Pre book places to stay or just show up

I often travel without reservations and had no problems in Ireland.... not sure what bookings are like in Oct. I will usually book last night before my flight out so I know what I am doing before my flight out. With a car, it is so easy.... if there is nothing available in one town, just drive on to the next. If you can be a spontaneous traveler and love the freedom and are not tied to an itinerary, then I think you will be fine. Since you are on your honeymoon there may be a special hotel you might want to reserve ahead, but other than that it should not be a problem. (FYI... I am probably in the minority here, but being on a tight schedule makes me crazy)

We always go off season and only once in six trips had a problem with finding a place as it was our fault. We ended up in Kinsale the weekend of their major Jazz festival in mid October two years ago and really had a time finding a place. We hasn't even thought of that. We like to just go at our own pace. I also wouldnt wait until too late in the afternoon to find B&B. By that time you may be tired and dont feel like locating a place. The only thing we do is reserve a place for our first night as we don't want to be looking for a place when jet lagged. If you don't have your air flights scheduled, have you considered flying open jaw, say into Dublin and then home from Shannon? It would save you backtracking. You couldn't pick a better country for a honeymoon.

Agree with what Gail said about not waiting too late in the day to find your room for the night -- after one night sleeping in the car I England (weekend night), my daughter started pointing out likely B&B's at about 2 p.m.

Thank you for your replies. I looked at flying open jaw but it was more expensive. Not to worries about backtracking as I am sure we will see lovely country on the way back to Dublin. I do have our first night booked as I figured I would be a little loopy from jet lag. Any suggestions on must see places on our trip. We do not like the typical touristy places.

Greetings from Ireland,

You'll have no problems in October finding accommodation last-minute, I own a B&B in Dingle and room-ccupancy & rates drop quite incredibly once September ends. Most towns are the same, Dublin a slight exception.

le meas/with respect
Stephen McPhilemy
Rick Steves Ireland Tour-Guide
Dingle & Derry

Two years ago, my mom and I finished off our trip in early October by not booking the room until the night before or the morning of. We already knew where we were going, and getting the room at that point of the day worked out for us. We would check into our room for the evening, then I would spend a few minutes researching our next destination on TripAdvisor and call to book a room for the next evening.

Where we decide to go with a hotel versus a B&B was in Kilkenny, where we wanted to stay near the castle but had to worry about parking our car. I found out that the Pembroke Hotel was just around the corner, had its own parking lot, and offered a discount for booking online. When the site wouldn't take my US phone number, I called the hotel and ended up with an even bigger discount! It was really affordable, really comfortable, had the best wifi on the entire trip, and was a few doors down from a fantastic restaurant for dinner. If we were there on a weekend, I would have pre-booked it due to larger towns like Kilkenny and Galway being popular with bachelor/ette parties.