If you don't have a connecting flight, the chance of your luggage not showing up is slim. Since this is posted on the US board, I will assume you're flying somewhere in the US. There have been plenty of international carriers that have made me check my carry on size bag. It's always frustrating to have condensed everything into carry on size and then have to check it anyway.

I choose spending a little time waiting for my bag at the luggage carousel, vs
spendingrecious vacation time finding, buying, or doing without the toiletries, umbrella, sandals, and other stuff I didn't have room for in the carry-on.

I'd much rather take the risk to check bags. I haven't had a bag go astray since 1971. Of course, you want to take the good advice above about valuables and colors on luggage.

I thought I'd get an overwhelming response of stories of lost/delayed bags and the headaches that ensued, so I'm encouraged by the majority of you saying to go for it. Our family of 4 has traveled on a few 2 week trips with just carry-ons and have been okay (though the packing/planning/agonizing of what to leave behind is so hard), but this trip is a little more involved.

It's 17 days (so will need more than 3 oz of toiletries!), will have cold weather (so will need layers and boots), and we'll be in lots of rural areas (National Parks are not exactly shopping meccas if we need something!). Not to mention all my camera gear in my carry-on that takes up space.

Sooo, since many of you have knocked on wood, I will join your knocking and check a bag or two (or four, since we can with AmEx).

And SassyCat, we'll try to check in early and try out your theory of first on, first off.

Thanks ALL for sharing advice!

Can anyone explain how to tag the bags when checking them in online?

Good luck!

When you check in and include the number of checked bags online you still have to take them to the 'bag drop' where they will be tagged.
It's a separate line to the one where you haven't checked in online..

It can be cheaper to check bags in advance on-line, too.

The extra time you'll spend waiting for 1 or 2 bags is a very small percentage of the 17 days you'll be on vacation. Not even an issue for me.

In fact, since you are renting a minivan, why not have one person go pick that up while the rest of you wait for the luggage? That would eliminate some of the wasted time. But it depends on the rental car location and how easy it is to get back to the airport - it may not save you a lot of time if it's a pain to get back and pick everyone up.

Great idea about splitting up while waiting for the bags and getting the rental, but in Denver the rental cars are offsite but not so sure we'd gain time if DH took the shuttle to Alamo, then came back to get us. Good thinking though!

Do we tip anyone when we drop off the bags??

I always tip anyone who helps with the bags.

I recently flew Southwest to Vegas and was so pleased to be able to check a bag, under 50 lbs for no additional cost. I've done long trips with just a carry on too. If I'm efficient when I pack I can manage with just a carry on for most direct trips. I don't like to schlepp through an airport dragging a suitcase behind me on my way to a connecting flight.

Ever since I managed to go to London for a week in January with only a carry on and my laptop bag which rides on the rolliing carryon so I always have one hand free, I haven't looked back. Carry on is so great. And then I managed to do just the same for my 6 week trip to Russia, Ukraine, and Spain last year. Heck, I need to do laundry every 10 days or so anyway, so it really doesn't matter if I'm traveling 10 days or 5 or 6 times that!

But then admittedly I'm an adventurous traveler. I actually LIKE giving up my usual coffee or toothpaste for a taste of the local stuff, and I love improvising picnics rather than lugging that stuff around. I just don't enjoy trying to make travel "like home' -- if I did it would be much cheaper to just stay home!

3oz. Liquids..I can fit multiple small tubes of a special formula toothpaste and other toilitries in the 1 qt.bag. Just finsihed 6 weeks in Europe and now am traveling domestically, a 3 month trip.
I second Neopatrick's thoughts. Carrying on is so liberating, especially after you land. Makes traveling from place to place so much easier. And passport control is so much faster when you're ahead of those with checked baggage.

Passport control is almost always before the baggage claim areas. That's the one thing I hate about checking my bags. I travel a lot for business and I hate having to carry my laptop bag in the long passport lines (especially Hong Kong). With my carry on, it rides on top of my suitcase.

On occasion I have had luggage issues in/out of my home airport of Orlando. It appears to be more the luggage handlers there than anything. Twice shredded luggage, a couple of times luggage that sat on the tarmac in a pouring rain, and often 30+ minutes waiting for it come come out on the carousel (despite always getting to airports approx. 2 hours in advance).

That being said, I do not hesitate to check luggage when it makes sense - and in your case, that would be what I would do.

