cbgetaway2015

Kybourbon thanks for this info! Yikes! So much to remember!

jryan

We made all the luggage mistakes possible on a trip to Italy last September. Bags too big, too heavy and very difficult to get on trains. Fortunately there were younger wonderful folks who helped when they saw our dilemma. We are looking at new lightweight rolling luggage for the next trip.

janisj

>>We are looking at new lightweight rolling luggage for the next trip.<<

At least you learned from your mistake

greg

Would you have listened to the recommendations to travel light before your trip?

PalenQ

Checked luggage on trains was once routine - about 30 years ago but it all ended in most countries and private companies like FedEx or UPS do it better than more dependably than trains did - you were rarely guaranteed your bags would be there when you were. Switzerland is about the only country where the trains check baggage - at about $15 per bag and guarantee its arrival by 6 pm or so if you check it in early enough.

Yes anything with wheels will be infinitely easier to manoeuver thru crowded train aisles - again first class is a lot eaaier IME for folks with luggage - stowing it and even walking thru its aisles.

Ozgirl07

I took my medium sized Samsonite Cosmolite suitcase with me last year and had no problems. I am a 5'3 petite woman and made sure that I only packed one half of the suitcase. I also had small daypack backpack.
Here's a pic of my suitcase under the table between seats on the Regional train.
http://redsuitcasetravel.blogspot.co...que-terre.html
And here's a pic of my suitcase between seats on the Frecciarossa fast train between Naples and Milan.
http://redsuitcasetravel.blogspot.co...ia-naples.html

One thing to note, don't let people "help" you with your suitcase. They will ask for money.

I bought one of those retractable wire locks but then couldn't undo it at home. I decided not to chance it on a train stopping for 1/2 mins at a station. I had nightmares of trying to free my bag

Laundry was cheap and easy.

I was travelling by myself and sometimes had to ask my neighbour to keep an eye on my suitcase while I used the toilet. Which by the way were not the cleanest.

violetduck

I purchased this bag last year for trip to Spain and will be using it again in a few weeks for Italy. I recently ordered one for my husband. It weights a bit over 3 lbs.
As some others have mentioned you are in charge of your luggage and unless you travel very light you will have regrets. At some rail stations you have no elevators and find when you arrive you have steps to go down and then more steps to go back up to another train etc. A carry-on is much easier to manage on the train also. With the carry on you will get out of the airport sooner and be on your way. We do pack a folding zip type bag and on the return flight put clothes, etc in it and check it. We put items we have purchased in our carry-on. This is the link for the luggage:

http://www.ebags.com/product/it-lugg...uctid=10328247

Have a good trip.

violetduck

The link to the luggage shows 4 lbs 3 oz, so a bit different from my bag. My bag looks the same and I thought it was the link I used. My bag only has two wheels
and I would have preferred the four.

violetduck

Found the right link, this one weighs 3 lbs 8 oz.---and is what I ordered

http://www.ebags.com/product/it-lugg...uctid=10300411

PalenQ

I would look at the wheels - better bags have wheels like in-line skates - can bop up and down stairs or over cobblestones - those wheels look pretty tiny - check somehow to see if they are well built wheels and not just like some on shopping bags old ladies push around. Oops - you have ordered it but still look at the wheels and if not strong tread carefully on cobbles and stairs, etc.

annhig

most stations in Italy have ramps or lifts, but finding them may not be easy, especially when you first get there. I couldn't find the lift at all at Pisa Centrale when I was on my outward journey, yet it had miraculously appeared by the time I came back! Stress and a lack of familiarity with the country and the language can make ordinary things quite difficult.

so give yourselves plenty of time and look out for signs to lifts and ramps!!

suze

violetduck, My current suitcase is an IT Second Generagtion. It's the favorite bag I've ever had (mine does have 4 wheels).

cbgetaway2015

A quick follow up here from the OP.
I packed one 21" carry on sized bag for each of us (my husband and I) and one cross body day bag. That's it. For three weeks. No problems. It took some planning and stratigic packing. We did laundry four times at local laundry mats which was a fun experience. The train is where we were the most glad for our light packing. I can't imagine maneuvering larger bags through train statins of hoisting large bags up the train steps. We saw other people struggling with this exact thing.

Pegontheroad

No matter how long my trip or how I travel, I never take more than a 2l" and a shoulder bag. I'm glad you decided to go with the smaller suitcase. It just makes the trip so much easier.

I recently took a trip to Helsinki, St.Petersburg, Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, and 3 cities in Poland. I traveled for a month with a 2l" and a shoulder bag. I did decide to have pants/slacks cleaned at the hotel if it wasn't too expensive, and I washed unmentionables in the sink. However, I've used laundromats on other trips.

ekc

Thanks for the follow-up and glad you were happy with your smaller suitcase. For many people it is difficult to imagine fitting all their clothes into "such" a small suitcase, but with strategic planning it works!

suze

Thanks for checking back in, cbgetaway, I always love hearing how things turned out. Your post should encourage others to give it a try (packing light that is!).

PalenQ

I can't imagine maneuvering larger bags through train statins of hoisting large bags up the train steps. We saw other people struggling with this exact thing.>

Hope I did not mention this above - but about heavy backpacks - I once saw a college girl type in Nice train station retrieving her heave backpack from luggage storage and when putting it on fell smack over on her back and had to be helped up! Pack light!

flpab

A success story! My gf is the queen of big ass suitcases and she struggled in Italy. We had to help her which is against my rule, You pack it you carry it! The steps did her in. We would go up them and they would change the platform and we would have to go back down steps and up them again. I carry quick dry clothes and wash out in the sink and they are usually dry in the morning. I love apartments with washers at least.
Pal, that was sad, poor girl.

PalenQ

Pal, that was sad, poor girl.>

Yup she was emabaraased but it were a learning experience for sure and one I like to bring up when packing light comes up.

goddesstogo

Hi all,
I know this is an old thread but I thought I'd revive it because I just booked train tix in Italy and I have a question.

It's one short trip from Bologna to Arezzo, direct (so no stops, right?), first class. We get on the train, ride for about 2 hours and get off the train.

Of course my question is about luggage. We'll be traveling with 2 regular-sized (I haven't measured but I assume 24") and can help each other get them on and off the train. They'll be too big for the overhead racks.

Here's my question:
When I bought my tickets, I was shown a diagram of our seats in the car. The car seems to have 2 aisles and we're in the middle of the car on the window side in two seats which face each other. There seems to be a space between us (that is, face to face) with no little grey mark that might indicate a table. Do you think that's actually a space? And if there were no people beside us, could we put our suitcases in that space? And that's assuming we could get them down the aisle. What do you think?