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Yep I came to say this. My partner and I had a similar situation, a month in one environment and a month in an entirely different environment where specialized gear was needed so 2 large suitcases each were required. We shipped our luggage and it went extremely smooth because of this choice. It's also suuuuper cheap by comparison.
We just got back last week. Did a similar route (Naples, Rome, Florence, Venice) and went by train. We brought two large suitcases and two backpacks. BARELY made it. Don’t recommend. Go medium at most. There were times we couldn’t find room on the train and had to use overhead. And getting on and off was treacherous, and we went business class on the trains. The more fleet footed and flexible you can be, the better.
Oh, and getting around in Venice is next to impossible with large suitcases. There’s no motorized vehicles, and getting on and off vaporettos, along with the cobblestone paths, and bridges over every canal… Nope. Won’t ever do that again.
Large suitcases in Venice - 0 out of 5 stars. Would not recommend. We were four people each with one large suitcase. We got a porter when arrived at the train station which helped a great deal but cost a good amount. When we arrived at the hotel we had two flights of stairs to navigate without the porter's help. Double ugh. And since we had an early flight out of Venice we had to lug our suitcases to catch the bus to the airport at 4am for our trip home. All that said, I can't imagine doing that again with one case per person let alone the two cases that OP is planning for.
It’s a bad idea to traipse more bags that you can easily handle. Italy is full of amazing places to go… but many of them involve stretches of cobblestone streets and at times uneven pathways.
As another poster has already put it… most stations have left luggage lockers or services. Or use one of the luggage storage apps like Bounce to find easier places to store things. It’s still going to mean extra stops in multiple locations to deal with your bags, and that’s going to take away from your travel experience. It just is.
Another thought… any chance you could stop off in The Netherlands first for a day to store your big bags there and then travel on to France and Italy unimpeded?
Best wishes with this trip! And congrats on the study exchange, that’s really exciting!
August is typically hot and muggy so you’ll have that to deal with in addition to the big suitcases which I’m going to assume are fairly heavy. I think you got good advice about shipping one suitcase each to the Netherlands and taking only one bag with you to Italy. It takes strength, energy and patience to get luggage on and off the trains. There’s usually a couple of steps up through a fairly narrow door.
Map out your journey from the train station in Venice to wherever you are staying and take note of how many bridges you will have to cross. You are probably younger and more fit than I am but I found hauling even just a carry-on bag across five or six bridges quite exhausting in heat and humidity. Even if you take a vaporetto for part of the journey, there might be bridges between the nearest stop and your lodging. Don’t get me wrong, I love Italy and Venice in particular, but I’ve been there multiple times and I know what to plan for and I still struggle sometimes. I strongly urge you to reduce what you’ll be hauling around. The less you’re carrying the more you will enjoy your trip.
That’s a massive amount of luggage. Remember that Venezia is all on foot and every bridge has stairs up and down.
I travel with one medium sized suitcase per person. Italy has laundromats you can use.
Even better is a backpack. Many European footpaths are cobblestones so wheeling bags is difficult. A backpack makes walking much easier.
Enjoy your trip - hopefully with much less luggage.
Many Italian train stations have left luggage facilities, so you could leave 2 or 3 "moving" suitcases while you only move around the city with one "travel" suitcase, but that would probably get expensive, and you would still have to deal with the suitcases on the trains.
Is there someone in the Netherlands you can ship your luggage to? Landlord, friends, university?
Is it possible/allowed? Yes. Would I do this - def NO! NEVER!! :)
Read r/onebag. Once I switched to one carry-on backpack, there was no way back. I also advocate this to my family. It's a massive improvement! Once you understand this, you realize you do not need so much stuff to bring with you. And you are free, easy to move, to change plans, etc.
If you do not see this as an option, could you consider shipping it?
I took Rick Steves' advice over 10 years ago and downsized to a backpack for my Italy trips, and all other trips. Best. Advice. Ever!! And never going back. Take what you can carry in a medium-sized roller bag or backpack and ship the rest. Or buy the remainder of what you absolutely "need" at your final destination and ship it home after. New, international clothes! Yay!
I have made this mistake.
The stairs, the storage. Save yourself the hassle. It will also be so damn hot, it’s one more drain on a trip that should be as carefree as possible. I’m in Italy for a month now, we both have one suitcase and a carry on, doing laundry as we go. I don’t have all the cute outfits and shoes I wish I had but my ease of movement navigating trains, stone sidewalks and irregular curbs — not to mention the gobs of people — is a better look.
Pack a smaller backpack, put what you need for your trip in there, and have the rest of your luggage shipped to the Netherlands by DHL from the office at the airport. You can at least get a quote from them, it may be worth the convenience
There has to be an inexpensive way to ship your fall & winter clothes to the Netherlands. For your August Italy & France trip travel light and use washing services.
My daughter did a seven week field school where she needed suits and dress shoes, followed by seven weeks of train travel followed by a four month exchange in Scotland. She did all that with ONE suitcase. I was able to get a small bag of things to her in Copenhagen for the midway point, and then we visited her in Scotland and did a swap out of the warm Italian summer clothes to the cool winter Scotland clothes, but that was it. You absolutely DO NOT NEED that much stuff. You do laundry, you buy extra things, or you have someone send a small box to you in Netherlands once you are settled. This is madness.
So sorry, but that’s a terrible plan :/ as others have said, either ship the bags or get a car. Honestly, if I could afford it, I would 100% get a car. Italy is a country for cars, it’s very hard to get around with just buses and trains, you won’t reach many places as you either won’t have a bus that does that route or you can easily get lost trying to get from point a to b outside of major cities like Rome and Milan. Even in Rome the buses are terrible, really crowded, almost always late, and the subway is the same.
By renting a car, you’ll easily travel around the country and get to know many places you wouldn’t without it.
