We have our hotel reservation for our first nights in London. We are planning on traveling independently by trains. We would like to be flexible and to travel without set reservations in the towns we plan to visit. Will it be possible to tour England, Scotland and Ireland like I toured Europe in the 80's - without reservations?
Posted by
UK
1015 posts
Another consideration is that back in the 80s, many towns had tourist information offices that would find you accommodation. Many of these are now shut or run very limited hours.
You might want to adopt a halfway approach - use your smartphone to book online a couple of days in advance.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Thank you!
Posted by
Camano Island, WA, usa
1526 posts
Have you thought about driving? We have done two auto trips in the UK. We took the train out and picked the car up at one of the lots at Heathrow after a week in London. We made the car reservation at home. You may actually save money over train tickets.
It's really fairly easy to get used to driving on the left. This gives you the most flexibility. You can be driving down a country lane and see a charming village that has just the B & B you have been looking for. Even if they don't have the tourist office anymore they may have listings posted in a central location or ask at the pub or at the train station.
Posted by
3124 posts
Are you a party of 2 wanting a double room, or does "we" mean more than 2 people? Do you have any special needs for a room, such as avoiding stairs? How much luggage will you have?
All of these and other factors will affect how easy or difficult it is for you to find accommodation each night. Sadly, yes the tourist info offices that were so wonderful in the 80s are more difficult to find now.
Generally, if you use an app like Booking.com and take time each evening to book a room for the following night (i.e., book about 24 hours ahead), you'll be able to enjoy a full day's sightseeing with peace of mind that you're not going to be stuck wandering around after dark desperately trying to get a room.
Posted by
8331 posts
Dear Wife and I planning a driving tour of England and Wales for four weeks in October. I know the weather will be chilly by my standards, but we are taking a transatlantic cruise home on 28 October.
There should be fewer tourists in October. We have driven in the UK before and found that it is wise for us to drive an automatic transmission car. Also, we plan on buying a Garmin or other navigation guide. If you rent a car with navigation, it is extremely expensive.
As a backup, I plan to map out each day of our driving on Mapquest and print those out.
I think it is wise to have reservations in advance for every night of our stay. This way, you are not shut out of the best places and you do your research ahead of time to pick the B&B, Inn or hotel with the best location, parking and price.
Parking with a rental car is a big issue, since it can cost a fortune to park in some British cities. We are going to many smaller cities or towns, but still have a few places were parking will require planning (Oxford, Cardiff, York, Durham).