Taking the backpack out of backpacking?

[CC86]

I'm in sort of a dilemma. For the first two weeks of my trip i'll be with my family visiting family in Austria. I won't be backpacking during this portion so I really want to bring some luggage, not a backpack because i'll be bringing some better clothes for myself to wear. I only see them every 4-5 years. I will have a back pack with me for my supplies, Camera and ipod and such. Will it be a hassle to bring the suitcase with me on the rest of trip? It will allow me to bring everything I need, allow me to gather souveniers on the way and allow me to bring more stuff, does this seems like a good idea?

[raoulduke]

How long are you traveling for?

I'd personally recommend keeping your stuff to a single backpack. Especially if you plan on flying around Europe (excess baggage fees are a bitch) You can always take some nice clothes along to Austria then send the home with your family.

Walking around Europe, finding hostels and catching trains would be a lot harder if you had to drag a suitcase along bumby European roads and up subway stairs.

[mbo108]

It might be a little more of a pain to carry the suitcase, but at the same time if you feel like this is what you wanna do, go for it. How long is the rest of your trip?

Thousands if not millions of Europeans travel their continent everyday for business, for "more luxorious travel (so to speak)" with traditional suitcases. Its not like you'll stick out. Will it be harder to pull down a cobblestone street? Yes. Does that matter to you? Maybe not. Overall I dont think its a big deal - go for it if you want.

[Esterina]

I agree that carrying a suitcase in addition to your backpack won't be handy. If your itinerary has a large number of country/city transfers, you might soon enough regret taking along luggages.

I only had a daypack and a backpack, and was sometimes swearing (not outload though ) in busses and subways especially, or walking around town trying to figure out how to get to my hostel. In the summer heat. Under the rain.

Could you instead fill up a daypack/hand luggage with your presents ?

Or as said, send home in a box the extra clothing ? That's what I did when I finished my course in Germany and started backpacking Eastern Europe for six weeks. It was expensive (almost $100), yet the best solution.

[TheJake]

Backpacking isn't relegated to just using a backpack, though I don't think I could ever go back to a suitcase. I find a backpack to be just as secure and now almost all the clothes I own are the wrinkle-free kind so everything can be tossed in there. If you feel like you really need to have that suitcase you better bring it

[Elizabeth]

Originally Posted by raoulduke

then send the home with your family.

Yes I agree. Put the nice clothes in mom or dad's suitcase. Chances are, they have a way bigger suitcase than they need (I know my mom does, three of them actually!) so there should be plenty of room.

[MolsonGirl]

Would it not be possible to take the clothes in a bag you don't care about, use them with your family then ditch the bag and mail them home, or work in a stop in Austria right near the end of your trip to pick them up?

[marc873]

What about sending the suitcase back with your family when you head out on your own?
I'm a backpack only person. I pretty much refuse to carry a suitcase. Its just me!.....

[simply_angelic]

I agree with everyone else. Send the stuff home with your family.

As much as we THINK we need all this stuff when we begin backpacking, the reality is half of it, you dont. I ended up ditching half my stuff whilst in Africa...slowly (some I couldn't ACTUALLY part with and sent home) but I didnt regret it for a second The lighter you travel the better. (The better on your back...and more room for stuff you pick up along the way!!)

That said, if youre only backpacking for like a week or 2 after the family trip the extra luggage wont kill you. If you're in for the long haul though, it'll become the bane of your existence...

[CC86]

Haha, it's for the long haul, 2 months actually.

I didn't expect this many replies so quickly, thanks everyone. I was kind of thinking along the lines of everyone else, sending home the rest of the luggage with the family.

I plan to visit quite the amount of cities actually so i'll be on the move every 3 days at least, more frequently some of the time.

Maybe its the feeling that I because i'll be away from home the most i've ever been, that I need to have a little bit of home with me, and in this case it would be clothes. I'm not a clothes freak, lol, but I like to be prepared for all situations, as I figure i'll need something for when I go out at night that won't be wrinkled and will look nice.

[MolsonGirl]

Two months! Is that in the winter or the summer? cause that's one pair of pants, two pairs of shorts (summer), and a couple t-shirts!! At this point, ignoring the whole, no liquids, gels ect on planes, I could probably do two months with just a normal sized school backpack.. (granted I would be wearing my heaviest pants and shoes I'm bringing any time I switched cities) but yeah... PACK LIGHT

[CC86]

It's August 14th to Oct 15th, possibly early November. So i'll be crossing into the fall.

[CC86]

Day pack and a back pack. Done.

[Esterina]