Suitcase size

There are no rules with regards to luggage size. You just need to be able to carry it, move it, roll it, whatever, without help. Sometimes that means several blocks, on rough pavement, up and down stairs. Now, with regards to carry on bag size on aircraft, that is a different story. Refer to your airline for those rules. In general a 24 inch bag is likely too large for international carry on.

Bring any size and any number you want.

You have to remember YOU are the only one who will be dragging them to the hotel from the bus and back. It can be as far as a half mile over cobblestones and up and down stairs and other steep city sidewalks. There is no luggage service provided by the hotels either, so for those still without elevators, you will be the one dragging it up and down the stairs to your room.

Just a comment on the “bring any amount”. The hotel rooms are smaller, so if two people are bringing a couple of suitcases, you might not be able to walk around your bed. ; )

I agree with the others and will also ask which tour you are considering? I might have additional advice depending on which one!

Took a 24" spinner on our last trip -- the size was not a problem ( we always check) but the weight certainly was -- the extra 2" gave enough space to shove in a lot of extra stuff, which I regretted every time the suitcase had to be lifted.
EDIT: to clarify, this was independent travel, not a RS tour.

Pack light: Each tour member is allowed to bring just one airline carry-on-size piece of luggage (approximately 21" x 14" x 9") plus a small day pack or shoulder bag. Your Pre-Tour Planner includes tips for packing light and creatively.

The above from the RS site--https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/tour-conditions-2019

On the 2 tours I have done there was someone ( once a tour guide) who had a larger bag ( than described above). I doubt a 24" bag would get you banished, but no one is going to help you with it. No bellhops at RS hotels. Make sure you can lug it around, and possibly up 3 flights of stairs.

Pam, We are considering the Best of Italy tour for next June.

What's the saying, Nobody's ever come back from a trip and said, 'I wish I brought a bigger suitcase'

24" is pretty big. Like others have pointed out, you're the one carrying/lugging-it around, if you're cool with being a porter for your own stuff... If you were staying at one location, a week at a time, that size would be reasonable but, the Best of Italy tour is a 8-stop/17-day whirlwind. Lugging that thing up/down hotel stairs is gonna be a challenge, you're gonna hate it going through Venice and all it's bridges, by the time your reach Cinque Terre you're gonna want to toss it into the Mediterranean, and if it hasn't been destroyed it by the time you reach Rome, negotiating all the cobblestones in Siena and Rome will. You really don't want to be THAT PERSON who needs help with their luggage every time there's stairs or, an obstacle. The easiest way to build resentment within a tour groups is being THAT PERSON who wasn't prepared, failed to follow instructions and requires others, outside of their own difficulties, to assist them.

If you don't want to utilize a travel backpack, than a 20" or, 22" roller would be the best option.

Even with a smaller bag, it's not hard to pack in more weight than you can carry. Don't tempt yourself with more space. Some travel bags have an expansion option that you might consider a happy medium. Start small and only expand it when you have to pack in the souvenirs you've collected. During the course of the tour, some items that you don't need to access can be stored under the bus, so that you don't have to lug them into the hotel until you reach Rome.

See tips at https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/packing-light.

We are considering the Best of Italy tour for next June.

You may wish you had a smaller bag as you take the train to Varenna; then there are the boats and bridges in Venice: not to mention the stairways in the hotels.

Even the hotels that had elevators, often had a small flight of stairs from where the elevator stopped to the room.

OK, Best of Italy includes nights in Venice and Monterosso in the Cinque Terre.

Venice - you'll get off the bus in the bus parking lot and take the vaporetto (might be crowded) in to a dock near your Venice hotel. You'll doubtless have to cross some bridges as you walk to the hotel and the bridges have steps not ramps so you have to lift luggage up and over each time.

Monterosso - the bus can't drive there so you'll be dropped off in Levanto and take the train to Monterosso. You'll have to manage your case up/down flights of steps in both train stations and off/on a train (might be crowded as well) then on to your hotel. On one tour (Heart of Italy) the hotel provided a luggage transfer service from Levanto. On the next tour (21 Best of Europe) we managed our own.

SO, no matter what size luggage you take, for both of these stops I suggest you decant the things you'll need for 2 nights into a small tote/day pack that will be easier to manage. I do better with this if I plan ahead and know what I'm going to take for the 2 nights in each place. I put my clothes in one of my packing cubes and just take minimal toiletries. I generally wear my shirt/pants for several days, so I'd start out with clean clothes on your transit days to both places then maybe just 1 clean shirt and unders for your time in either place.

On RS tours I travel with a daypack or a tote bag for my bus bag. I have my rain jacket, guide book, kindle/iPad mini, chargers, snacks, water, etc and just leave it on the bus when we have a bus day. I use this bag for my overnight bag on either of these locations and have my usual crossbody purse as well.

I don't think anyone has mentioned that you'll be on a full size bus with only 25-26 people at most. There is a huge amount of cargo space under the coach so that is not an issue. As others have indicated, it's managing your own luggage to/from the hotels that is the issue.

Many drivers will have a big box in that area which you can use for "deep storage". This is nice if you are a shopper. Bring a folding tote, start stuffing your souvenirs in here and leave it down below for the whole trip. You DO have to ferry it up to your room on the last stop and then, of course, get it back home! You'll also see some drivers carry a bicycle as part of their own belongings so they can get some workouts in on their off time! One driver I had was a really sharp dresser. I'd swear he had a steamer trunk under there for his extra wardrobe along with perhaps a washer and dryer as he always looked pressed, lol!!

editing to add: I'll also say you've got a good amount of time between now and your travel time. I'd do some trial runs with packing the 24incher with your possible wardrobe + toiletries + everything else and see if you can manage it up and down flights of steps, then try to pull it thru your neighborhood for 1/2 a mile. See how that works. I've found I have trouble handling anything more than a 21" bag packed to a max of about 22 or 23 pounds. (First new travel purchase - a luggage scale, lol!) I'm old and my shoulders are not what they used to be so I can no longer get this into an overhead bin on an airplane. I check now, but you'll need to do that with your 24. Anyway, plenty of time to start obsessing about wardrobes and packing weights!!

Thank you, Pam! I appreciate your detailed answer. It was very helpful 🤩

You caught me at my obsessive best, hahaha.

Now, we'll need a youtube video of you dragging a 40# 24 incher around your block with all the neighbors whispering behind their hands because you've gone 'round the bend. You can tell them you're thinking of joining the Rick Steves light packing cult but need to test out heavy packing first!

Pam, I get the message, pack light! It's just daunting for a nearly 3 week trip! We've never done a land tour, much less a long one, just a couple of river cruises. But, I'll leave the 24 incher at home...
Happy travels!

Google capsule dressing it might help you.

In my earlier response I forgot to mention the challenge of maneuvering a suitcase of even moderate size and weight up 3 or 4 precariously shallow steps (the usual set-up--though train carriages vary in their design) onto a train and down a narrow aisle till you can find (maybe a place to stash it. The overhead racks are great for smallish not-heavy bags (though often too high for me to reach at 5'4"). Otherwise, good luck.