More Baggage Logistics - Loading up on Local Purchases and Bringing Them Home

[knick1959]

So, in a different post I mentioned a long trip. We're going to Peru and Ecuador soon. We fly down and back on business class awards. We have 5 LAN flights in the middle where economy was the only option.

On the Big Flights, we're allowed 2 bags each. We only need one, so bringing an extra bag of "stuff" home seems easy. But it may cost us a fortune for all of the in-between flights. We do pass back through a couple cities over time, but different hotels.

I know, not very specific. I can add details, but am looking for more general tips on how folks might have handled things like this before.

Specific example: end of the trip we overnight in Quito (Sheriton - SPG) to make the next day's flight to the Galapagos. 5-6 days later, back to Quito to stay 3 days at the Raddison Royal Quito (Club Carlson), then home. No car ... airport shuttles and taxis. How might I shuffle my "extra" bag, if I have one, from one hotel to the other for storage, and will they accept it 6 days before I arrive? I know, I know, I will call, if this is what we decide to do. Have others done this?

I would imagine shipping things home from SA would be costly. But perhaps less that paying for a bag over 5 economy flights?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Trevor]

So, in a different post I mentioned a long trip. We're going to Peru and Ecuador soon. We fly down and back on business class awards. We have 5 LAN flights in the middle where economy was the only option.

On the Big Flights, we're allowed 2 bags each. We only need one, so bringing an extra bag of "stuff" home seems easy. But it may cost us a fortune for all of the in-between flights. We do pass back through a couple cities over time, but different hotels.

I know, not very specific. I can add details, but am looking for more general tips on how folks might have handled things like this before.

Specific example: end of the trip we overnight in Quito (Sheriton - SPG) to make the next day's flight to the Galapagos. 5-6 days later, back to Quito to stay 3 days at the Raddison Royal Quito (Club Carlson), then home. No car ... airport shuttles and taxis. How might I shuffle my "extra" bag, if I have one, from one hotel to the other for storage, and will they accept it 6 days before I arrive? I know, I know, I will call, if this is what we decide to do. Have others done this?

I would imagine shipping things home from SA would be costly. But perhaps less that paying for a bag over 5 economy flights?

Thanks in advance.

I don't have specific experience with this exact situation, but while working on a remote project, I leave a bag each weekend when I fly home. There have been times I've ended up leavening the bag there for 2 weeks. I see no reason that the hotel would not accommodate you if you ask ahead of time.

 

[MickiSue]

That would be the issue: you will be staying at two different hotels in the same city. If you were to stay at the same one, they would almost certainly be willing to keep your bag while you were gone.

While training for my old employer, my coworker and I stayed at the same hotel, a total of 8 weeks, coming to the city every other week. We got tired of eating out at the same few restaurants, and they were happy to keep our non-perishable food and beverages for us, so we could buy in quantity, instead of those little, overpriced bags and bottles, everytime we came. One bag would have been even easier.

 

[elweb]

You could always join South American Explorer Club, they have storage for members. I believe it is $60 to join but that might be cheaper then paying extra baggage fees.

 

[RoamingOnPoints]

From what I've seen, this comes up quite a bit in parts of South America like Peru (Machu Picchu crowd) and Ecuador (Galapagos crowd), but echoing what others said: staying at the same hotel is the best way of handling this. The nicer hotels will do it as a courtesy, the budget/hostel establishments will try to make a few bucks if you, but either way you'll be accommodated. When hiking the Inca Trail last year, I didn't have any trouble leaving a bag in Lima.

Beyond that, many airports outside the U.S. offer luggage storage ("left luggage") services. Unfortunately, at least as of a few months ago Quito doesn't. But it looks like one or two of the "hotels" near the airport do.

In your specific example, if I had to guess, the Radisson is likely your best bet. I suspect if you ask nicely they'd be willing to accommodate a bag, even a week in advance.

 

[knick1959]

Thanks for everyone who offered ideas. We leave a week from tomorrow (4/1) and I'm trying to collect as many options as possible. If I would have thought about this a year ago, I would have made Cusco our LAST visit ... this is the place I expect to tempt us the most with things to bring home. But who knows for sure.

I have a smaller "international" carry on bag coming (will be in time). I typically don't travel with a carry on ... just my under-seat backpack as a personal item. We'll check 2 large suitcases and I'll bring this new bag. Plus a duffle-bag-like thing that can be crammed in an existing bag.

Reading the LAN pages, they seem to elude that most flights allow 2 checked backs with a 50 pound limit combined. Extra for another bag. We might even be ok checking an extra ... with 5 economy domestic flights, how many might charge us, who knows. But with the extra carry on we have some flexibility. Storing bags in Quito would save the cost of 2 flights (RT to Galapagos), and we'll have some flights before under our belts with no other options to see if it's worth the trouble to try and store. I like the idea of traveling lighter, anyway.

I'll let you know how it works out! Thanks again.

 

[knick1959]

I would imagine shipping things home from SA would be costly. But perhaps less that paying for a bag over 5 economy flights?

Oh, and by the way, I priced a 30 pound package from Peru to home via UPS - $398 (updated after I looked at my reference page) was the lowest rate. 10 pounds = ~$200. Not an attractive option.

I'll go google "South American Explorer Club" next ...

 

[kristian]

Even if LAN let you bring all those suitcases around the continent with you, I wouldn't do it. Such a hassle. How hard is it to just change up your hotel reservations?

 

[kristian]

In South America I would often leave bags at a place and just swing by and get them when I come back through even though I was not staying there again.