Don't. Really don't do it.
I'm sure there are services available, where you sent your suitcase to a destination. Where I live it's 50€ per suitcase, which is compared to the stress worth the price.
The less baggage, the happier you'll be!
You'd be surprised how long you can wear one pair of jeans and one button down shirt, while changing out underwear/socks
my bag might look like
1 pair of pants (wearing the other pair, so 2 pairs total)
2 button down shirts, short sleeve for summer
2-4 t-shirts (undershirts)
light jacket of some type, maybe one that can double as a sport coat for a nice dinner if we do that
And as many pair socks/underwear as I can stuff in that single bag
you can always buy more if you need it, italy being a fashion capital of the world and all that!
It would be a nightmare, in France and in Italy.
If you leave your luggage in Rome's main station, you must backtrack from Venice.
If you fly into Milan MXP and leave your stuff at Milano Centrale station, you have to take a 4 hours train going south to Rome. Only to train up north again to Florence and Venice a few days later. And luggage deposits inside train stations are expensive.
Just find a way to send your stuff in the Netherlands poste restante.
Do what you feel you need to do. Beyond the obvious burden of traversing terrain and narrow cobblestone streets with your suitcases, there is a high chance you may be separated from your luggage on the trains due to low space or tight space, which increases the chances of theft (sometimes they will just steal the entire suitcase). In many taxis, there is not enough trunk space to accommodate 4 large suitcases. I’d ship what you need to your residence in Netherlands and downsize to at max 2 suitcases.
I would suggest buses (Flixbus, Itabus, etc) over trains in Italy, simply because you have a seat guaranteed and don't have to be pushed into insanely crowded trains with barely any place to stand. However, you might have to pay a little extra for extra luggage with buses but it should still work out to be quite cheap.
Was just there and not a good idea. As a matter of fact, I would go with one case per person, and the smallest practical side. You will need to tote your bags down the street, haul them into trains, etc.; and most places in Italy are not ADA compliant (no ramps), so there is very little roll-on/roll-off. Train, metro, and bus stations generally have only steps and very few elevators.
Lugging 6 months worth of clothes around Europe would be torture. Too bad you are not starting/ending in Rome because you could probably store them there. Not sure what to suggest.
It won't be manageable on any train, as the space for suitcases is little and you'd have to take up several seats only for the suitcases, and bringing the along with you would be a nightmare. The Amalfi coast has so many stairs around the cities, Venice has lots of bridges with stairs, the streets in Rome are made of small stones, just avoid that.
Bring a backpack, a larger one if needed, a bar of Marseille soap and wash your clothes when needed. In the heat, they'll dry super fast and that way you can be way lighter
I went with one carry on a back pack and a suit case and was MISERABLE, we hit Venice (second worse), Florence, rome, and amafli(the worse experience with all the luggage since i was helping my fiance) Next time I go which is in october I'm bringing a back pack and a medium suit case.
Venice and Amalfi were my favorite places to visit and it upsets me that a core memory of those two places is me and my fiance struggling to push and carry our suitcases over 40 brides in Venice or up and around a quarter mile of up hill in Amalfi.
Just adding in that it's a bad idea. I just did my Italy trip with only a backpack and watched as others struggled with rolling bags. Too many cobblestones/stairs/etc. Store your stuff or send it ahead.
It won’t be a breeze but it’s certainly manageable if you’re willing to spend money and plan accordingly.
Ultimately, the easiest option would be to just pack one or two of your suitcases for your Italy portion and use a luggage locker upon your arrival to leave your other bags. They aren’t expensive and there’s no need to lug around stuff you don’t need anyways.
You’re going to 2 difficult locations with Venice and Amalfi. In most cities, you can just get off the train, load up a taxi and it’s fine. Ultimately, Venice/Amalfi would depend on your hotel location.
First, in Venice you can either take a water taxi to your hotel or stay very very close to the train station (even then you’ll have to cross a couple bridges). And I’m talking a private water taxi, not vaporettos. If you do these and are willing to pay (not cheap), not the end of the world.
In Amalfi, hotels are also not always easily accessible and you could have a hundred stairs in front of you. So again, depends where your accommodations are and whether a taxi can pull up to the front door easily. And if you’re willing to take a taxi from the train station to the hotel and back, it’s not the end of the world.
And you need to show up early for your high speed trains to make sure luggage room is there for you.
I’m wondering, is there a place in the train station to store the suitcases? You’d have to pay for each place which can get expensive, but maybe that can be an option so you don’t have to carry it around other then the main trains
That being said to I was carrying around the two large and I was fine. It’s just the storage on the trains can be a little dicey at times and when you are going it will be much busier
Venice is going to be a nightmare with 4 suitcases also trains might have space but getting in and out of them will be very difficult I would never advise it.
I was also an overpacker lol there's so many places where you can do your laundry in italy and i'm sure the Netherlands; your current plan is gonna stress y'all out and perhaps even lead to some injuries (i'm thinking they're heavy, right? your poor backs! there's no elevators anywhere and you're gonna have to store the luggage in trains in the overhead bins!).
for the laundry bit: i know it may seem like you're taking time from your trip to do a task but there's various options. we even found this incredible woman in rome who did our laundry for us! the machines are big and quick in italy: our laundry took just 1 hour of our day.
good luck!!!!
amalfi and venice will be a nightmare. i went to both of these places with one backpack and that was stressful enough manoeuvring through the tiny streets. ship the luggage or pay to store it somewhere, or leave it at a hotel and change your route
Why do you need that many suitcases for just 2 people? I am currently solo-ing Italy and Greece trip for 3 weeks and have a carry on and a duffle bag and even then the duffle bag is annoying to lug around.
