Village Italy. Wheelie bag vs backpack?

I have taken the Village Italy tour using a RS wheelie suitcase with no problems. I have taken 14 RS tours and have used a wheelie on all of them with very few problems. Then again, my back will not let me carry a backpack. Good tour.

When we were on the Village Italy tour, my husband and I were the only ones with bags that strapped on our backs. The other 22 in the group all had wheeled bags. Everyone managed just fine.

Kathy, we've been on the Village Italy tour twice...both times with wheeled bags. I remember just one person with a backpack carry on. We take an extra flat bag for wonderful things that we're bound to come across. We check our bags going home (olive oil, wine, etc.) and use that extra bag as a carry on. A side (shopping) note...you may be in a wonderful ceramics "factory" in Deruta. We've had them ship beautiful pieces home and they do a wonderful job packing and shipping. It's such a great tour.

Kathy, we are confirmed backpack users. I know we're in the minority, but backpacks are better on cobbled streets, on stairs, over curbs... On our VI tour this summer, I think DH and I were the only ones with backpacks. On our Villages of South England tour last year, there were 5 or 6 of us.

Another advantage of backpacks is they keep your hands free - to help other folks, perhaps. Or just to hold your map and water bottle.

How about a "don't tell Rick" type bag for shopping - something that will fold up or squeeze into a corner of your backpack. Or some folks have suggested buying a tote bag or gym bag over there in which to deposit purchases.

To answer your first question, no. In my experience on RS tours, most (but certainly not all) folks use some type of wheeled bag and most of them are carry on sizes. I took the Village Italy tour using my carry on wheelie; also Greece, Sicily twice, and several others tours and never once wished I had brought a different bag. But then due to back and shoulder issues, I can't carry a backpack any larger than day bag size anyway. I didn't have any issues with carrying my wheelie up flights of stairs or pulling it up or down narrow, winding, cobblestone paths. I do pack lightly but like you, I also like the ability to shop without (too much) guilt!

How about a "don't tell Rick" type bag for shopping - something that will fold up or squeeze into a corner of your backpack. Or some folks have suggested buying a tote bag or gym bag over there in which to deposit purchases

Jane, I already have that bag....it was one of the "extra" bags I brought on the London trip. I filled it the last day :) Hubby will definitely use his eBags Motherlode backpack as his luggage but I think I will go with my RS convertible wheelie bag (can use it as a backpack but I don't like it that way.....the wheels hit my back uncomfortably). Besides, he often ended up wheeling my bag for me, which did leave me hands free :) I will definitely utilize the shipping back to the US whenever possible!

When I took the Village Italy tour earlier this year, all but two had wheeled bags. (The two without wheels had RS backpacks.) In fact our guide, and I can't believe I'm saying this, had.....had...had....wait for it.......a.......SPINNER.

NOOOOOOO!!!!!! The "no-spinner" faction are now running around screaming "but you can't use them on cobblestones." Yes you can. (And hers was a few years old.)

If I remember correctly, on my tour, there were only two places where you actually had to walk with your bags but that was on level ground. Some even had larger than carry on wheeled bags. No one had a problem.

Had to laugh about the nonsense about wheeled bags not being good on cobblestones. They are wonderful on cobblestones. I've used them from York to Cairo to Istanbul to India and never had any problem using them. Think it is time to give that myth a rest. Are backpacks "better" on cobblestones....well, if you like 20 pounds strapped to your back they are (as opposed to pulling a few pounds along on wheels.) I've also never had problems pulling wheelies up curbs. I have taken multiple tours (9 of them RS) and the majority of people on all of them use wheelies. In fact, it was that observation on my 3rd or 4th trip to Europe that got me to try a wheelie instead of my then "sacred-you must use a" backpack. Have never used a backpack since.

Thank you, everyone! I am bringing my wheeled bag.....actually maybe even my spinner bag. It's a harder shell surface. I almost always check on our way back home and that should protect the wine bottle that's sure to return home with me! No sense carrying 18 pounds in my back if I do t need to.

Kathy, the VI trip was the last trip where I used the RS convertible backpack. I was gone 8 weeks that time and ~somehow~ by the end I had accumulated EIGHT scarves, lolol!! I remember having to sit on the bed of the hotel in Orta San Giulio to put that darn pack on as I could no longer lift it around to my back. Once I got to a standing position I was OK. I went to the RS wheelie after that and haven't looked back!

I am glad you all are doing VI. I think you will love it!

You know, I didn't bring back ONE scarf from London but I know I will from Italy. Their scarves are wonderful and I gave most of mine away from our first trip.....looks like I'll be doing some scarf shopping next spring!

How wonderful will your next trips be, Pam! I've heard great things about both of those tours!

I had an excellent opportunity on this last trip to compare the virtues of a rolling suitcase with a convertible backpack. The backpack won, hands down.

Despite knowing my philosophy about rollers, my partner, Robin, insisted on using her 20" rollaboard on this trip. Due to her health problems that led to her being in the hospital and rehab for about 3 months earlier in the year, she is really not strong enough to handle any luggage by herself. I had to handle both my backpack and her roller. It actually worked out well, because I would have had trouble with two backpacks. But it sure brought home the difference between a backpack and a roller.

