I absolutely loved my short 3-day trip to Athens with K, my older daughter! When our kids turn 12, they get to take a weekend/long weekend domestic trip with one parent. Since we live in London now, the 3.5 hour cheap, nonstop flight to Athens made this a possibility. 🙂 We definitely wanted to pack minimally – both because I hate carrying extra stuff and because we were flying on a budget airline with only a personal item. So we wanted to pack for a weekend trip in a backpack!
Here’s everything I took along – I had everything I needed and didn’t miss a thing. I hope it helps you pack minimally for a weekend trip, as well!
Clothing & Shoes
We were technically gone 3.5 days – we left the evening of the first day, had two full days in Athens, then half a day before flying out mid-afternoon. For this length of trip, I decided to pack 3 outfits, including the one I was wearing. I figured I’d have a fresh outfit for each of our two (hot, walking-heavy, somewhat sweaty) full days, and I’d rewear my travel outfit on the 3rd day. It worked perfectly and I didn’t feel the need for any other clothing.
Here’s what I packed:
- Outfit 1: Travel Outfit
- Smocked button front top (Exact is sold out, similar HERE and HERE)
- Cropped wide leg olive trousers
- Chunky cardigan (for the plane)
- Fave no-show socks that don’t slip
- Fave sneakers
- Watch + band
- Faux leather sling bag (mine is no longer sold, but HERE are some other great ones, and THIS is my very favorite when traveling with littler kids because of the wipes pocket and fold out changing pad)
- Outfit 2: Walking around ancient sites in Athens
- Outfit 3: First we went to the beach (I wore the previous day’s outfit as a cover up on the way there), then went back to the hotel and showered and changed into fresh clothes)
- Pajamas
Toiletries & Makeup
- Mini toothpaste
- Favorite facial cleansing oil (use code PREETHI20)
- Electric toothbrush
- Beloved magic blue facial oil (on top of moisturizer at night and keeps my skin completely clear) (code LOCALPASSPORTFAMILY)
- Small baggie of ibuprofen
- Mini deodorant
- Contact solution, contacts case, spare contacts
- Cocoa butter stick body moisturizer
Makeup & Skincare
- Mini tubes of my very favorite sunscreen (that’s also reef safe) (use code LPF15)
- Moisturizer (mini version – I love this kind at home, too)
- Eyebrow gel (I especially love this in hot weather because it doesn’t smear)
- Fave CC Cream (I use color tan warm)
- Foundation brush (there’s a reason this has nearly 46,000 5* reviews)
- Cloud Paint blush in color Dawn
- Phase Zero blush in color Making Moves (just a bit over the top to tone down the above one and add just a hint of shimmer)
- Mascara primer
- Fave mascara
Other
- 3-in-1 travel charging station for phone, AirPods, watch (love this thing)
- Universal travel adapter
- Sunglasses
- Camera (I took my big camera and my 24-70 lens)
- Breast pump
- AirPods
- My favorite packing cube
- And everything fit in the backpack I love! It’s no longer sold, but THIS and THIS are similar
- Favorite duffel that packs down small – this weighs almost nothing, takes almost no room, and allowed us to fly back with Greek olive oil and honey. We had to buy a ticket that included a checked bag on the way back because that was all that was available by the time we booked, so we figured we might as well take advantage of it!
- Grocery bag with snacks – we’ve always been allowed to carry this on board!