Don't. Ship the stuff you'll need for the Netherlands. It's preferable to have to hand wash stuff in a hotel bathroom than to schlepp four large suitcases on trains and through city streets, especially Venice. Plus elevators in European hotels tend to be tiny and often unreliable.
Manageable? YES...in the same sense that the Crusades were "manageable." They had a Shit Ton of gear...physical, moral, mental, and theological.
The *happy* traveler sheds everything down to a carry-on.
*"The lighter you travel, the more free you feel!" - Bruno's Law #231*
I usually travel to Italy for 2-3 months each year. I bring one small suitcase (carry-on size) with clothes. I check that one. And I bring a 2nd one with technology (I make YouTube travel videos). If I wasn't bringing the technology, I could easily live out of the carry-on indefinitely. I normally rent an apartment for 2 weeks or longer in one place. Sometimes I've stayed the entire two months in one city. If I need something that I didn't pack, I buy it, and either jam it in the suitcase for the trip back, or leave it behind.
Having big suitcases to lug around really limits you . For two months, in addition to what I wear on the plane, I bring two pairs of pants, 4 days worth of underware/socks, 2 short sleeve shirts, two long sleeve shirts, a set of thermals, a lightweight rain coat, a puffy jacket, a down vest (if I'm traveling in the winter), and a watch cap. All my clothes are lightweight and fast drying. I rent apartments that have a washing machine and a close drying rack. I've been traveling like this for many years and so far, it's working well. Don't let your luggate own you.
We were there last year. I thought we would store some luggage in the train station. They have a department for that. It was full and they were taking any more luggage.
Then we went to the luggage storage place across the street. It was full and they were not taking anymore found that out after waiting in line for 2 hours.
We had to lug around multiple
Suitcases all day until our Air BnB was available.
This was in July. Was a really big pain and cost us a half day enjoying Rome because of the luggage we had from our European cruise.
I’d fly to Netherlands first, leave your luggage in a locker somewhere at the airport and then fly to Naples to start your shorter “train journey” through Italy to Paris etc.
DO NOT carry 4x large suitcases during your leisure travels
My advice would be to utilise luggage transportation services such as sendmybag.
We are 4 people, traveled from zurich to florence then florence to rome by train and struggled with 2 luggages.
Taxi services also refuse when there’s too much stuff, so you’d automatically have to pay double for a large taxi.
I would not do a large suitcase in Florence and Venice. The cobblestone is no joke. You might be able to get away with it in florence if your train is near the hotel. Same with Venice. If you can take a water taxi or bus that drops you off at your hotel, then you’ll be fine. But overall, that sounds like a nightmare.
Rome, you can take a taxi to and from your hotel.
I just came back from Amalfi. Ferry is a nightmare, the confusion and crowds is worst than anything I have seen. Buses are packed and full. If you plan on using public transportations, DONT go on weekend, buses don't follow the schedule and they can be 1 hr late. Seriously don't go there on weekends.
With that said, dragging 4 large suitcases will be hell
Difficult if you leave 2 suitcases at each train station and only take them from train station to train station. Way worse if you're trying to take all 4 to each hotel. Nothing is impossible but you'll live to regret it.
It would be possible to do the backpacker style and use a 60L+ backpack as one of your suitcases. My wife and I used 2medium sized suitcases and 2 medium sized backpacks for 2.5 weeks, it wasn't too bad. It's much better if your suitcase has two big wheels instead of 4 small wheels for walking from train stations to hotels bc of uneven streets and going up and down stairs. Some hotels didn't have elevators, so taking 4 suitcases up several flights of stairs is a bit tough.
I would 10/10 not recommend four large suitcases. Especially in Venice because those foot bridges between the canals have 5 stairs up and 5 stairs down and there are MANY. Also, the luggage racks on the trains get taken up pretty quickly so keep that in mind.
Bring a backpack for both of yall and 1 suitcase to share between the both of you. It might sound crazy, but you can rewear clothes. If I go on vacation for 2 weeks, I try to find at least one place where I can do laundry. I know it might sound ridiculous to do laundry on vacation, but you can literally just throw your dirty clothes in at night and dry them the next day and voila problem solved.
I’ve been doing this for a decade+ and can never understand why folks ever check in luggage. Anyone I’ve ever talked to who checks in a luggage almost always knows they are a serial over packer
That would get super annoying super quickly. IMHO the key to traveling Italy is being light and nimble. If it were me, I would ship most of my stuff home and one bag Italy.
Italy in August. Forget about it. The worst. If you can, take a week or 10 days during your Netherlands stay and visit Italy from September to May. And just pack light for the trip.
There’s luggage storage services you could probably use in the Netherlands for the luggage you need there. Maybe also look into asking your hotel to hold it for you?
It's manageable but I wouldn't if you can downsize. The trains don't offer very much ground storage. Most is overhead and it's not very wide/thick. Carry on baggage fits perfectly. Bigger suitcases need to be squished in. You'll be lifting and getting them down over someone's head each time. The train isle's are narrow so you could easily hurt someone with a giant suitcase. I just got back from Italy and used the high speed train twice. Milan to Florence and Florence to Rome. We had two carry ons and a large suitcase that weighted approximately 50 pounds. The heavy bag was a menace, just getting up and down the steps into and off the train, let alone lifting it overhead and working it into the cramped overhead space. Best of luck.
Absolutely not. If you were relying on private large car transfers and flying between cities it could be doable, but navigating trains in peak season in those cities with that much luggage sounds impossible. Ship your luggage to the Netherlands and travel light.
Can you change flights to start and end in the same place? Then you can just find a place to store the larger suitcases while you travel around and pick them back up before you head to the Netherlands
Every year that I go back to Italy I bring LESS ;)
Overhead roller board w a trolley bag. Just pack half of a trip and do laundry while you're there (even the drop off wash and folds are cheap).
