Anonymous wrote:
Our family is fine with a down day for laundry.

Dang girl! You washing in a bucket? By hand? 😁

Do your laundry at night.

Anonymous wrote:We always check large luggage, usually 4 big checked bags, and we then each have a regular sized backpack for the plane. We have never had any issues with this except one hectic taxi line at the Paris train station where we loaded in and out of two larger taxis before I could find a driver who was willing to use the (required) meter. I hate dealing with laundry on vacation and rewearing sweaty clothes and having to buy “liquids” like toothpaste and hair/skin products bc travel size is too small for 2 weeks.

I have not found this to be the case - we have travel-size bottles we refill with our preferred products, if I can't refill tI have purchased travel-size portions that are more than enough for the trip. If you are staying in hotels, many now come with higher-end body wash so that eliminates the need to travel with it. Sure some time is needed to refill the bottles before travel but its never been an issue in our household. For things like sunscreen we just purchase upon arrival and use it up or leave it behind. Doing laundry is pretty simple - especially with the laundry flakes instead of liquid - light weight takes up no space and not part of the liquids restrictions.

It all comes down to personal preference. Our family is fine with a down day for laundry during a fast-paced vacation, and we'd rather not injure our backs handling a large suitcase. Selecting the right fabrics can make all the difference for ease of wash and wear, packing, and not having to re-wear sweaty clothes. It also depends on where you are going and what you plan to do.

We’re a family of four adults. We each travel with a carry on and a personal item, no checked in luggage . We pack light clothing and layers and be sure to have accommodations in the middle of our trip that has laundry. We’ve taken several long trips, Europe included, and this works well for us.

Anonymous wrote:We always check large luggage, usually 4 big checked bags, and we then each have a regular sized backpack for the plane. We have never had any issues with this except one hectic taxi line at the Paris train station where we loaded in and out of two larger taxis before I could find a driver who was willing to use the (required) meter. I hate dealing with laundry on vacation and rewearing sweaty clothes and having to buy “liquids” like toothpaste and hair/skin products bc travel size is too small for 2 weeks.

And we don’t use public transportation to airports in the US but we do often use it within Europe depending on the city, hotel location, etc.

We always check large luggage, usually 4 big checked bags, and we then each have a regular sized backpack for the plane. We have never had any issues with this except one hectic taxi line at the Paris train station where we loaded in and out of two larger taxis before I could find a driver who was willing to use the (required) meter. I hate dealing with laundry on vacation and rewearing sweaty clothes and having to buy “liquids” like toothpaste and hair/skin products bc travel size is too small for 2 weeks.

As others have said but I wanted to confirm - international flights to/from US is going to be different than internal flights between cities in Europe. Recently traveled with a carry-on and a backpack. The carry-on worked fine btw US/AMS - my next flight was still on KLM but a much smaller airline - my carry-on did not fit in the overhead even though it was within the weight and dimensions. It had to be gate-checked. I found that most European airlines and airports are very strict with their allowances. Review your baggage allowances for your seat class very carefully - make sure to distinguish between checked bags, personal items, handbags - most airlines spell that out on their website with height, weight and depth.

When our family of four travels for two weeks, we each pack a carry-on suitcase for five or more days (this timing is determined by our itinerary, travel days, and access to laundry facilities, and we plan to do laundry a few times). We each carry a backpack not fully loaded. We'd rather pack smaller, more manageable bags—especially if we are doing lots of walking with our bags, lots of transfers, or using public transportation—we'd rather not have more than we can handle. It took some adjustment for all of us to not pack things we think we need and plan time for laundry.

Our kids have gotten pretty good at packing the smaller suitcases and managing laundry. If you do fill that big bag full - make sure to weight it before you leave - I always feel bad seeing folks at the airport trying to re-adjust their stuff on the floor of the airport. I would also do a few trials of carrying it upstairs, load it into the car or overhead space - because if you can't do it on your home turf its' not going to get easier on cobblestones, on trains or moving between cities.

I guess our family relies on public transportation to-from airports so if you plan to use a taxi or uber maybe those bigger bags aren't an issue.

Family of 4, 2 teens, we each do a carry on and a personal item (backpack, not crammed full or it'll weigh too much or be too big).

We have had bags weighed at the gate on TAP (Air Portugal), SAS and Icelandic Air. At SAS, when one of the kids bags was overweight, they checked it for free. At TAP and Icelandic, we saw them charge people for overweight bags (ours weren't).

Anonymous wrote:2 week travel - if you have checked a luggage, how easy is it when moving from one city to another? And if you plan on flying between 2 cities, do they check the weight of carry on? Trying to figure out whether to just put everything in 2 larger suitcases and pay the extra checked bag fee when flying between cities. Or somehow try to manage with 4 carry ons?

So many factors to consider that it's hard to answer your question. Europe has 50 countries. Dozens of airlines. Not all are the same. Where you are going specifically should guide you.

We never go for two weeks unless we're going somewhere were we can do laundry, so we don't pack tons of clothing, making it less cumbersome. Check the restrictions of the airlines you're flying city to city. Are you taking trains? Cars? Hotel or air bnb? All of that will give you different answers.

Airlines in Europe weigh bags and many charge for carry ons, plus they don't accept the larger carry ons that many US travelers use. It is often cheaper to check your bags. We're a family of 3 and use 2 large checked bags. My DH still insists on a carry on, so we put a set of clothes and meds/toiletries in there.

Airlines like Ryanair will usually weigh bags.

I would travel light. For two weeks I would do laundry once.

I have a bad back and have taken to checking luggage now, it makes life easier. Just make sure you keep one spare set of clothes in your hand luggage in case it goes missing.

I only ever do carry-ons. Yes, I am so sick of my clothes by the end of the trip, but a carry-on is enough to lug. The pp has a good point about undersized car trunks and hotel rooms. I also find that there are fewer elevators, so occasions in which I have to lug the suitcase up flights of stairs. This has been true in certain hotels we've stayed in, and for public transit (railway stations).

You may not be allowed more than a single intl-size (20" L) carry-on per person. And, on intra-continental flights, the aircraft are going to be smaller, with smaller and more limited overhead bins. If you're not flying in Business or First, you many at times be unable to find space even for you single size-compliant carry-on (as opposed to your additional "personal item" which has to fit underneath your seat).

Consider traveling with less and lighter clothing, doing laundry once or twice during your trip if need be. Paying for laundry service will probably be less expensive than paying extra fees for checked/overweight luggage beyond your normal allowance for the fare class of your tickets.

I would do 4 carry ons. It's not just the planes, it's dealing with the car transportation and smaller hotel rooms. Assuming adults.

Lot of variables, depends on specific airlines. Generally, the mainline airlines not very likely to weigh carryons, the discount ones more likely.

We do 4 carryons but kids are older and can handle their own stuff. 2 bigger checked bags could work fine.

2 week travel - if you have checked a luggage, how easy is it when moving from one city to another? And if you plan on flying between 2 cities, do they check the weight of carry on? Trying to figure out whether to just put everything in 2 larger suitcases and pay the extra checked bag fee when flying between cities. Or somehow try to manage with 4 carry ons?