When I travel on business, usually I roll on a 21" bag, and my laptop & anything I'd put in a purse is in a backpack. Even a 2-week trip to Denver last October was that way. Using a hotel laundromat or dropping off clothes in a wash-dry-fold place is pretty convenient.

In the fall, we like to trek to a cooler mountainous area for a 2-3 week trip. Then we check luggage, a 21" roller bag each plus a 3rd "share" bag for those boots and bulky items, with plenty of space for souvenirs. The drawback there is deciding what you need from it each day, as you will get tired of lugging it into your hotel if you move from place to place.

If you are checking in online, you normally will use curbside checkin for the bags - you'll tip them, of course. Be mindful that in some airports or airlines, there is an additional surcharge of a couple of dollars a bag - that is NOT their tip, but an additional fee. (Here I am referring to a fee in addition to the checked bag charge, which is substantially higher.)

You can also often go inside and use a kiosk that is just for preticketed passengers to check bags. You enter some simple information, your tags are printed out at a counter, and then you are called up to the counter by a person who has received the bag tag, where they will tag it for you and you can drop it off with them or as directed. Those you do not need to tip.

NeoPatrick, love your thoughts on leaving home at home! What a great way to be adventurous. Part of why we're pre-packing a lot of "home" stuff is for financial reasons... this trip is already outrageous (for us anyway) and we don't want to be stuck paying a fortune for things in rural parks areas.

HappyTrvlr, I've done that too (multiple tubes or bottles)! I've even filled up the kids' quart sized bags with extras of my stuff. As liberating as carry-ons are (which is why we usually don't check bags) I'm already excited about the liberating feeling of not having to micro-manage the liquids as I pack! (not to mention the boots I want to take that DH says I don't need! haha) Also the freedom of not wrestling 8 bags (plus the lunch we always take on the plane) through security, through the plane aisle and then in overhead bins and under seats.

sludick, thanks for the info on checking the bags! I guess we'll have to get to the airport a little earlier than usual to have time to get the bags tagged. (did you get compensated for your shredded and drenched luggage??)

I only do carry on (I teach packing classes and if one of my participants ever caught me at a baggage carousel - I'd have hell to pay ). Whether 2 days or 2 months - a 21 inch rollaboard and a reasonable sized hand bag is plenty.

>>or doing without the toiletries, umbrella, sandals, and other stuff I didn't have room for in the carry-on>for financial reasons... this trip is already outrageous (for us anyway) and we don't want to be stuck paying a fortune for things in rural parks areas.some check so they can take the kitchen sink. All that 'stuff' can weigh you down in more ways than one. If you pack reasonably and don't take a lot of un-needed things, it doesn't much matter whether you use a 21" carry-on or a 24" checked bag.

Yes! I think that's an important point. Checking a bag shouldn't mean all of a sudden you can take the kitchen sink.

janisj - I'd sure like to see one of your suitcases; I'll bet you could teach us all plenty!

4sharie - for the shredded luggage, yes. One of them was outbound, so they delivered the remains to my hotel and gave me money for a new suitcaase and some incidentals. The other was inbound, so they paid me (not enough) there at the airport.

For the drenched stuff - no. But there was one gentleman who had checked a musical instrument and was standing next to us as we all watched the downpour in dismay, then saw our dripping belongings loaded on the plane for a long flight. I am sure he raised h@ll. They are supposed to cover the luggage with a tarp on those occasions, but did not.

If you can find them... I did find some washing machine sheets at a WalMart in B.C. once that were wonderful. You threw it in with your wash, then in to the dryer (where it released some softener). No liquids, light and easy to store. I'm all out now, and looking for them without success.

Oh, and I should mention...all of our luggage (the guitar case too) was streaming water as they came out onto the top of the carousel after the trip..

I always check bags for any trip longer than a wekend. I hate schlepping bags around airports more than I hate waiting for luggage.

We had our bags drenched at the aiport in New Orleans earlier this year. Did saw bags for the plane next to us sitting out and hoped that ours were not suffering the same fate. When we collected our bags at our destination, they were sopping. A few things got ruined, but it wasn't terrible. It would have been a real problem if it happened on an outbound flight though because everything in our bags had to be laundered.

Visiting local laundromats is an excellent travel experience. We've picked up some of our best 'local' information there, whether domestic or international.

When you arrive at your destination, you still have to deal with all the stuff that you brought. I'd rather not since that is the bulk of my trip. I haven't been on a trip where three or four bottoms and four or five tops didn't cover the situation. A mix of a a somewhat rain resistant jacket and a polartec jacket can cover almost any temperature.