What kind of luggage?

I would not go with a duffel. I would either go with wheels or a backpack. As your going for three months it would be hard to do the pack light and fit everything in your carry on bag route. But having a lot of luggage makes travel more difficult. Here is why I say no to duffel. Carrying a bag over one shoulder is not the best way to carry something from a comfort stand point. On flat even terrain wheels make life easier. On terrain that can't handle wheels having a backpack with weight distributed over both shoulders is vastly better than carrying a bag in your hand or over one shoulder. But with a duffel you a stuck carrying it over one shoulder or by hand. Realize that the more weight you carry the more you will need to use taxis instead of hopping on public transportation and it will limit how far you can walk with your luggage. Off topic...but some general advice. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FOR YOUR TRIP IN ADVANCE. Folks are often tempted before trip like this to head off to Walmart and Cosco and stock up on things to bring. Don't. They sell clothing, health and beauty items, etc in Spain. I am not saying buy EVERYTHING in Spain. But there is absolutely no reason to head off the store and buy clothing, supplies etc for your trip. Obviously you are going to bring stuff you already own. But no reason to buy stuff in contemplation of the trip. Wait and buy it when you get to Spain. Even if it winds up costing a bit more it is worth it to not have to drag all the crap thru the UK and France. This is particularly true of stuff like shampoo which is very heavy.

Thanks so much for your advice! That helped me a lot!

Christina, You could use luggage such as www.eaglecreek.eu/bags_luggage/duffels/Hovercraft-Duffel-30-20241/ to haul the majority of the kit you'll need for school. Use a smaller Backpack for shorter trips, as a Daypack and for carry-on during flights. Check the various products shown on the website. You might find it helpful to stop by your nearest REI store, as they may have at least some of the EC products in stock. The sales staff may also have some suggestions. I believe there's a store in downtown Seattle and one in Tukwila. Happy travels!

I agree...leave the duffel bag at home...something with wheels will be much better, especially walking the long distances in airports!

Here's a suggestion. Because you're visiting a few destinations before you arrive in Spain, would it be possible to take a small amount of clothes and supplies with you and have someone ship the rest?

Christina, make sure your "large handbag" is something you can use on weekend trips, because you will probably do some weekend traveling. If not, maybe buy a cheap backpack, either a student one (like for books) or something a little larger.

All of these are really good points-- thanks for the larger handbag for weekend travels advice as well! I didn't think of that!!!