rayb

my wife and i are making a 15 day trip to venice, florence, amalfi coast and rome. we plan to go by bus and train from each stop.
should we each take a one huge piece of rolling luggage or two medium sized pieces?
do the buses and trains have storage space for one large piece? thanks.

rex

<<do the buses and trains have storage space for one large piece?>>

Yes, but there are no self-serve forklifts.

The only reason I would ever take a "huge" piece of luggage is if I expected to need to transport a dead body in it.

One rollaboard; one small-medium duffel. One eight pounds empty; the other eight OUNCES empty.

You will thank me for this advice.

Best wishes,

Rex

Andrea_expat

Note to all Fodorites: If you ever see Rex in an airport lugging one huge piece of luggage, RUN!

suze

You should each take 1 rolling 22"-24" suitcase that you check on the plane and can easily handle yourselves upon arrival, plus one small carry-on/day-bag each. For 15 days you don't need tons of clothes. Traveling by bus, train (probably taxi too), you'll be glad you packed light. Guaranteed!

janis

as the others say - NOT one huge piece of luggage, NOT two medium pieces. Each of you can easily manage with a 21 inch rolling bag and perhaps a medium sized satchel/carry-on. Search for some recent threads about selecting luggage and packing light. Believe me, you will be a LOT happier than if you are trudging through bus and train stations w/ masses of luggage.

rex

<<If you ever see Rex in an airport lugging one huge piece of luggage, RUN!>>

Naaahhh, Andrea... if you ever see me lugging one huge piece of luggage in an airport, there will already be someone in there. And I won't ever lug one so huge that there would be room to put a second body in there!

DeborahAnn

rex, thank you for such a witty post I don't think I will ever be able to look at my huge suitcase without thinking who's body would fit into it. Deborah

ira

Hi ray,

For 21 days, my wife and I took one large, wheeled suitcase and 2 carryons, and that was a bit too much.

You will have to lift your suitcases on and off trains.

The buses have luggage storage underneath the passenger compartment.

Leona

Airlines have gotten pretty strict about overweight pieces..better to take two medium than one large.

CarolA

Leona is correct. You really run a risk of being charged HIGH overweight luggage charges with one bag. I recently saw two people with "body bags" charged at the Norfolk airport for overweight international luggage.

I also read a piece that indicated that one woman spent as much on overweight as she did on the original ticket.

Check your airline website as limits vary by carrier.

Patrick

It certainly has to do with what you are comfortable lifting, but I'd much rather take one large rolling piece than two medium sized pieces, rolling or not. I like having one hand free, and it is nearly impossible to roll two pieces at once. I'm not talking about ever taking luggage large enough to put a body into, however! By the way, in addition to our fairly large rolling suitcases (rolling duffels, actually) we each carry a smallish backpack. Again those allow us to have one hand free at all times, as opposed to clutching some smaller carryon.

rex

The coombo I propose also leaves one hand free, Patrick; the rollaboard rolls, and the duffel hangs across the handle, somewhat like a dumbbel/saddlbag; the key is that it needs to be "squash-able" - - this is also key to getting it to fit into cramped irregular shaped spaces, like in a car trunk or in "half a space" in an over head compartment.

nytraveler

The key to deciding what size suitcase you can manage is very simple - think of the weightlifters in the olympics. I think its called "clean and jerk" or something. They have to lift the object overhead to the full length of their arms in a sngle movement. You'll need to be able to do the same with a suitcase. Also, if traveling by train you need to be able to pick up all of your luggage and run up or down a long flight of stairs (If you can't you take the chance of missing a connection.) This is why I travel with 1 medium rollie and a small, soft shoulder sack.

StCirq

rayb:

Do they have buses and trains where you normally live? I suggest you pack what you think you'll need for this Italy trip in the suitcase you think you'd like to bring and spend this Saturday taking buses and trains around your neighborhood/city all day. Then come back and let us know what you've decided about the luggage quetion.

rayb

thanks everybody for your responses. most helpful.