How many suitcases do you take?

[jstbcuz94]

Ok, we are leaving in about 5 hours. We are staying for 10 nights. DH and I are sharing a suitcase, DD 11 and 8 are sharing and then I have one just filled with the extra stuff (shoe holders, glow sticks, etc). I still need to put my shoes in as well as the kids. 3 suitcases is going to be pushing it. I would still like to try to get my blanket in too (which I take everywhere)...........maybe I could just carry that on the plane tho it is pretty thick. We will also have a backpack.

Anyhow, just curious if I was in the ballpark.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I wouldn't push the space too much going because you'll buy things there and then not be able to fit them in for the return trip. I usually bring one suitcase with snacks and then have room to pack souvies on my way home.

T&B

 

[dbail2]

We pack 10 suitcases for a 2 week trip ..Use to take only 5 and were charged an overweight fee on 3 so now we pack the suitcases lightly. We are a family of 5 and have 3 DDs..

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[Barbday62]

My husband and I travel with carry on only for a 10 day trip in the summer. We both wear pants ont he plane so in case we need something more dressy we have it avaliable. Then we pack shorts and many sleeveless shirts. Our carry on is one suitcase for me with a back pack instead of a purse. And he carries a smaller bag and our camera/laptop bag.

This year Im going with my grandchildren so we are breaking all the rules we self imposed as carryon only and taking many suitcases and checking it all in. (OUr gransdon still spits up a lot so I suspect many outfit changes for us and him.)

As for taking things home. I generally have a cloth bag I can fold up small to take things home with. I generally ship anything big right from the store. They dont charge you sales tax when you ship so it helps offset the shipping charges. One time my husbands small bag he carried was an empty collapsable cooler for us to use while in the hotel then we used it to carry home laundry when we came home. (Sometimes we fit in one suitcase between us especailly when we only go for 8 days)

By the way we always do laundry at least once while on vacation thus cutting down the number of clothes needed to bring.

Barb

 

[gigi1313]

we recently took a trip for four days (no laundry facility) and packed one bigger rolling suitcase for ds and i, a smaller one for dd and a medium for dh... plus my bag of sundries (i.e. shampoo, soap, sunscreen, deodorant, etc etc etc) and snacks... i am planning on using the same luggage configuration for our eight day trip because i will be doing laundry... the only add'l thing we'll be bringing is each child will have a backpack for their gameboys/cd players/crayons/etc... and i'll have a backpack for swimsuits for each of us in the event our room is not ready when we check in... along w/my camera and any last minute stuff i need to stuff in there!

 

[decker96]

We are a family of 5 and everyone gets their own suitcase. The size depends on how long the trip is and everyone pulls their own bag (well, not youngest DD, she's only 10 months ). We just got back from a week's vacation in South Carolina and DD6 and DS3 begged to pull their own suitcases through the airport. They looked very cute with their backpacks on pulling their luggage behind them! We had lots of stuff, but everyone's suitcase had a little room left for whatever souveniers they bought. If you have four people, I'd do four suitcases. Then everyone is responsible for one and you won't have to worry about cramming stuff in.

 

[chamonix]

Dh packs light, just one small bag he could carry on if he wanted, but he checks it. Dd and I used to share one really large bag, but now that she is older, her clothes and shoes are bigger and take up more room, lol--also since the airlines lowered the acceptable weight for large bags, we purchased a set of somewhat smaller bags and each pack one instead. We also pack one suitcase just for shoes, coats, and other bulky things like toiletries for all of us.

So, grand total, dh, dd and I each pack one, and then we have the extra one which is never full going down, but ends up full on the way back. We also take a soft sided duffel inside that one and it usually comes home filled with dd's newly acquired stuffed animals (they are too bulky to fit in any other suitcase and we buy one per day--that can be 10-11 new stuffed animals!

For carrying on, we each carry a backpack on the plane. I pack a backpack for dd to carry on the plane (well, she's 7yo, we tend to actually be the ones carrying it, lol) filled with stickers, crayons, gameboy, her dvd player, snacks, etc for the plane ride. Let's see, four suitcases, one more duffel on the way home, and three backpacks for the plane. Sounds like a lot, eh?

Note, when it was just me traveling, I packed much lighter, lol, but we take a direct flight, and we never have to actually carry our own luggage anywhere, so why bother to pack light? The airports have curbside check in and skycaps, the hotels have bellhops. The only time I have to move them is from the house to our car--and dh does that, of course. Dh always makes fun of me for all the bags I pack, but as I said, I just don't see the need or the value in packing less. Unless you can get away with just a carryon, don't worry about taking lots of bags. Most airlines allow two bags per person, so for our three person family, that would be six bags allowed! Don't even ask how big dh's bike box is though, when he takes that on our other vacations!

