Going with out hotel reservations

Can you do it? Probably. I've done it in Germany in March; I don't know about September.

Is it a good idea? If you're rich. I like to stay in small, family run B&Bs. They give you a better cultural experience at much lower price. I can always find them online before I go over. However, if you "wing it" you get the dregs, whatever no one else wanted.

I fail to see that if someone, while traveling, stops at a pension or B&B without having reservations that they will get the "dregs". Where is that sort of logic from? Many small towns have these type of small hotel, pensions, etc. Germans travel around and decide to stay in just those type of places without having reservations. Just as a clue, English is a required subject in German schools for a minimum of 4 years, so chances are fairly good that someone will speak enough English to help you, no matter where you stop. I don't know about Austria or Switzerland, but it might be the same. Go ahead, go with the flow and relax on your trip. It will all be fine.

Most of the advice against winging it comes from those that never have. I very rarely have more than a few nights reservations before leaving, and have done trips with no reservations at all. Do not worry, there will be plenty of places to stay, and you will be able to pick what is convienient, interesting, and probably stumble on some special spot you simply can't find on the internet. There is a perception that by planning ahead you get the "quality" lodging; but really, websites rarely give a good or accurate picture of the place, and guidebooks are even worse. Others bemoan that looking for lodging wastes valuable time, as if their schedule is so jam packed that a cup of coffee on the square is a waste as well! I have seen many couples (and heard the complaints about bad maps and lack of directions on here) that wander in circles trying to find the Hotel they booked 6 months ago, only to be dissappointed with the room. I show up look at a room, reject those not to my liking, and even bargain a discount over the room booked at rack rate. I do recommend that you get a couple good, current guides (I like Lonely Planet and Lets Go) so you have a list of possibilities for each stop and of course remember that the TI in each town will be a great help.

Audrey and I travel during the shoulder seasons and have had very little trouble "winging it." In Germany, on the Southern section of the Romantic Road, we did have to go past two towns where we wanted to stay because we could find no accomodations. On the way to the third town, we saw a little sign for a "Zimmer" (German B&B)on a farm. It was very inexpensive, a big room, gracious hosts. Our dinner and breakfasts were two of the best on the whole trip. One of the joys of winging it is the pleasant surprise here and there. Also, the later in September, the easier it will be. George

Audrey and I travel during the shoulder seasons and have had very little trouble "winging it." In Germany, on the Southern section of the Romantic Road, we did have to go past two towns where we wanted to stay because we could find no accomodations. On the way to the third town, we saw a little sign for a "Zimmer" (German B&B)on a farm. It was very inexpensive, a big room, gracious hosts. Our dinner and breakfasts were two of the best on the whole trip. One of the joys of winging it is the pleasant surprise here and there. Also, the later in September, the easier it will be. George

Personally, I like to know beforehand where I'm sleeping that night. It seems a waste of valuable time to get into a town and search for a room versus checking with my reservation and getting on with sightseeing.

My 2 cents.

On many occasions in Germany I have found accommodations online from the town website before going over, and used email to book my room. In all cases I compared price, quality, and accessibility and felt I had the best place. In many of those cases, when I arrived the sign in the window said, "Zimmer belegt" - room occupied. I would not have gotten the place I wanted if I had waited.

And, yes, I have on occasion winged it. But that was in March when almost everywhere was less than half empty. Once I discovered a new place I would go back to; another time the only place "assigned" by the tourist information office was not where I would have chosen on my own.

That experience taught me the importance of booking ahead.

That's pretty much how I travel, minus reservations in big cities. I get reservations for the night of arrival and before departure. The rest of the time I call ahead about 10am for a place where I expect to be that night. Sometimes I have to call a few places but I never go homeless. I'm not sure how it works in high season because I've never done it.

When you call, begin with "Hello, do you speak English". I usually say it in the local language. If they say yes, I say "Thanks" then tell them what I need. "I need a place for four/five for one/two nights. Do you have anything available?" Usually in the conversation I tell them that a bath down the hall is fine and I can pay cash if they prefer it. If they have something, I ask, "How much would that be?" If it sounds right, I say, "That sounds fine, we expect to be in town about 4pm, my name is ______, we'll call you if we are running late."

