Best suitcase for international travel?

[wendibird22]

DD1 heads to Italy/Greece the first week of April. They've been told they can either do one check bag and one backpack OR one carry on and one backpack. It's a 10 day trip and temps will be cool so she'll need enough different types of clothes that there's no way she'll do a carry on. We've been told the check bag size allowable is max 62" all LxWxH added up and weight of 50lbs.

I have an older model Mother Lode (not sure if it's medium or large) that I just used for a trip myself this past week. And while it holds a ton, it's not light. I packed for 4 days/nights in Orlando and the bag was like 47lbs. It could have held a ton more stuff, I didn't even have the gusset expanded, but there's no way you could use that space and remain under the 50lbs.

So, I'm looking for a bag for DD to take on this trip. Any recommendations?

[SnuggleBuggles]

I know some people like backpack duffel bags. They don’t appeal to me but maybe they do to your dd https://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/1239...E&gclsrc=aw.ds
We used carry on sized rolling suitcases and backpacks for our Europe trip. We needed to do laundry at some point though.


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[jgenie]

We travel internationally with Travelpro or Monos rolling suitcases and a backpack. We always take enough socks and undies for the entire trip. I prefer to stay where we have access to laundry but if we don’t we plan to rewear clothes. We travel in our coats and heaviest layers. We all keep a reusable shopping bag in our backpack bottle holder. Once we’re on the plane we can stuff jackets and extra layers in the bags and use them as pillows. I travel with a small spray bottle of alcohol to spritz our clothes as needed.

[wendibird22]

They are at a different hotel each night and have been told none will have laundry. So, DD will plan to rewear things for sure.

I also have a Mother Lode backpack, but that's too big to count as her "backpack" as the teacher really truly means a regular backpack that they'll use on their day excursions. So while yes, she can pack it with travel needs/clothes/etc she can't use a "luggage" backpack as her backpack. She has a packable Eddie Bauer backpack she will bring for that purpose.

I tried to pack the small Mother Lode roller bag for my 4 day trip and couldn't fit all that I needed, which wasn't a ton, but given Florida weather this past weekend (pouring rain and 50 deg!) I needed a 2nd pair of shoes, a sweatshirt, and a few other layers (outdoor spectating of soccer). So I moved it all to the larger bag, but I just don't see DD being able to lug that around Europe and carry it up flights of stairs without significant effort (and teenage complaining!).

[AnnieW625]

I would have her check a suitcase. I know I am probably in the minority but I hate dealing with the overhead bins so I check my bags as much as possible. Backpack wise I would have her take whatever she is used to carrying. Put extra underwear, and a tee shirt in there as a just in case.

Suitcase wise I would recommend something like the Travel Pro Max Lite medium. It isn’t overly expensive and if it only gets used a few times it isn’t like you have lost a lot of money on it. Also it comes in pink, purple, and light blue so it will be easy for her to spot at the baggage claim.

I have used the Motherlode Junior for international travel and wasn’t asked by SAS to check the size and while I love it and could pack it for a week very easily it does get heavy. I much prefer my Lo and Son’s Catalina Tote to it but for international travel I do like the Motherlode Junior.

And if you don’t have one get a handheld luggage scale and send it with her on her trip.

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[DualvansMommy]

Get her a duffel bag she can carry on her shoulders. It’ll be far easier than trying to lug a heavy full size suitcase in Europe with cobblestones and flights of stairs.

Take backpack as well that she can use on the plane ride while putting larger duffle bag in the overhead big. Then pack flat that backpack on moving days in her large duffle bag, and highly recommmend DD to carry body cross purse for her day to day tours.


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[wendibird22]

Get her a duffel bag she can carry on her shoulders. It’ll be far easier than trying to lug a heavy full size suitcase in Europe with cobblestones and flights of stairs.

Take backpack as well that she can use on the plane ride while putting larger duffle bag in the overhead big. Then pack flat that backpack on moving days in her large duffle bag, and highly recommmend DD to carry body cross purse for her day to day tours.


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So then I could have her do the Mother Lode backpack (which is like their small Mother Lode without wheels and frame) and have her check that (if she wanted) and then her backpack for day trips. She does have a crossbody bag with RFID she plans to take. I might have a hard time convincing her on the backpack luggage, but if I can get her test pack it and go up and down our stairs with it vs with a full suitcase, she might be convinced otherwise!

[Percycat]

I would have her focus on a having a capsule wardrobe and pack no more than can fit in a carryon bag and a day pack. 10 days is a wonderful trip, but not a terribly long time. 1 jean, 1 pants, 1 legging, 1 or 2 shorts, 1 or 2 dress/skirt, 3 or 4 short sleeve shirts, 1 or 2 long sleeve tops, sweater, jacket, tennis shoes, sandals -- everything should coordinate. Stick with neutral colors and a pop color. You can google for suggestions.

She will enjoy the trip so much more if she doesn't have to schlep luggage.

