Sending luggage to and from Italy

When are you going and how hot/cold will the weather be? How much will it change?

OK, I re-read your thread and saw you are dealing with a husband!! LOL With my husband, I have to be very literal and I would make him pack for his trip, with all the luggage, and just innocently ask him how he plans to carry it all. Have him show you physically. He will probably realize just carrying it around your house, it is not feasible. Good luck!

I'd get him to change his mind. How are you going to lug it all around once it arrives there.... if it arrives there. Makes more sense to me to just buy clothes over there!

If he's at all price sensitive, you might want to check how much it's going to cost. I'd guess it's going to be expensive. Last time I shipped a relatively small box of books and miscellaneous paper home (DHL, slowest delivery possible), I seem to remember it being in the vicinity of €50-75. I would guess a heavy suitcase would be substantially more.

Also, for weather changes I find that multiple light layers of hot weather clothes, plus fleece or down, works much better than a heavy winter clothes, and that fits easily into a small suitcase. And I can't tell you how much I hate cold weather.

I would be worried that your luggage may not arrive if you are shipping it separately. If you only take carrying on size luggage and you find out it is inadequate, you could always buy a cheap suitcase over there and some additional clothes. I would imagine shipping a suitcase will be a lot of money that you get more for your money by buying the clothes you need over there.

He can always wear his coat on the plane, saving room in his luggage, and later take it off.

The pro of your husband sending his luggage to Italy separately is it's his luggage and his problem, and he'll learn whether it works or not. If everyone is responsible for their own luggage in travel then no one has to preach 'their way' to the unreceptive and everyone figures out how to pack at their own pace. And you remain the innocent party. LOL

Susan,

The idea of mailing luggage to Italy simply because one wants to pack a huge amount of gear is absurd! That will probably not only be prohibitively expensive, but the shipping times may be uncertain, especially by mail. The Italian postal system is not known for it's "reliability". You might also remind him that whatever he takes, HE will be lifting on and off trains, up hotel stairways, etc., regardless of whether he has a bad shoulder or not.

It's shouldn't be necessary to pack an enormous amount of kit, even for colder conditions. Pack lighter items and use layering where necessary. If you each take one larger checked bag and one carry-on, that should provide sufficient capacity for whatever you need. You may find that your RS carry-ons will be tolerated if they're just slightly oversize (that will depend on which airlines you're using).

Good luck convincing him that YOUR "marvelous strategy" is a better idea!

Let him pack it all up and carry it around for a half-hour.

I mail things from Italy almost every year (books, gifts), it costs about a hundred euro from Mailboxes Etc, using Fedex or UPS. A packed suitcase will cost at least that much. You will also have to have your first hotel accept the package.

It sounds like a needless headache.

And I have to disagree with Wray, unhappily. If I travel with someone, I cannot travel faster than they can just because my luggage is lighter and they have to stop to rearrange, rest their aching back/arms/hands/legs, and moan in the agony of carrying too much stuff. I am a captive. So I mostly travel solo.

I am able to pack all I need in a carry on bag, under 20 lbs for my trips of 2 - 3 months. It is not difficult. It is a vacation, the last thing I want to do is lug around bunch of stuff from home. But that is me. I do not need much.

The airline will certainly facilitate carrying that much luggage, even if they charge for an extra checked bag. That's not going to cost any more than mailing. Was the idea of mailing one going to be to send it to a half-way point on the trip?

I have traveled with a carry-on sized bag for periods of up to 10 months. You wash clothes every two weeks or so, and get plenty tired of them, and wear all the layers together when it's colder. A winter coat is rarely necessary, but if you are going in January/February, it could make sense. Still choose the lightest, most packable coat you have. Long underwear and long- sleeved shirts and sweaters under a rainproof layer can be lighter, more flexible solutions, however. Hat, gloves, and a scarf don't take much room, either.