If they don't speak English, I cram before my trip on basic language skills for ordering in a restaurant, buying a train ticket and booking a room. I muddle through in a mix of their language and what English they know.

I'm convinced that I get good deals on lodging because the room will go empty if they don't rent to me.

We've done it both ways as we live in Italy and sometimes you just jump off the train and explore.

If we are "planning" to see a town, we get reservations. Our last trip to Verona cemented this fact. We hopped a train up to see the opera again (Tosca this time) and upon arrival (mid-afternoon) went in search of a hotel. ALL the RS hotels were full (thanks guys!) - as were my "emergency" trip-advisor hotels. The Tourist Info center was not too helpful and when we finally found a room after 3 hours of walking and calling, they wanted E450 a night!

We ended up in a "dive" and spent the next morning arguing in English and Italian about our stay, cost, etc. You know, if I'm on vacation I DO NOT want this hassle. Looking for a room in 100 degree weather, carrying your backpack, and then having to deal with what's left over soured us on the "seat-of-the-pants" approach.

That said, we're headed to Corsica & Sardinia this weekend and I have not yet booked ANY hotels???.... Procrastination will bite you every time!

Good luck in YOUR travels........ "Yes, dear, I'm going to check those sites out now!!!!!"

Ciao,
Ron

I did 3 weeks in England/Scotland that way. When I came to a new town, I stopped at the Tourist office & booked a B&B thru them. They were all very nice (with one exception). I loved the freedom. You might check with others to see if this is an option in the countries you're visiting.

Personally, I don't know I'm on vacation until we can't find a place to stay/eat, it's getting dark, and hungry kids are whining in the backseat. It's a family tradition that my parents passed down to me, looking for a campground that's not full, in the VW camper.

Audry, since you've been overruled, you should make the best of it. No crossed arms, told-you-so looks. It sounds like sometimes it will work out great, and sometimes it will suck. So if you keep a good attitude, you won't be at fault, and that's the key to good family relations. Shift the blame.

Maybe. I like the approach of reserve big cities, wing the towns, and have done it. With two couples traveling together it can be tougher, but very do-able. I reserve everything when traveling with kids.

My wife and I have done it both ways. All reservations to no reservations. If you enjoy surprises wing it... but as you are a self-admitted control freak, maybe you shouldn't.

We have had very good luck winging it in England and Ireland but some weekends are tough depending on the time of year. Cities have to be booked ahead for us. You have to have some options on where to stay if your first choice is not available. We were in France this past May and met a couple from Australia who were traveling for four months and they were winging most of their stays. They just looked B&B's up on their laptop as they made their way through several countries. On the same trip met a couple from Brazil traveling for six months on a similar plan.

I've traveled in the UK in shoulder seasons as a single and winged it. I like the flexibility it gives me to follow or dodge the weather as well as my interests. I wouldn't risk it as a single in the high season, but I've generally had good luck otherwise. i've tended to the use the TI service. I think you need to treat this the same way you treat getting lost on vacation. It's just another adventure on the trip. You meet new people and see other places you wouldn't have met or seen otherwise.

Pam

Way to go Karen! I'm a firm beliver in shifting blame.

I think the bottom line to these comments is: Yes, its possible to "just wing it" during the shoulder seasons (and Germany, Switzerland and Austria are not as crowded as Italy and France during September). I've done both and have had both the good and the bad experiences. Rick's advice about this topic has been consistent...he recommends that you make reservations ahead of time.

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/experience.htm

It's interesting how Paul manages to judge that "most of the advice against winging it comes from those that never have." ;) I "winged it" in my younger days, when tramping around from hostel to hostel or hotel to hotel was part of the adventure. But I guess I'm getting too old now to do that. I figure that any occasion where I have to visit two or more hotels or B and Bs, I'm wasting valuable vacation time....I could be off doing something else. With the internet these days, it's a lot easier to see the quality of accommodation you're getting. That being said, you should be OK in your destination countries in September, especially with a car, which will allow you to go off the beaten track much easier than travelling by train. I think it's Rick who suggests you figure out your hourly cost. Take the total you estimate you'll be investing in this holiday, divide it by the number of hours you'll be on vacation, and see what each hour is costing you. It might prove interesting to see how much it costs to wing it, and whether, in your opinion, the benefits are worth it.