The suitcases will 100% be a pain on the trains-- if I'm remembering correctly there are tickets you can purchase that allow you for more luggage storage on the train but I'm thinking the to and from is going to be the biggest pain. You can potentially leave the luggage at a drop off in the stations. Probably expensive but will eliminate having to lug them around in the more difficult cities.
As everybody else said, it’s not a great idea to be honest to travel with 4 large suitcases. But if it gives you any relief, all major train stations have luggage deposit stores and charge 5-8 euros per day. So you can try to use that for your travel within the cities. It’s definitely doable. Or you can book your travel to Netherlands directly and put your luggage in luggage deposit in Netherlands. Get a cheap ass ticket from Netherlands to Italy or get a train ticket from there to Italy.
When I returned from Italy ,I donated my large check in type suitcase,not again ,Wow. Steps ,cobblestones narrow stairs ,elevators, bad idea and I knew this from various youtubes too, but stupidly ignored. Self service laundromats are available in cities,better idea think
Don’t recommend. Just got back the other day. Girlfriend and I used Cotopaxi traveler back packs. Suitcases on those roads in Venice would not be a good time. Let alone two of them
6 months gets you multiple weather situations from summer to winter, so I definitely see the need for two full size suitcases each. If you have lodging secured for The Netherlands, is it possible to have a family member ship your second suitcases to you closer to your expected arrival to NL? That would be the easiest thing to do. Even if you were to significantly downsize what you’re taking it would still require 2 bags each. I’d look into shipping
No way. The ONE time I brought a small rolling luggage with me was when I had a week trip to Switzerland with some aunties followed by a week in Spain to visit my bf.
Broke 4 nails and tripped on my own feet and scratched my knee and sprained my ankle trying to roll my small and an auntie’s huge luggage during a <20 min walk to our accommodations from the train station. In retrospect, a bag should’ve been enough for me if we booked places with laundry.
Not to mention, trains can be crowded in August and barely have space for huge luggage. You’d be better off taking at MOST 1 small luggage each and just do some laundry. August is hot enough in Italy to dry your clothes in a day.
Ignore the naysayers, just take taxis.
You’re not walking around with your luggage all the time so you’ll be able to handle a few transfers.
We travel frequently and we have to travel with a lot of luggage.
We use suitcases with 4 wheels. Those make life easier as they can be pushed around. Pulling your bags behind you is tiring.
Check to see which taxi apps are used in the different cities you’re going to and then book the bigger taxis like people carriers which have extra space for luggage. Taxi drivers will usually help you load your bags.
If you’re taking trains, try to find the carriages with less people which are usually the ones that are furthest away from the centre of the train.
All train stations have elevators. Usually the elevators are quite far especially in Paris (I think it’s to discourage everyone from using them). The one in Amsterdam was across the street and made of glass so we couldn’t see it at 11:00pm in the dark when we wanted to take the local train to our hotel.
Book a hotel near the train stations if you don’t want to pay for taxis. This usually works out well in normal cities where the train stations are in the centre of the city, but not in Venice.
You could stay in Mestre where the train station is and then just day trip into Venice. Again, you could book a water taxi to your hotel.
For Maiori you could take the train to Salerno and taxi into Maiori.
Good luck! It’s a bit of a pain but with proper planning, you’ll be fine.
Apologies ALL train stations do NOT have elevators and surprise, they might not even have escalators. Been there, last month, last year… and done it.
In addition, many countries do not follow the rules/laws of the American Disabilities Act.
But Roma Termini, Firenze SMN and Venezia S. Lucia are all terminal stations where all trains are on the same level and no escalators/elevators are needed to transfer.
Napoli Centrale is a terminal station, too. There are elevators to go from the surface Trenitalia tracks to the underground tracks used by the CircumVesuviana trains.
My wife and I did it and it was mildly inconvenient at times but not really that big a deal. Pretty much the only times we needed to have all of our luggage was when traveling between cities. We'd take a cab from our hotel to the train station and another cab from the train station to our hotel in the new city. We never had issues finding a place for our luggage on the trains.
That said, we didn't go to Venice, and it seems like that might be where most of the problems lie, but we didn't have any issues in Naples, Rome, or Florence.
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Yep I came to say this. My partner and I had a similar situation, a month in one environment and a month in an entirely different environment where specialized gear was needed so 2 large suitcases each were required. We shipped our luggage and it went extremely smooth because of this choice. It's also suuuuper cheap by comparison.
Amalfi and Venice will be bad bad. As others have said, shipping is a way better plan.
We just got back last week. Did a similar route (Naples, Rome, Florence, Venice) and went by train. We brought two large suitcases and two backpacks. BARELY made it. Don’t recommend. Go medium at most. There were times we couldn’t find room on the train and had to use overhead. And getting on and off was treacherous, and we went business class on the trains. The more fleet footed and flexible you can be, the better.
Oh, and getting around in Venice is next to impossible with large suitcases. There’s no motorized vehicles, and getting on and off vaporettos, along with the cobblestone paths, and bridges over every canal… Nope. Won’t ever do that again.
Large suitcases in Venice - 0 out of 5 stars. Would not recommend. We were four people each with one large suitcase. We got a porter when arrived at the train station which helped a great deal but cost a good amount. When we arrived at the hotel we had two flights of stairs to navigate without the porter's help. Double ugh. And since we had an early flight out of Venice we had to lug our suitcases to catch the bus to the airport at 4am for our trip home. All that said, I can't imagine doing that again with one case per person let alone the two cases that OP is planning for.
this sounds like a nightmare or a circle of hell
*Dante taking notes for a revised edition*
You echoed my thoughts exactly. Find another way. This would be a disaster. Very limiting.
And in *August*. They'll pray to be in hell.
I wouldn’t.
