
| Layers | 1 hoodie, 1 packable rain jacket | Both on at once in Lucerne, neither in Rome |
| Shoes | Sneakers worn on the plane, 1 lighter sneaker, flip flops | The second pair saved the trip after a rainy day in Paris |
| Laundry | 1 sink wash on night 6 | Socks and shirts dried overnight on a towel radiator |
| Space left | About a fifth of the bag | Filled with souvenirs, and the bag still closed on the way home |
Two things made this work: the color palette, and packing about 20 percent light on purpose. A student who leaves home with a full bag comes home with an overweight one.
For Parents: What Actually Matters
Most parental worry on a student tour lands on the wrong things. Here is where the attention is better spent.
1. Passport timing. This is the only item with a hard external deadline you cannot control. Start months ahead, and check both the expiration date and the validity requirement for every country on the itinerary. Our guide on how long it takes to get a passport covers current processing realities and what expediting does and does not do.
2. Money without cash. A prepaid travel card or a debit card on a parent's account, with the bank told about the travel dates, works better than a stack of bills a teenager keeps in a shared hotel room. Bring a small amount of local currency for the first day and use cards after that.
3. Phone plan. Decide before departure between an international plan and an eSIM, and set it up at home while there is wifi and a parent to help. Our eSIM vs roaming guide compares the two. Whichever you pick, turn off automatic app updates and background data before the flight.
4. Medication paperwork. Original containers, a copy of the prescription, and a note of the generic name, since brand names differ abroad.
5. Let them pack it themselves. A student who packed their own bag knows where things are, knows what is in it, and takes better care of it. Sit with them and use a list rather than doing it for them. That is the difference between a tour where a kid manages their own trip and one where they call home about a missing charger.
6. Set the check-in expectation before departure. One message a day at a set time, or every other day, agreed in advance. It saves both sides a lot of anxiety, and it respects the fact that the group is busy from breakfast to evening.
What to Leave at Home
- A suitcase bigger than the student can carry alone.
- New shoes.
- Full-size toiletries.
- Hair dryers and straighteners bought for US voltage.
- Expensive jewelry or a watch that matters.
- Six days of "just in case" outfits. There is a store in every city.
- A pillow. Take a small inflatable neck pillow for the flight instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many bags can you bring on an EF tour?
EF's general guidance is one suitcase plus one small carry-on or backpack, and some tours are stricter, particularly ones with internal flights or train segments. Your tour's own materials and your group leader's instructions are the version that counts, so confirm before you buy luggage.
What size suitcase is best for an EF tour?
The largest bag a student can carry up a flight of stairs alone, which for most teens is a carry-on-sized or medium checked bag rather than a large one. A two-wheel roller or rolling duffel handles cobblestones better than a four-wheel spinner. Check your airline's dimensions before you commit.
Can students do laundry on an EF tour?
Rarely in a machine, since the schedule moves most days and hotel laundry service is not a group activity. Plan for a sink wash instead: pack quick-drying fabrics, bring a little travel detergent, and wash a few items midway. That is why 7 to 8 days of underwear covers a 10-day tour.
What should students bring in their carry-on on an EF tour?
Passport, tour documents, all prescription medication in original labeled containers, phone and charger, power bank, plug adapter, a change of clothes, and a light layer. Checked bags occasionally arrive late, and everything on that list is either irreplaceable or would make a bad first day much worse.
How much walking do students do on an EF tour?
Five to eight miles on a typical sightseeing day, much of it on stone and often after a night in a new bed. That is the reason broken-in shoes and a light day bag show up on every version of this list, and why a second pair of shoes is worth the space.
Do students need a visa for an EF tour to Europe?
It depends on the student's nationality and the countries on the itinerary. US citizens generally do not need a visa for short tourist stays in the Schengen area, but travel authorization rules for visa-exempt travelers have been changing, and students holding other passports may need a full visa. Check the State Department country pages and your consulate early, since visa appointments book out.
What kind of adapter do students need in Europe?
A Type C or Type F adapter covers most of continental Europe, and a Type G adapter covers the UK and Ireland. Phone, laptop, and camera chargers handle 230 volts on their own, so an adapter without a converter is enough for those. Hair tools are the exception and are better left at home.