Moving too much luggage at each stop can harm your enjoyment of the trip. It's on and off the trains and buses, and on stairs in train stations, metro stations, or hotels. Even hotels with elevators can have some stairs. Historic towns can have rough cobblestones. Even when you're wheeling bags on a flat street, it puts a strain on you. And unless his second bag is a backpack, he will never have a hand free to do anything else.

I have a large suitcase your husband can have , "compared to today's RS luggage it's as big as a boat " ! I learned the hard way the first time I used it , never did it again. I maybe talking to the wall but let him take care of his "stuff " all by himself. Some people never learn but you can be light as a feather enjoying your trip. Less is such a load off your shoulders . Like some women or men , put your foot down ... ha ha easier said then done !

because we'll depart in hot weather and return in cold weather,

Susan, it might help to have an idea what your itinerary is? Departing from home in warm weather is not a problem as planes are usually chilly: it's not unusual for me to wear a jacket or fleece on a flight even in the summer. This is especially true of long transatlantic runs. And how cold do you think your final Italian destination will be? Where are you arriving and departing, and where are you going in between?

That said, I absolutely agree with the others that mailing a second bag is bad idea for all the reasons already presented. Clothing to stay warm does not need to be bulky or heavy (nor do you want to haul all that around) if you dress in layers. A fleece is a good idea; lightweight and warm. Also have him take a look at the pack-able jackets that we saw all over the place this past Christmas? While I haven't worn mine yet, my husband has, said it's warmer than he'd expected, and they were not expensive. Ours came with small-ish pouches to stuff them into. Gloves of insulating, non-bulky fabric and a hat should not take up that much room.

Susan--

Tell your husband that this advice is coming from a husband who did 17 days & 3 countries in Europe with a C-PAP and one 21" quasi-carry-on rolling bag, and my wife with the same kind of bag, each one weighing 25-30 pounds. With what we took with us, we could've done two months easily. It can be done! We experienced temps from 25-65 Fahrenheit. Most tips we got from the packing archive of the RS site, but here are some highlights.

Figure you're going to do wash a few times, period. Plenty of laundromats all over Italy. Thus, unless your husband is a snazzy dresser, a few wash-and-wear short-sleeve shirts, long-sleeve shirts, jeans & khakis should suffice (or less than that to leave room if he wants to clothes shop over there), all packed using the 'military roll'. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7LaBlHgqqg Amazing what you can stuff in there utilizing this tactic. Not to advertise, but the RS see-through mesh packing cubes kept everything organized, which was a huge thing. Take no more than two pairs of shoes. For cold weather, I found a Marmot Zeus ultralight down jacket weighing only 10 oz. that, when not in use, folds into its own pocket to the size of a large grapefruit. That was the best move of the trip. One hat, pair of gloves, a favorite scarf, a zip-up fleece (with zippered pockets to hold stuff) and you're good to go.

We checked our bags for the overseas flights. Chicago--> Paris, then Naples-->Munich-->Chicago on the return. No need to carry on. But the C-PAP went with me everywhere, under close watch. And I was able to stash stuff like pills, itinerary, paperwork in the C-PAP bag.

Yes, the one bag each of you will take will probably be heavier than you want, assuming 25-30 lbs is a lot for a bum shoulder. But we found that on trains in Italy there was usually a open place between cars designated for baggage that one can roll his/her bag into, that could be seen from our seats, so there was no need for the overhead rack, although we did have to use it once or twice.

In 10 weeks there will be plenty of moving around within Italy. I hope you can set up the trip utilizing 'bases', where you can set up shop for a couple weeks at a time, and take daytrips from there. No matter how much you take or don't take, it's a drag carrying that stuff around every day. What's your itinerary?

Enjoy your logistical planning!

Susan, back in the "olden days" when I used to send post cards to family back home, one post card took 3 months to arrive and another family member is still waiting for hers to arrive!

All these replies are WONDERFUL - THANKS! Not sure hubby is truly enjoying my forwarding all the emails to him but I do think it's beginning to sink in!! :) :)