I have my international flight booked to London in early May, but I have yet to book any accommodations or inter-Europe flights. I will be travelling to Paris, Berlin, and Krakow, and plan to stay in hostels- this is a shoestring budget trip for me. Now I need to get my shorter flights and hostels booked. I ASSUME that I am best off going ahead and booking all those flights and hostels now so that I know I will have everything lined up for me. However I have no experience flying the budget airlines I plan to use for these trips and limited experience booking hostels. Price wise am I better off booking now four months in advance or waiting until a month or two before? If I were to fly into London with none of this booked (except maybe the initial hostel in London) and just try to book my flight to the next city a day or two in advance am I likely to pay much more for the ticket or possibly not even have a flight available? My question is more concerned about the flights, I ASSUME that the hostels' pricing and availability won't change much. Any info is appreciated.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16894 posts
Yes, even budget airlines may cost more on short notice, or fill up. So I'd book those next. See www.skyscanner.com to help your search. From London to Paris, we recommend the Eurostar train, and that definitely costs more the longer you wait, as the number of seats at the best rates are limited.
Traditional, AYH hostels don't normally have any price fluctuation, but private hostels might. They also do fill up, especially with school groups, or in popular destinations like Paris. Book them now if they're important to your budget strategy. Note the cancellation policy for each - a cancellation is probably no big deal within a certain lead time.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
Once the Xmas-New Year holidays are out of the way, people turn their attention to booking summer holidays, well May is spring in your case. If you leave it too long you may miss out on preferred choices or cheap fares. Try and lock things in over the coming weeks.
Posted by
toronto
350 posts
I would book my hostels now I was in Berlin and Kraków last May and found that when I looked to book in Feb some of the rooms I wanted were booked. I was looking for a smaller female room 4-6 people. I would book now. Both are great cities. In Krakow there are a few hostel right in the heart of the old town
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
2662 posts
I would book now for maximum economic savings. And also, I book my lodging as early as possible too. Things definitely fill up and, for some reason, lodging in Krakow always prices out higher than I think it would when I'm researching stuff.
Posted by
Lawrence, KS
30 posts
I just booked a flight within Europe for May - why not now? Flights only get more expensive closer to your travel date.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
I've had my hotels booked for several months now - will be in London, Munich, Venice, Murren and Barcelona in June 2017. Sure you can wait until the last minute as long as you're ok with getting "whatever's left over and nobody else wanted" kind of rooms. Those are not for me.
Posted by
San Francisco
14635 posts
Krakow has a hostel close to Krakow central station, the Greg and Tom, one of the most popular and best in Europe. Which hostel are you staying in Berlin. I would not leave hostels unbooked, too often I heard standing near the Reception callers being told that the entire hostel was booked for the week-end or a particular night. This was the Wombats Hostel across from the Westbahnhof in Vienna.
Since you are on a shoestring budget, consider the night train option if available. I'm departing for Europe by mid-May for close to two months but this time no hostels but instead two night train rides planned.
Posted by
Paris
2466 posts
Better book hostels in Paris right now. They fill up with students really quickly.