How to fit a week away into a cabin bag: what to pack, what the airline rules mean in practice, and the accessories that genuinely save space.
Our master holiday checklist on one A4 page. No sign-up needed.
Short breaks, city trips and anyone flying cabin-bag only with a budget airline
Travelling with hand luggage only saves money and time at the airport, but it changes how you pack. Every item has to earn its place, liquids need planning, and the bag itself matters more than anything you put in it.
Cabin bag sizes, weight limits and liquids rules vary between airlines and airports, and they do change. Check your booking and your departure airport before you pack, rather than relying on what was true last time.
A bag that matches your ticket – if your fare only includes a small under-seat bag, that bag's dimensions are the whole packing plan. Measure it when it's full, not empty.
Under-seat cabin bag
Sized for budget airline under-seat allowances. Check it against your own airline's current dimensions.
Packing cubes – in a small bag, they stop everything collapsing into one pile and make security checks less stressful. Compression cubes can help squeeze bulky jumpers, but don't expect miracles.
Thule Compression Packing Cube
A more premium compression option if build quality and compression matter to you.
Amazon Essentials 4-Piece Packing Cubes
Good-value starter set for trying packing cubes without spending much.
Luggage scales (maybe) – only worth packing if your airline weighs cabin bags. Many budget airlines focus on size, but some do enforce weight.
Etekcity Digital Luggage Scale
Compact and simple, so you can check your bag's weight at home before you get to the airport.
A clear liquids bag – a reusable one survives far more trips than a freezer bag.
Clear reusable liquids bag
A tougher, reusable alternative to a freezer bag for the security tray.
Refillable travel bottles – decant shampoo, conditioner and moisturiser into small bottles rather than buying travel minis every time. Test them for leaks at home first.
Leak-proof travel bottles
Refillable bottles for decanting your own toiletries into travel sizes.
Solid toiletries – shampoo bars, solid deodorant and toothpaste tablets don't count as liquids at most airports and free up space in the liquids bag.
Travel-size sun cream – often the bulkiest liquid, so choose a 100ml bottle that fits within the liquids limit.
NIVEA Sun Protect & Moisture SPF 30 (100ml travel size)
Fits within the 100ml liquids limit, so it can go in your clear liquids bag.
Power bank – it has to travel in the cabin anyway, so it suits hand-luggage trips well. Current UK rules limit you to two per person, and you can't charge them on board.
INIU 10,000mAh 45W Power Bank
A strong travel balance of 10,000mAh capacity, fast 45W USB-C charging and compact size without moving into bulky high-capacity territory.
One charger for everything – a single USB-C charger with a couple of cables beats separate chargers for each device.
Travel adapter – a compact regional adapter takes less room than a universal one if you're only going to one country.
MyTravelPal Pro Universal Travel Adaptor
Suited to frequent or multi-country travellers who want one grounded adaptor with USB charging rather than several regional plugs.
A small cable pouch – keeps all the tech in one place for the security tray.
BAGSMART Travel Cable Organiser
Compact enough for ordinary holiday tech, with enough organisation for cables, chargers and a small power bank without becoming a bulky case.
Wear your bulkiest items on the plane – boots, jacket and jumper travel free on you.
Plan outfits around two or three colours – so everything goes with everything.
Pack for five days, not seven – a sink wash or a launderette visit is easier than carrying an extra two days of clothes.
One pair of shoes in the bag, at most – shoes take up more space than anything else.
A pocket-sized game – Hive Pocket comes in a small pouch, needs no board and works on a tray table.
Hive Pocket
An excellent game for two. The chunky pieces work well on a tray table and it packs into a small pouch.
Or a deck-sized card game – Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza is barely bigger than a pack of cards.
Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza
Tiny, simple and chaotic, with a surprising amount of laughter for its size.
For two of you – The Fox in the Forest is a two-player card game in a 197 g box. Put the cards in a deck box and it takes up almost no room.
The Fox in the Forest
A tactical card game for two that works brilliantly on a plane. One of our two favourite games for two, alongside Hive Pocket.
A hanging toiletry bag – brilliant with checked luggage, but too bulky for a small cabin bag.
A travel pillow – unless it's a compact one and the flight is long enough to sleep on.
Anything you could buy cheaply when you arrive – flip-flops and full-size toiletries are rarely worth the space.
A book or a Kindle – a Kindle weighs less than a single paperback and holds a whole holiday's worth of books, so you'll never run out halfway through the trip.
Amazon Kindle
About 158g and smaller than the Paperwhite, so it's our pick for travel. It isn't waterproof, so keep it away from the pool.
Dungeon Crawler Carl: Book 1
Our favourite holiday read: funny, addictive and eight books long. It's for adults, not children.
Games on these lists are ones we've packed and played ourselves. Other products are linked to our researched guides, so you can check whether something is genuinely worth the space before you buy.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.