I am studying abroad in Germany next semester, however will be traveling Italy and Spain for 3 weeks before my program starts. I'd prefer not to drag all my luggage (which will include clothes for a whole semester, laptop, cameras, and toiletries) around with me while I travel. Does anyone have any ideas about what I could do?

Can your school help in giving you advice on shipping your clothes and having them held for you?

I would not ship my laptop. I'd carry it. Sorry. As for your cameras, how many are we talking about?

Don't bring toiletries unless they are prescription or something.

Amazingly, by the time you look at shipping costs and risks, you may find it's cheaper to buy a friend a round-trip plane ticket to Germany or some cheap European destination and haul your stuff to you personally as their checked in luggage!

In which city are you looking for storage space?

I will be flying into Florence in early August. Then to Cinque Terre, Rome, Barcelona, possibly Madrid or Seville, and Lisbon. I will then be flying to Germany either into Berlin, Frankfurt, or Munich. However, my program is in Regensburg.

Go to Regensburg first and drop your stuff there. Where are you going to live? Contact the place, or contact the university. You must already be in touch with someone there. Then start travelling from there. That's what I would do.

You want to bring toiletries for a whole semester? What for??? Buy the stuff in Germany. We have shops here, too.

www.secur.de
10€ per month per square meter, minimun size 2m2 and 4 weeks rental.

Your options are numerous. , just decide, where in Germany you want to store your luggage.

Is there any place like that in Italy? Possibly Florence?

Then you'd have to back track to Florence. That doesn't make sense to me. I'd go to Germany 1st, drop off my extra stuff, and then head out on the grand tour --- OR - I'd ship things to the college and fly into Florence

I will be flying into Florence with a friend that has a limited time to stay. She will be flying out of Rome, where I will be meeting my mom. From Rome, my mom and I will be flying to Spain then back to Germany. I will have more time at the end of Spain before I have to go back to Germany and would rather use that time instead of using my friends limited time in Italy. That is why I thought it might be best to store the luggage in Italy at my first city.

Just ship the stuff - could cost less than 3 weeks of storage fees in Italy.

I also suggest boxing it up and shipping it directly to the school in Germany.

Skip the toiletries and buy them once you are in Germany.

Camera(s) plural? How many are you taking?

I'm not sure what I'd do with the laptop. Carrying it with you for 3 weeks traveling is not ideal, but shipping it is a bit of a risk too.

I'm taking a small, pocket sized digital as well as a digital SLR with 2 lenses.

Ship it ahead of you. It will save you substantial headache.

I studied abroad in France three years ago and had a lot of luggage (in fact, I even brought my dog!). But I managed quite well because I planned my travel plans carefully.

I recommend that you go to the school first and drop off all your luggage in a secure location. Then, bring just the minimum amount of clothes and money you need to travel in Italy and Spain. Don't bring toiletries (except for what you need to use for a few days). You can buy toiletries after you've checked into your hotel/hostel in Italy.

Also, don't bring your laptop with you to Italy and Spain. You won't really need it unless if you need to be writing/doing work on your trip. It will just be a huge hassle for you. In addition, if it gets stolen/lost, you will have a real headache once you head back to Regensburg to start classes (you wouldn't have enough time to try to find your lost/stolen laptop, nor would you have time to buy a laptop in the US and ship it over to Germany, so you'll end up buying a new laptop in Germany which would be much more expensive). Same thing goes for your camera. Just bring one camera, memory cards, and make sure you store it with you in a safe location at all times. If you have time, you can always go to Internet cafes throughout your trip to backup your picture files (you can email them to yourself, or use online storage). It's better to be portable and travel light. I don't know what your travel experience in Europe is, but just keep in mind that the less you carry, the less things you have to keep track of.

>new laptop in Germany which would be much more expensive

I'd never buy a laptop in the US, they are generally FAR! cheaper here in Germany. You can even claim 19% MwSt (VAT) back, when you export it.
You will have to get used to the fact that a few keys are in a different position, but no big deal.
You can check prices on www.geizhals.at

What you could bring from the US is an unlocked iphone , all types of clothes, shoes, plasma TVs, and playstations , but NEVER computer or computer parts.
Been there too many times for shopping, not to know what is worth buying and what not. ;-)

And memory cards and computer memory in general have become very expensive in the US too, even on ebay.com, they're not worth buying anymore. Still, clothes, clothes, clothes.
Don't waste your money on some "expensive chinese clothes in Germany", that you can get for 2/3 or less in the US.

> I'd never buy a laptop in the US, they are generally FAR! cheaper here in Germany.

I just checked the prices of laptops according to the website that logos999 has given on this thread, and most of the middle-priced laptops (for example, Acer TravelMate 5730-653G25, Windows Vista Home Premium (LX.TQJ0X.002)) are 600+ euros (797 USD, Jan.18 2009).

I bought my laptop (Dell Inspiron 1525 15.4" HiDef Intel dual-core Pentium, Vista home premium) for $479 from a major US electronics store about four months ago. I think that was a pretty sweet deal.

I would not recommend buying a laptop in Germany unless if it's absolutely necessary or if there's an unusually good deal (and of course, there might be; just keep in mind of the US/Euros exchange rate...check www.xe.com for the latest).


> What you could bring from the US is an unlocked iphone , all types of clothes, shoes, plasma TVs, and playstations , but NEVER computer or computer parts.


The original poster, "ab10," is a student who will be traveling abroad to Germany, not an EU citizen/perm resident looking to shop in the US and export items to Europe. Please keep in mind that things like "iphones, all types of clothes, plasma TVs, and playstations" are not only impractical for a traveler on the go in Europe, but also presents a huge logistical issue for the traveler. "ab10" clearly indicated in the OP that he/she would "prefer not to drag all my luggage around" during travel. The question was where to put a semester's worth of luggage, and NOT what's "worth buying and what not."


However, "logos999" does provide useful advice for those who are permanent EU residents visiting the US to shop for bargains (due to the currency exchange as well as supply/demand factors).

Really don't buy computers or computer parts in the US. Far! too expensive!

<i>I would not recommend buying a laptop in Germany unless if it's absolutely necessary or if there's an unusually good deal</i>

Neither would I. I have never seen a comparable laptop priced lower in Germany than in the US. Yes, Germany is relatively cheap for Europe, but I fail to see the savings that logos claims. Even on the website he lists (which seems to just be My Simon for Germany), the pricing is, at best, comparable to the US. Perhaps desktops and components are cheaper, but the OP isn't planning on building themselves a gaming rig, as far as I can tell.

Besides, even if we were to accept that laptops are similar in pricing across countries, I will offer that you are best off NOT buying your laptop in Germany because any possible savings are not worth the annoyance of a German keyboard. Yes, only a few keys are misplaced (though most &quot;shift&quot; keys are different), but is it really worth putting up with that to save $50?

Of course, for a German, it works the other way. It is certainly not worthwhile for logos to buy his laptop in the US because the potential $50 savings he might get would not be worth the hassle of an American keyboard for him.

If I could save those 50$, I would, but since the German version costs less, there's no incentive to pay more money for just a foreign keyboard.