 

[Cinderella37]

Okay, this may be a little over the top, but...

My fiance takes his golf bag "suitcase" (his golf bag goes inside)and packs all of his golf things in it (shoes, balls).

We take two enormous hard-side suitcases. They always put stickers on them that say "Heavy" but we've never been charged extra.

We take a very large hanging bag , as well as one carry-on each, plus I carry a purse and a bag with our travel documents and such in it.

We ship EVERYTHING we buy home.

This is for 11 days - we both take a lot of clothes and shoes (okay, especially me) and I use a lot of toiletries. No one would ever accuse me of being low maintenance.

 

[KimR]

Year before last we checked in with 30 bags (there were 6 of us). That was everything, though... 2 diaper bags, snack bags, toy bags, etc...but all totalled, it was 30 bags. As for actual suitcases, we probably had around 10 or 12. Obviously, I don't believe in 'packing light'. DH tipped well.

Edited to add: that was for 9 days and I don't do laundry on vacation. I'd rather pack more clothes than have to worry about doing laundry in the middle of our trip.

 

[bytheblood]

There is myself, my husband and our young daughter. We take 2 very large suitcases and 1 the next size down. Sometimes we have to take two of the next size down. Most of the time, the three suitcases are enough for a 7 night visit. We pack 10 of everything for each of, with the exception of socks and undergarments, which we take a bit extra of. We also pack all of our toiletries and items like that. We carry our cameras, daughter's GameBoy and money.

 

[Kitty 34]

We each have a check in and a carry on.

 

[Princess Michelle]

I've taken 2 suitcases and a large duffel on a 5 day trip and that was just for me... Of course I'm not flying either so I might pack lighter if I were, nah, who am I kidding. I pack way too much stuff and that's the way I like it. I don't know how I'm going to make it on a 7-day cruise and two days at WDW with 2 suitcases and one carry on.

 

[jiminyml]

.....One large suitcase to check, one small rolling carry-on with all toiletries (in case the bags get lost....those can get expensive) and (excuse my language) skivvies....LOL......and one small shoulder bag with camera, tickets etc.

 

[frannn]

and share a large carry on. I will also have a diaper bag and DH will have a camera bag. I pack a very light empty duffel in my luggage for whatever souvies we don't ship home. I may allow my DD11 her own knapsack for the plane. Also, I am considering another small bag for the nonclothing items, like the misters, britas, fans, etc.

 

[Jillpie]

I have read several people in the past that pack the extra duffle bag in their suitcase. I think this is a great idea, but what do you do with it on the way home, do you check it or is it a carry on?

 

[NotUrsula]

Depends on what's in it; if it's glass, for instance, you'll want to carry it on. However, when you buy the duffel, it's best to make sure that it is suitable for being checked, just in case. Target has a nice selection of various-sized duffels that fold very flat but are plenty durable enough to check.

 

[Poohbear123]

Sounds just like ME!! How are you? See you in November?

 

[chamonix]

The duffel I have is not a "lightweight" duffel at all. It's a Black Hole Bag from Patagonia. It's a huge tough waterproof bombproof duffel made for carrying rock climbing gear, fully loaded backpacking backpacks, hiking boots, camping gear, etc.

I check it all the time. It would be way to large to carry on. I stopped using it as my primary bag because it is so big it is over the weight limit if filled with clothes and toiletries. It's perfect for stuffed animals, coats, or extra pillows or blankets, etc that we might bring though. It rolls down to the size of a pair of shoes when empty though, and takes very little room in our luggage going down.

The Black Hole Bag Patagonia sells now is much smaller than the one I purchased many years ago, for those that care. Here's a link to the ones you can buy now, the new smaller ones are called Stellar Black Hole Bags:
http://www.patagonia.com/za/PDC?OPT...0&sku=48500&ws=false&promo_cat=&promo_cat_id=

 

[Princess Michelle]

Originally posted by Poohbear123
Sounds just like ME!! How are you? See you in November?

Hey Faith!

I don't know if I'll make it to hang out with you guys and watch you drool or not. I already have a trip planned for October and I'm going on a cruise at the end of November so I will just have to see what's going on when it gets closer. I love hanging with you guys though so I'll most likely come over even if it's just to hang out for a few hours and do lunch or something.

Oh, and to keep this on topic...

Even if it's just for a day I'll have my backpack stuffed full! LOL

 

[Jillpie]

Oh my gosh Michelle, there's that Tigger again , do you have any idea how much that still makes me laugh, even after all this time??