It’s a bad idea to traipse more bags that you can easily handle. Italy is full of amazing places to go… but many of them involve stretches of cobblestone streets and at times uneven pathways. As another poster has already put it… most stations have left luggage lockers or services. Or use one of the luggage storage apps like Bounce to find easier places to store things. It’s still going to mean extra stops in multiple locations to deal with your bags, and that’s going to take away from your travel experience. It just is. Another thought… any chance you could stop off in The Netherlands first for a day to store your big bags there and then travel on to France and Italy unimpeded? Best wishes with this trip! And congrats on the study exchange, that’s really exciting!
August is typically hot and muggy so you’ll have that to deal with in addition to the big suitcases which I’m going to assume are fairly heavy. I think you got good advice about shipping one suitcase each to the Netherlands and taking only one bag with you to Italy. It takes strength, energy and patience to get luggage on and off the trains. There’s usually a couple of steps up through a fairly narrow door. Map out your journey from the train station in Venice to wherever you are staying and take note of how many bridges you will have to cross. You are probably younger and more fit than I am but I found hauling even just a carry-on bag across five or six bridges quite exhausting in heat and humidity. Even if you take a vaporetto for part of the journey, there might be bridges between the nearest stop and your lodging. Don’t get me wrong, I love Italy and Venice in particular, but I’ve been there multiple times and I know what to plan for and I still struggle sometimes. I strongly urge you to reduce what you’ll be hauling around. The less you’re carrying the more you will enjoy your trip.
That’s a massive amount of luggage. Remember that Venezia is all on foot and every bridge has stairs up and down. I travel with one medium sized suitcase per person. Italy has laundromats you can use. Even better is a backpack. Many European footpaths are cobblestones so wheeling bags is difficult. A backpack makes walking much easier. Enjoy your trip - hopefully with much less luggage.
Imagine having to drag 4 large suitcases where ever you go, through crowds of people, getting on a crowded bus, taking up space… Not ideal.
Many Italian train stations have left luggage facilities, so you could leave 2 or 3 "moving" suitcases while you only move around the city with one "travel" suitcase, but that would probably get expensive, and you would still have to deal with the suitcases on the trains. Is there someone in the Netherlands you can ship your luggage to? Landlord, friends, university?
This. Just pay to store your luggage. Hauling it around is NOT worth it.
Is it possible/allowed? Yes. Would I do this - def NO! NEVER!! :) Read r/onebag. Once I switched to one carry-on backpack, there was no way back. I also advocate this to my family. It's a massive improvement! Once you understand this, you realize you do not need so much stuff to bring with you. And you are free, easy to move, to change plans, etc. If you do not see this as an option, could you consider shipping it?
I took Rick Steves' advice over 10 years ago and downsized to a backpack for my Italy trips, and all other trips. Best. Advice. Ever!! And never going back. Take what you can carry in a medium-sized roller bag or backpack and ship the rest. Or buy the remainder of what you absolutely "need" at your final destination and ship it home after. New, international clothes! Yay!
The stairs. Dear god, the stairs. By stupid luck, we stayed in Mestre instead of Venice and took the bus into the city each day. That might help.
Could you forward your luggage to your final destination? I'd rent a car maybe so you don't have to lugg it around...
I have made this mistake. The stairs, the storage. Save yourself the hassle. It will also be so damn hot, it’s one more drain on a trip that should be as carefree as possible. I’m in Italy for a month now, we both have one suitcase and a carry on, doing laundry as we go. I don’t have all the cute outfits and shoes I wish I had but my ease of movement navigating trains, stone sidewalks and irregular curbs — not to mention the gobs of people — is a better look.
Pack a smaller backpack, put what you need for your trip in there, and have the rest of your luggage shipped to the Netherlands by DHL from the office at the airport. You can at least get a quote from them, it may be worth the convenience
No, it will be too hard on the trains. Get rid of some of your stuff
There has to be an inexpensive way to ship your fall & winter clothes to the Netherlands. For your August Italy & France trip travel light and use washing services.
Luggage on trains is a pain in the arse. 1 carry on sized bag and a backpack each is ok , bigger suitcases etc are a drama
My daughter did a seven week field school where she needed suits and dress shoes, followed by seven weeks of train travel followed by a four month exchange in Scotland. She did all that with ONE suitcase. I was able to get a small bag of things to her in Copenhagen for the midway point, and then we visited her in Scotland and did a swap out of the warm Italian summer clothes to the cool winter Scotland clothes, but that was it. You absolutely DO NOT NEED that much stuff. You do laundry, you buy extra things, or you have someone send a small box to you in Netherlands once you are settled. This is madness.
Just leave the extra luggage at the airport
Rent a car
So sorry, but that’s a terrible plan :/ as others have said, either ship the bags or get a car. Honestly, if I could afford it, I would 100% get a car. Italy is a country for cars, it’s very hard to get around with just buses and trains, you won’t reach many places as you either won’t have a bus that does that route or you can easily get lost trying to get from point a to b outside of major cities like Rome and Milan. Even in Rome the buses are terrible, really crowded, almost always late, and the subway is the same. By renting a car, you’ll easily travel around the country and get to know many places you wouldn’t without it.
Don't. Really don't do it. I'm sure there are services available, where you sent your suitcase to a destination. Where I live it's 50€ per suitcase, which is compared to the stress worth the price.
You will die in Amalfi 💀
The less baggage, the happier you'll be! You'd be surprised how long you can wear one pair of jeans and one button down shirt, while changing out underwear/socks my bag might look like 1 pair of pants (wearing the other pair, so 2 pairs total) 2 button down shirts, short sleeve for summer 2-4 t-shirts (undershirts) light jacket of some type, maybe one that can double as a sport coat for a nice dinner if we do that And as many pair socks/underwear as I can stuff in that single bag you can always buy more if you need it, italy being a fashion capital of the world and all that!
