Trying to decide on what kind of suitcase to bring is just as important as deciding on how to pack said suitcase. It depends on what kind of trip you’re doing and how many people will be going on the trip. This is what we found worked for us.

For 2 of us backpacking through Asia and then France:
We found it easiest to use 2 hiking backpacks, and then 2 day backpacks. By doing it this way we could wear our big hiking backpacks on our backs, and then our little backpacks with our important things on our front. We did this because it was easiest to get around, especially when you’re jumping on crowded subway stations or walking through a city looking for your hostel. It’s also handy to not have a big rolly suitcase when you’re running to catch a train or something.

Travel Tip: When you’re getting on a bus that has unassigned seating, have one person carry both of the big backpacks and one person carry the 2 lighter bags. That way the person carrying the lighter bags can just jump on the bus and get the 2 best seats while the other person loads the bags in the bottom of the bus. I think it goes without saying, but don’t ever put anything important in the big suitcases when they’re out of your sight. When travelling around Asia we discovered that someone had gone into the suitcases down below and stuck someone’s random purse and sweater in my big bag while they were rifling through everything…hope that person didn’t have anything important in there!

For a little family of 3 travelling through Europe:
For this trip we tried really hard to be smart about our packing, which is rich because I’m an overpacker at heart! For our carry ons we had 1 small rolling suitcase that had extra clothes for everyone, extra diapers, extra toys as well as all of the feeding things (formula, bottles, baby food) we’d need for our trip. We also had the diaper bag full of everything we’d typically need for the kiddo–>plus some extra medicine, food etc. I also used this as a sort of purse for me that included my makeup, a magazine (like I had time to read that) and my wallet. Jord also had a backpack full of the important things. We also had a travel stroller that was awesome. For our suitcases we decided on 1 of our big hiking backpacks and a rolling suitcase. We did this because we figured that if one person was pushing the stroller, they could also pull the little suitcase and have the diaper bag strapped to them while the other person wore the big backpack, little backpack and pulled the big suitcase. Yes, we looked like a little army moving through the airport. Oh we also had a carrier in case the baby didn’t want to sit in the stroller! Side note: we also brought our own carseat for the car. Yes you can rent them but I didn’t feel comfortable with that. Plus it was free to check it. Overall, we had a lot of stuff but that’s sort of what happens when you travel with a kiddo. Thankfully we rented a car in Croatia so moving from city to city wasn’t very hard and we could take our time.

Travel Tip: When packing kid’s clothes, pack them in freezer bags (the plastic bag ones). THIS WAS LIFE CHANGING. You can either pack them by outfits/days or you can pack shorts in one, shirts in the other, dresses in one, socks in the other etc. I was able to fit all of Peanut’s clothes in like 5 bags (and trust me kiddo didn’t wear the same outfit twice on her first trip to Europe) which made packing sooo much easier.

For those of you wondering, our hiking backpacks were the generic hiking bags from MEC and they were incredible! We call these bags The Sisterhood of the Travelling Backpacks because numerous people have borrowed these backpacks to see the world and they’ve been awesome and held up perfectly over the years. If only these bags could talk about all the memories they’ve shared.

In the end you have to think about where you’re going, how you’ll be getting around and how much stuff you’ll be bringing before deciding on what backpack to bring. Good luck!