travelgourmet,

I do have to say that there is no longer any such thing as a two-minute physical exertion for me! I'm a 53-year-old, 5' 3" woman, and I'm pretty fit (after 20 years in the Army). But I have to say, those two-minute lifting exercises do tend to stay with me now . . . sometimes for a few days. Yes, my neck, my back, my hip -- everything is beginning to age and ache. These days, when I spend a day lifting my bag on and off trains, those two-minute exertions add up, and I'm usually sore and crabby by the afternoon. That evening I'm in serious need of a massage!

I still travel with a 24" case for week-long trips (especially as my interests usually include an opera and a hike), but holy cow I do know it's not easy and shouldn't be dismissed casually.

s

<i>I have absolutely NO IDEA why this topic, or folks who do things differently, upset him so much.</i>

It is the superiority complex adopted by the travel-light brigade. Have you read the posts above? All the "you can do it" and "my husband won't help you lift your bag" posts. We had a couple of comments about how big bags are a problem in sub-saharan Africa. For a trip to 4 cities in Western Europe!

I don't care what you do. I really don't. But I object to the distortion of reality that the travel-light brigade wants to make reality. Travel light, travel heavy, it is your choice, but there is no right or wrong way. And trains do not have but a couple of steps, escalators and elevators are common in Europe, and the distance between the baggage belt and the floor is no more than 6 inches or so. I object to the way people make the walk from the baggage belt to the train to their hotel into the Bataan Death March.

If folks were actually honest about what people would encounter, then I wouldn't have a problem. All I have stated is that your actual lifting time is around 2 minutes or so, should you travel with wheels. I have reiterated that statement a time or two, but only to counter the unending drumbeat of comments about how great it is to do laundry on vacation.

I mean, were you to trust the travel light brigade, one would have to assume that taking anything bigger than a carry-on dooms you to a missed connection on the flight over, no chance of catching your train, half an hour of walking up stairs, and a suitcase full of stuff that you will never wear. The reality is that most folks don't miss their plane or train, less than 1% of passengers lose their luggage, Western Europe does have escalators and elevators in abundance (particularly at train stations and airports), and packing a dress or shirt you don't wear is not the end of the world.

<i>Obviously travelgourmet doesn't travel much on trains in SW France, where connections are often as little as 5-7 minutes and you have to walk down, then up, steep staircases, HAULING your suitcase, to change platforms.</i>

The location is different, but I make 5-7 minute connections all the time. I also recognize just how much time that is. That is enough time to roll a 50 lb suitcase for most of the distance and lift it for the 20 or so steps that you will likely encounter along the way. Indeed, I usually have time to grab something to drink. Indeed, my typical trip home from the airport involves a train to tram and (often) a tram-tram connection. I have also done the train-train connection more times than I can remember. Heck, I have done a metro-bus connection at least 100 times with varying types of luggage.

It is fun, though, to pretend that you have a monopoly on experience, isn't it? And, again, the OP is not going to SW France (though I have been there, thank you for your concern), they are going to 3 major cities in Italy and Paris. Hardly the hinterlands. Shouldn't we tailor our advice to that reality? I mean, why don't I offer my advice about how to get a good deal on laundry service in Cambodia?

<<< How much luggage for 19 day trip for 2 people? >>>

How much luggage do you need for a 19 day stay at home for 2 people?

You need similar except that you don't need work clothes

<<< for practical purposes would it be better for us to have one large suitcase or 2 small? >>>

Oh let's see - should I have one very large case that weighs 30kg and is a pain in the butt to carry around and will lead to osteopath bills when I get home or should I have two smaller cases to spread the load and reduce the risk if one case gets lost / stolen / dropped from a great height

<<< I was wondering would there be a place to put our two (29" and 32") luggages >>>

You are kidding aren't you? 29 AND 32 inch cases - are you intending living in them to save on hotel bills? The only place I would put such cases in the local charity shop so some other idiot can "benefit" from them.

Read what everyone else has written and unless you are both championship weightlifters then just forget about it and get 2 FAR SMALLER cases

cafegoddess - People take their luggage of all sizes and shapes on trains all the time. I am certain that, if you just follow the lead of others and exercise common sense, you will find a place to stow your luggage. Taking a car, of course, is usually much more pleasant, but can get pricey. If you aren't concerned about price, then I do recommend it.

<i>should I have one very large case that weighs 30kg and is a pain in the butt to carry around and will lead to osteopath bills when I get home</i>

Nobody is proposing a 30kg suitcase. And you shouldn't go to osteopaths - they aren't real doctors.