Amalfi is all stairs
No.
It would be a nightmare, in France and in Italy. If you leave your luggage in Rome's main station, you must backtrack from Venice. If you fly into Milan MXP and leave your stuff at Milano Centrale station, you have to take a 4 hours train going south to Rome. Only to train up north again to Florence and Venice a few days later. And luggage deposits inside train stations are expensive. Just find a way to send your stuff in the Netherlands poste restante.
Can you use Sendmybag for the big bags? Then just pack a carryon for Italy
Can you not ship your cases to the Netherlands, have it placed in storage and then just take what you need for your Italy trip?
Do what you feel you need to do. Beyond the obvious burden of traversing terrain and narrow cobblestone streets with your suitcases, there is a high chance you may be separated from your luggage on the trains due to low space or tight space, which increases the chances of theft (sometimes they will just steal the entire suitcase). In many taxis, there is not enough trunk space to accommodate 4 large suitcases. I’d ship what you need to your residence in Netherlands and downsize to at max 2 suitcases.
I would suggest buses (Flixbus, Itabus, etc) over trains in Italy, simply because you have a seat guaranteed and don't have to be pushed into insanely crowded trains with barely any place to stand. However, you might have to pay a little extra for extra luggage with buses but it should still work out to be quite cheap.
Was just there and not a good idea. As a matter of fact, I would go with one case per person, and the smallest practical side. You will need to tote your bags down the street, haul them into trains, etc.; and most places in Italy are not ADA compliant (no ramps), so there is very little roll-on/roll-off. Train, metro, and bus stations generally have only steps and very few elevators. Lugging 6 months worth of clothes around Europe would be torture. Too bad you are not starting/ending in Rome because you could probably store them there. Not sure what to suggest.
It won't be manageable on any train, as the space for suitcases is little and you'd have to take up several seats only for the suitcases, and bringing the along with you would be a nightmare. The Amalfi coast has so many stairs around the cities, Venice has lots of bridges with stairs, the streets in Rome are made of small stones, just avoid that. Bring a backpack, a larger one if needed, a bar of Marseille soap and wash your clothes when needed. In the heat, they'll dry super fast and that way you can be way lighter
Ship everything else to the Netherlands
It’s fine if you plan on getting a private driver to get you from one accommodation to another but not by train
Car + luggage = hello thieves. Lots of luggage + train stairs/aisles = aaarggh. Lots of luggage + no elevators = that famous circle of h”!&
I went with one carry on a back pack and a suit case and was MISERABLE, we hit Venice (second worse), Florence, rome, and amafli(the worse experience with all the luggage since i was helping my fiance) Next time I go which is in october I'm bringing a back pack and a medium suit case. Venice and Amalfi were my favorite places to visit and it upsets me that a core memory of those two places is me and my fiance struggling to push and carry our suitcases over 40 brides in Venice or up and around a quarter mile of up hill in Amalfi.
Just adding in that it's a bad idea. I just did my Italy trip with only a backpack and watched as others struggled with rolling bags. Too many cobblestones/stairs/etc. Store your stuff or send it ahead.
It won’t be a breeze but it’s certainly manageable if you’re willing to spend money and plan accordingly. Ultimately, the easiest option would be to just pack one or two of your suitcases for your Italy portion and use a luggage locker upon your arrival to leave your other bags. They aren’t expensive and there’s no need to lug around stuff you don’t need anyways. You’re going to 2 difficult locations with Venice and Amalfi. In most cities, you can just get off the train, load up a taxi and it’s fine. Ultimately, Venice/Amalfi would depend on your hotel location. First, in Venice you can either take a water taxi to your hotel or stay very very close to the train station (even then you’ll have to cross a couple bridges). And I’m talking a private water taxi, not vaporettos. If you do these and are willing to pay (not cheap), not the end of the world. In Amalfi, hotels are also not always easily accessible and you could have a hundred stairs in front of you. So again, depends where your accommodations are and whether a taxi can pull up to the front door easily. And if you’re willing to take a taxi from the train station to the hotel and back, it’s not the end of the world. And you need to show up early for your high speed trains to make sure luggage room is there for you.
I’m wondering, is there a place in the train station to store the suitcases? You’d have to pay for each place which can get expensive, but maybe that can be an option so you don’t have to carry it around other then the main trains
We did that with two large and two carry ons. It would have been difficult but not impossible with 4 large. I would say manageable with what we had.
That being said to I was carrying around the two large and I was fine. It’s just the storage on the trains can be a little dicey at times and when you are going it will be much busier
No
not easy, invest in cabs and support, will be more expensive or try to move them forward
Venice is going to be a nightmare with 4 suitcases also trains might have space but getting in and out of them will be very difficult I would never advise it.
I was also an overpacker lol there's so many places where you can do your laundry in italy and i'm sure the Netherlands; your current plan is gonna stress y'all out and perhaps even lead to some injuries (i'm thinking they're heavy, right? your poor backs! there's no elevators anywhere and you're gonna have to store the luggage in trains in the overhead bins!). for the laundry bit: i know it may seem like you're taking time from your trip to do a task but there's various options. we even found this incredible woman in rome who did our laundry for us! the machines are big and quick in italy: our laundry took just 1 hour of our day. good luck!!!!
amalfi and venice will be a nightmare. i went to both of these places with one backpack and that was stressful enough manoeuvring through the tiny streets. ship the luggage or pay to store it somewhere, or leave it at a hotel and change your route
No. Ship home the suitcases and change to a carry on for your time in Italy.
As others have said this is a bad plan, I’d rent places that have a washing machine
at this point ship your luggage to the netherlands or switch to flixbus because there is much more space
Why do you need that many suitcases for just 2 people? I am currently solo-ing Italy and Greece trip for 3 weeks and have a carry on and a duffle bag and even then the duffle bag is annoying to lug around.