FYI, my family spent 15 days in England last summer -- 1 week in London and 1 week in Southern England. My daughter, son, and I each packed in carryon. My clothes were all white, khaki, navy or coral and could be worn as different outfits. In addition to the carryon and day pack, I also packed an extra tote, which I wound up using to bring home our souvenirs.


oh -- and to answer your question, we looked at lots of suitcases. My daughter and I chose to purchase the Travelpro Roundtrip hard set offered through Costco Next because it had all the features we wanted and was a great price (its also available on Amazon). My husband chose to purchase Travelpro Elite soft.

We also used compression cubes. I like this brand:
https://www.amazon.com/LeanTravel-Co...zcF9hdGY&psc=1

[gatorsmom]

I’m chaperoning my high school kids’ trip to Europe this summer. It’s only 7 days but my family has gone on pilgrimages of 10 days before with some groups of people so I have some opinions. The biggest is that if the group is traveling around to different hotels in different cities during the time, I would ONLY travel carry-on. There was an elderly couple whose flight was delayed by an entire day and they were separated from their checked luggage. By the time they met up with our group, they had half a day left in our small town. That is where the airline sent their luggage. But it arrived after our group had moved onto the next city. They spent 3 full days without their luggage. It was a nightmare for them. On European domestic flights I’ve had to check one or both of those bags depending on the size of the airline (only once did the Motherlode jr backpacks not fit under the seat in the cabin on a small domestic French flight but then they were gate checked so small chance of losing them).

This summer me and my kids are flying with our carry-on roller bag (motherlode brand) and the matching Motherlode Junior backpacks again. It’s much easier to handle these smaller bags on stairs, cobblestones, and in tiny elevators. Once we arrive in Europe, I’ll take my smaller backpack out of my luggage to use for daytime touring and leave the motherlodes either in the hotel or in the tour bus. For daytime trips I’m planning my Longchamp Pliage backpack. It’s packable and small (imho) but can fit a small bottle of water, sunglasses, phone, wallet, epipen, etc.

I bring a couple of double gallon size ziploc bags for washing and rinsing in the hotel sink and try to only wear polyester and quick dry clothing. I also bring a travel clothesline so the few things we have to wash and rewear will dry overnight (after I’ve squeezed all the moisture out of them with a hotel towel).. I usually pack enough undies and socks to have one clean each day and don’t have to rewash those.

For 10 days living out of carry-ons are doable, especially in the summer when she won’t need as many clothes and shoes. It will make her trip so much easier. Jmho

[bisous]

Can you find out the dimensions of the allowable personal item? I ask because when I went to Europe, we flew Swiss Air and the website clearly stated that the personal item could only be a purse or a "slim laptop bag". I didn't try using either of my two largish backpack carryons that both work just fine for US Airlines because according to my online search (and not my personal experience) Swiss Air was extremely strict about things! (They give dimensions that you can look up) So I'd nail down THAT piece first. I think that a ten day trip with a beefy personal item and a carry-on is possible in ways that might not be possible with a very small bag as a personal item!

If you can swing it, I think those motherlode jr. bags really do fit a ton! But if that's too big, you might see if this bag would work.

https://www.amazon.com/Himawari-Lapt...1zcF9hdGY&th=1

I recently used this in Hawaii and cannot say enough good things about it! Everything was so easy to reach on the plane and so easy to pack. It fits a ton. But it is smaller than the motherlode jr. What's more, I packed some essentials in it, with the idea that if my other suitcase were to be checked and lost, I'd still be ok for a week! So I had one plane outfit (which I was wearing), my spare outfit, a dress, a swimsuit, a totally different kind of shoes and all my toiletries and of course my inflight entertainment stuff (mostly headphones and charging cords!). If that bag fits the specifications of your airline, I highly recommend it!

Next I would look at footwear because that's the bulkiest item. When I traveled in Europe in April, I needed two kinds of boots for rain and hiking and they took up a lot of space. It IS nice to bring carry-on only, but Europe's carry-ons are small. I know when I just flew too (from Hawaii to LA) my carry-on had to be under 25 pounds or they checked it. So carry-on can have space AND weight restrictions!

I think if in doubt, I'd probably get a big-ish roller suitcase. I don't like traveling with things I have to hold in my hands. Especially if heavy. I had to deal with cobblestones a little bit but it was fine.

Also, does she like her stuff? Or is she a minimalist? My sister can travel with JUST the motherlode JR in europe for 4 weeks but she does a lot of laundry by hand. Her strategy is to wash something every day! Not everyone likes to travel like that.

I like fashion, I liked dressing for my destination so I liked having more stuff. Hence, I think if I were doing it again and without DH this time, I'd still maybe go for a bigger bag than the carry-on allows.

Can you layout all the stuff she has and see how much room it might take? Use the bags you have and see what would work best? I love trouble shooting things like luggage! Excited to see what ends up working out for her!