Luggage restrictions on RS tours

I think it's more, " you bring it, you carry it."This last tour 90% of the people did a 20-22" bag, as did people on our Heart of Italy. On both tours there were people with 24-26" bags. In both cases there were times they struggled. We've always had at least one hotel that required a walk from the bus to the hotel and one of them ( Volterra) was a pretty substantial walk. You're also impacted in hotels, you're either climbing stairs or waiting for room in that teeny tiny elevator. With the smaller size bag, you can look at the cluster waiting for the elevator and decide to climb. Most people do bring some other bag, I.e. backpack or foldable sports duffel. We managed to bring back our alcohol allotment plus plenty of other stuff. When we started traveling overseas we were convinced we needed 26" roller duffels. We are so much happier doing the smaller bags.

Have a great trip!

Thanks Patty -We've travelled most of western Europe in the past 20 years and like you, have gradually downsized our bags. Concern here was the amount of days without a longer stay to search out local launderettes. These days we mostly stay in apartments (Paris and London) with laundry facilities so the 22 inch bags are just fine. And so they shall be on this tour. Husband is a beer collector/rater - but says he'll just try to find special brews in shops and taste them there or in our hotel room.

I think the worst problem with the larger bags is European trains - it's hard to find luggage storage for larger bags (and even smaller bags) on them. Small bags can be hoisted onto the above seat racks - but it's impossible for anything larger.

So be it - our usual 22 inch hard shell bags which we will check on the airplanes because I try to be considerate to others these days with the limited bin space.

I traveled with someone who also wanted to bring back European beer/wines, and what he did was to take a sturdy carry-on in the largest carry-on size allowed (I think it was 22-inch) and an empty backpack inside it. Then gradually as he collected it, the beer went into the carry-on and the clothes moved into the backpack. I think that toward the end of the tour he might have just left the carry-on locked in the bus some nights, and taken the backpack into the hotel for the night. Anyway no one yelled at him for it (though I was a bit surprised). For flying home he checked the carry-on with the beer and enough clothes to cushion it, and took the extra dirty clothes in the backpack. I don't think I'd want to do that if I was going to be adding extra days and riding regular European buses & trains after the end of a tour, though.

I agree completely about travelling light. However, sometimes packing a tripod and walking sticks necessitates a larger bag. I've used an Eagle Creek rolling bag and a large day pack on most of the my trips. The rolling bag is not a carry-on, so I have to check it. No hassles from tour guides.

Separately, you can store stuff on the bus while you are on the tour so you don't always have to be hauling all your bags to each of your hotels along the way. Just to be to retrieve any stored items when your bus travel is done.

All of the above advice is good. We recommend that your main bag be carry-on sized because of all the times you will handle it yourself during the tour (and on trains and in hotels on your later, independent travel days). The "activity level" for the Berlin, Prague, Vienna tour includes this description: Carry/roll your luggage over uneven pavement (possibly several blocks) and up stairways to reach your hotel; then up several flights of stairs to reach your room." If you are in good shape, your guide will be inclined to assign you a hotel room on the highest floors, in preference to some more fragile tour members.

Your friendly bus driver will load and unload bags from under the bus, and he has seen it all, but that's a very un-ergonomic job that we'd rather not make any worse. You are welcome to leave a separate bag under the bus when you don't need it.

bringing back German/Czech Republic beers.

Roughly a pound a pint, kilogram a litre for water but the specific gravity of beer is a little higher than unity. You husband may have to do some weight management to stay under the 50#/23kg checked bag weigh limit. I brought a hand luggage scale and had a couple of pounds of leeway even with cans of Austrian beer. That or do some quick drinking at the baggage check in scale.

My wife and I have taken 12 RS tours all with the RS 21" roller bags. I can only think of one tour where some tour members (2) brought BIG suitcases. It was their first RS tour and they wanted to be able to wear a different outfit every day. I would say that a great majority of tour members bring suitcases that qualify as carry-on size. We, along with numerous others, pack a collapsable duffel type bag to use for purchases. We do check our bags when flying between the US and Europe and take aboard a tote type bag containing those things that we do not want to loose such as medicines, cell phones, iPad, travel documents, etc. We only pack 3 sets of clothes (socks, under ware, shirts, and pants) and do laundry in our room sink as needed. We have quick dry clothing (ExOffico) so after hanging it up in the bathroom overnight, it is ready to go.

