How big backpack do I need?
 

Hi,

In August I'll do a 14-day island hopping trip in Greece and I wonder how big and what kind of backpack should I buy? I'm limited by easy-jet's hand luggage dimensions (56cm x 45cm x 25cm) and I have to take with a camping equipment (2 person classic dakota tent + sleeping bag), a laptop, beach equipment (swimming shorts, big towels, slippers), daily casual clothing (few T-shirts, two jeans, multiple pairs of socks and underwear, 2 pairs of shoes) , a shirt or two for poshy occasions, a smaller backpack, a hygiene kit and possibly some misc stuff that I forgot to mention. Comfort should be a priority since I expect a lot of walking around.

You're limited to a backpack and you have to bring a tent? I have no advice! But I offer my best wishes!

@joan: it's that small tent tube in the same size as sleeping bang, that one can attach on top of a backpack.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kKQiJ1ZZPg...0/DSCF1250.JPG

If you live in the US visit your neighborhood REI store and ask for advice. I've traveled with a backpack, but never with a tent. And you're going to have to check whatever you come up with if you are taking a tent and sleeping bag (and what about cooking equipment?)

You would do better to pick one of the islands recommended on your other thread and take whatever room is on offer on arrival.

ditch the laptop, find a phone

ditch the slippers, you only need (worn) hiking sandals for the whole trip. Two pairs of shoes.... (I give up)

go buy a small towel from a hiking store, the one you can wring dry an fits in your hand. Don't worry about using a towel to hide you "junk" if you change on the beach, this is europe, we've seen everything and no one cares.

jeans.... what time of the year are you coming, you'll roast in jeans.

a posh shirt of two. 1 posh shirt max. Socks, you'll only need to cover up if you get sunburnt, so two pairs max and wash them out.

The less you bring the more you'll enjoy yourselves.

When I do a bike tour I bring two panniers which together are smaller than the EJ limit.

Pack for weight, lay all your gear out on a bed. If it will not fit on the bed you have too much, then go through and pack for weight and sunburn. If in doubt bring worn out clothes and throw away as you go.

If you think I'm wrong, pack $30 and you can buy bits you are missing and take home a memory

@thursdaysd: i'm limited with bucks so in case I end with expensive accommodation as only option, then I'd head straight to camp site.

And I need no cooking equipment - I almost never used it on holidays, instead I rather went with the junk food route.

Why jeans? They're heavy and hot. Totally unnecessary for Greece at any time of year for a traveler.

Why the laptop? You don't have an android or iPAD?

Big towels? Why? Take a super lightweight hammam towel. Dries in minutes and only weighs a couple of ounces. Good for multiple uses.

Slippers? WTH for?

And if you're so broke you're camping, how come you need a shirt for "poshy" events?

Be careful with Easy Jet and a tent attached to your rucksack. Depending on the check in agent they may declare it another piece of luggage. Happened to my son flying home from Sicily.

Buy a microfiber towel. Don't take a laptop. Do take a sink plug, and a Coghlan peg less washing line. Wash your clothes by hand every couple of days. You can get soap leaves and washing powder leaves to save size and weight.
Take half the clothes you think you need. You can always buy stuff if you really need it.
Slippers for the shower I assume?

One that is not so big that it knocks out everyone you encounter on planes and trains. Can't tell you how many times I have been hit in the head by the overstuffed back pack whose owner seems to be oblivious to the fact that their huge backpack is taking out other passengers.

What denisea says..it is such a PITA to be knocked over by oblivious packpackers and their huge backpacks.

>>Can't tell you how many times I have been hit in the head by the overstuffed back pack whose owner seems to be oblivious to the fact that their huge backpack is taking out other passengers.<<

:)

I posted almost exactly the same thing on a thread some months ago -- and was ridiculed for making it up . . . Yes -- people do tend to be oblivious to what/who is behind them -- Las Dec in London I was literally knocked sideways by a pack when its owner decided to turn around quickly to look at the tube map on the car wall. And then his girlfriend w/ hair down to her shoulder blades decided that would be a good time to flip her hair right across my face.

Back packers (and hair tossers) you've been put on notice.

jmbeam: do note want hetismij2 says about easyJet and other budget airlines. They will likely consider your tent an additional piece of luggage - and checking it after you are at the airport is expensive.

People pulling cases and veering off course are just as bad. The problem is not the backpack, I never hit anyone with mine, the problem is oblivious people. (See selfie-sticks. See groups. Apparently now see Pokemon Go. Etc.)

for heaven's sake, Easyjet doesn't charge that much to check a bag, only about 15-18 euro if you buy in advance. Has nothing to do with being a budget airline, any airline I know would not allow you to meet the carryon limit (one bag or whatever) plus also take on a tent and sleeping bag.

Easyjet's hand luggage dimensions are quite generous, bigger than many regular airlines. Air France's for example is only 55x35x25.

If I were you, I'd pay to check a bag if you have to take a tent and sleeping bag.

I have flown easyjet often. Their dimensions limits for carry-ons are NOT a suggestion. Weight, however, does not matter.

