What smaller luggage piece for Venice?

Judy - I went on this tour last fall. When I think back about it we would not have been uncomfortable carrying our main bags into Venice or the Cinque Terre so don't feel as if you have to do it. We did downsize though for those two spots. Hubby carried the RS Civita over one shoulder and I carried my Pacsafe 400. I love that pacsafe bag and use it on all of my trips now as it is large enough to hold all of our electronics, charger hub and cables, plus one pair shoes and two days of clothes.

You are going to have so much fun on this tour!!!

Yes! You are going to have so much fun! I did this tour in 2014.

I used a LeSportsac Medium Tote which I had been using for my bus tote. For the segments on the bus I used this for a rain jacket, pillow, water, snacks, kindle, guide book, etc. When we went in to both Venice and Monterosso I just left the stuff from the tote in a plastic grocery bag on my seat in the bus and took the tote in. It is very helpful to have something you can put on your shoulder in case you need to use both hands getting off and on the vaporetto in Venice or train in Monterosso.

I also used this as my personal item on the plane going over. I had my RS 22" carryon and had my purse, pillow and jacket stuffed in to the LeSportsac which fit under the seat in front of my on the airplane.

I understand what Nance is saying about it not being too hard to carry stuff in to Venice but I had overpacked slightly and my carryon was too heavy for how far we had to walk from the dock to the hotel. If you have a wheelie it will be a pain as the bridges in Venice are steps not ramps.

PS. You don't really have an assigned seat on the bus. No one was sitting in the back on that trip so several of us sort of camped out back there.

You could use almost anything. I routinely bring along Rick's Hideaway Tote for laundry, shopping, and carrying home new purchases. Soft-sided and packable but can carry quite a load (such as 6 bottles of Prosecco).

Laughing at Laura's post because with my $100 voucher from the store I got a RS hideaway tote for my trip this Fall. I was surprised at how light it is.

We are going to Italy on a small group tour (non-RS) in September with 5 days in Venice. Land at airport, water taxi to hotel. I have read that Venice is not spinner luggage friendly. Mine is lightweight, 21". No bus storage available, plus we need clothing for 5 days. Anyone use the RS rolling backpack? Any feedback would be appreciated! Thanks!

My "personal item" on our Delta flight was a Vera Bradley Weekender bag. It's probably pushing the size limit and would not be considered a "personal item" on smaller airlines but it worked for me and slid over the handles of my RS convertible carry on bag. It was perfect for Venice and the Cinque Terra. All of our electronics, a pair of shoes, and several pieces of clothing. Incidently, I also had the RS hideaway bag for deep storage. I put souvenirs in that bag as I accumulated them on our 21 day BOE tour last spring. At the end of the trip I moved our souvenirs to my carry on bag and stuffed all of our dirty clothes in the RS bag (which I checked for the trip home).

Sandy - almost everyone on our tour used spinners except for us, one other tourmate, and the guide. They rolled where they could and carried where they couldn't.

Nance--Thanks for the info. I got it last year for trip to France that included train & bus rides; ladies trip, so no husbands to help! I really like it.

Kathy--I've use the VB weekender bag for car trips for the past 3 years, but haven't taken it on a plane yet. Seems rather bulky for me to carry thru airports though I do see a lot of them. It holds a lot and has good pockets.

I highly recommend the Rick Steves Euro Flight Tote, which can be purchased on this website. My husband and I own these and use them all the time. They are light weight, have a variety of compartments & fit under airline seats. We took the three week BOE Europe tour and traveled to our Venice hotel on a vaporetto. As I recall, we had all our luggage with us....carry-on size luggage on wheels (Rick Steves luggage, which fits in the overhead compartment on most planes) and a tote. We now travel all over the world for two or three months at a time, often using only carry-on luggage...The Euro Flight Tote works perfectly as the second piece. I am not a backpack person, either. However, I usually pack a Civita Day Pack in my luggage just in case. There are times when it comes in handy, rather than carrying a purse. It is also available on the Rick Steves website & weighs practically nothing. Have a great trip. The itinerary is wonderful!

I'm back, had a great time. I took a satchel weekender which was folded flat in my main piece of luggage until I needed it. If I were to do it over again I would of brought a foldable duffle. At the last minute we had to add cold weather clothing that added more weight and space. The recommendation to wear your heaviest clothing on the the plane works until you get to Europe and you have to store it somewhere in your luggage,

Hi Judy,
I'm with Patrice on the RS Euroflight bag. It is perfect for my 2nd piece of luggage and is so easy to find things in it because the sides stand up and the flap zips from both sides to open and give you full view of the inside. It has a shoulder strap and a handle. And is very roomy besides and fits under the seat on the plane or the overhead bin.

A perfect bag IMO. I will use it when I am in Venice this Oct on my RS 17 Days in Italy tour.

I see you posted that you have returned.

Judy B

Hi, Judy, welcome home. We use the Euro Flight bag, or an earlier incarnation thereof, as our main travel bag here in the States. For short trips (several days or so) it's roomy enough for both of us to pack our stuff. It will probably graduate to my "personal item" for overseas travel soon; my beloved 30+ year old Polish cheap calfskin bag is finally disintegrating. Sigh. It was the perfect bag for me.