Sounds like Charlie packed the same bag that hubby and I packed. We do sink laundry and on one tour left it at a laundry when the tour guide was taking people to a laundry in the morning. We carry the 22" on the way to Europe and once checked it on the way home. Not as important on the way home if it doesn't show up for a day or two.

We always carry a backpack with meds, a book to read, I carry Iphone, chargers and ipad plus basic makeup.
One tour we were on, an adult family all had carryon sizes except for one gal. She had a gargantuan suitcase and relied on her family for help pulling it through the towns and up the stairs. They weren't too happy, but none of the RS people or other travelers griped at her. The busses are big enough to handle it, is your hubby big enough to handle it? I would say, you pack the way you can handle and if hubby packs a lot, he can handle it. By the way, on our first trip to Europe, it was me that over packed and boy did I learn my lesson!

Have a Great Trip!

My husband and I have been on 9 tours. I believe on each one someone mentions that we really do pack light. Really? I bring 4 interchangeable outfits, along with personal stuff and sometimes feel I bring too much. lol. I always do sink laundry, or go to self service laundry. I usually carry a packable tote or duffel. On the way back, I check my luggage and carry on my electronics, medications, and breakable souvenirs. I do recall on our 21 day tour, a couple had gigantic bags and shopped till they dropped at every stop. At the end of the tour, they really struggled with their stuff. The bus dropped us off on a busy Paris street and we walked for blocks to our hotel. A nice single guy took pity on them and helped them with their bags. I don't think the guide will care what type case you have, the driver might, after all he is the one stowing and retrieving it from the bus. Plus, remember you are responsible for your our bag, you must be able to lift and carry it yourself, possibly for many long blocks, cobbled streets or up narrow hotel stairs. I agree with previous poster, sometimes it is more convenient to by-pass the line for the lift and take the stairs.

There are long walks to the hotels in Prague, Cesky Krumlov and Vienna. There are very uneven cobblestones and sidewalks to hurdle over and through. Personally, I'd suggest not doing it.
Most times it was easier to walk up the stairs than wait for elevator as they only handle like 2 people and 2 bags each. The guides were great but you're responsible for all of it!

Tips: Berlin use a taxi from airport to hotel and a taxi to go to Vienna airport.
Sightseeing: If interested in Reichstag Tour prebook this in advance. I went the day before the group met and it's excellent, plus it's free.
http://www.bundestag.de
If you just want to get on the rooftop terrace, you can still book the restaurant.

The DDR Musuem is not covered on the Musuem Pass.

Prague: If interested in the Cold War visit the Museum of Communism located off the People's Square.

You can take as big a bag as you want and the larger the bag the more you will regret it. Having taken four RS tours and other month-long trips to Europe we pack everything in a 21 inch suitcase and a small personal bag. If you don't know how there are videos and instructions on the Internet or, if you are in the area, RS gives a seminar in this. The key is to have travel clothes that wash and dry overnight with few if any wrinkles. One brand was mentioned, but there are others as well. Will you wear the same outfit more than once? Yes, but who cares? If you take a big bag, you need to check it, and hope for the best. We had one gal on the Greece tour who had no clothes except what she was wearing and what she could buy, for 5 days! And, you'll need to drag/carry the beast. Even with wheels, it's a chore. And the beer, here is my two cents: it always tastes better where you are. Beer, with a few exceptions, loses freshness and flavor quickly. And, with the expolsion or craft brweries in the US, really great beer is widely available. Yes, Europeans have been at it longer, but I'm no longer sure they do it better.