I read Rick's advice that Bill posted. No where does he say to get reservations. He does suggest preparing for your trip as opposed to "just showing up".

I read trip reports from people who travel without preparation (many with hotel and restaurant reservations in hand). I'm somewhere between amused and dismayed when I read they weren't able to see the Louvre because they had to make their dinner reservations or they didn't realize it would be closed that day. Their trip ends up being about where they stayed and what they ate rather than an opportunity to see great sites and experience a culture.

I don't consider going without reservations to be winging it. I think of it more as keeping my itinerary flexible.

I haven't just shown up in a town looking for a place since an Octoberfest experience a number of years ago. I did find a great room for a good price but not before seriously worrying about being homeless for the night.

Now I call ahead in the morning for lodging that night. It's not reservations, but it puts me ahead of everyone who shows up in the afternoon looking for a place to stay.

My preparation is in having a pretty good list to choose from. My list sounds similar to Ron's, the only difference is I start calling before I arrive.

TI's used to be a great tool for getting lodging when you just show up, but they don't seem to provide that service any more (they'll just steer you to the most expensive hotels).

I don't choose to travel in high season. If I did, I'd probably want reservations.

When I travel on business, I have reservations because I really do have to be somewhere at a certain time. Rick's travel is business. His tight itineraries are work, not play. The trips he remembers fondly in his younger years were not planned to the minute; they left room to explore and discover and to change plans to meet opportunities.

Brad,

To quote directly from the RS article:

"Traveler 'A' takes off to Europe as a free spirit, without much planning, no real itinerary...and returns home with a backpack full of complaints about how expensive and stressful it all was. Traveler 'B' prepares for weeks as though her trip were some kind of final exam, mapping out a detailed day-to-day plan...and returns home with rich stories of spontaneous European adventures. It's the classic paradox of good travel: structure rewards a traveler with freedom, and "winging it" becomes a ball-and-chain of too many decisions, too little information...and precious little time to relax."

No where does it expressly say to "make reservations in advance", however I don't think you can read "mapping out a detailed day-to-day plan" without thinking it implies making reservations in advance. But even RS will make an exception when it is appropriate. For example he has indicated in the past that you can just show up in the CT and find rooms (independent of the hotels and apartments). Ironically, that advice may no longer be advisable. Given the recent noteriety he has generated for the CT, it is increasingly more difficult to just "drop in", particularly in the high season extending through September.

I have done this kind of travel both ways - with and without reservations. I see no reason to worry about reservations. Obviously if there is something big going on you will be shut out - I would not pop in to Beijing tomorrow looking for a room with a view. But I have had some wonderful places that I doubt I ever would have found via the Internet or a travel agent.

One time I showed up in Paris in the summer and got a great place to stay - we later talked to some other people who had booked long in advance and they had a smaller room at a higher price. So you never know. Another was in Edinburgh...another in Seefeld Austria..another in....you get the idea.

Take this part of the trip as a new experience, a new way to travel and enjoy it. I am an optimist so I am certain you will really enjoy it.

We always only book first and last night and, if we are staying at a special place which books up quickly we will book that ahead of time, the rest of the time we find places as we go along. However, we always make a point of finding a place by 3pm, as places tend to book up quickly after that. Last September we had one hotel booked ahead of time (because it was a favorite of our friends who had stayed there before), but when we arrived it was all book up, so go figure. Turns out we found a really nice hotel up the road and had one of our best meals ever at their restaurant. So it all works out and we didn't spend our sightseeing time looking either. Give it a try. If you find you have trouble traveling this way, you can always go online to venere.com, for example, and make a reservation for your next stop ahead of time.

Going to Europe this Sept for my 7th time and have winged it every time. I do make reservations for my first stop when I arrive and my last stop before coming home. Never had a problem but I don't do 4 or 5 star hotels. I usually do a private B & B or a very small family owned hotel. I always go in Sept..

