Hi all,
I’m planning a 2 week trip to France in April/May 2024 for a 40th birthday.. I found a few great hotels in Honfleur and Bayeux but when I put my dates in it says no availability. Is it likely that hotels are booked more than a year out, or just that the reservations aren’t open for booking that far out? Please help!
It’s more likely that they aren’t booking that far out. Try plugging in dates for this April/May and see if anything is available. If so, you’re just trying to book too early.
Can you contact the hotel directly by email? Most likely they haven't determined their price structure for the next year. This happened to me, in a different country, and the hotel kindly explained why the rooms weren't posted yet.
Safe travels!
Thanks for the replies. I did input some dates for April 2023 and rates with availability came up. I guess I’m trying to look too far out, lol. I was freaking out that stuff is already booked.
You might try emailing the hotels asking them when they would suggest you book. I had no trouble booking May this year and I think I started looking at hotels 10 months in advance or so and actually booking them around November 2022. No place better than France for a 40th birthday!
I would expect in May 2024, especially late May as one nears June 6, it will become quite difficult to find hotels near the D-Day beaches because of the 80th anniversary of the landings.
But I'm sure you're on the right track by assuming it's too early to make a reservation at this point.
I suggest you look at Airbnb and VRBO instead of hotels, especially since you have over a year. We have also found that many them do not post availability until about a year out, but you can sometimes ask for them to open it and they will comply. We have switched from hotels to Airbnb and VRBO and will be staying in France this spring for almost 12 weeks. Nothing like being able to get up and walk to a nearby bakery to get fresh croissants to eat in your cozy kitchen or out on your balcony. It's also fun to get deli dishes and local wine for an inexpensive and easy dinner at home. HINT: Carefully use the filter options to reduce the sheer number of offerings and get the features you would like. For us, cancellation policy, dish washer, on-site parking and clothes washer are important. Affordable places with air conditioning are a rarity. You'll likely find that hotels end up being more expensive with less room and of course, no kitchen.
By the way, we booked a townhouse in Honfleur in July for 7 nights for $827 total, all included. It has secure parking, 2 bedrooms and 1.5 baths.
Good luck on your birthday trip!
