I want to take my family by car travelling round Europe. We haven't decided if we will go through France to Germany, or through France to Italy. My children are quite small, so we will need to stop regularly and have a B&B each night. What are the chances of us finding a place to stay without booking ahead? There are 5 of us hoping to travel August 2010.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
In France there is Logis de France, a large group of small family-owned inns which you may want to look into. Google it for more info. However, the month of August may present difficulties for on-the-fly lodging. You'd probably always find something, eventually, but it is the time spent doing so and perhaps being obliged to pay beyond your budget to have a place to lay your weary heads that would trouble me.
Posted by
Calgary
2297 posts
I agree with the other suggestions considering that you're travelling during the busiest travelling season of the year. Especially if you're travelling with small children. It is no fun to drive around at night with crying children in the back seat looking for a room to stay - we were in that situation once and that was enough to vow never to do that again. Yes you will find something eventually. But the stress this may cause and the extra time and cost (the good deals will be long gone) are not really worth it.
Also, travelling with small children is so much easier if you don't get up and move locations every night. Pick one or two locations per week and do day trips from there. That is the advantage of travelling with a car. It will also make booking easier (and likely cheaper) and your kids will enjoy the trip much more.
If you want to stay flexible read the cancellation policies carefully. Hotels can often be cancelled with 24 hours notice, it is a bit more difficult with B&Bs, appartments or "gites".
Where in France do you want to explore? I know a couple of places in Brittany that are very family friendly and affordable. We used them when our kids were 4 and 7.
Posted by
Atlanta
800 posts
Karen - Absolutely do not travel with 5 people in August without advance reservations. Traveling with small children AND traveling with a large group (yes, 5 is large) you will find it much more difficult to get accommodations on the fly that will suit you in all ways, unless money is no object. And since you specifically say B&B's, know that many B&B's have a very small number of rooms and you may well need to have 2 rooms or special accommodations such as a "family apartment". It really hit home for me one time where I really didn't know for sure where we would stay one night, while traveling between 2 destinations. We had to take time out of the fun part (sightseeing) to drive around looking for a place to stay. Yes, we did get a place but it was both more expensive AND much less charming than all of the places I booked ahead.
Get a rough itinerary, book places early next year that have good cancellation policies and make a plan. You can always change it later if you decide on a different route. But really, both your accommodations AND your route should be set before you go. It will make for a much happier family trip.
Posted by
OP
Portsmouth
2 posts
Thanks to you all for responding and for your sage advice. I will definitely make more of a plan, rather than trying to do things on the fly. When I've firmed this plan with the family I'll write again for any recommendations. Thanks again.
Posted by
Atlanta
1357 posts
We rarely made reservations before we had kids. We never travel without reservations now that we have kids. For one, many B&B's only have doubles, so you'd either have to keep looking for ones with family rooms or take 2 rooms and split up each night.
If you plan ahead, you can find apartments where you are staying, which gives you a little more room, plus a kitchen. In France, you'll look for "gites". In Germany, you can find "ferienwohnung." Usually in France, you'd have to book by the week, so you may not want to do that, but in Germany, most have daily rates.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
Well, I think you can do it incrementally by calling ahead from each previous destination, IF you are very flexible--if you do not care where you sleep, for instance the next town over, or a little shabbier, or a little more expensive than you would otherwise choose.
This won't work if you want to stay in a particular tiny town or particular hotel.
It's arguable whether the flexibility of traveling this way is worth the inconvenience. Probably with small kids in August I'd opt for a fixed itinerary. But I think you can do it on the fly, if you accept the limitations.