Carry-on luggage

Sounds like an exciting trip! Please be sure to check Rick's packing list. Great tips for packing light. I use the collapsable plastic bags. I concur with the other posts. If you are checking a bag, your carry-on should not have wheels. Way too difficult to manage. Your duffel also sounds too big. I'd go with a smaller tote. I think duffels are way too cumbersome. Peruse Rick's travel store to see if you can find something there. Or try finding something on Amazon. Remember to pack in your carry-on things you cannot do without.

If that duffle rolls up tight, you can pack that in your luggage. As a previous poster suggests, fill that with clothing and other items and check it for the return trip. Bring gifts and valuables back in the carryons.

At the absolute MOST you should take only the checked bag and small carry on. And not a backpack and carryon. Most of us on this site get by with one carryon size bag regardless of length or type of trip. See my answer to your other question.

For your carry-on, you can indeed bring on a smaller roller-bag as long as it is within the size and weight specified by the airline in their travel conditions. It will easily fit overhead. As a recommendation, I would suggest a small non-roller bag that fits on top of your larger checked roller bag so that you are only rolling one bag. The difficulty is rolling around two bags. If you are traveling by train to several locations, rolling around two bags is a burden especially if you need to change platforms in a large train station and stairs are involved. Stairs? When changing platforms in large train stations you often go down about 25 stairs to a tunnel under the tracks. You go through the tunnel to the new platform and then go back up another 25 stairs. Lots of luggage is a burden. Pack as light as you can.

Thank you. Actually, we will not be traveling on any trains with our luggage. We're staying in the same hotel in Paris for 9 days and taking one day and one 1/2 day trip so no need to pack anything. Also, in Ireland we'll be in Dublin for a few days and then on a tour bus. The only time we'll be toting our luggage will be the flight to Paris, then from Paris to Dublin, and then home.

Is this your first trip to Europe?

Frank, the only reason my husband is bringing a backpack is so we can use it for walking around the city, etc. Do you feel that one is not necessary?

No. I went to Italy about 6 yrs. ago with my sister (who was older and not much help in carrying luggage, etc.). I brought a carry-on and a check-in for myself but the trip was shorter, about 13 days. I also wanted to say that I would like to have enough space in my luggage in case I buy stuff. So, I think I will definitely need a carry-on!

One small backpack is good to have during the day; many people carry water, maps, guides and cameras in them. Ideally, each of you should have your own carryon and jointly have one larger bag. If you each have a checked bag, a carryon and a joint backpack, you are bringing too much! For bringing home gifts and purchases, the best advice is to bring along a collapsable bag that is stuffed in your luggage coming over. That gets filled up during the trip and checked on your return.

If you want a backpack for carrying stuff when you are just "walking around" consider one of the collapsible ones.... RS has one (see the Civita Day Pack) but there are others by different vendors. They weigh very little andcan be packed inside your luggage as they collapse to almost nothing. If made well, they are surprisingly tough. A nice advantage of having one is that you can stuff if with clothes and check it on the way home.... using your carry on luggage for your souvenirs. I've taken one on my last 3-4 trips to Europe and love it.

Douglas, how big of a collapsable bag? My duffle is too probably too big (21x14). What do you suggest?

I also recommend the Civita backpack. I take mine empty in my one roll aboard and use it as a day bag and for a carry on when I check my rolling bag on the flight home. I am not quite does to one bag, I have a backpack that is my second bag. It fits under the seat so I have easy access to what I need during the long flight. One trip I left the Civita bag at home and really missed it. Enjoy your trip.

Agree with poster to not take a second bag with wheels. I have a bag that looks like it would hold an old fashioned typewriter. It came with my luggage set and love it. Soft sided, no frame and can double like a large purse for day trips. It has handles and fits easily over the handles of my regular luggage so am only rolling one bag along with other one nesting on top. I am a very, very light packer, take a weekender for a week trip!

@Gail - What's a typewriter? Kidding! The Civita daybag is great. Very lightweight and when empty it folds down to practically nothing. I like to have a 'seat' bag when I fly for all the things I want to keep available and close. A tote bag that you can slip over your other bags handle works well. You can slip your purse into that bag while flying. I consider a tote bag to be a bit smaller than a duffle bag. I would definitely not take 2 wheeled bags. Do look at packing lists as a good guideline for packing lighter. I don't even bring as much as most packing lists recommend. I bring tops that can easily be hand washed, hung up and will dry overnight. Some inflatable hangers, available from travel stores or ordered online at Megellans, help hold the two sides apart and they dry faster. I usually bring 2 pair of jeans and a nicer pair of pants, and depending on the season I will bring a skirt or dress. Jeans can be worn multiple times without washing. I wouldn't try to sink wash them though!

