What to pack for a city break?

City breaks have become popular thanks to the possibility of cheap travel with airlines. A short trip, usually to European countries, is a way to enjoy budget-friendly holidays full of experiences and to soak up the atmosphere of the place we are visiting. How to prepare for such a trip and what to bring with you?

City break - a quick escape from everyday life

Low-cost airlines have contributed to many changes related to travel, and the city break is one of them. What is a city break? By definition, these are short, several-day, often weekend trips to European cities. They combine sightseeing with getting to know the local culture, art, and cuisine. And all this at affordable prices! How is this possible? Airlines often offer very cheap tickets to selected destinations, which means that for just a few hundred złoty round trip, we can fly to cities like Venice, Barcelona, Rome, Bari, Split, or London! It’s a great way to explore Europe and the whole world, although it’s important to remember that farther destinations are usually more expensive, even on promotion.

Cheap? Only with hand luggage

Budget travel in the style of a city break has its limitations. It is cost-effective provided that we travel with hand luggage. Although city breaks are by definition short weekend trips, when hunting for price deals, the focus is on cheap flights there and back. This requires flexibility regarding the length of the trip. Such a trip can last 3 days, but just as well 6-7 days. Meanwhile, it’s only cheap with hand luggage. Fortunately, hand luggage is not just a small women's or men's handbag. Its definition includes a backpack or travel bag with limited dimensions. What dimensions? It depends on the airline. In Poland, the most popular are Ryanair and Wizzair. They allow hand luggage with dimensions of 40 x 20 x 25 cm and 40 x 20 x 30 cm, respectively. Contrary to appearances, it is quite possible to pack for a city break in such luggage.

What to pack for a city break?

The most convenient solution is a backpack or travel bag of appropriate dimensions if we want to fit within hand luggage restrictions. A backpack is great if we expect to cover some distances on foot during our trip. It is simply more comfortable because it distributes weight evenly. If we don’t have a backpack in the right size, we can take a larger one and not pack it fully, leaving some free space, which will ultimately allow the backpack to fit into the airport measuring device if necessary. If packing into a small backpack or bag is too limiting, we can take larger luggage, such as a cabin suitcase. However, it’s important to remember that this requires an extra fee for the ticket.

What to bring on a weekend trip?

Luggage restrictions force careful consideration of what to bring. A good idea is to prepare a list of items in advance to think through what is worth taking and what can be left out. So, what is worth bringing? First and foremost, comfortable shoes. Ideally one pair—the ones you will wear. Shoes take up a lot of space, so we usually avoid packing them in the backpack. The most important are:

• clothes – it’s best to choose those made of thin materials, like shirts, leggings, thin dresses, t-shirts, rather than space-consuming jeans;

• underwear, including socks;

• travel documents, but also ID card or passport, driver’s license – if we plan to rent a car;

• cosmetics – it’s better not to take large containers but mini versions, and some of them, like shower gels or shampoos, can be bought locally, saving space in the luggage. Instead of shower gel, you can also take a small soap;

• sunglasses, especially if flying to southern Europe, where even in autumn the sun can be intense.

It’s worth wearing some items. Long pants, which take up a lot of space, or a rain jacket don’t have to occupy space in a small backpack. It’s also good to limit gadgets. Unless you are an avid photographer, the camera on your phone should suffice. You can bring spare memory cards, which take up little space.

Cosmetics and hand luggage restrictions

We can pack cosmetics in hand luggage that we bring on board, but with some restrictions. This concerns liquid cosmetics. They must be placed in transparent 100 ml bottles and put into a sealed, transparent bag or toiletry bag. Many cosmetic brands sell such mini products, but a good idea is also to buy such bottles and transfer liquid cosmetics into them. It’s worth remembering that we don’t have to bring these cosmetics with us. We can buy them locally, significantly reducing the amount of hand luggage.

What if hand luggage is not enough?

Sometimes hand luggage for a city break is not enough. Here, a cabin suitcase comes to the rescue. Airlines offer a very convenient solution. By purchasing luggage the size of a cabin suitcase, we can still bring a backpack or bag as hand luggage. Additionally, we usually get priority boarding. This solution is often useful when traveling to big cities where we want to look stylish.

Autumn and summer city breaks and packing

Traveling in autumn and winter, as well as early spring, is usually cheaper than in summer. Air tickets are cheaper, so we often go on city breaks outside the main season. This is also a more demanding time because we need to bring warmer clothes. Experience shows, however, that even off-season in many places, shorts are more useful than a warm jacket. Of course, this doesn’t change the fact that it’s worth bringing at least one piece of warmer clothing, depending on where and when we are flying. It’s important to check weather forecasts regularly to prepare accordingly. In southern Europe, autumn can be very warm, although evenings may be cooler. Even in summer, it’s worth bringing a sweatshirt or a light cardigan.

Documents and money – better to always have them with you

The need to carry money, payment cards, or documents means it’s worth having an additional small bag with you. Unfortunately, it is sometimes treated as extra luggage, although not always. A fanny pack works great here. It frees your hands, stays close, and usually doesn’t cause any problems during check-in. Moreover, having it reduces the risk of losing valuable documents and money due to pickpockets, who unfortunately operate actively in popular tourist cities, targeting inattentive tourists. Before the trip, it’s a good idea to get a fanny pack to travel comfortably by plane and explore cities with peace of mind.

A city break is a great way to relax and discover interesting places. Packing for such a trip is no problem, provided we know what to take and how to pack.