SparklyUnicorn Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Trying to figure out car rental. It'll be four of us. We will have 3 suitcases (sizes yet to be determined which I know is not helpful) and carry on stuff. I'm thinking we won't be able to fit all of our stuff, but I don't know. Of course my husband would never think of this detail. :001_rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 (edited) I don't think you could happily fit four people plus vacation luggage into a Golf. Unhappily, maybe.... :D Are you going somewhere fun? ETA: We just returned from a vacation, and at one point a Golf with a rental sticker went by and I thanked my dh for not renting one. We've got five in our family. Edited February 1, 2016 by myfunnybunch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 I don't think you could happily fit four people plus vacation luggage into a Golf. Unhappily, maybe.... :D Are you going somewhere fun? ETA: We just returned from a vacation, and at one point a Golf with a rental sticker went by and I thanked my dh for not renting one. We've got five in our family. Germany We basically just need it to get around. The only time we would need all the luggage is from the airport and back to the airport. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 ladybugs Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 I think of a Golf about the size of a Honda Fit. My dad is able to shove a week work of camping needs, his 2 daughters (smallish size but teenagers), his wife (fluffy) and himself (often mistaken for Homer Simpson) in a Honda Fit. I think it has more to do with squishablity then boxiness. So if you have bags that can squish, you are better off then not. This will help (at 5 minutes is the meat of it, if you don't want to watch the whole thing) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 I think of a Golf about the size of a Honda Fit. My dad is able to shove a week work of camping needs, his 2 daughters (smallish size but teenagers), his wife (fluffy) and himself (often mistaken for Homer Simpson) in a Honda Fit. I think it has more to do with squishablity then boxiness. So if you have bags that can squish, you are better off then not. This will help (at 5 minutes is the meat of it, if you don't want to watch the whole thing) Ugh yeah I hate bags though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 ladybugs Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Jeremy Clarkson says it will hold a nuclear warhead. Surely your bags are not bigger then that. It actually looked quite spacious. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 Jeremy Clarkson says it will hold a nuclear warhead. Surely your bags are not bigger then that. It actually looked quite spacious. LMAO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 Jeremy Clarkson says it will hold a nuclear warhead. Surely your bags are not bigger then that. It actually looked quite spacious. Although there are nuclear warheads that are quite small. The W80 is 11.8 inches in diameter and 31.4 inches long. I'm pretty sure my luggage is bigger than that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 ladybugs Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Well, if my dad can go to China and get my 2 sisters (2 trips) and do carry on only, certainly you can go to Germany and fit into a Golf. If I were you, I would look at what people bring that go to ___ (maybe Poland?? or Russia) and do carry on only to adopt. You wouldn't need as much as they do and you should be able to get it to fit in the Golf. I would assume based on that video that you could fit 4 - 21 inch suitcases in a Golf reasonably. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 (edited) You can easily fit luggage for four people into a golf, but you may want to take other pieces of luggage rather than suitcases that are non compressible. Those will severely limit the amount of luggage you can pack in. I recommend that you ask for a sportsback/hatch back because you can load a lot more. I have traveled with my family overseas every year, and when the kids were younger we usually took one suitcase and one large duffel back for the four of us. (Plus a backpack containing all the climbing gear which you would not need.) This all (and five people) fit into my dad's A3 hatchback which has a slightly smaller trunk volume than the hatchback Golf. Now with older kids, we travel with just carry-on. You may want to think about lightening your load and simply traveling with less stuff. Edited February 1, 2016 by regentrude 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 ladybugs Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Here this is a better video: (at 6:00) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 We had to get from the airport in Egypt to the clinic with six bags plus carry-ons since we were bringing supplies. The car was not a Golf but one that was equally as small. Duffle bags are your friend because they compress and squish so well. No hard sided suitcases if you are worried about space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 When we were in Iceland we fit 5 of us - all adult height - and our luggage in a Yaris. But I (in the front passenger seat) had to put my suitcase on the floor and lift and bend one of my legs over the case and against the front dash... fortunately we only had our cases with us to and from the airport. .. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 Well, if my dad can go to China and get my 2 sisters (2 trips) and do carry on only, certainly you can go to Germany and fit into a Golf. If I were you, I would look at what people bring that go to ___ (maybe Poland?? or Russia) and do carry on only to adopt. You wouldn't need as much as they do and you should be able to get it to fit in the Golf. I would assume based on that video that you could fit 4 - 21 inch suitcases in a Golf reasonably. I can't do carry on only. Plus I'd have to go out and buy more luggage. That wouldn't really save me money verses just renting a larger car. LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 When we were in Iceland we fit 5 of us - all adult height - and our luggage in a Yaris. But I (in the front passenger seat) had to put my suitcase on the floor and lift and bend one of my legs over the case and against the front dash... fortunately we only had our cases with us to and from the airport. .. Oh my! