Europe in August/September - book ahead, or book as we go?

You might split the difference and prebook August, which is still the school holidays and more likely to be crowded, and then “free flow” September. Have fun!

We traveled in Spain, France, Belgium and Italy last year in September. We had advance reservations only for the beginning and end of our trip, and this worked out fine as we changed our itinerary on the fly several times for various reasons. Only rarely did we see hotels selling out during that period, and even when some did, not all the available lodgings did, so we were OK.

I don't recommend doing this for August, however.

nervous we are going to end up paying exorbitant last minute prices.

That would be my concern..... or the other end of the spectrum and getting a room with a cot and and no a/c.

Part of the reason for starting in Eastern Europe in August was the the thought it might be less busy over there - that way by the time we hit Southern France/Spain/Portugal areas we're in September and hopefully less busy and less expensive.

With 8 weeks to work with and the opportunity to see both larger and smaller places, maybe do three things: 1) identify the top destinations that you can expect to be crowded in August (Prague, Krakow perhaps, the big destinations of northern of Italy (Dolomites, Verona, Padua, Venice, Milan, Cinque Terre) and book some milepost stays of 3 or 4 nights each. You will need the rest. 2) Use Booking.com, or a similar site, and reserve some places with free cancellation (I have felt very satisfied with Booking in the US and Europe). 3) Wing the smaller places in August after most places after Sept 1.

When we have traveled like this we have had the best luck with booking the bigger centers/cities, and doing more last minute with the smaller towns. For example Lisbon we booked ahead of time, but we had no problem getting last minute accommodations in Evora and Nazare for Portugal.

We traveled that way in Italy many years ago, but I would want to check with someone who has been there more recently, as I believe it is still very busy in September.

I have traveled a lot in countries u mention in August I would espec reserve in adv and early sept. Keep the chain hotels in mind when booking as accor hotels which have many price, comfort levels and have parking with easy online booking. italy & S. France will be packed so book soon. Looking for a B&B or hotel and parking after a long day is not pleasant and further exhausting. Standards vary a great deal where u are visiting. Book as u go is really only a gd idea for off season or perhaps hostel stays in Europe, imo.
Hopefully u will have a small car, it really makes a diff for finding parking and for those very narrow village streets.
Enjoy the planning as it can be delightful.

We have traveled extensively. I have visited 77 foreign countries. Also, lived in the Middle East for five years and Germany for four.

Prior to the internet, tour guides were our source of choices for hotels, B&Bs and places to visit. Did a lot not booking ahead, except when we booked a bus tour.

Since I retired 9 years ago, we have traveled even more and found that visiting many key places, you simply must book in advance. Also, frequently, booking ahead for trains is essential for high speed trains in Europe.

Now, I would never plan a trip without booking our lodging. Also, sometimes book day tours in advance of flying.

Winging it is problematic, particularly for lodging. If you plan to visit Rome for example and don't book ahead. How are you going to find a place when you show up in Rome? Years ago, there were tourist information booths that could help, but if you go that route it could be like Russian Roulette, you might get the bullet and book a really poor hotel.

Best to use the tools on the internet to study what is available, where you want to stay, how much you want to spend and study reviews.

We did a four week drive tour of S. Wales and England in Fall of 2017. I booked all the B&Bs and small hotels in advance. All were great, had free or discounted parking, great breakfasts and very nice accommodations. Spent an average of 100 Pounds a night.

Eastern Europe is a bit different with fewer tourists, but the basic rules still apply. You can't beat advance planning.

Planning helps you to understand what is available for lodging, touring or travel.

I am picturing losing half a day with every stop looking for a place to sleep. Or loosing 3 hours one or two night prior on the internet looking for s place to stay. Of course this is a lot easier now with the big booking sites. Plug in your city and dates and review the hits. Still, for me at least location is important so you can spend a bit of time in the selection process. I guess at the very least taking a list of well researched places so you have an idea where to start.

Thanks for all the replies so far, all helpful. It seems there is no right or wrong way to go about it, but risks/sacrifices whichever way you choose. I agree a bit of a compromise is probably the best way, prebooking various points along the trip, and leaving unbooked sections along the way for flexibility.