Hi Patricia, My DH and I spent 40 days travelling in Italy. We rode trains, busses. metro, vaporetti and had a car for three weeks. We each had a RS Convertible Bag, Civita Bag for day bags and one RS Hideaway tote that we used for carrying our groceries and wine purchases. Then the Hideaway tote became one of our carry-on bags, stuffed with treasures and we checked one bag on the flights home. We both found that we had packed too many clothes (only wore the favourites) as we had apts. and did laundry when needed. We travelled in April/May this year and had a couple of days with rain showers. We packed light fleeces and unlined, hooded rain jackets and it worked perfectly. Hope that this helps.
Sherry

We're just back from a month long trip including Britain, France, Italy and Switzerland. One carry-on sized backpack and a purse size day-pack each was plenty even for two clothes happy teenage girls. The day-packs were our personal item on the plane, and fit into our backpacks for trains and metro navigation. On the plane and long train trips they held Kindles, MP3 players and travel documents. In the cities they held guidebooks, water, cameras and lunch. For hiking we added, rain gear, sunscreen, and bug spray. A very small day-pack will hold all that easily. Typically, you carry your luggage further and up and down many many more stairs than you do when traveling in the U.S. Hotels and apartments have fewer elevators and the ones they do have tend to be very small. Also, it is likely you will have to take your luggage through turnstiles. I saw a young woman with roller bag stacked with more baggage trying to navigate the tube. You really don't want to be her. So whatever you decide to take, remember that you will probably be carrying it a long ways. Whether you want one bag with wheels or a backpack for your carry on is a matter of strength. Backpacks are easier to deal with on the stairs and through turnstiles, but they are a nuisance when standing on the metro. Roller bags don't do well on cobbles and they get heavy on the stairs. The big advantage to a backpack is that is is often expandable. We did buy souvenirs in Paris and London, our last two stops. We stuffed a couple of the backpacks a little over carry-on sized with the extra stuff, so we checked them on the fight home. Unlike the trip to Europe, I don't mind checking baggage coming home. If it comes via the orient it does. I have plenty of clothes at home.

So, now I'm thinking my husband and I can share a check-in bag. He can take a small carry-on + backpack and I will carry a small duffle. The reason I thought I would want us to both take carry-ons is if something should happens to our luggage and it is delayed, we will have another set of clothes/shoes (each) and items we cannot do without. Is this still too much? I do not want to buy any more luggage, bags, etc. My husband has a backpack that is not too big and should be fine for a day bag.

I do exactly what Daniel and his wife do. Always keep a change of clothes in the smaller bag because my roll-a-board is on the border of being too big @ 22 inches. Linda

Why not do like Rick Steves says: one carry-on and one day bag each? There are places where you can you laundry in Europe or better and cheap, you can wash a few items at a time in your room sink... Packing light is liberating...

Been to Ireland 3 times and my wife and I each take a 21" roller bag with a computer bag sized personal bag that fits under the seat in front with all our meds, 3-1-1 toiletries bag and one change of clothes (light weight) & 1 clean sox & undies, in case there is no room in the overhead bins for our 22" roller bag. (they have been known to take them out and stow with other checked luggage on extremely full flights!) this luggage could come up missing, hence the reason for taking a set along in our under seat bag. Inside our roller bag, I include a collapsible back pack, and my wife includes a collapsible duffle bag. On the way home we check our 2 roller bags (not worried about dirty laundry getting home later than us!) and then carry on the back pack and collapsible duffle bag with souvenirs as well as our under seat personal item bags. We are always concerned about checking gifts and souvenirs due to breakage and theft

I like space, too! Our travel agent suggested we EACH check in a bag since one bag for both of us might exceed the weight limit and we would NOT want to do that! I think we might each take a duffle bab and put the backpack (for day trips)in one of them since they do not count a backpack as a personal item. As long as we only have two types of luggage each, I am not concerned. Also, I checked with United today and they said there is no charge to check in the first bag for each of us!

Patricia, If you're taking a flight from Ireland to Paris, note that many European airlines permit ONE carry-on item only. That doesn't mean "one bag plus a personal item such as a Purse, Daypack or Laptop case", it literally means ONE BAG ONLY OF THE APPROVED SIZE (and they likely will check the size, especially if you're flying with RyanAir). You should be fine with a backpack and small carry-on during the flight to Ireland, but when travelling by air within Europe that could be a problem. Happy travels!

Patricia, The key to whatever you decide to take is how you like to travel. There is no "right way." Suggestions to travel light or with more luggage, with or without wheels, check or non-check, stuff a collapsible in your case etc. all depend on you and your trip. I typically go to Europe for 3-4 weeks at a time and rarely spend more than 3 nights in any one place. As a result, packing light is a premium for me. I don't want lots of luggage going on public buses or trains. My (very nice) hotel in Venice was on the 5th floor (with very narrow marble steps all the way up.) However, if I was going to just one or two cities and staying for a week at each one I'd probably pack differently. It also depends on how young and fit you are.... my shoulders were bothering me with a backpack so I'm trying the RS 20" rolling backpack this time. Just an experiment that I hope works. If you read Rick's tips on travel or other good sites like Onebag.com, the bottom line is (as RS says) "Heavy, Happy or Cheap... pick two." Make your plans and try it. Anyone who has traveled has made packing errors and hopefully learned from them. So join the club and enjoy your trip!

I disagree regarding the smaller wheeled carryon. If one of your carryon bags has wheels, while in the airport and walking around, you can use the wheeled bag and attach the other carryon(s) to it, so you don't have to schlep everything around. I would suggest a wheeled tote that will fit under the seat, if necessary, and that also has the slip ribbon so it can be attached over the handle of the larger checked bag. The smallest bag is attached to me either as a back pack or cross shoulder as well. That way you always have one hand free. I also make sure mine has a shoulder strap so that for short climbs I just swing it cross body so I have my hands free to carry the larger bag. Why carry something continually rather than just for short stints up stairs, etc.? I don't understand that theory. I always feel sorry for people that are carrying their bags as they look tired.