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 We had to get from the airport in Egypt to the clinic with six bags plus carry-ons since we were bringing supplies. The car was not a Golf but one that was equally as small. Duffle bags are your friend because they compress and squish so well. No hard sided suitcases if you are worried about space. Hm...I'm just imagining everything being all wrinkled to heck though. But that is worth considering because I do have 3 largish duffle bags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 You can easily fit luggage for four people into a golf, but you may want to take other pieces of luggage rather than suitcases that are non compressible. Those will severely limit the amount of luggage you can pack in. I recommend that you ask for a sportsback/hatch back because you can load a lot more. I have traveled with my family overseas every year, and when the kids were younger we usually took one suitcase and one large duffel back for the four of us. (Plus a backpack containing all the climbing gear which you would not need.) This all (and five people) fit into my dad's A3 hatchback which has a slightly smaller trunk volume than the hatchback Golf. Now with older kids, we travel with just carry-on. You may want to think about lightening your load and simply traveling with less stuff. Well, carry on is limited to 11 pounds per person. We usually travel with as little as we can, but the carry on limits I do not think will cut it. We aren't tiny folk for one thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Oh my! I was quite the pretzel. But cars are soooooo expensive to rent in Iceland (like 4x German prices), and we were there a whole week - that I just couldn't justify renting a larger car... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 I was quite the pretzel. But cars are soooooo expensive to rent in Iceland (like 4x German prices), and we were there a whole week - that I just couldn't justify renting a larger car... Well we have to get from the airport to my MILs and back. That'll cost $130 round trip. We need a car because my MIL lives in the middle of nowhere and is not within walking distance of a train. We priced the golf for the 15 days at $300. We could get that at the airport and bring it back to the airport. So that seems worth it verses taking the train and having to rent a car anyway. Except I don't know how my husband is going to hack that drive on the first day. I'm not willing to do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 I was quite the pretzel. But cars are soooooo expensive to rent in Iceland (like 4x German prices), and we were there a whole week - that I just couldn't justify renting a larger car... Truth be told I am not very cooperative when it comes to traveling. I'm not willing to be miserable. I'm already not thrilled with having to go there in the first place. So I'd rather just pay more for something that'll work. KWIM? I do think we could probably fit what we plan to bring. Might be tight, but doable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Personally, I'd be happy to stick a suitcase on someone's lap if need be to make everything fit. Truth be told I am not very cooperative when it comes to traveling. I'm not willing to be miserable. I'm already not thrilled with having to go there in the first place. So I'd rather just pay more for something that'll work. KWIM? I do think we could probably fit what we plan to bring. Might be tight, but doable. However, because of your comment here, I would choose the bigger car. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raifta Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 We had a Golf and your plan sounds pretty reasonable. Like you said, tight but doable, especially since the luggage is only involved on a small number of trips. We did 2 adults and 2 kids and luggage (2 medium sized backpacks, a large duffle bag, and 2 suitcases) in a Toyota Prius last year when we were renting a car on vacation and it was fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 Personally, I'd be happy to stick a suitcase on someone's lap if need be to make everything fit. However, because of your comment here, I would choose the bigger car. But this is what is on my mind (and I know you aren't really disagreeing with me). It's a six hour bus ride to the airport followed by several hours of waiting. The first flight is 5 hours and 10 minutes. The layover is 2 hours. Then there is a second flight that is 3 hours and 30 minutes. Then the car ride (not sure how far away that is). I won't sleep the entire time because I can't sleep on planes, buses, or in cars. You figure when we leave the US it'll be about 7 at night. So by the time we get there I'm in no mood for squishing my legs into a pretzel nor luggage on my lap. If that makes me a baby, so be it. LOL 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 If that makes me a baby, so be it. LOL Absolutely not! I wouldn't even think any further about it, I'd just get the bigger car. It would be WELL worth your peace of mind!