Worth noting that we are reasonably young, late 20’s. So when it comes to accomodation we are happy with anything really be it a hostel, reasonably priced hotel, or AirBnB room share (great way to meet locals!). As long as you’re in a good location for a reasonable price, that’s what counts.

We are travelling by rail (Eurail pass). I see plenty of downtime sitting on trains which would provide good opportunity to research and book the next couple of days/upcoming week.

More comments welcome! Thank you!

I think 8 weeks is a really long time to be locked into a day-specific itinerary for every day. But the usual considerations apply.

1) It help is you an yours are flexible, roll-with-the-punches travellers

2) If you want to be in a particular hotel or room, book early

3) If you want a room in a popular place where there are limited accommodations (e.g., France's Mont St Michel, but that is just an example), book early

if you think about it you will probably come up with a mix--"OK, we absolutely need to be in Bucharest on the 20th, but can improvise until then."

If you know for sure you will be in a town on a certain day, then why not reserve in advance?

But if you like the flexibility of changing your itinerary on a dime, then booking only a few days ahead works just fine. I've done this many times and never had a problem. I've never been shut out of a city or been stuck with the dregs or had to spend hours looking for a room. Just have a list of lodging options from a good guidebook at the ready and call them. You may not get your first choice, but it's not like choice 2 or choice 3 will be fleabag options. The whole process of calling a couple of hotels takes like 15 minutes tops.

Caveat: You may not find a room if your destination has a festival or something you don't know about, like a normally quiet French town that happens to be hosting a stop on the Tour d'France.

Hotels raise prices, months in advance, for the dates they expect high demand. You can get a good sense of expected demand by simply looking at how prices vary over time at any of the hotel booking sites.

We nearly had a disaster. We showed up in Viaden, Luxembourg where we wanted to stay for the night. There was some kind of activity going on and no lodging was available anywhere nearby. Spent half a day finding a place many miles out of the way. Nearly ruined our weekend.

I say still do the planning. If you want flexibility, then still do the research and have options. For example, not sure you want to go to Madrid or Barcelona, then plan for both. If you don't want to book in advance, at least have choices already picked for lodging an things to do.

At a minimum, I say book the first week or two. With the internet, you can still find wifi and do a search while on travel.

Only thing, your favorite places may already be booked. For example, the In Patio Guesthouse in Porto, Portugal is fantastic. Great location, great hosts, prices great, breakfast fantastic. It was the very best B&B we ever stayed in. I found it on TripAdvisor with EVERY review had Five stars. It only has five rooms. You must book early for that place.

Fantastic that you are going for 2 months. I'll still be over there in early August if all plans fall into place.

Whether to book in advance or show up in front, I do both, depends on whether the town can be skipped or back tracked or whatever.

I book in advance at those Pensionen or hotels where I'm a regular, the owner/manager recognises me as such, whereas in other places I allow for "an open schedule" and reserve a day or two in advance on the trip by calling the small hotel or Pension up on the phone, or I just show up off the street to ask if a single is available.

Going to Germany and Austria in August has its advantages pertaining to rates, (depends) if you plan on swinging by there at all.

In your late 20s....in those days 40 plus years ago, I never booked in advance, just showed up at the Pension or hostel.

Hopefully, you have the Youth Eurail Pass

hey sam
welcome to the forum. the posters here are great and give you good bad and ugly ways of traveling. don't know what eastern european cities you'll be visiting, they do get crowded and busy all summer long. your thinking of less expensive and less busy in september will surprise you, hotels raise prices or are totally booked, it's very hot in summer with no A/C, hostels are not as "budget friendly" or available as you think. we are going to paris end of september and took us days to find a place to rent for 8 days, which was end of march. you can check booking.com, look at the cancellation policies, look at cities/towns outside of busy places near transportation, if you have a car, is there parking (free or fee), do you have an IDP from AAA/CAA, read the rules and laws of roads in different countries.
with your 8 weeks, how nice, i would have Plan A and Plan B to Plan C, if it doesn't pan out you have something else to look at. it can take almost have day moving from one place to another, early checkin or luggage storage, as joe32F says maybe a cot, no A/C and no linens or you pay for them, or exorbitant prices. you two are young, like your freedom and flexibility, just be prepared for whatever is thrown at you. my 3 cents worth. good luck, you'll have a fabulous and fun time. please do let us know how it works out.
aloha

I did travel once for six weeks and I would book as we travelled, most of the time three days in advance to where we wanted to go. Obviously it was a very memorable trip since it was my first time backpacking through Europe. However we missed out on being able to book in the most popular destinations: e.i the Cinque Terre hostel was fully booked and we stayed in the dreadful La Spezia.