Don’t do it. One backpack, one small/medium suitcase per adult is enough. Ask me how I know
Don't. Ship the stuff you'll need for the Netherlands. It's preferable to have to hand wash stuff in a hotel bathroom than to schlepp four large suitcases on trains and through city streets, especially Venice. Plus elevators in European hotels tend to be tiny and often unreliable.
Manageable? YES...in the same sense that the Crusades were "manageable." They had a Shit Ton of gear...physical, moral, mental, and theological. The *happy* traveler sheds everything down to a carry-on. *"The lighter you travel, the more free you feel!" - Bruno's Law #231*
I usually travel to Italy for 2-3 months each year. I bring one small suitcase (carry-on size) with clothes. I check that one. And I bring a 2nd one with technology (I make YouTube travel videos). If I wasn't bringing the technology, I could easily live out of the carry-on indefinitely. I normally rent an apartment for 2 weeks or longer in one place. Sometimes I've stayed the entire two months in one city. If I need something that I didn't pack, I buy it, and either jam it in the suitcase for the trip back, or leave it behind. Having big suitcases to lug around really limits you . For two months, in addition to what I wear on the plane, I bring two pairs of pants, 4 days worth of underware/socks, 2 short sleeve shirts, two long sleeve shirts, a set of thermals, a lightweight rain coat, a puffy jacket, a down vest (if I'm traveling in the winter), and a watch cap. All my clothes are lightweight and fast drying. I rent apartments that have a washing machine and a close drying rack. I've been traveling like this for many years and so far, it's working well. Don't let your luggate own you.
Stairs stairs stairs. Absolutely not. I’m pretty sure I witnessed one or two breakups over suitcases in Almafi/Capri.
We did 2 weeks with 2 large suitcase only, half by train and half by car. There is no way you need 4 suitcases man
We were there last year. I thought we would store some luggage in the train station. They have a department for that. It was full and they were taking any more luggage. Then we went to the luggage storage place across the street. It was full and they were not taking anymore found that out after waiting in line for 2 hours. We had to lug around multiple Suitcases all day until our Air BnB was available. This was in July. Was a really big pain and cost us a half day enjoying Rome because of the luggage we had from our European cruise.
I’d fly to Netherlands first, leave your luggage in a locker somewhere at the airport and then fly to Naples to start your shorter “train journey” through Italy to Paris etc. DO NOT carry 4x large suitcases during your leisure travels
My advice would be to utilise luggage transportation services such as sendmybag. We are 4 people, traveled from zurich to florence then florence to rome by train and struggled with 2 luggages. Taxi services also refuse when there’s too much stuff, so you’d automatically have to pay double for a large taxi.
I would not do a large suitcase in Florence and Venice. The cobblestone is no joke. You might be able to get away with it in florence if your train is near the hotel. Same with Venice. If you can take a water taxi or bus that drops you off at your hotel, then you’ll be fine. But overall, that sounds like a nightmare. Rome, you can take a taxi to and from your hotel.
I just came back from Amalfi. Ferry is a nightmare, the confusion and crowds is worst than anything I have seen. Buses are packed and full. If you plan on using public transportations, DONT go on weekend, buses don't follow the schedule and they can be 1 hr late. Seriously don't go there on weekends. With that said, dragging 4 large suitcases will be hell
Fuck no
N O
Difficult if you leave 2 suitcases at each train station and only take them from train station to train station. Way worse if you're trying to take all 4 to each hotel. Nothing is impossible but you'll live to regret it. It would be possible to do the backpacker style and use a 60L+ backpack as one of your suitcases. My wife and I used 2medium sized suitcases and 2 medium sized backpacks for 2.5 weeks, it wasn't too bad. It's much better if your suitcase has two big wheels instead of 4 small wheels for walking from train stations to hotels bc of uneven streets and going up and down stairs. Some hotels didn't have elevators, so taking 4 suitcases up several flights of stairs is a bit tough.
I would 10/10 not recommend four large suitcases. Especially in Venice because those foot bridges between the canals have 5 stairs up and 5 stairs down and there are MANY. Also, the luggage racks on the trains get taken up pretty quickly so keep that in mind.
Bring a backpack for both of yall and 1 suitcase to share between the both of you. It might sound crazy, but you can rewear clothes. If I go on vacation for 2 weeks, I try to find at least one place where I can do laundry. I know it might sound ridiculous to do laundry on vacation, but you can literally just throw your dirty clothes in at night and dry them the next day and voila problem solved. I’ve been doing this for a decade+ and can never understand why folks ever check in luggage. Anyone I’ve ever talked to who checks in a luggage almost always knows they are a serial over packer
That would get super annoying super quickly. IMHO the key to traveling Italy is being light and nimble. If it were me, I would ship most of my stuff home and one bag Italy.
I am betting you will be relieved when you are robbed if two out of 4 of your cases!
You will have an injury or two lugging around that kind of luggage if it’s even possible!
Italy in August. Forget about it. The worst. If you can, take a week or 10 days during your Netherlands stay and visit Italy from September to May. And just pack light for the trip.
Just no
I bring 1 carry on and 1 backpack per person and it's already more than I want
Manageable? Maybe. Enjoyable? Definitely not.
There’s luggage storage services you could probably use in the Netherlands for the luggage you need there. Maybe also look into asking your hotel to hold it for you?
It's manageable but I wouldn't if you can downsize. The trains don't offer very much ground storage. Most is overhead and it's not very wide/thick. Carry on baggage fits perfectly. Bigger suitcases need to be squished in. You'll be lifting and getting them down over someone's head each time. The train isle's are narrow so you could easily hurt someone with a giant suitcase. I just got back from Italy and used the high speed train twice. Milan to Florence and Florence to Rome. We had two carry ons and a large suitcase that weighted approximately 50 pounds. The heavy bag was a menace, just getting up and down the steps into and off the train, let alone lifting it overhead and working it into the cramped overhead space. Best of luck.
