Because about the time you think, "heck, I can pack all that! A car/taxi is meeting us so we won't need to carry it more than a few steps, no big deal" you'll run into a crazy situation that WILL require you to haul it all over a terrain and distance you never could have foreseen. Been there, did that, and NEVER again.

Plus, a smaller bag is easy to maneuver in elevators and trains and a wonderful excuse to buy some new things wherever you are. I am lucky that Mr. Cupid agrees with this, not so lucky that dress shoes are his favorite thing to buy in Italy!

P.S. your wife is a hero in my book!

Bigtyke-I don't travel light-ever.

Last Aug./Sept./Oct. -I traveled all over Italy from Milan/Venice/Florence/Trieste down to Naples, over to the Amalfi Coast, then back up to Rome, over to Paris, and then to Brussels. The whole time I had a 28 inch suitcase with me that I personally lugged on and off boats, trains, buses, vaporettos and also up to the airport check-in. I have to have what I want to have with me, not wishing I had brought it, and didn't.

I think it's easier to travel light, but not quite as light as two changes of clothes :-) We used to do it because we wouldn't check any luggage, but I have problems lifting, and it became difficult for my husband to lift both bags and put them over our seat. Still, we pack the same, as it's just easier going from the car to the airport, and from the airport to the hotel. We do fine with the amount of clothes we're able pack.

Sandy

I travel light because I don't need to travel heavy. There's no point in my taking along the entire contents of my closet on holiday with me.

>why do you travel light?<

It's easier than traveling heavy.

One other reason - small rooms.

I remember booking into one London hotel with my little bag and the family in front of me were American complete with the full set of steamer trunks.

I saw them a little while later complaining that the room was too small to get their bags into it - my room was so small it was easier to go over the bed to the other side of the room

On my last trip, I switched from a wheelie duffel to a duffel with backpack straps. The wheels add weight, and for me, a wheelie bag isn't that maneuverable on stairs. Also, I usually have a camera bag with at least 10lbs of gear in it, so it definely helps to keep the suitcase lighter.

I travel light for independence.

I'm teaching the kids too... one small wheeled case for EVERYTHING and manage it yourself at all times. The 9 yr old gets help if it's past her normal bedtime or on the tube or whatever but generally they know, appreciate and follow the rules.

Really most people have too much stuff and remember you can't take it with you in the end!

Because I am visiting the place I am traveling to not MOVING there.

As a single traveler, it's also about safety. Not looking like a victim waiting to happen in busy rail stations or public transit, hauling more stuff that you can easily manage.

We started traveling light after British Airways lost our luggage.

Woody

Yeah, Alitalia did it for us. Misplaced our luggage for 3 days 12 years ago. We have been travel-lite fanatics ever since.

Odd question. Why wouldn't you travel light? Even if you're not backpacking on public transport, there are still going to be many occasions when you're lugging your bags from a to b. Who needs non-essential clutter at the expense of mobility?

twoflower: &quot;<i>Why wouldn't you travel light? </i>&quot;

Because some think &quot;packing light&quot; means wearing the same thing every day, shlepping to laundromats, and looking like a street person after the second day.

But if one takes the time to plan and coordinate their clothes you can easliy get 15 to 30 outfits into a 21 inch rollaboard. 2-3 pair of slacks/skirts, 5-7 tops and 2 or 3 jackets/cardigans means you don't have to wear the same outfit twice in a 3 week trip . . . .

It looks like it has been a learning process for most people .
The best part : there is always an excuse to buy something Europe.

JanisJ, I don't think that. But I always take a full size suitcase because I usually travel in winter (bulkier clothes) and like to leave room for shopping.
Twoflower, if you can find a way to fit two weeks worth of winter clothes for business and leisure (inc. skiing) and formal occasions in a 22&quot; suitcase AND still have room for a several bottles of wine, 3 or 4 men's shirts (in their packaging), full size toiletries (German brands I can't get at home), two kilos of Meinl coffee, Styrian pumpkin oil, and Austrian apple vinegar, I'd love to know how! Sometimes people do have reasons for not taking a 22&quot; suitcase.

When I get home from a trip, I take everything out of the suitcase and ask myself, what did I carry all over Europe and not wear.

The next time I travel, I leave it out.

Don't ever pack something you have never worn; especially shoes.

Traveling with a large suitcase is, by no means &quot;taking MY entire closet&quot; with me, I can assure you of that!

And I also don't buy into the &quot;mobility&quot; factor-like I said, if I can lug a 28 inch suitcase all over Italy then on to two more countries, it obviously didn't affect my &quot;mobility&quot; in the slightest-and never has, in decades of traveling the world.

While I by no means &quot;backpack&quot; around europe, I always use a backpack for my luggage in europe (and hence pack it light as I carry it). I feel great about my decision while I'm walking through Rome streets from the train station to my hotel, passing folks trying to navigate their rolling suitcases over cobblestone. I also prefer walking around a city to my hotels than taking a cab. It also makes a funny impression with hotels, for example last summer I got the Waldorf Hilton downtown for $100US on priceline, and walked past the limos and doorman and up to the front desk with a backpack and t-shirt. Magic.

I have made five trips to Europe this century with just a regulation convertible carryon (and a small case with a lightweight, handheld computer).

Several advantages I have found to packing light are mobility (I don't care what you say, a small sized, lightweight bag is easier to get around with than a big suitcase) and convenience (easier to put in the overhead rack of the train or on the seat next to me).

However, I could handle a larger, heavier bag. Mobility is not the biggest advantage. The biggest advantage I have found is being able to carry everything on instead of checking it. Twice in the last century, in three trips, when I checked luggage, my bags (1) were sent to the carousel instead of to my connecting flight, and (2) nearly stayed on my Frankfurt to Paris flight that was going on to So. America. In the first case, I would only have had to live in my travel clothes for a day or two; in the second case, I doubt if I ever would have seen my bags again.

After those two near misses, I happily embraced Rick Steves' packlight, carry-on philosophy, and it paid off again this century when my flight to an eastern city was an hour late for an hour connection. The airline picked us up at the gate and took us to the international flight, me with my carryon. I'm sure checked luggage never made it.

In addition to knowing my luggage will arrive with me, there is also the convenience of being able to just walk out of the terminal after clearing passport control. I have never gone into the baggage claim room, and I have never had to go through customs.