However what I have learned is that the truly excellent hotel/Bed and Breakfast/hostels are often booked a long time in advance. The price, the location, the grounds, the people, the breakfast all are things that are part of the overall experience. For example it is important for me to see a magnificent momenument in Rome, like the Pantheon, everyday walking in and out of my hotel. I get to experience it over and over. An other example, it was important to me to have a balcony over the ocean in Manorola (same with Positano). But I was not willing to pay more than my budget for it. Booking the room early was key.

It is true no AC is to be found in the hostels, at least not in the hostel I've stayed at time to time in Vienna. You just get use to it. If you want luxury like that, ie the AC, then expect to pay for it, or is it worth paying for?

You might get a fan in the bed room if the hostel does not run out. Having a fan is not one of my criteria in picking a certain hostel.

It really does boil down to how picky you are. If you're easily pleased, there will be rooms available - often at last minute prices that save you money. I've yet to pay more for a room I booked last minute but many times paid much less than I expected (based on travel guide descriptions and pre trip research). I'd only expect to pay more if you go to a TI and ask them to help you book; they are now in the business of sales rather than service. If you have your heart set on a particular lodging, book it. If you just want a decent place to sleep for the night, you will find something.

Fred, AC in AirBnb's is just as rare. When you do find it, its minimal by US standards.

"...by US standards" @ James...That's means the AC is set at meat locker...lol, exactly what I experienced (as a shocker for me then) my first time visiting San Antonio. I told the owner of the Pension in Berlin that Americans are not going to be attracted to the Pension because two important things you don't offer...on-line booking, and especially, AC. Over the years, going on 10, I can count the number of US guests seen on two hands, ie from April to August. Plus, she doesn't take credit cards either.

You won't be the only folks looking for good cheap lodgings. Certainly for August, plan ahead. By all means, book rooms that can be cancelled free of charge and see how some spontaneity works for you. You have to decide what your priorities are. Flexibility vs not busting the budget. Going into September, it depends on what country...as in what country has high season for September. Greek Islands, for example start to close up in September meaning tourism is low, but also choices become more limited. You most likely will get a feel for how things go as you go along. It isn't my method, but sure, you could most likely have some success using train time for booking a place a stop or two ahead of where you are landing that night....if you are planning that far ahead. You can test that out at the beginning of your travels checking for lodgings in places you are already booked - to see what is available 1-, 2- or 3 days out....just as you are doing now.
I would, however, do some research for big events in big cities. Early May had some absolutely crazy lodging prices for Madrid due to a futball match and one couple being bumped from their AirBnb during the time(most likely to take advantage of the 500% increase people were charging for those days). They had to train in from over an hour away in order to get their flight home the next day...and still paid double the original price. Some cities also have dynamic pricing for business trade fairs, etc. Frankfurt, Milan and Bologna come to mind.

Thanks for all of the replies team. I think we will probably book a decent chunk of the trip by the sounds of it - and try and leave some room for flexibility at the end. I'll come back and update once all said and done! :)

If your plans take in going to Poland and Krakow, in particular, the hostel near the train, ca 5 min, is the Greg and Tom, one of the best hostels around, if that is an option for your accommodations.

My range of accommodations range from that of a hostel in a dorm room, that means 5 other millennials 1/3 my age to a 4 star hotel, if the price is reduced since it's seen as "slow season" in August...obviously, nice to get those.

Probably a good idea. I found myself with one night with no roof on this current trip. I knew of a small hotel near my fav neighborhood and checked it 3 weeks ago, lots of rooms. I get here and I got the last room. You never know ....

It will partly depend on your definition of Eastern Europe, too. For instance, early one August in Slovenia, I asked the proprietor of a rural hotel, "Where is everyone?" He said, "You'll see when you go to Croatia," and I did. The sunny Croatia coastline is very busy at that time.

And the Albanian coastal resorts fill up too. But that will change when we get the area properly gentrified and the larger investors move in.