After reviewing the above posts and the RS philosophy regarding packing and carry-on luggage, I must say that I have developed a different take on all of this in recent years. I frankly have decided that I will no longer participate in the "scrum" that occurs prior to departure as every passenger fights to make sure that their bags are overhead and not under the seat in front of them---often with no thought or courtesy to their fellow passengers. On my last flight I watched one couple stuff one entire overhead compartment with two bloated backpacks and two roll-aboard "legal" carry-ons. There does not seem to be any difference in the behavior of passengers regardless of whether I fly domestically or internationally---everybody has a bloated sense of entitlement. It also does not help that the airlines want to confer trumped-up "status" with credit cards, etc., to all but a handful of passengers adding to selfishness in traveler behavior regarding to carry-on items. Most airlines (though far from perfect) are now far better with regards to problems with lost luggage and this will only continue to improve with RFID advancements and other tracking technologies. Therefore, I now usually check my main bag as a "small" checked luggage size (24" X 17" X 9" roller)---not much more difficult to schlep in my experience than international legal carry-ons. I then board the plane smiling with a small backpack or laptop case as my fellow passengers brawl for every last inch of passenger compartment space except at their feet. I think this especially makes sense on international long-haul flights where your first bag is usually free of charge.

Ah, Timothy, I couldn't agree more.

I agree, Timothy. My husband and I carry on small backpacks with our essentials (medications, electronics, extra eyeglasses, etc.). We pack two 21" rolling bags with our clothing mixed in each and check them. If, by chance, one bag is lost, the second will carry us through until the first is located and returned. We can move quickly and freely through airports on multiple stop flights.

Good post, Timothy. I agree too.

Good points Timothy. Yes, the scrum is real, and pity the poor folks with the deer in the headlights look who board late with just barely legal size bags. And yes, the statistics say lost luggage is down overall about 8% over the last several years. The carrier we use is not the worst, but not the best either, losing about 4 bags/1000. You live in Redding I note, and assume you drive to Sacramento or SFO. If not, you need to know that the lost luggage numbers are worse for many of the commuter airlines. There are other reasons bags go astray-connections, etc. Most bags will catch up with you, but if you are on a tour moving between small towns with 1-2 night stays, good luck. Our RS guide in Greece really helped the woman whose bags were misdirected. And yes, I'm the guy who pays for early boarding and economy plus seating. I want to control as much of the situation as possible, but that is me. On the return trip, especially if I have bought that souvenir knife or such, I check bags. If they are delayed, no big deal. So, to check or not to check- an individual choice. But ask anyone who fly's a lot, and they will overwhelmingly tell you to carry on. Need to point out the original post was about luggage size for a RS tour. I still maintain small is better, checked or not checked.

Hi Julie, I've been on 5 RS tours and agree with the others that the guide doesn't care what size luggage you have. In my experience, the younger, fit people will be assigned rooms on the higher floors with lots of steps so be prepared to carry whatever you bring. This year we had a room in Arles, France that was on the top floor - 4 flights of stairs, no elevator - it was a challenge.

I take a 20" RS roll-aboard and carry on and every time I wish I would have packed even lighter. I had two new large suitcases (26 & 28 inches) which I gave to a friend. I never intend to use anything that big again!

Wow - it's been a while since I've looked at this forum and so many of you have replied with good opinions and suggestions. Thank you.

As I mentioned in my previous reply - we have decided to go with our 22 inch bags which we will check and our backpacks which we will carry on. In all the years we've been traveling to Europe - the only time a bag of our went astray was a direct flight from Sacramento to Seattle. I'm not really worried about that.

We've been in small European hotels with no lifts before and narrow staircases and manage to schlep bags to top floors (one place in London was on the fifth floor - six staircases each narrower than the last) and no problems. However, since hubby has decided against trying to bring back "rare" Czech beers - the question about larger bags has become moot. I know that on RS tours we are responsible for our own bags but I do have that memory of the one tour where the guide hassled a lot of people over things and didn't want to have to be in any situation where I might be breaking some long-standing rule.

So...we are looking forward to the Berlin-Dresden-Prague-Vienna tour at the end of September - and even have enrolled in waltz lessons to fulfill his wish about "waltzing in Vienna".

Thanks again for all your comments.