28 days road trip in Europe: best family luggage
 

Hi !
we (2 adults and 2 kids) will make a 28 days road trip in Italy, Croatia and Slovenia in july. We are wondering what lugagge to bring

In our last family trip ( 3 weeks in germany in 2016 and 24 days in Spain and Portugal in 2017) we have mange to get all our stuff in two 60 liters back pack. Checked baggage were included in the price of ticket at that time. At home we also have wheeled suitcase that can be bring in the cabin.

Now we have no checked luggage include. Each way would add 60$ (so 120$ per bag for the whole trip).

My backpack need to be change so we are considering those option:

1) The girlfriend use her 60 liters and I Buy a Osprey farpoint 70 (or any other 60+ luggage): That would mean 240$ for checking luggage + 250$ for the bag

2) The girlfrien use her 60 liters backpack and I buy and Osprey Porter 46 ( carry on size) and we use our whellep suitcase (carry on): 120 $ more to the ticket price and 210 $ for the bag

3) We but an Osprey Porter 46, a Mec Fastrack (40 liters, carry on size) and bring our wheeled lugagge: No extra fee for the flights and 275$ for both bags.

We will have a small car so we wont have a lot of lugagge space, we also have choosen appartments that would allows us to do some laundry.

What would be your choice ?

Thanks !

How old are the kids? that seems to be key. If old enough they should each have their own carry on. I travel (solo) for months at a time with a 22 inch two wheeler and a day bag (and could manage with a 20 inch which would be carry on for European airlines as well as US). So, unless you are carrying the kids stuff your bags seem way big.

Yes - what ages are the kids? I would avoid any checked luggage if at all possible. 19 in to 21 in rollaboards for each of you would be better than huge bags.

I returned from a trip to London and Germany late last month. The 2nd half of the trip was a river cruise on the Main and Rhine . . . and three people on the cruise (a couple and totally unrelated single traveler) had their luggage mis-directed or lost. The couple never received their bags - which were eventually sent to their home in the US one day before the cruise ended. Every place we docked - while the rest of the passengers were taking walking tours or visiting the Christmas markets - this poor couple was shopping with the few € either the Cruise company or Lufthansa would authorize. I thought the woman was going to freeze to death -- she didn't buy a heavy jacket until about the 4th days in - expecting their luggage to show up any day.

You'll be lucky to fit a 60litre and a 70 litre pack into the trunk/hatch of a small car. At least if either is full.

Why do you need such large packs? 70 litre is basically an expedition pack designed for long term outdoor living. You're driving and I assume staying in hotels. No reason to bring the kitchen and the sink.

If the kids are old enough four carry ons. If not maybe one larger checked bag. A carry on that can be stacked onto the larger bag. This one way one of you can pull the baggage while the other wrangles the kids.

This capacity guide might help:
https://theluggageprofessionals.com.au/size-guide

We have multiple 65 litre Ospreys plus a couple of smaller ones. But once the kids could drag their own 20 inch suitcases we found that easier.

Hi and thanks for those answers !

My kids are 7 (girl) and 11 (boy). They are very small, maybe the boy could carry a bag or a small suitcase but not a fully charge 46 liters bag. .

In our past trip our 2 60 liters backpack were for all our stuff (including kids stuff). They were enough, If checked have been included we would have gone that way this time too even if it's true that having only carry on is best if we can do it.

One word. Laundry. Bathroom sink or launderette. The kids need clothes for a few days, not a month, and those should fit in a SMALL wheeled bag (wheeled, so they mostly don't have to carry it). The two adults need a carry on size bag apiece.

You might read the advice here (and check the links): https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-ti.../packing-smart

>>My kids are 7 (girl) and 11 (boy). They are very small, maybe the boy could carry a bag or a small suitcase but not a fully charge 46 liters bag. .<<

Small 7 or 11 yo's don't need 48 liter packs. And they wouldn't need to 'carry' anything. They make terrific small rollaboards specifically for children. My next door neighbor's 6 yo daughter easily handles her own suitcase. Of course, her Dad has to put it in the overhead.

So small rollie bags for the kids and 21 inchers (or 46 liter packs - but I prefer rollaboards myself) for the adults. You don't take a full new outfit for every day -- you take about 4 or 5 days worth of mix/match clothing which really work out to about a week before one needs to do any laundry. And even then, only rinsing a few things out in the bathroom sink. 'Real' laundry maybe only every 8 or 10 days.

I would buy (2) 21" roller bags for the adults and (2) small backpacks for the kids (small enough they can carry them themselves, like the size they'd use for school).

