Carry-On Only: The 2-Week Vacation Challenge in Greece

Two checked bags on a typical Greece trip can easily run past 100 euros in fees alone with a budget carrier, on top of the carousel wait and the risk of missing a hotel shuttle. Short carry-on only trips are old news by now — three or four days, no big deal. But a full 2 week vacation carry on, beach plus city sightseeing? That's a different animal, which is exactly why a complete packing list for it is worth having.

Pretty simple. One cabin trolley, max 55x40x20 cm. A small backpack as a personal item. No checked bags, no last-minute add-ons at the gate, no cheating.

A typical route: Athens (4 nights), ferry to Naxos (5 nights), on to Paros (4 nights). Beaches, old towns, restaurants. Classic Greek island hopping.

This is where it gets specific, gram for gram.

Clothes (3.1 kg):

• 4 t-shirts (2 merino, 2 cotton)

• 2 pairs of shorts

• 1 pair of long pants for dinner

• 1 light linen shirt

• 5 pairs of socks, 5 underwear

• Swim trunks

• 1 thin rain jacket

Shoes:

• Sandals (worn on the plane instead of packed)

• Light sneakers (clipped to the trolley handle instead of taking up space inside)

Toiletries (0.8 kg):

• Everything in a carry-on approved liquids bag, travel sizes

• Sunscreen in travel size; the full bottle is usually cheap to buy locally

• Toothbrush, deodorant, razor

Tech (1.4 kg):

• Phone, charger, power bank

• An e-reader instead of printed books, which would add too much weight

• Headphones

Everything else (1.9 kg):

• The trolley itself

• Microfiber travel towel

• Packing cubes — according to our best packing cubes comparison, one of the smarter small purchases for this kind of trip

Total weight: 7.2 kg. With a trolley that already weighs 1.9 kg empty, that's packed to the brim — but it fits.

Four t-shirts for the first stretch in a city like Athens at summer temperatures sounds thin, but it works in practice as long as washing happens consistently: one shirt in the sink each evening, dried overnight. Merino dries reliably overnight; cotton takes much longer, which is a good reason to go all-merino next time.

One commonly overlooked detail: skipping a proper beach towel. A microfiber travel towel works fine for drying off, but at the beach it noticeably falls short of a real towel's size. A cheap beach towel is usually easy to pick up locally for a few euros.

On the ferry, the real payoff shows up: while other passengers haul oversized suitcases up narrow staircases, a cabin trolley just walks through.

An extended beach stay is the actual stress test: saltwater plus sand plus a limited wardrobe is a combination that needs planning.

Many Greek island accommodations offer a washing machine, often for 2 to 5 euros per load — the simplest route to fresh clothes for the second week. Without one, sink washing works too, though cotton shorts don't dry overnight once humidity climbs.

What usually turns out to be unnecessary: the long pants, realistically worn only once for a nicer dinner — shorts cover that occasion just as well. A second charging cable rarely gets used either.

What's often missing: a second pair of sandals. After ten days of sand and saltwater, most pairs start to smell, and noticeably so.

This is the most convincing part of the whole comparison:

Even after typical unplanned local purchases (a beach towel, sunscreen), the net savings land around 67 euros per trip. Anyone who does this twice a year saves enough for a capsule wardrobe for travel.

Curious about what airlines charge for overweight and excess baggage? Gate fees are even worse. Much worse.

Yes — with a couple of adjustments.

What works: the freedom. No carousel wait, no dragging heavy bags through cobblestone alleys, no stress during ferry transfers. Four shirts are genuinely enough as long as one gets washed in the sink each night.

What to change next time: switch to merino-only shirts (cost more, dry twice as fast), bring a second pair of light shoes instead of just sandals, and double-check the summer vacation packing list beforehand — it covers a few details that are easy to miss on a first pass.

Two weeks, one bag — the principle holds up well enough to make it a habit.