Planning your trip to Greece but not sure of the what Greece-specific items you’ll need to pack? Don’t worry, because this post is all about the 17 must-haves you may not have considered!
After traveling to Greece over 20 times, we’ve curated this expert travel packing list for Greece!
Table of contents
1. Foldable Beach Bag
No travel packing list for Greece is complete without a perfect beach bag. This Greek Beach Bag is ridiculously spacious, and even has an insulated pocket for cold products! Doesn’t it even look like a Greek flag?! So cute!!
It’s super sturdy, fits a TON of stuff, has a zipper closure, and best of all is inexpensive!
Pictured here:
2. Water Shoes
These are a non-negotiable! The beaches of Greece are stunning, but they may be different from what you’re used to. They are ROCK beaches! In addition to rocks, there are lots of shells and Urchins (more on that in item 3)!!
Don’t be one of those tourists scrambling your way into the water and tripping over yourself trying to get back to your towel. BRING WATER SHOES!!
These are the exact pair that we use. I have actually re-purchased these since I absolutely wore out my first pair on a month long trip to Greece back in 2021. They’re light, cute, come in tons of colors, and are so comfy! Highly recommend.
3. Tweezers
Speaking of sea urchins, boy did I regret not wearing my water shoes on a recent trip to Greece! I skipped wearing then ONCE, and wouldn’t you know it? I got 8 URCHIN SPINES stuck in my toes y’all!! So I say to you again, WEAR. YOUR. WATER. SHOES.
But the moral of this lesson is that I didn’t have tweezers with me, so the urchin spines just got deeper and deeper into my foot over the next 3 hours until we could get to a pharmacy! Trust me, I will NEVER be without tweezers again on the beach. Here’s a pair I use that are easy to travel with.
4. Fold-Up Beach Mat
Okay, more beach survival tips!! Remember how I said Greece has rock beaches? THIS BEACH MAT WILL KEEP YOU COMFY WHILE SWIMMING AND SUNBATHING.
The beauty of Greek islands is you don’t have to limit yourself to fancy beach clubs with expensive loungers. When in Greece, we will often just pull over on the side of a the road where there’s a cove or rugged beach! Keep this beach mat in your beach bag or the trunk of your rental car, and you’ll be able to spontaneously enjoy any coastline, even if there isn’t a daybed in sight!
This is exactly how the locals do it!!
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5. Quick Dry Towel
Keeping with the theme of cheap and spontaneous beach adventures, I keep a quick dry towel in my beach bag. Again, you want something compact that can be carried in your beach bag or backpack at all times, in case the perfect swimming or cliff jumping opportunity comes up! Here is an inexpensive microfiber one, similar to the one I’ve used.
6. A Good Hat
I love a hat that looks cute with a day dress, a bathing suit, and everything in between!! This is that hat.
So, you may notice Larry and I are wearing the same hat in these pictures! What actually happened here is that I bought this exact hat linked below for Larry. He looked sooooo good in it!!
So, naturally, as I do with all things that are Larry’s, I started stealing it for myself! And I just loved how it complimented my style, too!!
Finally, I bought myself the exact same hat last summer. Now we (CRINGE) match!! But that just goes to show that this cool sunhat – which is super inexpensive by the way – is universally flattering, unisex, and lasts a really long time (4 years and going strong!!) Can’t recommend it enough.
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7. Hat Clips
Nothing is worse than squishing your new, cute sunhat in your luggage on your way to a beach vacation!! That’s why I bought these hat clips, and they are a LIFE SAVER! I truly love them, and I take them on every vacation with me.
I save room in my luggage by not packing our hats, and I can easily pop my hat on once we get to our destination!
These clips work with magnets, and they are strong!! It’s never dropped my hat.
Pictured here:
8. Wet Bag
You want to be ready for spontaneous waterfall hikes and beach stops! I always carry a wet bag to put a wet bathing suit or wet clothing into so that we can keep on with our day and itinerary without our wet clothing getting everything else damp.
You don’t need anything fancy! Add something like this wet bag to your travel packing list for Greece.
