27" suitcase on train
 

I just bought a 27" suitcase for two of us to use. Is it to big for train racks? I have never used the trains before. Also, I am going in May and will be going Venice,Florence,Rome and Positano. I was going to but tickets in Italy. Sound ok?
Thanks

In my opinion you would be better off with two small suitcases for train travel. Lugging around a large piece up and down stairs at train stations and onto trains (sometimes with limited time) can be a hassle.

Depends on the train - but yes - it will probably be unsafe (likely to tip off) racks on a good many trains. Why ever would you use just one suitcase. You're much better off with 2 smaller ones.

I have to agree with both the above posters. Then too, it's going to have to be checked on the plane...and if it goes astray , you are both without clothes. Even when checking 2 smaller cases, I do our clothing half in each bag.

Return your 27" suitcase and buy 2 20" (or 21") suitcases instead.

The 27" will be too big to fit overhead rack. That leaves you with only the racks at the end of each train car - those can fill up quickly and you may end up with no place to put your suitcase.

Plus, can either you or your travel partner lift a 27" suitcase up a flight of stairs? I carry a 21" and when it's full, it weighs around 20-22lbs. That's the max weight I can handle (walking up 2-3 flights of stairs and lifting it up to overhead bins).

I totally, 100% agree. Dump the 27 incher and get two 19 or 21 inch bags. You can carry them on the plane if you want, you can easily get them on/off the trains, and they will just be soooooo much easier to handle all around.

Plus the 27 incher may cost you in overweight charges. a full 27 inch suitcase can weigh a ton . . . . .

Agreed with everyone above.

We each carried our own 22 x 14 x 9
(also okay for carry on plane) and they just fit on the racks.

Joanie

Resist the thinking that "its got wheels, it doesn't matter how big or heavy it is" You will be quickly surprised at how many places you have to just pick up the bag wheeling behind you and carry it somewhere. Whether it is up steps for a platform or a bridge in Venice or into and up staircases at hotels or lifting it overhead into a rack. Get two very smaller bags and you'll be much happier.

If you can fit everything you plan to take into 2 21" cases, great. If not, don't feel bad that you can't manage to get everything YOU want to take or buy into carry-on size luggage. But a 27" is just too big.
A 24" case with an expansion zipper will hold quite a bit and I've managed to get one on overhead racks in Italian trains with no problems.
By the way, if your May travel coincides with an Italian holiday or any kind of transit strike, try to get seat reservations.
I traveled in Italy in May over a holiday week-end that also included an airline strike. Every single seat was filled for every leg of every journey, even in first class. People were trudging up and down the aisles with their luggage in fruitless hunts for seats. My seat reservations made life a lot easier for me AND my luggage.

As everyone else has advised already don't bring that 27" suitcase on a train. The train carriage steps are very small and narrow and you will have anxious, hurried crowds behind you trying to board. Get either a smaller suitcase or two small ones as suggested.

I thank you all very much for advice which I will follow. I am taking someone with me that realy needs help with anything heavy. I was doing her a favor but I guess I will just back her suit case with less.One other question if you don't mind. I was going to buy the tickets for the train when I got there. I just don't know what time of day I can leave and if I make the reservation here what If I miss that train?

You can buy the tickets now or when you arrive. The rea key is if you are traveling on a Friday or Sunday when many Italians travel for a weekend away, or on an actual holiday. Your routes have many options, so you shouldn't have much trouble getting tickets. If you have particular trains you need to catch, you might purchase the tickets a few days ahead.

This is what I would suggest. Pack the two smaller suitcases. Leave your friend on the platform with one suitcase, and board the train with one. Then go back to the platform and have her go to the seats, and you follow behind her with the other suitcase. It will work best if you allow plenty of time and get a seat at the back of the car, to minimize having to walk down the aisles.

Agree. Trains are a pain with luggage. But, you are traveling with someone who will need help so you need to do some things differently. Would it work for you to take one suitcase of say 22-24" (we used this size this winter when travelling between Venice and Rome, and they fit into the overhead bin on the Eurostar in 2nd class)that is wheeled and then something like this one.

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/st...Id=40000000226

We just bought two of these and they seem really nice. You could wear one of these on your back and then drag the other one when getting on and off the train. You would have to remember to be careful when turning around and wearing the pack, but it is certainly a doable idea. The other thing to your advantage is that you will have someone withyou so you will have an extra set of eyes. You could have the other person watch one piece while you are stowing the other in the overhead.

