Rick Steves South Italy: Do you use a separate overnight bag?

Posted by amber.spiers (Roswell, GA) on 03/30/26 09:16 PM

Hi all,

I’ll be taking my third Rick Steves tour this October and feel like I’m finally getting better at packing light. On my last tour (France), we had one night at Mont Saint-Michel where our guide asked us to pack a small overnight bag and leave our main suitcase on the bus—which worked great once I adjusted.
As I look at the South Italy tour, I’m wondering if there are any similar situations where this might come up. For those who’ve taken the tour, did your guide recommend using a smaller overnight bag at any point?
I do travel with a carry-on sized suitcase, but if there are stops where it’s easier to decant into a smaller bag, I’d like to be a bit more prepared this time.
Appreciate any insight—thanks in advance!

Posted by wickettj

03/30/26 09:33 PM

7 posts

No, I don’t think you would find this helpful. Most stops were two nights and we had to switch to a smaller bus to get from the Amalfi coast to Sorrento, so didn’t have the same bus/driver then. There were two stops that our luggage was moved to the hotel for us due to rain and slippery pathways that were up a hill.

Posted by amber.spiers OP

Roswell, GA

03/30/26 11:15 PM

37 posts

Thank you so much!

Posted by margie

Bend, OR

03/31/26 02:50 AM

1932 posts

I remember doing that when we went into Venice on the BOI but not on this tour. We did take a boat ride to get to our hotel in Maiori but we carried our luggage with us up the narrow boat ramp onto the boat. A good reason, though not to take a massive suitcase on this tour.

Posted by Activity Girl

Michigan

03/31/26 11:05 AM

68 posts

I do that when we are enroute to a destination and just have a hotel overnight. Since your guide recommended it, it seems like it was a good idea. But I will also add that on all of our five RS tours, we've never had a one night stay. So perhaps your MSM night was unique. Keep up the good work traveling light!

Posted by amber.spiers OP

Roswell, GA

03/31/26 01:25 PM

37 posts

Thank you so much I appreciate all the comments! Now if I can convince my travel partners (1st RS tour and 1st in Europe) to pack light...

Posted by CL

Salem, Oregon, USA

03/31/26 01:51 PM

3864 posts

To find out for certain, you can contact the RS tour office and ask. They're quite responsive. FWIW, on my Best of Italy tour we were advised to do this in Venice, but at that time it wasn't the first stop on the tour (it is now).

I always pack a foldable duffle or tote bag with zipper closure to offload excess souvenirs and to use as my carry on bag returning home and check my carryon with dirty clothes. If unexpectedly faced with the need to decant (great word!) I would use it for that purpose. Plenty of discussions in the forum on this type of bag - here's just one of many examples https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing/please-give-me-some-packable-tote-bag-recommendations

Posted by Kate

Minnesota 🎒

03/31/26 02:01 PM

18025 posts

Amber, you probably already know this but the itinerary for this tour doesn't list any one-night stays anywhere: they're all 2-nighters. As well, there's no bus transfers on 8 of the 13 days, which include arrival and departure day when you'll be managing your own transport.

https://www.ricksteves.com/tours/italy/south-italy

Just thought it worth mention as your last experience was for a single-night stay. :O)

This thread about the tour from last October might provide some useful firsthand info? For example, several posters mentioned that their luggage was ported for them to their accommodations in Matera and Vieste. Other than a 1-night stay, difficulties getting luggage to a hotel where no porter service was available might be the other reason I can think of suggesting just an overnight-sized bag. That doesn't mean that this tour is going to Vieste (the itinerary states simply "a charming seaside town in the Puglia region") or that the tour is using the same hotel in Matera but worth a read?

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/south-italy-tour-specific-questions