December trip - using zimmers?

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is Germany's premier winter sports resort, and Christmas time is it's most busy time of year to visit.... if you want to stay there, I would reserve.

" He wants to just drive around and find one. "

You can do it this way but I prefer not to waste time looking, knocking, looking again when I travel. You can book Zimmer (the plural of Zimmer is Zimmer - no S needed) nowadays. And if you do it like you did 30 years ago it's indeed possible you'll get "stuck" or end up with a place the others didn't want in a location that's less than ideal.

You can filter by accommodation type (consider guesthouse, private room, farm/farmhouse, and pension options) at the Garmisch-Partenkirchen tourist office website, the most complete source for that town:

http://booking.gapa.de/garmischpartenkirchen/en/accommodation/list?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Be aware that under German law, even if no deposit is required, a firm booking is a promise to pay - you are obligated to pay for the days you book, whether you cancel or not, unless there is a cancellation policy in place that offers a refund or cancellation of your obligation. Be sure to ask about that prior to booking.

During certain times of the year, driving around to find a "zimmer frei" makes sense. However, you are travelling during a busy season for skiing and vacations. The internet has also made it very easy to reserve ahead of time. Yes, reserving ahead of time locks you into a schedule. But it also gives you the flexibility of arriving later in the day and being assured you have a room. For Garmisch, check the town's website: www.garmisch.de Just south of Garmisch in Austria, you could check Lermoos at www.lermoos.at For Oberammergau, www.oberammergau.de Also check the neighboring town of Unterammergau at www.unterammergau.de On the town's website, they will usually ask what time of accommodation you want; i.e., private room, farm, etc. Hope this helps. Have a great trip.

30+ years ago, there was no internet. Times have changed.

Don't waste precious vacation time driving around looking for a place to stay.

Usually you can always find a place - if not in the city centers maybe in more distant places - but as the best accommodations are the ones that get reserved first at busy times, it would be better to reserve.

I think Emily's point is key. Back in the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, I arranged a place to stay all over Europe upon my arrival in each city. (Even then there were occasional problems.) Now everyone travels with a smartphone or tablet and uses the internet, so you are not competing with the other tourists who are arriving in the city/town about the same time you are. Virtually all of them already have rooms. You'll be choosing from among the rooms still available, if anything remains unbooked.

As pointed out, ski areas tend to be very popular around Christmas, and that impact can't really be seen right now. To get an idea, you can observe the phenomenon of internet booking in action by going to a website like booking.com, using the price filter, and recording how many lodgings are available in a few of your target cities for a date about 2 weeks in the future. Then monitor those numbers day by day and watch them drop as the arrival date approaches.

Thanks to all who gave advice! I passed along your comments, and the web sites posted above, and he agreed we should make reservations. We're booked for 3 nights in a small hotel. Thanks!

You can still do it that way driving around in towns less visited by tourists when looking for a "Zimmer frei" establishment. I would not go into popular tourist towns (intending to stay) without having first reserved...too much hit and miss.