I am traveling this June to Croatia, with a side trip to Rome. Part of our stay involves staying in places with no cars allowed but steep stairways to get to our lodging. Anyone have any suggestions for whether I should take a rolling suitcase or a duffle with a shoulder strap? I can usually travel pretty light. I took a duffle with shoulder strap last vacation, but found it to get heavy after carrying it several blocks. With the roller, I am worried about going up steps and over cobblestones. Thank you! And thanks for all the other good suggestions on this site!

I'd take a rucksack, anything else is going to leave you in need of an osteopath.

Uhhhhh..how do the people who LIVE there get back and forth, bring in groceries/other goods, etc? Could a car at least get CLOSE??????

Scooters, bicycles, donkeys, having done the same thing day in & day out for the past 40 years...

You can pull your rolling suitcase up steps; it's awkward but doable. I had to carry mine up two flights of stairs in Italy and it was better than carrying it.

I'm not sure of the cobblestones. If they're set fairly level it shouldn't be a problem if it's a sturdy suitcase with good wheels.

If it were me I'd go with a lightweight, well made rolling suitcase. You might wind up doing a combination of rolling/carrying it, but it would still be better than having to carry a duffel everywhere.

Good luck. Sounds like a good trip.

There are rolling backpacks these days.

I like a small rolling suitcase best. Which is by far the best in airports and train stations.

The problem I have with rolling duffle bags or rolling backpacks, is to me they are the worst of both worlds. The frame, wheels, handle all adds quite a bit of weight that part of the time is of no use.

If you don't want to go with a small rolling suitcase, I'd stick to the strapped duffle like you used before.

Tumi makes a carry-on sized rectangular=shaped rolling bag that has tuckaway shoulder/backpack-style straps. I roll when I can, and put it on my back (backpack-style) in places like Venice, Tube station stairs, etc.

I took a small 22" rolling suitcase to Europe last year, and it worked great. I did have to carry up 3 flights of stairs in Florence. And also over cobblestones in Rome, but other than making an irritating noise, it worked alright. Like someone said, get one made of lightweight material, that should help.

I believe Timberland makes various sizes of rolling duffels that all have sturdy hidden straps to carry them as a backpack if you need to. They are extremely lightweight and come in different sizes. We bought two different sizes and the smaller one has a detachable daypack. Very clever. It is small enough to carry on.

Travel light!