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 (edited) We priced the golf for the 15 days at $300. We could get that at the airport and bring it back to the airport. So that seems worth it verses taking the train and having to rent a car anyway. See, the Yaris (smaller than a Golf) was about $100 per DAY. I guess I underestimated that multiplier... (Oh, and the extra fun was that the car wasn't even insured if it was caught in a volcanic dust/ash storm, which apparently aren't uncommon on windy days because of the recent eruptions...) I did rent slightly bigger cars in Germany where it wasn't $$$$$. Edited February 1, 2016 by Matryoshka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 1, 2016 Author Share Posted February 1, 2016 See, the Yaris (smaller than a Golf) was about $100 per DAY. I guess I underestimated that multiplier... (Oh, and the extra fun was that the car wasn't even insured if it was caught in a volcanic dust/ash storm, which apparently aren't uncommon on windy days because of the recent eruptions...) I did rent slightly bigger cars in Germany where it wasn't $$$$$. Whoa. That's nuts. Yeah if it was that much forget it. Our layover is in Iceland. Not enough time to see anything though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted February 1, 2016 Share Posted February 1, 2016 Whoa. That's nuts. Yeah if it was that much forget it. Our layover is in Iceland. Not enough time to see anything though. Yeah, I pretty much had a heart attack when I read the car rental prices there. HOW could it be that much? But just the airport shuttle was something like $50/pp and we had 5, and also we couldn't really get around outside the city any other way (no trains!), so tiny tiny car it was! At least the Iceland airlines have great prices! We almost always end up with an Iceland layover, that was the only time we got off! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 2, 2016 Author Share Posted February 2, 2016 Yeah, I pretty much had a heart attack when I read the car rental prices there. HOW could it be that much? But just the airport shuttle was something like $50/pp and we had 5, and also we couldn't really get around outside the city any other way (no trains!), so tiny tiny car it was! At least the Iceland airlines have great prices! We almost always end up with an Iceland layover, that was the only time we got off! Well we got a good deal sort of. They charge separately for everything. Despite that it is still less, but it was misleading because that information was not provided immediately. We had to pay to choose our seats. We have to pay for every checked bag. No food or drink is provided so if we need/want that we have to pay for that. This is the first time I ever dealt with that with an international flight. Now I know none of that was ever "free", but it was included in the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Truth be told I am not very cooperative when it comes to traveling. I'm not willing to be miserable. I'm already not thrilled with having to go there in the first place. So I'd rather just pay more for something that'll work. KWIM? I do think we could probably fit what we plan to bring. Might be tight, but doable. Oh darn! Sparkly doesn't fit, so she has to stay at a hotel... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threedogfarm Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 We have a Golf and a Prius. You can fit A LOT more in the Prius than the Golf. The Golf's cargo area is awkward and definitely not spacious. That said, it does have adequate leg room in back, like the Prius. I don't know what VW was thinking when they designed it. I hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 most car rental sites have information for approx. how much luggage a particular class of car will hold. have you checked that? we have a golf years ago, a hatchback, and it did fine. but like I said - that was years ago. oh, my. it's been 24 years since it got crunched . . . it was a good little car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 I can't even imagine comfortably fitting unless you're using squishy bags and pack light. Then it could be doable. Maybe. Comfortable is subjective :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Well we got a good deal sort of. They charge separately for everything. Despite that it is still less, but it was misleading because that information was not provided immediately. We had to pay to choose our seats. We have to pay for every checked bag. No food or drink is provided so if we need/want that we have to pay for that. This is the first time I ever dealt with that with an international flight. Now I know none of that was ever "free", but it was included in the price. Are you using WOW, mayhap? Dd just took them to travel to Europe for January. She only took a carry-on, although she did pay to upgrade the weight of it to 12 kilos. And on the way home, they tried to convince her that she couldn't also have a purse - she texted me in a panic; I told her to stuff it in the carry-on - that worked... And another thing... if you miss your flight for any reason, don't expect to rebook in any reasonable kind of timeframe, or get any kind of discount to do it. Don't ask me how I know... (unless you want to hear a rant...) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
need2read Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 Well, more than you think, if you are good at packing. Fitting four people plus luggage...it will be cozy [emoji12]. When we were dating my husband had a 1987 Golf that we packed and drove 1000 miles to college in. That poor little thing was LOADED! But they have more room inside than they appear to. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 most car rental sites have information for approx. how much luggage a particular class of car will hold. have you checked that? we have a golf years ago, a hatchback, and it did fine. but like I said - that was years ago. oh, my. it's been 24 years since it got crunched . . . it was a good little car. Yes they use terms like small and large for suitcases. I have no idea what they consider small or large. We decided to rent something slightly bigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 3, 2016 Author Share Posted February 3, 2016 Are you using WOW, mayhap? Dd just took them to travel to Europe for January. She only took a carry-on, although she did pay to upgrade the weight of it to 12 kilos. And on the way home, they tried to convince her that she couldn't also have a purse - she texted me in a panic; I told her to stuff it in the carry-on - that worked... And another thing... if you miss your flight for any reason, don't expect to rebook in any reasonable kind of timeframe, or get any kind of discount to do it. Don't ask me how I know... (unless you want to hear a rant...) yes...WOW We bought insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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