Where you are going depends on the suitcase type you will need. The most important consideration on suitcase type is airline, ship or other weight and type limitations and importantly, how much suitcase you can personally handle on your own.

Your suitcase is an important part of your trip, as are your carry-on items. We use a hard-sided suitcase with wheels that turn 360 degrees in a neutral color that has netting inside and bands that keep your clothes from falling out if you open it upside down. There is also a zippered compartment in mine that I find useful. Hard side luggage is great for general travel and will take a fair amount of abuse. So if you purchase one with the intent to use it often, get a well-made and durable one.

As far as size is concerned, we predominantly use medium-sized suitcases if we are traveling on several airlines to several countries due to weight limitations. We use a large-sized suitcase if we are traveling to one destination and know that we will be doing a fair amount of shopping.

Medium-sized suitcases are not awkward to move around with and will be allowed to check on most planes. They are easy to maneuver and not too huge or heavily packed that I can’t portage it myself if I need to.

We don’t use small-sized suitcases because we usually go for longer than a week and don’t enjoy doing laundry. Also, a personal pet peeve is that people clog up the airline aisles trying to lift their clearly too heavy roller boards into the overhead compartments where there is never enough room. It may be convenient, but it is a hassle to everyone on the plane, so we avoid it.

Alternatively, safaris and some other specific types of travel require soft side luggage, so it fits easily into the small planes that fly between safari camps. There are also serious limitations on weight for these planes. Do your homework and read the fine print before you pack for these trips…buying a new suitcase in the middle of rural Botswana is not going to happen. There is, however, a solution for this. Following our last small plane ride on safari in Kenya we went in to Nairobi and bought an economical hard medium sized suitcase for the continued journey to South Africa (where we knew we were going to be picking up some wine!).

Back packs and duffels are great for traveling as well, some do have wheels but are still a bit difficult to move around. We’ve found suitcases with 360 degree moving wheels are the easiest to maneuver. Backpacks and duffels can sometime swing over your shoulders, but we’ve found it much more comfortable not to be saddled with the extra weight on our bodies.

We do take a small backpack on the plane with us when we travel. There are many brands available that work well. I have an abundance of zippered compartments on mine that I use to secure my laptop, toiletries, travel books and other items. I usually stow mine in the overhead compartment while Mom puts hers under the seat. She usually packs snacks and books to read in her backpack and we both take a spare change of clothes, just in case our luggage doesn’t make it.

We also pack a few extra lightweight bags for shopping at the market, for the tour bus, for going to the beach, etc. It is a good place to store extra water, snacks, tour books, etc. We pack these items in our suitcase/backpack so they are handy. We have used a beach bag to bring home souvenirs more than once.

Please do add a special luggage tag or other identifier to make it easier to spot your suitcase is it rolls off the luggage carousel and always make sure it is indeed yours before removing it from the carousel. Make sure your correct address is on the identifier label. We usually add an airline or ship tag as well.  

One more thing, since our luggage on some trips is more well-traveled than we are, we’ve invested in air tags. Air tags are a tracking device that has an app that goes on your cell phone. You can pull up the app anytime and see where your luggage was last seen. Keep in mind it may take a few minutes to find your luggage and it may appear on the carousel before your app finds it! But it is worthwhile, especially if you are using multiple airlines for the same flight. Less finger pointing if you know where it is!