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Cabin-only packing checklist for 2026

Updated Sep 17, 2026 · 5 min read

Cabin-only is the version of a cheap fare that stays cheap: nothing to drop at the desk, nothing to collect at the other end, and no hold bag fee in either direction. This list covers three to six nights on the three carriers a Sofia or Plovdiv traveller flies most. Sizes, weights and fees come from our own carrier research, checked on Aug 29, 2026.

Decide which cabin bag you are flying with

Ask first whether the trip fits the free 40 x 30 x 20 cm under-seat bag, the one bag neither Ryanair nor Wizz Air charges for.
Buy Priority and 2 Cabin Bags on Ryanair for the 55 x 40 x 20 cm, 10 kg trolley. That bag cannot be bought on its own.
Buy WIZZ Priority for the 55 x 40 x 23 cm, 10 kg trolley on Wizz Air, or price the SMART bundle, which adds a seat to it.
Leave WIZZ Go alone for a cabin-only trip. It carries a 20 kg hold bag and no trolley, which is the opposite shape.
Check Bulgaria Air before paying for anything, since its Economy fares already include a 10 kg cabin bag of 55 x 40 x 23 cm.
Keep the Bulgaria Air cabin total under 12 kg, which is the combined cap for the cabin bag and the personal item in Economy.
Watch the Riga route on Bulgaria Air: the flights operated by Air Baltic use a smaller 55 x 40 x 20 cm bag at 8 kg.

Clothes for three to six nights

Plan outfits rather than garments. Six days runs on two pairs of trousers and four or five tops.
Wear the coat, the boots and the heaviest trousers to the airport so the bag never has to carry them.
Pack one extra layer instead of a second jacket, which is the largest single space saving available.
Roll the clothes and fill the shoes. Those two habits are what get six nights inside a 10 kg trolley.
Take detergent sheets for a six-night trip rather than six of everything.
Pack one pair of shoes and wear the other, making the packed pair the lighter of the two.
Leave out the garment you are packing just in case, which is almost always the one that comes home unworn.

Toiletries, tech and the security tray

Decant toiletries into small bottles and keep them in a clear resealable bag near the top of the main compartment.
Buy sunscreen and shower gel at the destination instead of carrying them in both directions.
Carry one multi-port charger and one cable per device type, not one charger per device.
Keep documents, cards and medication on your person, not in a bag that could be moved to the hold.
Weigh the packed bag at home if your cabin bag has a 10 kg limit, which covers Ryanair, Wizz Air and Bulgaria Air.
Photograph the packed bag so you can rebuild it the same way for the flight home.

The night before

Check in online for both directions and save both boarding passes to the phone.
Test the bag against the size you are flying with, packed and with the pockets full.
Empty the outer pockets into the main compartment on Wizz Air, whose stated limits include side pockets.
Move anything liquid to the top of the bag so a security check costs two minutes rather than ten.
Set out what you are wearing to the airport, coat and shoes included, so the plan survives an early alarm.
Confirm which cabin product you bought. Priority and 2 Cabin Bags is capped per flight on Ryanair and does sell out.

At the airport and the gate

Walk past the bag desk. A cabin-only trip has nothing to drop, which is the queue this way of packing skips.
Check in online rather than at the counter, which costs €55 per person per sector on Ryanair and €40 to €50 on Wizz Air.
Use a sizer in the departures hall if there is one, while you still have room to move things between bags.
Expect the sizer at the gate. A Ryanair bag that does not fit is refused or placed in the hold for €70 to €75.
Expect €55 to €65 on Wizz Air for a cabin bag caught at the airport or gate, and the bag goes into the hold anyway.
Board when your group is called if you paid for priority, which is what that part of the product buys.
Accept a free hold placement without argument if Wizz Air moves a compliant trolley for operational reasons.

Questions

Does flying cabin-only really save money?

On a low-cost fare, yes. The free under-seat bag costs nothing. Ryanair's trolley runs €12.49 to €36 per person per flight at booking and its 20 kg hold bag runs €21.49 to €59.99, and both are charged again on the way back. Cabin-only removes one of those lines entirely.

How heavy can a cabin bag be?

10 kg for the trolley on Ryanair and Wizz Air, and 10 kg for the cabin bag Bulgaria Air includes in Economy. Bulgaria Air also caps the cabin bag and the personal item at 12 kg combined, so the two limits work together rather than separately.

Is the WIZZ SMART bundle better than buying Priority alone?

It depends on the uplift shown in the booking. SMART is Priority plus seat selection, and Wizz Air's published floors for those parts are €10 and €4 per leg. If SMART costs less than that uplift, take it. If it costs more, buy Priority on its own.

What happens if Ryanair priority sells out?

You cannot buy the trolley at all on that flight. Priority and 2 Cabin Bags is capped per flight and Ryanair's own help article sends sold-out passengers to a 10 kg check-in bag instead, which has to be dropped at the desk before security.

Cabin-only is worth building a habit around, because it turns a €40 fare into a €40 trip. The deals from Sofia page is where to look for the routes short enough to be worth packing this way.

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Sources

Sweet! baggage research: Ryanair (research/baggage/ryanair.json) checked Aug 29, 2026
Ryanair table of optional fees checked Aug 29, 2026
Sweet! baggage research: Wizz Air (research/baggage/wizzair.json) checked Aug 29, 2026
Wizz Air cabin baggage checked Aug 29, 2026
Sweet! baggage research: Bulgaria Air (research/baggage/bulgaria-air.json) checked Aug 29, 2026
Bulgaria Air baggage policy checked Aug 29, 2026