JanisJ - let us call alan's post exhibit A. Here we have the classic distortions of the travel-light brigade. There is the light vs dark choice, which overstates the actual weight of a large suitcase by close to 30%. We have the blind acceptance that nobody could ever need or desire more than the travel-light brigade would have them pack. For good measure, we make it seem like a financial choice, even though the OP already has that covered. It sure is compelling reading, but it doesn't make it overly relevant.

Thanks travelgourmet. We decided to pick-up our car in Venice instead of Milan, it will make things easier.

A question for American posters out there - just curious about something that comes up regulary round here. With all this talk of 19", 24" etc, how come you all seem to know the precise dimensions of your cases to the nearest inch? I mean, here in the UK I've just got a "small" suitcase, a "medium-sized" one and a "large" one. I haven't the faintest idea what the sizes are in inches (or cm for that matter). If you walked into a luggage shop in the UK and asked for a 21" case, I bet the sales assistants would exchange puzzled glances then attempt to find a tape measure in the back of the drawer. Are suitcases displayed in stores in the US under great big signs displaying the dimensions?

Gordon_R - Yes, in the US, most suitcases at stores have a tag saying how large they are. They are NOT displayed by dimensions, rather by brands & series. However, each suitcase's tag will say if it's 19" or 20" or 21" or 22" and so on.

It is important for people like me who take carryon suitcase only to know what the exact dimensions are. I have been asked multiple times in the last 8 months to place my carryon into a sizer at the airport, so I have to be exact. In fact, when I went luggage-shopping last year, I brought my measuring tape with me. While a suitcase may advertise it is a 21", sometimes it means the FRAME of the suitcase is 21" but the actual length including handles and wheels can end up being 22.5" or 23".

I don't see why saying "Don't expect my husband to help you" indicates superiority on my part. I simply do NOT want my husband gets injured when lugging these suitcases. He exercises daily but he is not a trained luggage handler. I can tell you that on every single overseas trip I've traveled on with my husband, he had been asked by females to help them stow or retrieve their suitcases. The difficult thing is there's no way one can tell how heavy they are - could be 30lbs, could be 50lbs, could be 70lbs - there is no label. My husband never refused, of course, but he's tired of being someone else's porter every single time. What if he strains his back next time he does that for someone else? That can totally ruin our vacation.

P.S. I understand the "don't expect my husband to help you" situation doesn't apply to the OP at all, since she's traveling with her husband. I mentioned this initially to explain why I choose to travel light, esp when I travel alone, because I do not feel it's right to rely on others to assist with my luggage. And <u>for me</u>, traveling light = no larger than 21" and no heavier than 25 lbs.

I understand that for other posters, such as travelgourmet, they have no trouble with 25" suitcases weighing 50 lbs or even larger and heavier, and I don't have problems with what they choose to take, as long as they can handle the suitcases.

<i>I don't see why saying "Don't expect my husband to help you" indicates superiority on my part.</i>

Perhaps superiority is the wrong word, but it certainly isn't relevant. The OP is traveling with her husband. We can assume that he will handle his own bags.

Again, the advice here is simply off-topic. We have discussions of tuk-tuks. We have concerns about women lifting baggage off of the belt all by their lonesome. A few have expressed concern that baggage costs money on Easyjet, even though this is bought and paid for. We have gross exaggerations of the weight of a fully-loaded suitcase.

The OP asked a simple question about what size luggage they should take, for this particular trip. Instead of advice tailored to this particular trip, they are treated to hypotheticals and ridiculous discussions about the luggage situation on trains in SW France. We have folks chiming in about what it is to travel as a single woman. Where did everyone lose sight of the reality of this particular trip? If ever there was a trip for which a 25" suitcase made sense, it is this one.

The OP has noted that they have done carry-on only and felt restricted. This is NORMAL. Going carry-on only requires compromises. But many want to gloss over those compromises and focus on how much the bag weighs. And rather than focusing on the reality of the difference between lugging a 21" vs a 25" suitcase, we have exaggerations.

Again, the OP is traveling with her husband. They are talking about taking two 25" suitcases between them, along with a small carry-on. Why is this the end of the world? What is the point of downsizing, assuming that they can lift the bags for the total of maybe 10 minutes over the entire vacation? To me, the 25" seems like a fine size for a trip like this.