Changing trains: As we approached the station, I stood up and put on my backpack. Then I picked up her roller and carried it up or down stairs to the door level (a lot of the trains we rode were double-deck with the door at an intermediate level. I picked up the roller to take it off the train because the platform was almost never in line with the train level. Then I opened the handle and rolled it to the stairs. (Note: in a few stations there were elevators to the tunnel, but in most cases I had to use the stairs). At about half the stations, there was a conveyor belt for the bags to or from the tunnel, about half the time they were out of order, so most of the time I carried the bag down to the tunnel. I opened the handle to drag the bag to the next stairs, then folded it and carried the bag to the platform, then rolled it to where the train would stop. When the train arrived, I folded the handle and lifted it onto the train, then up or down the stairs in the train to our seats. All the time I was fussing with the roller, my convertible was there on my back, requiring no attention.

Getting to the hotel: From the train to the station, I had to lift/roll the suitcase as I described above. Only once, in Rothenburg, was the station at street level and close enough to just roll the bag. A couple of times we had to take a taxi. At the hotel there was always stairs from the street into the hotel (lift again). At only one hotel was our room on the ground floor. At the rest it was at least one floor up - carry the bag again. Again, all the time I was fussing with the roller, my convertible was there on my back, requiring no attention.

I should mention that my normally 13# backpack was 17# because I was also carrying the charger for Robin's oxygen concentrater and the extra battery for it - another 4# - but my backpack was still far, far easier to handle than her rollaboard.

So, OK, we can dismiss the myth that rollers are a problem on cobblestones, I never had any problem, but all my "travel" was on paved, or cobblestone, roads. Try pulling a roller 4/10 of a mile up the dirt path from downtown Bacharach to the hostel at Stahleck. But we can also dismiss the myth that you never, or rarely, have to carry a roller. I was carrying it all the time.

I would never, ever want to use a backpack in Europe because I don't want to wear the weight during my sometimes long walks to and from hotels. But make no mistake about it: While a wheeled bag can be rolled across cobblestones (spinners will have to be tilted onto two wheels), it will bounce around a lot and the wheels may get damaged, especially if the bag you're using isn't top of the line. Before the wheels fail completely, you'll probably notice that a spinner bag no longer rolls smoothly over sidewalks and airport concourses, which I think is considered the major advantage of a spinner vs. a two-wheeled bag.

I've also learned that pulling a wheeled bag upstairs or rolling it downstairs, however gently, is likely to result in damage to the bottom, leading edge. I lift mine when I encounter a change of level and when crossing graveled/rocky surfaces.

We just got back from the VIT (and we've done 4 other RS tours including Greece, and Heart of France which also require a lot of rumbling down cobblestone streets) - always with 2 roller, non-spinner, fit-in-overhead-compartment bags + 1 duffel bag and have done just fine. The VIT is a little different in that some hotels are located somewhat further away (we estimate up to 0.25 mi) from the bus drop-off points (big tour buses are not allowed close to the hotel). So backpack vs. suitcase is a personal preference, just be prepared to haul whatever you're bringing to the hotel over distance. You can also bring a roller bag and put it and all your souvenirs in bus "deep storage" - the bus will be the same from the time you leave Padova to the time you arrive in Lake Orta, so you don't have to bring absolutely everything to every stop. In fact in two cities, we were specifically told to put as much stuff in deep storage as we could so that we weren't hauling "everything" to the hotel. Whereas tour bus break-ins have been a concern on some of our RS tours, the driver and guide weren't worried about leaving stuff in the bus or in deep storage on this tour. Regional trains between sizable cities have space for you to put luggage above your seat. If it'll fit in an airline overhead compartment, it'll probably fit above you on the train. (My parents had a bag stolen on an Italian train, so it's important to keep an eye on your luggage on a train).

I posted a trip review + a bunch of hints for the VIT at: community -dot- ricksteves -dot- com /travel-forum/trip-reports/village-italy-october-2017-part-i

We bring 3 pieces of luggage b/c we also shop (primarily for food items), but normally in Paris on our own after the tours. So our luggage weighs relatively little on tour but is quite heavy flying out of Paris. Here are suggestions for dealing with heavy luggage on Paris subways (could apply anywhere, but we are most familiar with Paris subways).

• try to travel on the Metro with luggage when it's not rush hour. This is probably THE #1 rule. Schedule your flights accordingly or leave way early for the airport if necessary. If you must travel when the Metro is busy, don't assume that because one train is packed the next one will be. If one is packed, see what the next one looks like (applies primarily to taking the RER and Metro from the airport).
• It's a two-person job to get multiple pieces of luggage thru gates. One person goes thru with at most one suitcase, the other person pushes all remaining luggage under the gate to the first person and goes through without luggage. Always keep an eye on your partner and his/her luggage to avoid thieves.
• look for escalators and elevators! We assumed that we had to put up with hauling heavy suitcases up multiple flights of stairs at Gare du Nord, but there's an escalator somewhere - spotted it from the platform, so next year we'll be looking for it.