My sister and I are taking the Grand Tour of Ireland with Brendan Vacations in June. We are trying to figure out how we are going to bring all our souvenirs and whatever else we buy in Ireland without carrying an extra fun. The book says we can only have one suitcase. Has anyone taken this tour? I would imagine the rules are the same for most bus tours. We chose to take a bus tour even though we know we'd have more freedom on our own because we wanted to see "everything" and figured a bus trip would be easier. Any help or comments would be appreciated.

That suitcase allowance is large, right? Like 27' or maybe even 33".

So bring a large suitcase (or an expandable one) 1/2 filled with what you need, and the other 1/2 is your room for souvenirs.

Another choice: bring your old undies and toss them as you go to make room for souvenirs. The same with cosmetics.

Shoes take up lots of space. Do you have any old ones you want to get rid of, but feel sorry to do so. Take them along and toss to make room for souvenirs.

Try to buy things at the end of the tour.

Have the shops send them for you.

You take one medium sized suitcase - don't cram it full, leaving plenty of space for all those treasures.

You don't need a ton of clothing for a trip like this. And as chatham says, for anything big/bulky - have the shop ship it home for you (then the VAT will come off the top and mostly pay for the shipping costs)

The suggestions to start out with half-filled suitcases and shipping purchases home are obvious; I'm not sure that packing old undies or worn-out shoes to throw away somewhere on the road in Ireland will give you substantially more space, or a good appearance. I've never heard of that before actually and can't imagine planning and waiting for a fabulous trip with the intent of packing groady underpants. There must be something to that I'm missing.

Tossing out one pair of old undies a day doesn't seem like it would free up too much space in a suitcase. Take half as many, wear them once, turn them inside out and wear them again before tossing. That would free up much more space.

Wait a minute, that was another fetish I didn't get, right? Turn your unders INSIDE OUT and trot around like that before tossing aside?

That's just lovely.

The clothes tossing thing has been brought up and debated here and elsewhere with people for/against many times.

I do it and yes, it can make alot of room if you need it. It really depends on what kind of vacation and activities you have planned- (obviously better suited to a more adventure activity vacation as you would not want to toss dressy/good clothes)

My older hiking boots along with my older socks, my oldest jeans and a clearance pair of slacks,new undies (big cheapo clearance at Wally world) wear 'em, wash 'em, wear 'em, bag 'em and all ready to toss at the end to make room if needed. (Plus of course a few other items that don't get tossed)

The only trick is to be sure and dispose of these things in a bag and trash them yourself, don't leave 'em for anyone else to have to take care of or find.

Perfect for a 3 week vacation in Ireland full of hiking and exploring- all in a 20" suitcase and one small carry on.

Works for me-