lodging-do we really need to book ahead?

Venice might be a little chancy at any time of year. I prefer to have my first night/nights reserved, so that when I get off the plane I know I have a bed waiting. Other than that, it's your choice. Places to stay are easier to find if you have a car (beware of ZTL zones), but I've also done the search on foot. If you're not sure how long you want to stay in a place, it's best not to be locked in to reservations, but you'll spend some time looking for a place. One other suggestion: the day before you're ready to leave your current location, check booking.com or venere.com for accommodations in your next city - sometimes there are last-minute bargains as well, and you can just call the hotel or B&B directly to make the reservation (or perhaps your hotel can help you with it). Even if you make the reservation online, booking.com will send you an almost immediate confirmation via email. These might not be the small, private places you're looking for every time, but I've found B&Bs with 3 or 4 rooms.

During that time of year, there should be plenty of rooms available. I like to use a strategy where I book known stops, mixed with free nights. If you are starting in the lake district, after an arrival flight, I would book a well recommended hotel or small place ahead. Having a locked in reservation is good for the first couple nights is good. If you were to stay 4 nights or so in the lakes area, you could book two nights, then leave the others open, either finding another spot or extending your stay where you are. Of the other stops, I would maybe look at booking Venice, it always seems to be crowded, you could also call ahead or do internet reservations while in the Lakes Area. Even with waiting, do your research. Know where several possibilities in each location are, plus contact info. Many will tell you that you will waste time looking for a room, but in many trips, I never have. I can usually have a room and be sipping my first glass of wine while others are still searching for the room they booked six months ago. If a room does not meet your standards (you will likely be offered or can ask for a look) do not be afraid to move on. If things look slow, don't be afraid to haggle or hesitate, you likely will get a discount or a nicer room (a view, bigger, etc.) may "open up" for the same price.

We always book first night ahead. Only times we went without reservations were Ireland due to the number of B&B's. Would not consider going to London, Paris without reservations, I personally think you would waste too much time and energy trying to find a place on day of arrival in either city, in my opinion.

I wouldn't go to Paris or London without a reserved room. You have a better chance of getting good value for money. If you're desperate and tired, you're likely to pay much more for a room ratherthanhave to continue the search. I think of it as a budgeting tool.

On our first trip to Europe we traveled without hotel reservations anywhere...including London and Paris. We always managed to find a room, but some of them were really really sub-standard. We wasted hours of our vacation time searching for rooms which could have been avoided had we planned ahead...especially in the big cities. However, traveling through the remote countryside Zimmer Frei signs were common and we found some nice places. So your decision to reserve should be based upon how many hours per day you're willing to waste searching for a room. It also adds stress and anxiety. I would NEVER NEVER NEVER show up in Venice without a hotel room reserved.

My experiences with arriving without a room reservation are varied; sometimes it works and I find what I want without much effort, and sometimes I've ended up finding something more expensive than I had planned. It helps a lot to have some phone numbers and to make contact by 10am the morning of the day in question. If you show up early or late, that can work, too. At my favorite place in CT (Monterosso's Mueble Agave) I have seen rooms available way into the evening. Weekends, however, the place is often booked up. Sometimes there are people at the train stations who want to take you to their places. This can work, although it is discouraged in some places. The only time I attempted this in Italy (Florence), the man gave me a little map and said it was only a few minutes walk from the train station. After walking 10 min and feeling sure I had a long way to go, I looked around and found another hotel. April-May is beginning to be tourist season. Weekends, especially, I wouldn't expect to find lots of wonderful last-minute choices. At least a day or two in advance, if you can, plan to call or contact someplace to sleep.

Thank you all for your advice, it has helped greatly! I will work harder to set a definite itinerary so that I can book some lodging in advance.

Hi Terry, We'd love to have you join us at our Towns and Villages Near Moscow meeting. Several of us who met through this Helpline have been meeting the 3rd Saturday of the month at One World Cafe in Moscow at 10:30. It's a lot of fun and very laid-back! It's a great way to get or give travel tips and share experiences. We also usually have someone bring some travel accessories and/or books (many of them from the Rick Steves' Travel Store, including packs and bags as well as daypacks, packing cubes, clothes lines, etc). We did have to cancel yesterday's meeting because several regulars are in Europe but we'll be meeting again the 20 October. Hope to see you there!
If you have other questions, you can PM me so we can exchange email addresses.

The last time we traveled without most of the trip reserved was in 2006 and on that trip we had enough lengthy hunts that we gave up on just winging it although there was only one night we thought we might sleep in the car. I absolutely would not go to London, Paris or Venice without a reservation. In Florence it can be dicey and if you have a car, don't forget he ZTL which leaves you wandering around on foot for a goodly distance (ask me how I know). The problem with winging it using Rick's books is that way too many people read them. Internet booking has really changed things and sites like Venere.com and Booking.com have worked well for us on the last three trips as have Rick's books when you reserve far enough ahead of time. There is no way you can guarantee the weather wherever you go and trying to hunt down a place to stay in a good steady rain does not add a lot to the rip.

I'm already skeptical of the "wing it" idea in general, but it is a complete waste of time to show up without reservations in big cities where you can't possible scout hotels on foot or in a car before deciding, since there are just too many of them. Moreover, as more and more accommodations are going for online reservation, those who opt not to do so end up with what is left over.

I have done it both ways. For me, one of the most stressful things about European travel is finding a place to stay on the fly. I much prefer showing up in a city and knowing I will have a room and how to get there. Weekends can be very challenging to find places on the fly; the worst hotel I've ever stayed was a weekend in a small town with no reservation. I've found that the internet is a wonderful happy medium. I can book key dates in advance, then book the rest as I go. Evenings and down time can be spent doing a few searches, comparing rooms online instead of trekking around looking at rooms, all-the-while dragging luggage around behind. You can do this just a day or two in advance to keep maximum flexibility. Alternatively, many cities have a TI center that can assist with finding rooms. I have used these services before and they can be helpful. A bit like a hotel concierge helping you find a restaurant.

We traveled Spain for a month in April - which is considered high season because it gets too hot in July and August. I prepared a list of potential places for each destination we planned to stay. We ended up in our first choice (one phone call in the morning) in all but one town. Even there we found nice lodging at a good price. I do book ahead for arrival city and departure city because the flights are fixed so there's no advantage trying to stay flexible. If you purchase train tickets ahead, you might as well book rooms ahead since your itinerary is fixed.