Two things that no one has mentioned in this thread:

1. If the passengers ahead of you in the boarding line fill up the overheads with alot of their carry on luggage, you may not have room for yours.
2. Depending on the configuration of the plane itself, you may not be able to fit your carry on into the overhead, it's just not big enough (in the height.)


Last year going to Italy for 3 weeks (we were also hiking for 1 week, so we had those clothes as well; we wore our hiking boots on the plane) we took our carry ons with no problem at all. On the return trip we checked our luggage, we just didn't feel like carrying it through the airport. It's a good thing we did because by the time we got on board, not only were the overhead bins full, but there was no way our bags would have fit in, the overhead was just not high enough. I was surprised at the difference between that compartment and the one on our flight over to Italy.

I agree with the admonition against heavy or unwieldy bags in Venice. We were there in August and since one must walk (and schlep) from the vaporetto stops, heavy bags are deadly there.

Does anyone have recommendations as to which brands of 21" or 24" bags they like? Sturdiness and lightness are the major factors. We need to cull through our luggage in the attic and eliminate all the old, heavy ones and need some guidance.

Thanks!

I am in the check-in category. I have little interest in doing laundry during a trip and most certainly cannot wear the same pants more than a two or three times. Shirts often only last a single wearing if I'm walking around a bit. And a second pair of shoes fills probably a quarter of a carry-on. I can do around a week, tops, and only if I don't need to bring something like a suit or the like.

Also, do bear in mind that some of the European airlines, including most of the budget ones AND (at least) SAS, Lufthansa, and BA have weight limits that are enforced with at least some regularity. In my experience, if a check-in agent on one of those airlines sees a roll-aboard, they will ask to weigh it. Never had a problem at the gate, though, but have several times had to check a 21" carry-on due to weight.

Correction: as pointed out to me on another thread, BA has ditched the weight limits for carry-ons - I've been packing light for no reason on my last couple of trips to London.

<<1. If the passengers ahead of you in the boarding line fill up the overheads with alot of their carry on luggage, you may not have room for yours.
2. Depending on the configuration of the plane itself, you may not be able to fit your carry on into the overhead, it's just not big enough (in the height.)>>

Number 3 is that if the flight is full the airline will gatecheck a percentage of carryons and you'll wind up waiting at the carousel. This happened to me and several other passengers on my last flight. The choices were totally random, not by weight or size. Some of the bags and backpacks were a lot smaller than other passengers were taking onboard.

When they took mine I said my prescriptions were in there and they said take them out but leave everything else. I took the prescriptions and my camera out but some people just gave up the luggage and worried during the flight.

I don't think this happens often but it is a possibility.

lflaster~ My suitcases are no special brand. If you have stores like JC Penny, TJ Maxx or Marshalls you can find good prices ($50-75). Make sure the wheels and handle mechanism work well. Zip and unzip, look carefully inside at the layout (do you like lots of pockets or none, etc.). Feel how heavy the bag is empty. Often the more expensive name brands I've looked at were way too heavy.

An addendum about washing clothes in Europe. Options are

- handwash in the hotel sink

- have the hotel do it for you -- expensively and usually takes at least a day

- find a laundromat/laundrette and do it yourself

- leave the wash at a laundry where they do it for you at a reasonable price

The last option is what most Europeans seem to do. And it takes little time out of your travels. Personally I'm afraid they won't pay attention to the colors or the clothes' washing instructions and just throw the whole lot in together at high temperature, both in the washer and dryer.

Laundromats are hard to find, at least in small towns. (Rick Steves' guidebooks are good for laundromat locations.) But it's kinda fun to encounter the locals at the same task.

Self-catering acommodations often (but not always) have a washer/dryer combination with complicated instructions. I can't figure out how to get out those items that need to line dry before the dry cycle. In Italy and Scotland they often have no dryer and line dry everything.

So keep this in mind as you pack and plan those one-night-stand itineraries.

Cindywho; we have purchesed a number of garments that are made of a soft, newer blend polyester/nylon which are easy to wash, do not wrinkle and thus are excellent as travel pieces. You can wash these in the hotel bath sink and they dry overnight. We have found this blend in socks, shirts, and slacks.

Hi Cindywho.
My husband and I are in our 60's, and in September we spent three weeks in France and Italy with a backpack each. We were in three different hotels in Paris over eight nights, three nights in Rome, three nights in a Villa in Agropoli
(the South of Italy) two nights in Chianciano Terme, four nights in Sienna and two nights in Tours, France.
The best thing about backpacks were the ease of carrying them on buses, Metros, and trains. There was no problem with them at airports either and we were in four of them.
A bonus was that during each day of visiting from a hotel, we used one backpack to carry supplies for the day- handwipes, water, cheese, snackes, etc.
We did laundry nearly every night...
and like another poster said, we deliberately took easy-to-wash clothes. My husband used two pairs of pants, three each of shirts, underwear and socks. Because the weather was warm, I took three pairs of light pants, three tees, and three sets of underwear. As we showered each night, we put the clothes in the bottom of the shower and "stomped them". After we each had showered, we rinsed the clothes and squeezed them as dry as possible in the bath towels and hung them to dry overnight.
We took a small nylon bag with us that we would carry the slightly damp clothes each day to finish drying the next night if we were travelling, and used it to bring gifts home. We flew by FlyZoom and EasyJet and had no problems with the luggage.
I did not take a purse; and our backpacks had lacing areas where we could put our jackets if the day became too warm. There was a side pouch on each side to carry our water bottles.
It was convenient, easy to do and saved us lugging bags. We had been to the Uk several years earlier for six days and hated every minute of worrying about and dragging luggage around so we had made a decision to streamline our clothes for this trip and it was worth it!!