I would take the smallest suitcase you can. We went to Europe last summer for 9 weeks, and we each brought only carry-on luggage - it can be done! (I even had clothes packed I didn't end up wearing!!) I had a carry-on suitcase full of clothes and toiletries and a large purse with a smaller purse inside, my camera, my folder with all of our travel information, my phone, my computer, book, etc. . .

For the suitcase, I color coordinated all my clothes so I could wear everything with each other. My color scheme was black, white and khaki with some colorful scarves. I rolled everything up which seemed to give me more space. I also packed a Baggallini totle (available on ebags - it folds up very tiny in its own zippered pouch, but opens to a nice size duffel bag). We used the Baggallini tote as checked luggage on the way home for all our dirty laundry, and packed the few souvenirs we bought safely in our suitcases. (We did do laundry along the way - sometimes in the sink at our hotel, sometimes at laundrymats and a couple of apartments we stayed in had laundry facilities so we didn't completely stink!)

I was so thankful I had not packed a large suitcase - it would not be fun to drag a large suitcase onto the train and the airlines we flew had very strict weight limits. Several of our hotels didn't have elevators (of if they did, they were broken!) and to lug a huge suitcase would have been a pain. It just made our trip so much easier and more enjoyable to have manageable luggage.

Have a wonderful trip!

Although I've done a lot of traveling, I have to admit that I have no idea of how suitcases are measured. So like Gordon_R I'm a bit confused by this thread. We just returned from a 19 day vacation for which we packed two "big" garment bags and carried a camera case and an oddly shaped oversized "purse" as carry on. I watched people hoist what looked to me like very large bags into the overhead bins and even some with suitcases AND giant duffle bags truck all that stuff down the airplane aisles. Can anyone tell us definitively what a "21" bag is, i.e. 21 inches from where to where? Is depth included in the measurement somehow? And what is the most typical maximum bag size that major airlines permit (or say they permit even if they really permit almost anything)to be carried on? Thanks.

I should have said that our "big" garment bags were checked not just packed.

JulieVikamanis, most US airlines have a limit of 45 linear inches (ie, length + width + depth). But each airline has a maximum dimension of each side, therefore, while a parcel measuring 43 x 1 x 1 = 45 linear inches, the 43 exceeds the maximum dimension of length.

In any case, one can bring any "length" of suitcases - be it 19" or 20" or 21" etc as long as the 3 dimensions add up to 45 total linear inches or less; and each dimension does not exceed the max imposed by the airline.

The problem, as I mentioned earlier, is that a suitcase advertised as 21" can be actually 23" if you add the handle and wheels. So if the suitcase is 21x14x10, in reality it is 23x14x10 which exceeds the limit.

Of course, no one ever really measures your suitcase at the airport, but there are SIZERS and if you suitcase doesn't fit in the sizer, you have to check it.

re <<one large suitcase or 2 small>>

Do you mean per person or for both of you? Do <b>NOT</b> share one huge suitcase! If it goes over the maximum weight allowed by the airline, you'll be charged extra <i>even if you were allowed another piece </i>. And what if the one gets lost?

Don't bring more than one rolling case (of any size) per person-- it's a nuisance to pull one in each hand. Better for each of you to have a medium rolling suitcase (around 24") plus a carry-on bag that can be carried on your shoulder or stacked on top of the suitcase.

<i>Can anyone tell us definitively what a "21" bag is, i.e. 21 inches from where to where?</i>

They are sizes. Are there differences? Sure. But this is the case with all sizes. One pair of jeans doesn't fit the same as any other, even if they are the same "size". At the end of the day, they are largely approximations. Calling it a 21" vs carry-on size wouldn't improve the clarity.

To the OP, since you're traveling in the summer, don't bring any jeans, just light pants. Jeans are heavy to carry and take forever to get dry in European dryers.

Since you're going to cities, shouldn't be hard to find laundromats/laundrettes. Except maybe Venice.

re <<on every single overseas trip I've traveled on with my husband, he had been asked by females to help them stow or retrieve their suitcases>>

yk, they actually had the nerve to <i>ask</i>? How rude. I'd never ask people to help, though it's nice when they offer.

#
travelgourmet on Aug 7, 09 at 07:32 PM

I would hate to be the customs officer searching your luggage after 3 weeks on the road!

They get what they signed up for. If they didn't want to look through dirty underwear, then they should have found a different job."

superiority complex, anyone?

<i>superiority complex, anyone?</i>

Not at all. I pack neatly. My dirty clothes are almost always in a separate bag, pocket, or laundry bag. If they want to dig through it, then that is their decision.