You need to be willing to wear the same outer clothing over and over without washing to make this plan work. Take enough underthings for everyone to be clean for 1-week, then do laundry somewhere.

not a fully charge 46 liters bag... No kid needs 46 liters of clothes! :-)

It's July... summer weather. Everyone packs (this includes what you wear on the plane)

2 pair shorts
2 pair pants
4 top/shirts
7 underwear
7 socks
1 sneakers
1 sandals
+ very basic hygiene/toiletries
+ any prescriptions/medications/eye glasses/contacts

For all the reasons outlined by Janisj above, I would go carryon only.

If you are doing a "road trip" then 60L backpacks would be a PITA to pack and unpack, get in an out of a hire car etc. etc.

The kids would have there own baggage allowances (whether paid or unpaid), both checked and carryon, so my preference would be for each to have their own 40l pack within the size contraints for carryon. Two years ago, I switched my Lowe Alpine TT40 carryon for a Osprey Farpoint 40 and two six month trips to Asia/New Zealand and South America later, I couldn’t be happier with it! Excellent quality and excellent design


Not sure but I think the Farpoint 70 may be the same bag with a smaller zip on bag attached. When full laden it weighs in around 10-11 kilos for winter travel, less for summer. The design means that weigh is distributed really well and it feels as light as a feather when wearing. I would imagine an 11 year old would ahve no problems. They also do a FairVIEW which is designed for the female body.

Don’t know in which country you are based but Osprey may have different names for their packs in other countries.

FWIW four, 40L packs would fit nicely into a small/compact European hatchback like a VW Golf, Vauxhall Astra, Ford Fiesta.



It may not help much as we don’t travel with kids, but my own packing list for carryon travel is on our blog @ https://accidentalnomads.com/2016/05...ck-like-a-man/ my wife’s list, which is more aimed at summer travel is linked at the end of that post.

As an option, you can take one big transport bag 120L and two 60L backpacks. In backpacks, you can have essential items and things, other stuff put in a transport bag.

Honestly, did you actually bother to read the rest of the thread? Or did you just try to come up with the most ridiculous suggestion?

That suggestion makes ZERO sense.

If you are planning to use rolling bags on the discount European airlines for carryon, be sure you know what the dimensions and weight limits are. Suitcases are measured to include wheels which often means a 19-in or 20-in height and they are quite restrictive on depth (9 inches). For an adult who can carry a pack, those are much lighter.

FWIW our kids used 19" rolling bags and rolled them by themselves from age 4 on. Yes, we had to put them in the overhead bins, but otherwise the kids were more than capable of handling their own bags. Our kids are adults now and we still have those 19" bags and still use them for short trips. We do a lot of backpacking in the mountains for multi day, and my pack for that is a 65 liter bag. I do not like to take that on planes, but have had to a few times and even then I put it in an expedition bag to protect all the straps/buckles. It is much easier to just use a rolling bag, IMO, for this type of travel.

Hi, my kids were also 10, 7 and 5 on our 15 day or so trip to Italy. I would get small roller suitcases for both kids. Summer clothes for a kid take up less room than yours do. I don't know whether you have Costco in your area, but we just bought a nice one that meets the new standards, I think for $30 or so USD.

Be sure NOT to put their passport or a really expensive phone etc in theirs. Also mentally assign one kid to each of you adults to keep an eye on them and the bag during transit. They will be very proud to own their own suitcase the vast majority of the time. Keep a strap in the outside pocket of yours, and when they get tired of pushing it, tie it on to yours.

If you are in doubt that you can fit each person's items into carryon, consider accruing the bulk of what you will take on your bed, fold it all and see how it fits. If you do decide to check a bag, I would ditch the backpack idea myself. This is a road trip. Backpacks are harder to find things in. I would get one decent roller suitcase to check and share it between you and your GF.

Bags with wheels generally come with either two or four wheels. Each has their own pros and cons.

Four wheeled luggage allows for much greater flexibility when pulling the bag. They give a 360 degree range of motion, can be pushed down narrow aisles on their side and generally perform well over most terrain. The disadvantage however is that they can be bulky, as the wheel size is taken into consideration when measuring the size of the bag or case. They can also become jammed on certain surfaces like carpet.

Two wheeled luggage allows you to pull the bag from behind you on an angle. Although not anywhere near as flexible as four wheeled bags, the wheels are often hidden close towards the bag, reducing the bag dimensions, and therefore taking up less space.

20 inch roller bag no matter how long the trip. Train platforms and metro steps kill me now. Going up I am fine, it is going down. I think the boy could ok with an 18 inch roller bag and a backpack on your daughter. We do laundry in the sink with our quick dry clothing. Laundromats are everywhere, I don't check. Who was it that didn't get their bags and cancelled seeing an outdoor event in Edinburgh? Their woolies were in lost bag.