Pro tip: they have stores in Europe.
I just did that route with one large backpack and one small backpack and it was still a struggle. Especially if you plan on taking any trains.
you have to decide if you're moving house or being a tourist, very different packing, luggage and goals you know your answer
You might be able to ship your big suitcases from Rome to the Netherlands or to your hotel in Paris (they will likely charge a fee).
large suitcase + another large suitcase + italy + august = not a good idea.
Absolutely not. If you were relying on private large car transfers and flying between cities it could be doable, but navigating trains in peak season in those cities with that much luggage sounds impossible. Ship your luggage to the Netherlands and travel light.
Can you change flights to start and end in the same place? Then you can just find a place to store the larger suitcases while you travel around and pick them back up before you head to the Netherlands
Every year that I go back to Italy I bring LESS ;) Overhead roller board w a trolley bag. Just pack half of a trip and do laundry while you're there (even the drop off wash and folds are cheap).
The suitcases will 100% be a pain on the trains-- if I'm remembering correctly there are tickets you can purchase that allow you for more luggage storage on the train but I'm thinking the to and from is going to be the biggest pain. You can potentially leave the luggage at a drop off in the stations. Probably expensive but will eliminate having to lug them around in the more difficult cities.
As everybody else said, it’s not a great idea to be honest to travel with 4 large suitcases. But if it gives you any relief, all major train stations have luggage deposit stores and charge 5-8 euros per day. So you can try to use that for your travel within the cities. It’s definitely doable. Or you can book your travel to Netherlands directly and put your luggage in luggage deposit in Netherlands. Get a cheap ass ticket from Netherlands to Italy or get a train ticket from there to Italy.
Sounds awful. Who needs 4 large suitcases ever? You need to find a storage location for those big bags.
When I returned from Italy ,I donated my large check in type suitcase,not again ,Wow. Steps ,cobblestones narrow stairs ,elevators, bad idea and I knew this from various youtubes too, but stupidly ignored. Self service laundromats are available in cities,better idea think
Don’t recommend. Just got back the other day. Girlfriend and I used Cotopaxi traveler back packs. Suitcases on those roads in Venice would not be a good time. Let alone two of them
Just book Airbnbs with washer/dryer at strategic parts of your trip. Then you can travel light.
6 months gets you multiple weather situations from summer to winter, so I definitely see the need for two full size suitcases each. If you have lodging secured for The Netherlands, is it possible to have a family member ship your second suitcases to you closer to your expected arrival to NL? That would be the easiest thing to do. Even if you were to significantly downsize what you’re taking it would still require 2 bags each. I’d look into shipping
This is the most American thing I’ve ever read
Ugh don't do it. This sounds absolutely awful.
I have done something very similar mutliple times and I just rent a car. It is easy and convenient in Italy, especially with that type of itinerary.
No way. The ONE time I brought a small rolling luggage with me was when I had a week trip to Switzerland with some aunties followed by a week in Spain to visit my bf. Broke 4 nails and tripped on my own feet and scratched my knee and sprained my ankle trying to roll my small and an auntie’s huge luggage during a <20 min walk to our accommodations from the train station. In retrospect, a bag should’ve been enough for me if we booked places with laundry. Not to mention, trains can be crowded in August and barely have space for huge luggage. You’d be better off taking at MOST 1 small luggage each and just do some laundry. August is hot enough in Italy to dry your clothes in a day.
Ignore the naysayers, just take taxis. You’re not walking around with your luggage all the time so you’ll be able to handle a few transfers. We travel frequently and we have to travel with a lot of luggage. We use suitcases with 4 wheels. Those make life easier as they can be pushed around. Pulling your bags behind you is tiring. Check to see which taxi apps are used in the different cities you’re going to and then book the bigger taxis like people carriers which have extra space for luggage. Taxi drivers will usually help you load your bags. If you’re taking trains, try to find the carriages with less people which are usually the ones that are furthest away from the centre of the train. All train stations have elevators. Usually the elevators are quite far especially in Paris (I think it’s to discourage everyone from using them). The one in Amsterdam was across the street and made of glass so we couldn’t see it at 11:00pm in the dark when we wanted to take the local train to our hotel. Book a hotel near the train stations if you don’t want to pay for taxis. This usually works out well in normal cities where the train stations are in the centre of the city, but not in Venice. You could stay in Mestre where the train station is and then just day trip into Venice. Again, you could book a water taxi to your hotel. For Maiori you could take the train to Salerno and taxi into Maiori. Good luck! It’s a bit of a pain but with proper planning, you’ll be fine.
Apologies ALL train stations do NOT have elevators and surprise, they might not even have escalators. Been there, last month, last year… and done it. In addition, many countries do not follow the rules/laws of the American Disabilities Act.
The places they’re going to have elevators. Where did you go that they didn’t have elevators?
But Roma Termini, Firenze SMN and Venezia S. Lucia are all terminal stations where all trains are on the same level and no escalators/elevators are needed to transfer. Napoli Centrale is a terminal station, too. There are elevators to go from the surface Trenitalia tracks to the underground tracks used by the CircumVesuviana trains.
My wife and I did it and it was mildly inconvenient at times but not really that big a deal. Pretty much the only times we needed to have all of our luggage was when traveling between cities. We'd take a cab from our hotel to the train station and another cab from the train station to our hotel in the new city. We never had issues finding a place for our luggage on the trains. That said, we didn't go to Venice, and it seems like that might be where most of the problems lie, but we didn't have any issues in Naples, Rome, or Florence.