Mackaybrae, thank you for so many helpful hints! I am not opposed at all to doing laundry some nights.

Inmiami - what kind of blend (fabric)did you get and is there a particular store you have luck finding those clothes? I have looked at several "travel" clothes websites and don't see much.

Chicos has a travelers clothing line. It does not wrinkle and you can handwash some items.
Magellens and travelsmith have washable and disposable underwear. (The disposable was for men, what a great idea!! )
I don't think I could ever put everything in a backpack! I am conservative on packing, but not that conservative!
Rick Steves has very lightweigh carryon/rollons, 21 inch. I think they were 7 or 8 pounds.

IN September we did 10 day Croatia/Budapest with a 21" carry-on and just returned from a 9 day in Paris (during the strikes) also with only carryon. I have converted my sisters (Paris trip) to only carry-on also. The one thing I haven't noticed in the thread is the use of spacebags- the ones you squeeze to compress. They really made a difference in the amt able to be put into the roll-aboard. We got ours at Target.

We have not had any difficulty with weight as the fully loaded bag is always under the 40pound limit. They have usually been only 24-28 pounds. You want to limit it to what you can lift over your head to put in the cabin storage.

FOr our November Paris trip we wore our coats with our gloves, hat and scarf in the pockets. My big black
giant purse held travel info ,reservations, makeup (small size)

We didnt take a blowdryer as that was provided. Did take a compact curling iron.

Glad we did carry-on as we would have missed our return flight in Newark if we had to wait for our luggage.

But if you desire to check you luggage- then you Should do it.--Saves more room in the overhead for the rest of us.

I usually travel with a 24" bag and I'm very happy with that arrangement. I can manage it very well on mass transit.
As noted by several posters above, carryon limits aren't just about size, they're also about weight. And on the budget airlines or even intra-Europe flights on conventional carriers, the weight limits are quite low. As I like to pick up home and decor or local interest mags in most places I visit, adding just a few of those to the stuff I've packed can take my bag over the limit.

Another problem with carry-on only is the liquids issue. I like to buy local wine or liqueurs whenever I'm in Austria or Switzerland, for example. I also like to bring home body lotions, shampoos, etc., that I've purchased on my travels. And airports are getting tough about what counts as a liquid...Brussels airport now includes marzipan sweets, Christmas stollen and even foie gras as liquids. IOW, I'd have to check my bag, even if it was just a 19" lightweight carryon model.

And since I know my bag will have to be checked, I take advantage of the extra space in the 24".

"Rick Steves has very lightweigh carryon/rollons, 21 inch. I think they were 7 or 8 pounds."

While this may seem light, bear in mind that the carry-on limit for most European Star Alliance carriers (Lufthansa, SAS, Austrian, Swiss) is 8kg, so even these light bags comprise half the limit. On Air France and KLM, the limit is 12 kg, which isn't that much more. Ryanair is 10kg. Alitalia is 5kg. BA and Easyjet just ask that you be able to lift it yourself.

Of course, these aren't enforced by every airline, every time, but they are enforced at least some of the time and should be kept in mind when traveling in Europe. In short, don't assume that what passes in the US will pass in Europe, because it often enough won't.

we flew BA 4 times this year and had no problem with carry ons.

Buy a light bag, pack lightly, check if you can lift it up - you will have to do it on trans, plains, buses.

It take some getting used to, but if you are moving around a lot, traveling light is really much easier.

We take a 3 week trip to Europe each year and we have evolved from the 24-26" bag to a 22" carry-on. It works great, easy to carry on and off trains or fitting into the truck of a small car. Also helps carrying up the stairs at a no-lift hotel or B&B. You cn always find a laundry when you need one and can always by personal items while travelling around. Quick drying non-wrinkle clothes can be sinked washed in your room and are dry and ready to go the follwing morning.
We usually check the bag on the flight over Arlines sometimes get icky on the weight)and carry a day pack on board with valuables and essential items.
Tom

Have been reading all the posts about carry on and would definitely like to,(we've done the train thing and the Tube with rolling suitcases, not good...) but, here's the problem....we are traveling in Sept....4 days in Rome followed by a week long Greek Isle cruise, followed by 4 days in Munich/Salzburg Is it possible to do all this in a carry on? Should I repost as separate question? Thanks

lvillinois: Sure you can do it w/ just carry-on. Or easily w/ a 24 incher which can't be carried on but is fairly easy to handle. This old thread has lots of info like packing lists, how to fit it all in a carry-on, etc.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34819224

"does 2 inches make that much of a difference?" - it's not only about the height. All 3 dimentions increase with the size, so it's not just 2 inches in height, it's the volume increase.

Our family of 4 went to Europe in summer of 2006 for 25 days. We each took a 21" rolling bag and a personal item, so no checked bags.

Personal items were backpacks for the kids, a large tote for me (large enough to fit my purse inside it, plus other stuff), and my husband took some type of personal item carry-on bag as well.

We all took clothing that would easily mix and match... dark capris, skirts (for me), and shorts and lighter colored (mostly solid) tops.

The key was that I rolled everyone's clothing and placed them in large (2 gallon, I believe) ziploc bags with all air removed... that allowed us to pack quite a bit.

When we travel, we do laundry approx. once per week and wash things out w/ Woolite in the hotel room in between (it was easier when we could carry a smallish bottle of Woolite in the luggage, but now we have to purchase it at our destination).

We do the same thing wherever we travel unless we're traveling somewhere for scuba diving. We can't seem to get everything (including long scuba fins) in carry-ons then!

Carole