by350

Flying into Rome for 3 nights. Going to be taking a Eurostar from Rome to Naples and possibly the Circumvesuviana into Sorrento for 3 nights. Private limo is taking us back to Naples and we're flying AlpiEagles into Venice for 4 nights.

I have a 22x15x11" wheeled upright and my fiancee has a big 30x19x11" wheeled upright. I know mine is ok, assuming I can pack everything in it, but is my fiancee's big upright out of the question? She has trouble packing light, as much as I'm forcing her to.

How will this work on the trains? Will her bag have to be stored away from us where it could be stolen?

HELP...any informative input would be appreciated!

MarkY

The large bag will have to be stored in the area between cars. My advice is to sit in an area where you can keep your eye on it. At every stop just get up and walk to your bag and stay with it.

bob_brown

If weighs more than 70 pounds, the airlines can refuse it.
I think that after dragging that much around, hoisting it on and off trains, you will travel lighter next time.
I think your finance should pull her own weight. I just hope you don't miss a train carting that stuff around.

If it as large as you indicate, my guess it will weigh quite a bit. I don't think the overhead baggage racks on trains will be able to contain it.

SandyR

We just took the EuroStar a few weeks ago, from Paris to Dover. Picked up a cruise and had 2 large bags (the largest allowable) and 2 rollys. From what I gather, EuroStar's policy is l large bag, 1 small bag, each. Our luggage wasn't weighed, but they were sent through x-ray... the x-ray accommodates large luggage, too. I was nervous about my husband lifting the 2 large bags up the 2 steps, onto the train... there was no one to help, but he did it. We were in 1st class but whether 1st or 2nd class, there is space between each car to store luggage. We took advice from others and brought a lightweight wire lock, purchased at Maggellen's, and locked the 2 large pieces to the metal racks provided for storage. We felt much better about not having to watch our luggage during the trip. Our 2 rollys fit nicely in the overhead racks where we sat. One word of warning... the train only stops for a few minutes so you must unlock your luggage well before the train comes into the station. Hope this helps.

janis

A 30 inch suitcase is HUGE. I can't imagine taking that much stuff anywhere. But if she has never packed light she probably isn't going to start now. You will have to carry your own bags - no porters.

This trick often works - but you know her and will know if it will work.

Have her pack her suitcase. No cheating - it should weigh about what it will for the trip. Then she has to carry it up a short flight of stairs, lift it on to a pile of boxes or sofa (to simulate having to hoist it on top of other luggage at the end of the car). Then she takes it down and walks around the block and over a couple of curbs (like walking through European stations). back up the steps into the house up on and down from the sofa.

That will be what she faces every time you take the train. If she can manage the it'll be OK - but hopefully she will see a 30 inch case is simply too big and heavy.

bob_brown

Right on. I needed a new suitcase. I went to a big department store and a 30 inches did not look large in the store because there were larger pieces dwarfing it. When I got it home, I realized I had a monster by the handle. So I went back and swapped the 30 incher for a smaller one.

One other facet to this. Many intra European airlines restrict the weight of one bag to 20 kilos, or 44 pounds.
Above that weight you pay extra.

I know one thing I would hate to move a 30 incher fully loaded through the Paris Metro! I hauled two biggies on my 7 week Odyssey. At age 23 I had more brawn than brains and more brains than money. Now I want wheels and not much weight. If I cannot hoist it up onto an overhead luggage rack, it is too heavy.

RufusTFirefly

Our rule is that everyone handles his/her own suitcase. My wife generally takes a 26" and I take a 27"--we haven't had any problems on trains in several decades of travel. We take smaller suitcases on shorter trips.

Degas

I take two 21 inch wheeled bags - one checked and one with me on the plane. Very easy to handle and lift on trips.

ira

Hi

The ES* from Rome to Naples is a nonstop. Your luggage will be safe until you approach Naples.

It makes two stops before it reaches the Central station. This is where someone might try to steal your suitcase and where you should have your eye on it.

What is your fiancee bringing that she needs a 30" suitcase for 10 days? That's what my wife and I use for 3 weeks.

Nylon

I have a 30 inch case that I seldom use. I only use it if I am travelling overseas for a month or longer.

For holidays and trips of only a few weeks I would never consider using it.

I do not think it will be a problem. I have lugged mine around airports and train stations in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

However, I am a young and reaosnably fit male. When I am a bit older and fatter I think I might find a 30 inch case too big and cumbersome.

Cicerone

First rule of marriage: don't try to change the other person!

I always bring a 30" suitcase I can and fill it to the brim. I live in Europe and the bag's size and weight has never been an issue on any intra-European flights, including Ryan Air, Swiss and EasyJet.

It IS a pain lugging it off and on trains. Yes, you will be swearing and sweating. But, two minutes of groaning and it is over. If you want to lock them onto the luggage racks at the end of the car, go ahead, but it two trips on the Eurostar I never had a problem.

If I were you, since it is your honeymoon (and even if it weren't) I would arrange for a car to pick you up in Naples and drive down the Amalfi coast. A great way to see the stunning coastline, which you will not see on the train for the most part. Have lunch in Positano while the driver waits, and then go on to Sorrento.

I could do that drive every day of my life, so doing it out and back from Naples will not seem like too much, believe me.