Re: the Rick Steves quote upthread--Rick is talking about arriving prepared by knowing what you want to do (Mount X! And Museum Z!) and what is possible (Museum Z is closed on Mondays and it takes 2 hours to get to Mount X).

Prepared travelers can improvise and go with the flow better than those who arrive at a destination and only then crack open their guidebook and ask, So, what are we going to do here?

Rick is most certainly not saying that reserving all your rooms in advance frees you up to be spontaneous. His recommendation on that score is, if it suits your style, to call ahead to reserve a room the morning that you leave the previous destination.

Of course people should do what they like and not feel guilty about it. In my experience, if you've done the prep work Rick advocates, "winging it" is a breeze (and a gas).

Since yo will have a car you can wing it easily. I have made 14 trips to W Europe and E Europe and often drive through the part of a town and watch for zimmer frei signs. That means room for rent in German.

If you do a google search of the towns you will be in for "Munich zimmers" you may find many.

When you drive around you will find scores of them and I always find it a challenge to find a good room at a cheap cost.

Especially in the 3 countries you list. I try to start looking for a room about 4 or 5 PM. Only once have I not found one before dark.

Language is no problem; you will find many in the tourist business who are eager to speak it with you.

Owners expect you to inspect the rooms before you rent one; so do it. I have looked at many and always find one which meets my needs in less than three.

Suppress your control freak feelings and relax. You will have more memorable experiences to tell your friends about when you stay in homes.

When you dont find a zimmer you can always rent a room in a pension or small hotel, a little more costly.

Hi Audrey,
... whether you wing it or reserve every room well in advance, our recommendation is that you carefully plan your trip. That means putting it down in writing (not a hard thing to do) with headings for "What" (a step in your plan) "Who" (the party responsible for accomplishment) and "When" (completion date, unless the step is 'continuous').
... We like to quote the ancient Chinese on this subject: "Failure to plan is planning to fail."
... bon voyage! ... P

Hi, Audry: You don't need any more input on to wing or not to wing, so let me say a word or two about your language concerns. I am always the one who gets shoved forward to do the communicating in Europe. I can speak French and some Italian, but my German consists of the badly pronounced words for "one night, double room,how much" and a few words for food and drink. This gets us by absolutely brilliantly, so bone up on on a few important phrases and you'll be fine.

I see a lot of suggestions about just getting online and booking the next nights lodging...heck, if I had time to just sit around and surf the web, I might try the suggestions. However, in my real world experience, I only get online a couple of times during our three week annual vacation to Europe. We don't take a computer with us, so we would be at the mercy of whatever is available at our hotels (or B&B). Since these are not always available when we would like to use them...voila...winging it has become a hassel...as I noted above, I do "wing it" occasionally. When the season or the destination suggest that it won't be a problem...but I would like to see how many of the posters have just "dropped in" to Venice (or Bellagio) in early September and found the perfect room...

I've done both (well, I winged it with my father when I was younger), and both have their virtues, especially dependent on when you are traveling. With a car, in September, in places like Germany, winging it becomes much, much easier. July... different story. But just finding a place in a small town, especially one that might not be on the "beaten path" can be really easy sometimes, unless you are on a really tight budget.

My most recent travels have been during high seasons (due to school), so I find myself with practically every place reserved to save a lot of money (in my opinion I do well on ~eur40/night/db) and to reduce on time searching for places for the night (nice map skills do come in handy).

So... wrap up this nothingness, you have the big cities set, so those smaller towns in between should be no problem, especially if you have a vague idea of what to expect, and given the time you're traveling.

You need to define "perfect room." For us the room don't mean much as long as it is clean and dry. For others the "quality" of the room, location, view, furniture are all very important. So we can always find an acceptable room on short notice. And some times == great rooms.

We have doen it both ways with and without reservations.... and you should be fine.......just keep in mind that the no reservations "hunt" has to be part of the journey..............you will end up in a places that you might not experience if you plan, plan, plan............yes, it may take time but it will be an adventure........

Let us know how this turns out!!