 

[knick1959]

Even if LAN let you bring all those suitcases around the continent with you, I wouldn't do it. Such a hassle. How hard is it to just change up your hotel reservations?

Well, I picked the Sheridan airport because it IS near the airport with a free shuttle. This is simply a required overnight because of the flights schedule conflict between Lima->Quito and Quito->GPS (Galapagos). I'm not sure exactly how far the Radisson is from the airport, but it certainly wouldn't be as convenient. But this hotel is our pick for a longer stay.

It is a good thought, tho. I will see how bad it would be to switch to the Radisson for the overnight.

Not sure if the Sheraton would hold our bag for a week. We won't stay there on the way back, but who knows. So your second idea provides yet-another possibility.

As for the multiple bags ... the carry on is the only one we're considering as "extra". All of the others are flexible, cloth things that will take up a small about of space, but no more if not needed. Still, I do get your point. Thanks.

 

[RoamingOnPoints]

I'm sure you've got this covered, but just to confirm... you're talking about the Sheraton in Quito? From what I remember it's not near the airport (almost nothing is near the new airport, as opposed to the downtown old airport) but rather in the city itself, and both it and the Radisson are a 30-45 minute car ride from the airport. May be mistaken though, it's been about a year.

 

[knick1959]

I'm sure you've got this covered, but just to confirm... you're talking about the Sheraton in Quito? From what I remember it's not near the airport (almost nothing is near the new airport, as opposed to the downtown old airport) but rather in the city itself, and both it and the Radisson are a 30-45 minute car ride from the airport. May be mistaken though, it's been about a year.

Unbelieveable. You know, I KNEW the airport had been replaced with one farther away from the city. But I expect the "Airport" hotel to still be by the airport. As you have pointed out, it is not. I just ASSumed. Silly me! In fact, via google maps, the Radisson is 33 minutes away, while the Sheraton is 39 minutes. Sheraton does still boast an airport shuttle, but now I'm starting to doubt that.

Are cabs to/from the Quito airport safe and reliable? I'm reading all sorts of warnings about Lima, but I haven't looked at Quito yet. I certainly will look to switch hotels, which should help with some of my potential issue with bags. I just now need to figure out transport a bit earlier than my previous plan.

Thanks for bringing this up. I had no idea!

 

[knick1959]

And now that I'm looking, there is no mention of an airport shuttle on the Sheraton official page ... I must have been looking at some really dated google search results when I was shopping for an overnight bed.

 

[kristian]

I would approach taxi cabs in Quito with similar caution to in Lima. You will probably be be fine but it would help to have an idea of what to expect from the fare. My data would be too old to be relevant and plus I don't remember

 

[RoamingOnPoints]

Glad to help!

To/from the airport won't be a problem: after customs, there are kiosks for official taxis which all offer flat rates into the city. On the return, presumably your hotel will be able to take care of you. 30-45 minutes travel time sounds about right.

Otherwise, your taxi experience will probably depend a bit on your level of Spanish -- for example, at night (and even sometimes during the day although they're not supposed to) you'll need to negotiate the rate when you get in. In addition to echoing kristian's advice, stick to the official taxis, too.

 

[smittytabb]

I arrived into Quito late at night by myself and took an official taxi from the airport to the hotel with no problems. I do speak Spanish, but just be sure to have your street smarts on anytime you are traveling in South America. My experience tells me that in terms of checking bags, they seem to allow a generous amount. Having said that, finding a way to travel as lightly as possible might be worth considering, especially with multiple pack and unpack scenarios. I have a carry on bag on wheels by Rick Steves that expands and I always put a fold up Longchamps bag that can be another carry on or checked piece in my luggage. If you are trying to add, start as small as you can. If you are thinking of purchases in Peru, be sure to go to Pisac market near Cuzco. I would be hesitant to mail things back from SA. If you decide to leave things at one of the hotels, be sure to take small luggage locks with you. Lock your checked luggage on all flights and anytime you leave it somewhere, even in your hotel room. Petty crime is the main thing you will deal with in this region and the smarter you are, the fewer problems you could have. I have traveled a lot in South America, usually on my own. Sounds like a wonderful trip hitting some of the big highlights in the region. Enjoy!

 

[knick1959]

Once again, thanks for all of the replies. This was way more input than I expected, and it was all helpful. Just goes to show, it pays to ask.

First, on our Quito quick overnight, I switched to the Radisson so that this stay and our later, longer stay is in the same place. I'll assume they will hold a bag for us in-between. This reduces our too-much-stuff problem by 2 flights, leaving only 2 to deal with. That will work.

I did purchase an international sized carry on that arrived very quickly. I don't really need it going down, and it ALMOST fits inside my checked bag, but not quite. So I will put an expandable backpack and a folder-up tote in this and perhaps some other riff-raff and carry it on. In hindsight, I should have gotten a second of these, as my wife has a very small roller bag as a carry on. This bag would have doubled the capacity while still being small enough for everything.

In all, I probably overpaid a little for my last minute luggage purchases, but I'll make sure and get my money out of them. I went with a Rick Steves expandable backpack which was too much money, but it was quick and sure to work for us.

Taxis - I've pre-arranged for a couple of rides; probably also a little more expensive that even an "official" cab, but saving some grief will be worth it. Still some taxis to take real-time, but I've got the tips from here, other online pages and my books.

Leave early tomorrow ... I'll probably be scarce (more scarcer? ) for a few weeks.

Thanks again!