I am Leaving for Rome on March 17 and flying out of Frankfurt on March 30Th.I will be in Rome 2 Days ,Sicily 3days, Venice 3 Days for a Wedding, Austria 2 days, and Bavaria 2 days and was planning to take a 25 inch rolly and a backpack. Is the 25 inch to much to take? I have to pack some winter clothes which are bulky and hard to fit into a 19-22 inch. Am I being realistic or should I scale down?brucec

Well, ther last thing you need right now is advice to go buy different luggage... but...

Are you traveling solo? I am not a backpack person, but if I were, I would probably favor...

Three pieces, and I would make sure I could walk comfortably, with the backpack on, pulling the roller bag and one other item in my other hand.

The key in being able to do this is a rolling suitcase that has a handle long enough that you do not have to bend over when pulling it, if you mean a 25 inch suitcase on four wheels that you pull with a strap, I would recommend against it. Even if it means a new "rollaboard" (you can find these at K-mart for $20, you know), I would favor the third item (preferably a "no-weight" small-medium nylon duffel), so that you are better balanced.

And you know, this is really rather whirlwind with those 3 days in Sicily in there!

Especially since the four days AFTER Venice are already rather "whooshing"!

I have known too many people who started with two days in Rome and hated it. It takes many people 48 hours to get used to the sights, the sounds, the noise, the scooters, the INTENSITY of Rome.

Best wishes,

Rex

I always take the largest case that I can so that all my clothes fit into it without any spare space to avoid creasing. If you can manage a large case, by all means take it - always better to have too many clothes to choose from than too few.

m_kingdom-

Shouldn't you at least mention that you also have a chauffeur as well as porters at every place you visit?

The question you need to ask yourself is how much will you have to carry your luggage. If you are flying and taking taxis, then take all the luggage you want, but if you have to travel by train and /or bus and do a bit of walking to get to your hotels, then lighter is generally better.I've always found I need far less luggage than I thought.

brucec-

I can tell you that a 25-inch suitcase will be too big for me to carry. And looking at your busy itinerary with lots of moving around, I think you should pack at light as possible. It might be difficult as you need to pack something nice to attend the wedding as well.

I don't know how much winter clothes you are planning to bring. I only bring 1 coat (which I wear on the plane), and no more than 2-3 sweaters. I wear T-shirts underneath which I can change & wash, and they take up much less space than bringing 5-6 sweaters. Also, rolling the clothes saves space compared to folding them.

If you really cannot fit it all into a 22-inch + your backpack, try packing into your 25-inch and walk up and down the stairs a good number of times and see how you feel.

Good luck.

Thanks for the Info. I have now bought a 21 inch rollboard and a 25 inch rollboard. I tried packing the 21 inch and it almost full and I have no shirts. If I take the 25 inch I will only bring a backpack. I do know I will have to check in the 25 inch. I will be taking the train only once on the trip with luggage. Im not counting the leanardo express from airport to the train station in Rome where relatives will meet me. Its the Winter clothes in the Alps and the Wedding that is the packing problem.I would not have included Sicily on this trip but my brother the father of the bride may never be back and he wanted to go to Sicily. Thanks for your feedback. Brucec

brucec:
My husband and I very stupidly decided to just take one big duffle and each of us took a small carry-on. It was the largest duffle that LLbean makes. It stayed in London when we flew to Lyon and it stayed in London when we flew back home. When it came to Lyon 48 hours late it was marked with a tag that said heavy,even though it was not overweight as it was also marked when we received it at home two days later.We think that the baggage handlers saw the tag and just left it.We lost two days and train tickets because of the delay and LLBean got the bag back as soon as we got it with an explanation of our problems.(they refunded our money). Be careful not to take too large a suitcase. We sure never will again.

I have traveled around Europe with my mother and her 26" inch case. It can be done. Don't worry. If I can haul it on and off the train etc... I bet you can. (And yes, I would like to get her to a smaller suitcase, but..... this is the way it goes!)