When to make reservations for lodging

NOW. When I booked a recent trip I found many places already booked 5 months in advance.

If you can book cancellable reservations do it now. I wouldn't be comfortable waiting until 6-8 weeks out unless I knew it was off season and would be staying in large hotels.

Wow, thanks...I'll get on it asap!

I agree that I would book now and try for cancellable reservations

yup I booked as soon as I decided what my locations were going to be.. No reason to wait and you can cancel in a reasonable time if something changes. I did not regret booking way out front and being able to chose B&B's I really wanted to visit. The preplanning made my trip more awesome and the B&B's were perfect.

Agree, NOW!

Now.. actually even a few months ago.. September is still season and good hotels with reasonable prices book up fast.. you'll find hotels 6-8 weeks out , but they likely wouldn't be your first or second choices as if you booked earlier.

I consider myself a fairly experienced traveler... dozens of trips to Europe that I plan myself.. 4-5 weeks at a time.. and as soon as I can book hotels or apartments I do( as in soon as I have purchased airline tickets) I always book a refundable rate so if I see something better I can always change.. but I definitaly book sooner rather than later in all cases. I have a trip planned for London and Spain this july.. booked hotels back in january... and I have a trip to mexico booked for december.. booked that 2 months ago.

Airfare prices can bounce around.. sometimes you get last minute deals.. but I find hotel prices do not vary that much in season.. its getting what you want for the price you want to pay that dissapears as trip approaches.. you don't want a motel on the outskirts of town right.. not for a stay anyways. We've done some driving trips where we rent a car and don't book our enroute hotels ( say Paris to Zermatt) .. we just found a hotel /motel on outskirts of town as passing through.. usually basic, clean , cheap , but usually not a place you'd want to stay more than a night in transit.

I pretty much agree with the others. At a minimum, reserve your first and last nights lodging. If you’re driving and know where you’ll be each night, there’s no reason not to make reservations. If you don’t know where you’ll be, then winging it would be ok. You may not get your first choice, but you’ll find something.

Thanks for all of the input.... very good to know. I spent all day yesterday securing lodging, all cancelable if we need to make changes. Many places where filling up so I am very glad I asked the question! Again, thank you very much!