Packing

I am bringing my suitcase that is slightly bigger than a carry-on on Friday. I always live from a place of checking a bag, but the smaller the bag, the better. I wouldn't want anything TOO much bigger than what I have, as I would want to throw it out the window if I had to lug something larger around Italy, but we are using mostly trains and will be walking places too. Don't fret that its not a carry-on, as long as you can manage it in the airport and possibly up and down stairs, you should be fine.

Well, you'll have to lift it off and on the water taxi on your own. The big issue for me in Venice is that if there are any bridges to cross between the dock and the hotel they are actually steps not ramps so you have to lift up and over.

What size is your idea of a "regular sized" suitcase? How long will you be traveling?

I'm a little confused about when you leave Venice...you mean you will fly somewhere else and then take a taxi to the hotel? Editing to add: OK I looked at your other questions and see you are probably going to another location in Italy.

I've been checking my 21" carryon size suitcase just so I don't have to handle it in the airport but it's a size I could handle on a vaporetto or the Alilaguna ferry in Venice.

Of course it's OK to pack a regular sized suitcase, bigger than a carry-on bag. Your choice. Many on this board take long trips with only carry-on, going to some lengths to choose items carefully, do laundry often, and forego things they might use at home or take on a road trip. I usually take a carry-on bag but check it to simplify flying. I went to Venice last year with a carry-on and I'm glad it wasn't any heavier or bulkier because I was handling it between airport and bus, bus and vaporetto, vaporetto and hotel, up three flights to the room, then repeating in reverse a few days later. I could have saved some of that trouble by using water taxi and staying in a hotel with an elevator, but I had other priorities.

Your trip, your stuff, your choice. Does that help?

There is no rule that says " thou must only take a carry on sized suitcase", no matter what some people on this forum insist. There is only what works for you. I've had a 25" 2 wheeled suitcase in Venice, taken it on vaporettI and trains, crossed bridges and climbed stairs with it. And I'm a senior who walks with a cane. Your situation looks much easier. If you can carry your loaded suitcase up and down a flight of stairs without needing assistance, then you should be fine. Mind you I'm a RS rebel. On our last trip I was brazen enough to bring a fully loaded 28 incher, because I knew I was only going from airport to hotel to ship by taxi.

As the previous comment said: "If you can carry your loaded suitcase up and down a flight of stairs without needing assistance, then you should be fine."

There are plenty of packing tips on this forum in the "Tips and Trip Reports" section. In essence: Consider which items you really need and in what quantities (e.g., if you only use face cream once a day, a little 1-oz jar may be enough). To do laundry in your room, bring a small ziploc bag of powdered detergent or better yet, if there's a camping/outdoors store near you, get some of the little dissolving sheets that are sold for backpacking. Little strategies like that can cut down the amount of stuff you bring, leaving some room in your suitcase for items you'll want to buy during your trip.

As long as you can handle your own bag for the handling it will require, bring whatever you want. But do make sure it's not too heavy or cumbersome for you to handle. Since you said you will be taking taxis (including a water taxi in Venice), that means you have much less likelihood of having to heft your bag up or down stairs. However, since you said you are taking trains, do make sure you can get it up and down the train stairs when boarding or exiting, and over your head to put on the luggage rack.

This last was the problem for me when I traveled with a 24 inch bag - weight when loaded, not size.

My suitcase is 24 inches. I am traveling back to Venice airport by water taxi and we are flying to Naples. In Naples we have a taxi picking us up at the airport and taking us to our hotel in Sorrento. Then the taxi will take us to the train station and we will head to Rome. I just don't want to bring it, if it is going to be too much. We are going for 10 days. I also don't want to buy another suitcase just for this trip. I have a much smaller bag but that one is going to be too small. I have never been to Italy and I do not know what to expect and I know there is a reason everyone keeps telling me to pack light.

Trains might be an issue. It's unclear if you are familiar with traveling by train.

The 3 of you will have to carry your own luggage onto the train yourselves, and I find it challenging even with a 22" bag. It's usually only 3 steps, but they are fairly narrow and steep, and other people are trying to get on the train, too.

Have you considered bringing clothes that you can wash in the hotel sink, so that you can pack fewer clothes? You should practice hauling your packed bag up and down steps well in advance of your trip so that if it's a problem, you have time to downsize your luggage before your trip.

The extra information is helpful. I understand not wanting to purchase a new suitcase for a trip.

Personally I'd be OK with a 24" not fully loaded, to lift down to a water taxi and to lift back off the water taxi. I'd do a trial run with packing and weigh it. Again, me personally, I am a senior female and I am OK lifting up to about 25#. Anything over that is tough for me but you may be able to lift more than I can.

The only issue will be lifting it to the train to Rome. I did have to lift my 21" RS roller bag onto the over-seat shelf recently on a French train and it was doable. I'd have trouble lifting it to the over-seat bin on one of the international flights as they seem a bit higher than the domestic plane bins.

When you get to Venice you will see people with suitcases that I'd swear could hold a person or two. Those steamer trunk kind of suitcases are ones you definitely want to avoid.

A 24 inch bag is fine for your travel itinerary, as long as you can get it up and down the train stairs, and can lift it over your head into the train's luggage storage (or are fine with leaving it on the rack at the end of the compartment). As Pam says, it's the 28 and 32 inch bags that should be avoided at all costs (unless you're traveling with staff to heft those for you).

The biggest issue is weight. I took my 21 inch suitcase to Vienna and then took the train to Prague. It was challenging to put it in train compartment. I vowed to pack lighter and did on next trip, and even with same suitcase, it was much easier to manage.

Now I am really excited because I got a lighter 21 inch suitcase for Christmas....