Reservations

If you know where and when you want to stay, go ahead and make your reservations now. Rick's picks go fast! Most B&B's have hairdryers, but to be sure you should ask the places when you make your reservation.

Karen, Regarding Hairdryers, many B&B's and even smaller Hotels provide these for guests. They sometimes keep them in the office, and it's necessary to ask. Hair Dryers are often a somewhat "problematic" item to travel with, due to the voltage difference in Europe. While it is possible to either use dual-voltage appliances or use a Voltage Converter, the Dryers don't often perform as well. Using a European model seems to provide the best performance. On the topic of reservations, it's probably a bit early but as the previous reply mentioned, if you have your travel arrangements decided, you could make them now. Cheers!

Karen Please read the faqs and the two messages at the top. We are all volunteers here and none of us (as far as I know) are RS/ETBD staff. We all do this for the love of travel and to help folk with our experience. Keep heaving the questions in, and have a look back at some of the previous threads to see common responses to common problems.

I used this travel hair dryer on my recent trip to Europe: http://www.amazon.com/Andis-33805-Micro-Turbo-Voltage/dp/B0009XH6V4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=beauty&qid=1285441973&sr=1-1 It's dual voltage and with a plug adapter, it worked beautifully in all of the countries we visited. It's light and takes up very little space (I traveled with a single backpack and my purse). I highly recommend it, if you end up opting to get your own dryer.

Thanks so much for all the quick responses and help!

We have already made reservations for London and Paris for our trip in May. I am glad we did because there was one room left at The Olive Tree in London due to the Chelsea Flower Show.

On our first trip to Ireland we booked all of our B&Bs in November for our April trip. Somehow, though, over the turn of the year, two of our reservations were "lost" by the B&B. In the first case, we had to accept being moved to a much less desirable place at the last minute. In the second case, they scrambled around and got us into rooms at the original B&B, but ended up bumping out a family who had called earlier in the day for a reservation. I would recommend waiting till after the first of the year for a trip so far in the future. Also, verify your reservations before leaving on your trip. By the way, the B&Bs that RS recommends aren't the only good ones out there - there are lots of them equally as nice.

I've just completed reservations at 15 different locations Belgium, France and Italy for a June 2011 trip. I found some of the best places (Rick's $$ and $ rated lodgings) already full. I say if you are sure of your plans, get your reservations. I had no problem with anyone being willing to book our rooms. Used Email to send CC info to guarantee. Have fun!
Cheryl

Test very bold!