Another idea we often use is to take a bike chain and chain the luggage in the far end of the car where the luggage storage is. Your greatest difficulties will be lifting the suitcases on and off the train, up into the overhead bins, and carrying them up and over some of the bridges in Venice.

Struggling with a large suitcase opens you up to the pickpockets. They will spot you before you get on the train and then fleece you!

Thanks again everyone. I am going to look into the small size suitcase.The price looked good to.
I may in luck traveling from Venice to Florence is a Thursday, so I will buy all my tickets then. Very good thought about Italians returning from their holiday.

i just did a train trip (one way) wiht my mom, who cannot help me much when walking.. so we did only have one largish suitcase. It was very cumbersome to deal with on and off train, even though it only weighed 15-18 kilos.

the rest of the trip was in airports, so no problem, but i certainly wish they would bring porters back to train stations. it would make life alot easier for those who have to deal with two people´s luggage, plus the second person!

It might give someone a nice job, too. I wonder why this service has been eliminated?

good luck.

Uneconomic.

it seems to work at U.S. airports.

Lincasanova, I am with you!

Is there somewhere to send a petition?? LOL!

In Venice when our water taxi reached the station a couple of men with a motorized big lugagge cart asked if we needed help. We were a group of 7, including my parents, with at least 12 pieces of lugagge. The guy said it would be 25 Euros and they would put the lugagge up in the train for us. I said yes and I walked behind them so I would lose sight of them.
They did a great job and our suitcases where the first ones on the train! It's the best 25 Euros I have ever paid.

Hey! you´re back! haven´t seen you on here for awhile.

hope all went well on your trip.

i have no idea where to petition although I have complained at the customer service office verbally in valencia to no avail.

I've taken 27" suitcases on the trains in Germany many times and have never had a problem. If you suitcases are on wheels, it's much harder to maneuver two suitcases than one large one. At the front and back of the trains, there is often room for larger suitcase storage - at least in first class.

Hi Lin,

Yes, I'm back and believe it or not in 2 weeks I'm going on another cruise that will stop in a couple of ports in Spain. Unfortunately, no Valencia this time!

Going back to the OP's question, I have also brought in a 27'' suitcase into a Eurostar train between Florence and Venice. There was no space at the end of the cars so I had to volunteer a guy to put it in the rack for me. So , it can be done, but you'll need help!

We used a 27" roller suitcase as well as a 22" last Spring and we combined train, plane and car. We dreaded the train days because our 27" suitcase was cumbersome...and after we added to it with some of our purchases along the way - it was a nightmare getting it up the stairs to get to some of the tracks, hoisting it up into the train and then trying to get it to fit in the overhead was next to impossible...don't take it!!!! :)

The large suitcase will be a nightmare on trains. Get two 22" rollaboards.

Great advice here.

Was wondering if there is more room for luggage in first class than in second class?

thanks!

yes - on some trains. But that really doesn't make large bags any easier to handle. You still have to schlepp your luggage along the platform and up into the the car. And sometimes the 1st class carriages are farther down the train so you have to walk even farther than you would to get to 2nd class.

thanks.
we are a family of 4, and with the rising cost of travelling in europe, i am hesitant to invest in new luggage... we have a couple of big pieces.

Then if you have 4 in your family - you can make it work. We're just trying to simplify your train travel. Where there's a will there's a way however large your luggage is.

I can only say as a family who traveled with 4 people on trains through out Europe last summer - get small suitcases. It was a nightmare!

&quot;<i>with the rising cost of travelling in europe, i am hesitant to invest in new luggage</i>&quot;

Head to Ross, Marshall's, TJMaxx or some discount outlet and get yourselves inexpensive 19-21 inchers. 4 won't cost much more than $80-$100-ish for all 4 and and will save you all kinds of grief if you are taking many trains.

If one person is going to need to handle two suitcases, I'd advise (1) 21-24&quot; on wheels, and the other to be a softsided something, than can &quot;ride on top&quot; of the wheeled suitcase. That is the easiest way for a single person to handle the most volume, in my opinion.

I am with SUe, that is the best way to carry two items.
The idea of a 27 inch in a train is NOT A GOOD IDEA.
Please if you can, exchange it for two as Sue suggests.
Poters are gone from most places, in Buenos Aires and Montevideo there are porters ....but that is not common.
Not long ago we took the Gran Clase train between Madrid and Paris which is a knoch over First, and the help was minimum. Our personal butler or porter move it a little and put it up for us in the rack. This was extraordinary I believe...