Leaving for Europe/ No real plan in 5 days

Without a plan, you stand to lose a lot of time and money. No, it's not good.

Berry, Some travellers prefer the spontaneous approach, but it's not a method I favour. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding accommodations at this time of year, although without some research you may not always know which is the best area of each city or best establishment. Do you have any idea which cities you'll be visiting or what you might want to see in each one? A time frame of 3-4 weeks is not a long time so it would be a good idea to get some idea on what type of transportation you're going to use. As the previous reply indicated, the "spontaneous approach" will likely be more expensive. One example is the use of budget flights in Europe. These often operate on a "sliding scale", with the prices increasing as flight time gets closer. At this stage you probably won't be able to get the cheapest prices. Savings are also possible on advance purchase of rail tickets. Good luck and happy travels!

When I was a solo traveler, most of my trips were relatively unplanned. I would make impromptu decisions at breakfast about what town/city I was going to travel to that day. Sometimes it was because some cool people that I'd met at the hostel were traveling there and I had the opportunity to tag along. Sometimes it was to track down something interesting that I'd heard about over dinner the night before. Often, I'd just strike out for someplace new. On the flip side, if I liked a place I'd sometimes linger there for a few additional days without disrupting any "plans". Traveling solo and in the "shoulder season" I never had trouble finding a bed. I was never so free as during those early European adventures. ...Now, of course, I'm always accompanied by my wife and 2 kids, so reservations and plans have become a "must". However, I fondly recall those early unplanned trips to Europe. It depends on how much structure you need in your life.

Like so many parts of life, it is a matter of personal preference. Some people prefer every aspect planned to the last minutes -- a question of control - others prefer much less. We tend to plan the first day or two and the last couple and leave the middle pretty loose. Even when planning we leave every fourth day completely open so we can adjust to anything. In your situation, which we often follow, you need a good guidebook and the first stop is always the local TI to pick up topical information and a weekly schedule of events. How you would lose lots of time and money for not planning is beyond my understanding? You might even save time and see unexpected things that planning would have bypassed or overlooked. Enjoy yourself.

Berry, it sounds like this is the perfect time in your life to just "wing it". I have traveled with & without planning and w/o was definitely a great experience. That was in 1998. Now I plan all our trips because what I didn't appreciate was Easter week because we spent over an hour at Rome Termini on the phone trying to find a room. (For some strange reason(?) they didn't want our cc #.) By the time we arrived at the hotel, they had given it away! We did find a room a short time later, paying more than twice what we had hoped for. So....my advice, if you'll be in Europe for Easter, is make reservations for Good Friday through Easter Monday. (PS: I just did the math and it looks like you'll be leaving just before Easter week but you might check for any other holidays in Europe during your time there!) I realize that there aren't holidays every week but this explains Nancy's statement relative to losing time and money!

Berry... if you are traveling alone or with someone who can handle this style of travel... I say go for it! It is definitely not for everyone, but if you love the freedom and spontaniety and the 'road less traveled' why not?
Are you renting a car? When I have traveled like this I do have a car... like my little traveling home, just in case I can't find a room somewhere and need to move on. Only happened once in many trips. First trip to Europe had a rental car, map of Europe, some money and 19 days...no reservations, but a general idea of countries we wanted to see. (my daughter and myself) I would not give up that experience for anything. I very much dislike the planned events of knowing I have to move on to a reservation when I am not ready. And yes, there have been the challenges of finding a room. But, I look at European travel as an adventure. If it's not life threatening I am okay with it. If I feel I missed something because of this unconventional style of travel I always look at what I gained. I don't always want to see what everyone else has seen, or live someone elses trip. I want my own unique experience. I do sometimes make a reservation for my last night. And sometimes for certain places I have been before and know the hotel. I also find I might get rooms cheaper than I would have by prebooking. You can see what you are getting and decide when you arrive. All travel is give and take. Just make it your own experience. And remember, all you get here is free advice...take it or leave it. (Some trips now with other people we will make reservations as I do not want to be responsible, but if I am on my own or with 1 other person... my style is to wing-it if I can)

I recommend that you have at least a general out line of what you want to see in each city. You don't have to plan your trip minute by minute, but some structure helps to shape your adventure.

Just FYI, Many of the European countries have a school-week-long holiday the week before or after easter. Not sure if the hotels will really be full, but train travel may be a bit tighter.

Make a reservation for a Paris hotel, bring a guidebook, and wing the rest. If you find you're wasting a lot of time finding lodging, you can consult your guide then call ahead. Or if you find that just showing up at the local TI works, keep doing that. If there are sights you absolutely must see, make sure they are open on the days you will be in that town ahead of time.

Berry, To go on a trip mostly by winging it for 3-4 weeks has both advantages and disadvantages, a trade-off. If you intend to take long rides, night or day, in France, Poland and Germany, I would get a 6-8 day Select Pass just for France and Germany. Not worth adding Poland and defintely not Holland. Just buy point to point to cover the other parts. If you don't care which hostel or Pension you stay at, then you don't have to reserve and can wing it....I have a preference for a particular hostel or Pension...that's why I rather reserve. I understand you want maximum flexibility in travelling without being locked in to a certain point to point ticket.

Berry, this is cutting it close, BUT if you want some good back-up get Rick's "Best of Europe 2011" book for some airplane reading. You can look through the Table of Contents and see if his chosen cities apply to you, but you get some great info to save you time and money - what days are the museums in each town open/closed, where are laundromats in each city, some basic and detailed maps with hotel/restaurants/sights on them, transportation and connections info (trains/buses/taxis in and b/n the cities and the going rates you should never pay above), whether the bus is better than the metro for getting around in Paris, etc. If you use it for just one or two things, it'll probably pay for itself. It's available at any bookstore - Borders, B&N, travel stores...The maximum you'll pay for it is $27.95, but considering what you're spending on 5-6 weeks in Europe it's a good investment. Have a great time!

Hi Berry - Coincidence, I leave for Europe in one week, and I'm roughly sketching out my plans now. But I just booked a week ago, after finding cheap air fares. I also will be in Berlin, Poland, and Slovakia. I have done most of my Europe travels just winging it. The last time, in Scotland, I had problems booking rooms, and spent a lot of time on the phones. I stayed in hostels in Edinburgh and London, but was very surprised that they were co-ed by room, including co-ed bathrooms. I am in my 50s, and just was not comfortable with the co-ed bathroom thing. (People would hang out in the bathrooms, just chatting, while others showered. They were not waiting to use the facilities, just visiting.) That's the primary reason I am now pre-booking hostels/hotels, so I can find ones with single-sex rooms. I do prefer to just wing-it, but found that I did waste a lot of time trying to find places to book on-the-fly. Have a great trip!

My very first trip to Europe in the 90's was spontanious. I had a plane ticket for 4 weeks stay. I knew I was going to Paris and London, because those were my arrival and departure points. Everything else was based on whim and the French rail strike. LOL! The only drawback was, whenever I got to my next city, I had to go to the tourist office and find a place to stay for the night. The next trips I concentrated on one country at a time and brought "Let's Go" books for lodging options. Now with the internet, it's much easier to look for lodging before you arrive at your next destination. Of course, at some train stations there will be people hawking their lodging. At my arrive in Amsterdam, I was met by somebody who walked me to their houseboat to show me her rooms there. Now I'm in my 50's and traveling means booking 4 star hotels 3 months in advance. LOL! I think not knowing where you will end up for the night makes the trip much more interesting. ;) Have fun!