You can check a bag when you check in but it's about double the cost of booking a bag on line.

Ditch the laptop, first off. Then I see all kinds of contradictions in your packing list... If you are so broke you need to take camping equipment, then why do you need two "posh" shirts? For August in Greece why do you need 2 pair of jeans? You don't need "big towels" (plural!).

Basically there is NO backpack big enough to fit everything you listed packing that will be small enough for the EasyJet dimensions you describe. IMO what you request is impossible.

Christina: >>for heaven's sake, Easyjet doesn't charge that much to check a bag, only about 15-18 euro if you buy in advance.<<

Yes, <i>if you buy in advance.</i> . . . But the point was . . . IF he shows up at the airport w/ an extra piece of luggage, it will not be cheap. He MUST pre-pay or he'll be nailed.

Per the other thread with camping information, if you don't have reservations for a campsite, I'm not sure I would pack all that camping gear. Wouldn't it be easier (make better sense) to pick a location where you have a good chance of finding a room to rent?

@suze: The place I'm aiming at is a party central. I'm rather in that place as a camper, than being in some retirement home in the other corner of the island for budget price.

And about the posh shirt contradiction, come on - less bucks spent on accommodation, more bucks left for booze.

Hey not a problem (well unless you can't get a campsite or a room since you chose "party central" with no reservation in place).

That said, I still don't see how you are going to get everything you listed into a backpack of the size limit that you mention.

"That said, I still don't see how you are going to get everything you listed into a backpack of the size limit that you mention."

I'll buy Santa bag.

"And about the posh shirt contradiction, come on - less bucks spent on accommodation, more bucks left for booze."

You don't need a posh shirt for a booze-up, you'll just mess it up.

And how are you going to secure the laptop in a tent?

Having seen the advice about not wearing jeans in Greece....
i can only say that we wear jeans in Greece all year round, and of course in the summer too..... :)

Yes, of course, but you LIVE there. You don't have to carry them around and wash them and dry them. Travelers can pack more sensibly, and lightly, than locals. I wear jeans here in France, too, but I wouldn't pack them for a vacation here.

If you need a big beach towel, buy one when you get there, leave it at a charity shop, hostel when you go.

I'd say 1 pair of jeans too, take a lighter pair of trousers as well & use the laundromat.

And yes, book your stuff through - I can't imagine a tent qualifying as cabin baggage, especially on a LCC.

Jimbeam, I repeat what I wrote in the other thread: <b>Don't assume you can find a last minute vacancy on a campsite in August!</b> You plan on going to Ios, Paros, or Naxos, which are all jammed with people that time of year, and most campsite pitches are booked up well in advance. In fact I would guess that campsites are the first to fill up. Strongly recommend you make a reservation just as you would with a room. Booking(dot)com has a campsite section.

You may end up wild camping which is illegal on the Greek Islands. If you do, pick somewhere well out of the way, not on a beach or someone's private property. If you are spotted by the police or landowner you will be made to move on.

Regarding clothing, pack as little as possible, and bring things that can be hand-washed. Everything you wear will get sweaty in August, but you can wash them in a handbasin and hung out to dry. On the islands in the summer I live in t-shirts and shorts or swimsuit, with maybe one set of long trousers and long-sleeved shirt to keep off the mosquitos in the evenings. When washed, jeans take too long to dry, even in the hot Greek sun, so I bring light travel wear instead.

@clausar, yes, I know Greeks wear jeans, but I have a friend in Athens who wears a sleeveless fleece in summer too! He says he gets cold when the temperature drops below 30C. ;-)

As others have said, forget the laptop! That means carrying a charger brick too, which all adds to the weight. I wouldn't feel safe leaving my laptop in an insecure place, either. It would be fine locked in a hotel room, but not in a tent in a busy campsite.

Jimbeam, I may be sounding negative, but that's not what I mean to do. I'm just trying to give you a "heads up" of what to expect when you arrive in the Cyclades. August is the month when Greeks, Italians, French, and many other nationalities take their summer holidays, and many head for the Mediterranean beaches. Just imagine the busiest resort you can think of in the US, and it still won't be as busy as Ios, Paros, and maybe Naxos in August.

Most campsites are divided up into pitches and marked off. They are not just an open field where you can put your tent anywhere you like, so there are a fixed number of places available. Camping is very popular in Europe, and more organised than you may be accustomed to if you camp in the US.

Most people who go to popular seaside places in mid-summer book their rooms or campsites the winter before or in early spring. Obviously some campsites are better than others, so the ones that are clean and have good toilets/showers and other facilities get booked first. The sort of trip you plan would be great for early June.

Good luck! I sincerely hope you have a wonderful holiday in Greece.

It would make much more sense to either pick bigger and/or less popular islands, or head for the mainland. The Peloponnese has some gorgeous places, and should be less crowded. I liked the north too, but I was inland there.

Or go to Albania. Cheap, less crowded, good beaches.

I just think you need to better sort out your trip strategy before packing.

If you're going to be camping rough, you won't want to deal with a laptop.

If you're going to be looking for rooms, you might want your laptop, but don't need your tent or sleeping bag.

And so on...