9. Towel Clips
If you’ve ever seen any Greece travel vlogs, especially those of the Cyclades like Mykonos, you’ll know that the islands are windy!! Keeping your towel clipped to your lounge chair can help you stay comfier. AND, you can easily dry your towels and bathing suits after beach days outside your accommodation without worrying that they’ll fly away. Here’s an example of the type of beach towel clips we usually pack!
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10. Waterproof Phone Case
A must-do in Greece is a boat excursion of some kind! In addition to taking awesome sail boat adventures, you’ll probably also be exploring some caves, hiking among waterfalls, swimming a ton, and will be glad to have an easy to use waterproof phone case.
This case is similar to one that I’ve used.
11. Dog Poop Bags
I gave the honest truth about Greek toilets in more detail in my “Greece Travel Guide” blog. But briefly, you can’t flush the toilet paper.
Instead, you just throw your used TP into a waste bin (covered, usually) next to the toilet. If you’re nervous about this, what some people do is use a poop bag to contain the waste paper before throwing them in the bin. They can help contain any unsavory sights or smells.
I hate to recommend this, because it does seem wasteful, but it’s still much better than you throwing the paper in the toilet and causing a blockage in your hotel, if you’re feeling apprehensive!!
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12. European Plug Adaptor
This one seems obvious, but it can be easy to forget, so make sure to add it to the travel packing list for Greece, ASAP! This is the exact one we use. We bought two and have been using them for years! They also have super thin adaptors you can just pop onto the back, like if you will be stopping in the UK for example.
I like that it’s easy to use and charges all of our electronics quickly!
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13. Power Bank
Okay, more about electronics now. You NEED a power bank when traveling in general, but especially if you’re somewhere a little more remote. You can’t rely on having a wall outlet handy to you during the day in Greece, as a lot of the buildings and therefore electrical may be older than what you’re used to.
Better safe than sorry, I carry this exact power bank around with me EVERYWHERE when I’m traveling.
Pictured here:
14. Airalo eSIM
Having data abroad doesn’t need to be expensive. It is important to be able to navigate, translate, and contact others when necessary. Before I knew about eSIM services, I used to either go without data (which was super challenging and kept me from booking and sharing experiences I would’ve enjoyed), struggle with buying and changing physical SIM cards, or use the expensive international data plan provided by my service provider (literally $10 per day, WHAT was I thinking?!)
Luckily, there is a better way!
Airalo is relatively inexpensive and seamless to use. Download the Airalo app here.
15. Comfortable Sandals
Never have I ever seen a land with more cobblestone and uneven streets than Greece. But that’s exactly the old-world charm I’m looking for! While I spend most of the day in super comfy sneakers, sometimes when I’m going out at night I want to look cute!
Look cute and maybe dance!
These are my go-to comfy cute sandals. I have worn these all over Rome, Greece, Southeat Asia, and Mexico. So believe me when I say, they are so comfortable, light, and easy to squish down and pack.
And speaking of walking a lot … if you’re looking for a great city tour of Athens, or a day trip in Greece in general, you need to check out Get Your Guide, below! We always use Get Your Guide to book any tours, because it’s the easiest way to get connected to locals and find the highest rated tours.
16. Long Shawl or Sarong
There are a lot of monasteries and gorgeous churches in Greece that are well worth a visit. You don’t want to miss out on a spiritual experience because you don’t have the right clothing on! If you can keep a light shawl or sarong like this to tie around your waist or drape over your shoulders, you won’t have to worry! Definitely add a light coverage layer to your travel packing list for Greece.
17. Portable Neck Fan
If there’s one thing you cannot underestimate about Greek summer, it’s the heat!! Strongly recommend bringing a personal, portable neck fan especially if you’ll be touring monuments, archeological sites, or doing other daytime excursions!
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We hope you found this list of 17 must-have items for your travel packing list for Greece helpful! Next, make sure to check out our 15 Must-Have Beach Essentials!
Great blog!
Do you have any advice about sunscreen or sunblock? And are they allowed in public pools?