Hi! This September I'll be taking a coach tour...Brendan Tours...to the Scottish Highlands and Islands. I haven't travelled overseas since the mid-1980's when I attended college outside of Edinburgh. It will be great to be back to this beautiful country. My dilemna is that I definitely need to buy a new suitcase. The dimensions allowed on my tour is 30x21x11 and 50lbs. This sounds like a monster suitcase! I'd like something lightweight, expandable (in this case should I look for a 26" or 28". What is a suiter..do I need one on a coach tour. There are so many brands, so many websites, it's too hard to choose and I really don't know where to begin. Delsey and Travelpro look interesting. I read I should use cable ties instead of TSS locks. Is that true? Obviousl, I've been out of the travel loop much too long! I need all the advice you can give!!! Thanks!

A 30 inch suitcase is HUGE and will weigh well over 50 lb if you fill it. 28 inches is also a VERY large bag.

The biggest suitcase I ever take is only 21 inches. On a coach tour you won't have to carry your own bag - but geez - have pity on the poor blokes who do.

I would think a 24 inch bag would be as large as you would need. The only reason I say go as big as 24 inches is that you will be moving around nightly and won't have much time to wash out underwear and tops. So you might want to take a bit more "stuff" than if you could do laundry along the way.

30" is almost a body bag. 28" ued to be large - but now 26" is. Are you going to use this bag for this trip only? And do they handle you carry-on for you as well?

If I'm doing a 2/3 week vacation and know I'll need a couple of sweaters (you will) I take a 25" rollie bag and a shoulder carry-on large enough to put in a sweater and one change of clothes as well as the usual toiletries and stuff- just in case the checked bag is delayed.

Others will tell you to take something much smaller - but I can;t bear wearing the same clothes again and again - and hotels usually want a lot for washing and cleaning (and on tours you're often not in one place long enough to do this).

(I once went on a tour - to Russia when that was the only way to go - and one of the other passengers had 2 very small bags. I think she had 5 outfits total she kept switching between. At the end of the trip she couldn;t stand them anymore. She bought a new outfit for the plane home - we were in Helsinki - and left everything else behind - clothes, toiletries, luggage - everything except her handbag. She wanted to burn it - but couldn;t figure out where to do it.)

I suggest a 22-24" normal shaped suitcase with wheels. Mine packed tight weighs 25-30 lbs. Plus one large tote, daypack, or oversized pocketbook of some sort to use as your carry-on.

As others have mentioned, that size is HUGE & you'd get to 50 lbs. WAY before you ever filled a suitcase that big.

I purchased mine for ~$50 at places like JC Penny on sale, TJ Maxx or Marshalls in the U.S.

Would a 30" suitcase fit into the room - and yes I'm being serious, you'll be surprised how small hotels rooms can be especially the older ones where the en-suite was fitted much later. I've been in hotel rooms where the easiest way to get round the room was to go over the bed

30' maximum is for people who buy too much

I just love my 26" (Ricardo) expandable (though even I, a whopping overpacker, have never needed the expansion or come even close to 50 lbs.) with "suiter". The "suiter" section I use for garments better on hangers - my wool blazer and below the knee raincoat (with hood), and any dressy items (if any) I'm packing. They arrive virtually wrinkle free. This bag has two main sections inside (the top I use for tops and lingerie/nightgown, the bottom for bulkier items, such as heavier sweaters, and shoes, with a nifty snap out toiletry case. It has an outer 3/4 zip section which is absolutely perfect for slacks. Then, it has two outside zipper pockets - one for my shorter, more casual jacket/rainjacket (nice to have that handy as opposed to dragging it along on the plane), the other for my notebook, tour guides, maps, etc.

I've found the perfect compartments make "living out of the suitcase" much better. Inside the top inside compartment of this bag is a mesh section, perfect for laundry.

I no longer bother with locks - just use sturdy twist ties to keep the zipper pulls together.

With this, I bring a medium oblong (with zipper compartments on either side, one for the pharmaceuticals, the other for the phone, PDA, camera, etc., chargers and adapters, center section for other necessaries, I pack in separate bags/baggies) tote. This one slides over the telescoping handle of the other bag.

Then, my "day bag" is just large enough for my PDA, phone, camera (with slip pockets in a compartment secured with double zipper pulls), with an inside or outside zipper pocket for securing my passport and airline tickets, and just enough room for a paperback (on the plane) and tour guide (while out and about). Mine has a nifty outside pocket for maps, notes, etc. And, it has a fabulous adjustable (all along the way) comfortable strap which can be lenghthened for wearing over one shoulder and under the other arm.

Usually, I bring the day bag and tote on the plane, but check the tote coming home.

The important thing is an assembly of bags, when packed, you can manage all by yourself, if you have to.

A 24" Travelpro is plenty big. I particularly like the ones with the solid (non-elastic) interior compression straps. I take my 24" Travelpro only if I'm working and have to have dress clothes and work supplies in addition to my casual travel clothes. Otherwise, I stick with my 22" Travelpro

Try eBags.com, where you can enter such things as length of trip and other information and get recommendations. I myself would take a 26" plus a second small rolling bag.

I think the 24" should be about right for you (even a 22" would be possible, probably), with a tote bag.

You are going to one area that will have similar climate and not gone over too long, so that helps the packing situation. They just told you the absolute maximum they will allow, but I think you will also be glad it is smaller than that just for when you get to/from the airport, checkin, and even just using it in your room. I don't even own a suitcase larger than 25", actually.

I don't know what a suiter is. I think it's a suitcase with some special insides and straps that help keep suits unwrinkled. I suppose they can be taken out and just used like a regular suitcase, but I can't think of any reason why you would need one on your vacation tour.

I just buy cheap 22-24" suitcases from discount stores, like Target. I look at them in person and judge based on how I like the insides, pockets, color, and sturdiness of the wheels, things like that.

I don't use any special locks myself, just heavy-duty twist-ties (the wire ones), but the cable ties will work. If I were you, I'd also take a regular old suitcase lock for use when you leave it in your room, or it is being transferred around by the coach tour people. It's only the US airlines that will say they can break them if they don't like what they see on an xray. I always still carry those suitcase locks on a trip for my personal use at other times.

Thanks to everyone for the great advice. After much thought and visiting a million and one luggage websites, I finally decided to purchase the 26" Delsey Helium 250GX Expandable Suiter Trolley from eBags.com. Appears to be what I'm looking for!!!