Carry-On Only Travel: 3 Weeks in Europe With Just 7kg

The idea hit me at a baggage carousel in Barcelona. I stood there for 47 minutes. My suitcase came out last, obviously. According to the SITA Baggage Report 2024, European airports mishandle 12.3 out of every 1,000 checked bags. Delayed, damaged, gone. I was done with it.

And the cost. Airline baggage fees across Europe vary by up to 123 euros between the cheapest and priciest carriers. Four flights in three weeks? That's 80 to 160 euros just for luggage. Money I'd rather spend on actual experiences.

Rick Steves puts it well: "You can't travel heavy, happy, and cheap. Pick two." I think he's right.

I went with a tomtoc 40L Reiserucksack, TSA Freundlich Groß Handgepäck Rucksack Travel Backpack. 40 liters of capacity, 1.4 kg empty. That sounds small, and honestly it is. But that was the whole point. The lighter the bag, the more room for clothes.

Why a backpack instead of a rolling suitcase? Anyone who's dragged a trolley across cobblestones in Lisbon, Porto, or Prague knows the answer. The rattling. The vibrations through your arm. The broken wheels. With a backpack on your shoulders you're free. Stairs, buses, narrow alleys, none of it matters.

I also packed Shacke Packung - Packwürfel 4er Set – Reiseorganisierer Mit Wäschebeutel for organization and two Icebreaker Herren Standard Merino 150 Tech Lite Kurzarm-T-Shirt Hike Naturally as the foundation of my wardrobe. More on the merino magic later.

I weighed everything. Yes, with a kitchen scale. My flatmate found this hilarious.

Clothes (2.1 kg)

• 2 merino T-shirts (180g each)

• 1 lightweight long-sleeve (150g)

• 2 shorts (200g each)

• 1 pair of jeans (620g)

• 5 underwear, 4 pairs of socks (370g total)

Jacket and Shoes (1.6 kg)

• Packable rain jacket (280g)

• Lightweight sneakers as a second pair (320g)

• Walking sandals worn on my feet (don't count toward baggage weight, trick number one)

Toiletries (0.9 kg)

• Everything decanted into 100ml containers. Shampoo, body wash, sunscreen, deodorant. Standard liquid rules apply.

Tech (0.8 kg)

• Phone, charging cable, power bank (must go in carry-on, can't be checked), headphones

The backpack itself (1.4 kg)

Total: 6.8 kg. Under the 7kg limit that most budget airlines enforce.

Did I forget something? Probably. But I never missed it.

This was honestly the best part of the whole experiment. Check in online, boarding pass on my phone, walk straight to security. No queuing at the check-in counter. No standing at the carousel after landing.

For my first flight (Berlin to Porto on Ryanair), I was at the gate 55 minutes before departure. Normally I show up two and a half hours early when I have a bag to drop. That's almost 90 minutes saved. Per flight.

On 4 September 2025, Ryanair increased its free cabin bag allowance to 40x30x20 cm, as set out in the Ryanair Bag Policy.

And the EU Parliament voted in June 2025 to ban carry-on luggage fees entirely. Carry on only travel is getting easier, not harder.

One practical thing: I always squeezed the backpack down a bit before boarding so it would slide into the sizer without drama. Never had a problem.

Porto, Lisbon, Madrid, Marseille. Four cities, three weeks, four flights and two train rides. And everywhere I went, I was the person without a bulky suitcase.

What worked well:

The merino. I was skeptical, I'll be honest. But merino wool T-shirts can go three to five wears before they smell. I washed them in the sink at night, hung them to dry, put them on again in the morning. No laundromat needed (though I did use one in Madrid anyway, 4 euros for everything clean).

The freedom. No "where do I stash my suitcase" problem on day trips. Backpack stays at the hostel, grab a foldable tote bag, done. In Lisbon I spontaneously rode three metro stops further than planned because why not. Try that with a rolling suitcase in tow.

What didn't work so well:

Souvenirs. I promised my sister a bottle of port wine. That doesn't fit in 7kg. Ended up mailing it home (12 euros, but the look on her face was worth it).

And one dinner in Madrid. Restaurant with a dress code. My jeans and merino shirt were, well, fine. But I didn't feel great. Maybe I should have packed a thin button-down. Or maybe I should have just picked a different restaurant. Which is what I ended up doing.

After three weeks of carry on only travel through Europe, I can say: it works. Better than I expected.

Things I'd change next time:

1. Bring a thin linen shirt (weighs 140g, would have helped in Madrid)
2. Fewer socks, more underwear (socks dry faster than I thought)
3. Laundry sheets instead of mini soap bars (lighter, no liquid restrictions)
4. Drop the rain jacket? No. It saved my day in Porto. Stays.

I don't miss the big suitcase. Genuinely. And Marco? He wants to come along next time. Carry-on only.

If you're curious about trying carry on only travel yourself: do it. Pack for one week, regardless of how long you're gone. You figure out the rest on the road. And if you need carry-on dimensions for different airlines, want to know about Ryanair hand luggage tricks, or want to brush up on airline baggage policies before you book (Coming Soon), Kofferly has the current carry-on rules for every European airline.

Minimalist travel packing is honestly one of those things where the hardest part is trusting that you'll be fine with less. You will be.

The r/OneBag community on Reddit has over 370,000 members. That many people can't all be wrong.

Or can they. I don't think so.