Daneille

Not sure about the size issue, but you may be better storing a bag this size in the storage bays at the end of the carriage. You will still be able to see it and my experience on Eurostar - even in 2nd class is everyone is pretty honest and won't touch it. Your alternative is to lift it onto the luggage racks above your head which seems to me to be out of the question with a bag this size.

By storing in the rack at the front of the carriage you will make it easier to get it out too without having to wheel it down the very narrow aisles.

Your only problem will be getting it on the train - there are stairs up to the carriage and a very narrow doorway.

Beware Gypsies in Rome who will take "charge" of your baggage and will then demand money for getting your bag on the train (up to 20 euros). Firmly refuse them.

NYCFoodSnob

Obviously, none of you have ever traveled with Joan Collins. Cicerone offered great feedback and good relationship advice. (Are you single, dear? If so, call me.)

As far as I'm concerned, large luggage and trains don't mix, unless you have your own personal bellboy. If you love your fiancee and she enjoys seeing you sweat, you'll manage. You'll be hard pressed to find any Italian, even in Naples, interested in stealing your 30" bag. (LOL) Is it a Louis Vuitton?

MGB

Keep in mind that in Venice many people take a vaporetto (water bus) to the nearest dock to their hotel. Taking a 30 inch bag on the boat may be tough, not to mention pushing/pulling it down cobblestone streets.

Have you thought about getting a 22" that expands another 2 or 3 inches in depth? This at least keeps it narrower at 15 X 22 or so for aisles and boats and bins but gives more depth. Briggs & Riley have one we use, it has a garment bag inside. Then if she has that and a tote for toileteries and valuable and more that fits over the top handle it may work a little easier.

Good luck, Mary Ann

HowardR

My wife is one of those "can't-pack-light" people. I've long since given up trying to change that! We take a 30" bag. I'm not that young, but am in reasonably good shape. As Cicerone says, it's a bit of a pain getting it on and off a train. But, I say, it's a small price to pay for my wife's happiness on the trip!
No, we don't take it on the Metro, but we have walked a block or two from a train station and managed quite well.
Don't get paranoid about it. There are a lot worse things in life while traveling!

bob_brown

One friend of mine said that hauling a heavy suitcase around Europe was a better muscle builder than exercise at a health spa.
Also, there are no dues to pay, just tickets to buy.
Just think, if your luggage weighs 65 pounds, you improve your grip and your lifting muscles. Doing a clean and jerk with a 65 pound case demands good muscle tone because the weight is awkward and the consequences of dropping it on your head are fairly serious.
On the other hand, if you are single and female, using the big case as a means of soliciting attention can be very useful. Of course, if only dorky old men are around, you might have to heft it yourself.
I also like the strength workout one gets of trying to grapple with a 70 pound bag on the luggage carousel at airports. As it moves past you, the amount of force required to pull it back to you is a function of the square of the velocity of the carousel times the weight of the luggage. It takes a strong grip to seize the handle and drag it off, particularly if it wedged in with other heavy luggage. You can end up exerting a pull force of 3 to 400 pounds just to get the bag off of the merry go round.

If you have a carry-on piece, you can use a bungy cord to strap the carry on to the big one. Then when you go up steps, you have a weight of 90 pounds or so to work with.

Great for weight training until you injure your back and go hobbling off.

Just remember the wheels on that thing are heavy, and they are no good on cobblestone, escalators, or steps.

Debbie

Can you perhaps suggest to her to use a 25" or 26" bag?
It doesn't sound like much, 4 or 5 inches, but it will make a big difference , lugging it on and off trains, and baggage carosels. Not to mention up flights of stairs .

Most of the 25" bags nowadays have the 2 or 3 in expansion feature, so that should give her enough room.

I used a 25" bag for a 15 day trip to Ireland - including extra shoes, all the clothes I needed and all the girly stuff. To be sure I had enough room , I used those travel space bags that compress your clothes (another idea for your fiance?) which saved a lot of space.

If she is taking the large bag to have room for souveniers - Just pack a duffel bag flat in your suitcase, and use that.

Cicerone

NYFoodSnob ? yes I am single (which explains why I can give such sage advice on long term relationships. . .) However, the rumour on this board is that you may be retiring your single status in favour of someone call PCHsmiles??!!

NYCFoodSnob

Cicerone - PCH is married. Our flirtation is purely innocent and I love the fact he enjoys a smart, sassy gal. More men should consider his example. I may have turned a few husbands gay but I NEVER full around with a taken man.

For a single guy, you sure seem to know your way around the world and with some style, too. I'm intrigued.

bi350 - oh, I meant "by"...(all this talk of body sweat and bicep building has me in a sexual tizzy). Be sure to have your fiancee read this thread before you pack. If she's worth marrying, she'll reconsider her luggage choices.

bryarsmom

I have to tell you I've been convinced by other Fodorites to reduce my normal packing down to ONE carry-on. It will free me up from luggage check-in and out at the airports and make life alot more pleasant for my husband and I.

I received excellent, deatiled advice from others on how/what to pack for our weeks stay in Italy(Rome&Sorrento). I want to spend all my waking moments enjoying my visit, not fiddling with numerous,heavy bags. You can do it too-choose mix&match easy-care separates, things you could wash out if you needed to. There are great tips on the Italy site.